STUTT-L FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Introduction

Procedures

Skills

About Stutt-L and Policies

Stuttering


Detailed Questions and Answers:

Q What is the purpose of Stutt-L?

A The original purpose of the list is to provide an academic/professional internet discussion group to discuss "Stuttering Research and Clinical Practice." In the many years since the establishment of Stutt-L, many people who stutter have joined the list. So while the original intent of the list is still valid, the interaction with people who stutter has become an important tenant for Stutt-L. Secondary purposes of the list are to provide support for the people who stutter and to educate and support families and friends of people who stutter. Recently there is an emphasis on helping student SLPs learn more about the myriad complexities of stuttering. We welcome student SLPs to the list!

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Q How does someone get on Stutt-L in the first place? Can anyone join?

A Go to http://listserv.temple.edu/archives/stutt-l.html and select "Join or leave the list (or change settings)". Then on the resulting screen fill in your name and email address and press "Join the list."

Stutt-L is a "restricted list" and each subscription request from the above procedure generates a message to the list owners who must approve all subscriptions. Typically a short questionnaire asking for some additional information is sent to the requester, and the results of that questionnaire will guide the list owners to approve or disapprove the request.

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Q Can I change my email address on Stutt-L?

A Yes.  At the bottom of each Stutt-L post there is a link which says...

       ** Archives and settings: http://listserv.temple.edu/archives/stutt-l.html

Click this link and click "Join or leave the list (or change settings)".    Then click on "login with your LISTSERV password" (you don't need a password to do this) and CHANGE (over type) your email address right there on the screen. You can do this anytime you want.

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Q Can SLP professors and teachers sign up entire classes for Stutt-L?

A Yes indeed! This is highly recommended as a matter of fact. Send an email to the Stutt-L owner at RussHicks@mail.com. which contains a list of email addresses and names to add to Stutt-L. The list should look something like this...

SJones123@aol.com Susie Jones
MarkZ@hotmail.com Mark Zoeller
ImaStudent@Purdue.edu Ima G. Student
etc...

Please be absolutely certain of the email addresses because whatever you specify will be added to the Stutt-L subscription database. This mass add procedure is highly efficient.

When the class is over, the professor/teacher can reverse this procedure by sending that same list, eliminating whoever wants to stay, and the entire list can be unsubscribed in one fell swoop.

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Q How do I sign off Stutt-L?

A Simple.  At the bottom of each Stutt-L post there is a link which says...

       ** Sign off: mailto:listserv@listserv.temple.edu

Click this link and you will get a preformatted email which you can send which will log you off immediately.

If this method doesn't work (the email MUST come from the one currently registered to you on Stutt-L), please contact me directly at RussHicks@mail.com for special help. Please do NOT send signoff messages to the list! If you do that, you'll be sending your signoff message to nearly 500 people, and that is a gross violation of common netiquette.

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Q Has my question been answered or discussed before? How can I find out?

A At the bottom of each Stutt-L post there is a link which says...

       ** Archives and settings: http://listserv.temple.edu/archives/stutt-l.html

Click this link and select "Search the archives." The resulting screen allows you search the archives by key word, subject, author's email address and limit the date range of the search. Once you get used to this powerful feature, you'll probably find it to be as useful as the real time email discussions. (And maybe even moreso!)

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Q How can I ask a good question and not get flamed for asking it?

A This takes practice and good netiquette. This is typically a three step process...

  1. Lurk before you leap. Don't ask a question before you "lurk" (listen quietly) on any list - not just Stutt-L - for at least a week. Get the feel of the list before you ask a question. This is simply good common netiquette.
  2. Search the archives for possible past answers to your question. See the response to the question "Has my question been answered or discussed before?" above. Asking a question that has been asked on the list over and over before can be quite annoying to experienced list members.
  3. Lou Heite (one of the list co-owners) has written an excellent guide to asking good questions on any list. See her article at: this link
  4. Note to students: The only dumb question is the one that is NOT asked. Please don't be afraid to ask questions on the list. That's why we're all here.

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Q Where can I get help on using Stutt-L?

A The welcome message you received when you first joined Stutt-L is an excellent source of help. But if you've lost that, or need additional help, I'll be more than happy to help you. Send me an email to RussHicks@mail.com.

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Q Who runs Stutt-L?

A Currently the list owner is Russ Hicks from Dallas, Texas. His email address is RussHicks@mail.com.. There are two co-owners, Lou Heite currently from Alaska and Lynda Voigt from Seattle who work with Russ on the administrative aspects of maintaining the list. The former list owner and founder Woody Starkweather also remains the list owner "emeritus".

