The Classical Fencing Mailing List is an e-mail list (listserv) for the discussion of classical and historical fencing.

While the term "Classical Fencing" refers to approximately the 19th century, styles and periods discussed on this list include any established European school (usually, but not necessarily, French, Italian, or Spanish) of civilian swordsmanship from the 15th-19th Centuries. Weapons include foil, épée, sabre, smallsword, and rapier & dagger. (For more information on historical periods and terminology used to describe them, please see the abbreviations at the bottom of this page.)

With over 800 subscribers, including many experienced and knowledgable fencers and fencing masters with dozens of years of combined experience and knowledge of classical fencing and historical swordsmanship, the list represents a unique opportunity to share ideas and learn more about this rare martial art.

Please note that this list is NOT for discussing modern sport (i.e. Olympic-style) fencing, historical reenactment, stage combat, mythical/fantasy swordplay, military combat, or Eastern martial arts and sword forms, as other venues exist for discussing these topics. If you're looking for any of these topics, then this list is probably NOT for you.

Of course, this doesn't mean any mention of these topics is forbidden. You're free to discuss just about anything, provided it's in the context of or pertaining primarily to classical fencing or historical swordsmanship.

Subscribing

To subscribe to the mailing list send a blank email to classicalfencing-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Unsubscribing

To unsubscribe, send email to classicalfencing-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Posting

This is a closed, moderated mailing list, which means only subscribers are allowed to post messages to the list. Once you are subscribed you may post a message to the list by emailing it to classicalfencing@yahoogroups.com.

All messages are approved by the list administrator before they are posted. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours (and sometimes more). Your patience is appreciated.

When posting, please respect standard Netiquette rules. If you're unsure what this means, or if you've never used an electronic mailing list before, please see Virginia Shea's Core Rules of Netiquette.

Opinions expressed on the CFML are those of the individual authors who wrote them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of other individuals or organizations, including but not limited to the list administrator (Kim Moser).

Attachments
Attachments (e.g. photos) are not permitted. If you want to make photos available to list members, please put them on your own web site or on the CFML web site (http://www.yahoogroups.com/files/classicalfencing/) and post a message containing the URL.

Replying
The list is configured so that replies go to the author of the message you are replying to (i.e. the Reply-To: field is set to classicalfencing@yahoogroups.com), NOT to the entire list. Please reply to the list only if your message is of general interest.

When replying to a message, please trim extraneous text (e.g. headers, footers, signatures, and advertisements) from the message you are quoting to make your message more clear. If you are unsure what this means, please email the list administrator at classicalfencing-owner@yahoogroups.com.

Abbreviations
Some commonly used abbreviations:
CF -- classical fencing -- 19th Century
HF -- historical fencing, late period -- 17th-18th Centuries
AF -- historical fencing, early period (or ancient fencing) -- 14th-16th Centuries
MF -- modern fencing -- 20th Century
SF -- sport fencing; usually synonymous with modern fencing and Olympic fencing.
OF -- Olympic fencing; usually synonymous with modern fencing and sport fencing
CFML -- Classical Fencing Mailing List (this mailing list)
MA -- Martial art

Commercial Endorsements
Frequent endorsements of products or services by those with a vested interest in them are considered in poor taste, both by me and by the Internet community in general. You may make a one-time endorsement of a product or service provided you indicate your affiliation with the product or service, and the endorsement is in the context of a related, pertinent discussion.

Commercial sponsors can pay to have a short advertisement automatically placed at the bottom of every message sent to the list. For more information on commercial ad rates, please email classicalfencing-owner@yahoogroups.com.

Digest Mode
Like most mailing lists, traffic fluctuates. The CFML receives an AVERAGE of less than one message a day. Of course, some days nothing is posted while other days a couple dozen messages are posted. If you don't check your email at least every day or two, this can quickly turn into a deluge.

Subscribers may elect to receive messages in digest form instead of individual emails. With digests, at the end of the day only one message is sent to you containing all the messages posted to the list during that day.

The easiest way to receive digests is to do the following:

1. Go to http://www.yahoogroups.com/ and register using the same email address you used to subscribe to the CFML.
2. Go back to http://www.yahoogroups.com/, log in (using your new password) and change your CFML subscription to "digest" mode.

If you have trouble doing this, send email to the list administrator, Kim Moser (classicalfencing-owner@yahoogroups.com), asking to receive list messages in digest form.

Archives

List messages are archived and anybody (not just subscribers) may view them online.

Questions

If you have questions about the Classical Fencing Mailing List, please email the list administrator, Kim Moser, at classicalfencing-owner@yahoogroups.com.

For more resources, including listings of schools, organizations, weapons suppliers, literature, and frequently asked questions, see the Classical Fencing and Historical Swordsmanship Resources page.