There is also a panel of about 15 people who form an informal "advisory board" to help set policy and direction for the list. This advisory board is composed of both stutterers and academic/professional SLPs. Stutt-L is not governed by a single person.

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Q Who is on Stutt-L?

A We don't keep demographics on subscribers, but my tummy feel tells me that we have about 50% people who stutter, 30% student SLPs, and 20% professional/academic SLPs. There are also a small percentage of "others," for example parents or other friends or relatives of people who stutter, teachers, physicians, counselors, and others simply interested in stuttering for a variety of reasons. I emphasize that all that is little more than a guess. It might be interesting to research this sometime in the future.

There are currently nearly 500 subscribers to Stutt-L. They come from all over the world, the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Asia, Latin and South American and Australia. We're looking for someone from Antarctica, but they seem to have worse problems down there than stuttering! :-)

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Q Where is Stutt-L located?

A Stutt-L is currently run on the listserv computers at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA.

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Q Is there a list of common Stutt-L acronyms?

A Yes. Stutt-L is remarkably acronym free, but here's the brief list anyway...

If you're a masochistic fiend on this subject, take a look at the Stuttering Home Page at www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/alphabetsoup.html

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Q Does Stutt-L have an announcement and advertising policy?

A The operative word, as I tell my kids, is "reasonable." Woody had a policy of one announcement and one reminder for any significant stuttering event such as upcoming workshops or meetings. And I like that rule, although I do not keep a black book with counts in it. If it gets irritating or if people start to complain, I'll ask for the postings to stop. But I hate to do that. This list is all about stuttering and I believe we owe it to the stuttering community to keep people informed about what's going on.

Regarding blatant advertising for products or "trolling for clients" on the list, the answer to that is a definite NO. NO, ZERO, NADA, ZIP blatant advertising is allowed on Stutt-L. That's what web sites and search engines are for. Violators - especially repeat violators - of this policy risk being removed from Stutt-L. Occasional references to such products or programs are perfectly okay, so don't be afraid to share your experiences. But in general people recognize ads when they see them. Please don't abuse this policy. Again, be reasonable.

Temple University, where Stutt-L resides, has an explicit NO ADVERTISING policy. Failure to abide by this policy could result in Stutt-L being removed from the Temple servers.

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Q Is the content of Stutt-L discussions moderated or censored?

A No. Subscribers are screened for membership and as long as the posts do not violate the general policies of Stutt-L, members may post whatever they please. Gross violations of netiquette or Stutt-L policies could result in warnings or removal from the list.

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Q Which therapy programs are the best? Which ones does Stutt-L recommend?

A Stutt-L maintains no position on the worthiness of any speech program or technique. And that's good, because various programs and therapies work differently for each individual who stutters. The "one size fits all" approach does NOT work for people who stutter.

The Stuttering Home Page at http://www.stutteringhomepage.com has an entire section devoted to this topic. Select the topic "Therapy for Stuttering." You will be amazed at the depth of information there.

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Q What causes stuttering?

A Stutt-L maintains no position on this controversial question. In truth this "simple" question is one of the most asked and discussed questions on Stutt-L. If we really knew for sure, we probably wouldn't even have this list!

This is an excellent topic for research into the archives of Stutt-L. Input the key word "cause" or "etiology" into the archive search engine and read till your eyeballs fall on the ground. :-)

Another excellent source for answers to this question can be found on the Stuttering Home Page at http://www.stutteringhomepage.com. Look into the topics of "Information about Stuttering" and "Research on Stuttering."

(And remember, this is a FAQ list for Stutt-L, not for stuttering in general.)

Q How can I find a good speech therapist?

A The Stuttering Foundation of America at http://www.stuttersfa.org/ recommends Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) for all areas of the US and internationally as well.

You can also go directly to the Specialty Board on Fluency Disorders www.stutteringspecialists.org which lists "Board Recognized Fluency Specialists" by state.

Another good source is the National Stuttering Association home page at http://www.WeStutter.org/

They will work with you help you identify a good SLP in your area.

You can also learn TONS about stuttering which also lists therapy resources on the Stuttering Home Page at http://www.stutteringhomepage.com

Those three sources, the SFA, the NSA and the Stuttering Home Page are probably the best overall sources regarding stuttering on the internet.

Other excellent web sites, interactive discussion groups, both chat and email, also exist. The Stuttering Home Page has an excellent section devoted to this topic. Select the topic "Other homepages about stuttering."


added December 15, 2000
modified January 15, 2005
modified August 28, 2006