I am a new poster and I am wondeering if it is possible to contact other posters through this message board. Should I just use their email address? Is it OK to send emails without asking the poster first?
I am not a moderator, so this is by no means official protocol.
However, it’s best to ask someone first if it’s OK to e-mail them off-boards. Unless, of course, the person you’re e-mailing has posted a message saying “please e-mail me off-boards.”
When you e-mail someone, put the letters SDMB in the subject line, so the message doesn’t get deleted right away as spam.
Not wanting to appear dense, but are you saying that in the course of a discussion in one of the other forums it would be OK to ask permission to email? I am wondering how best to phrase it so as to allow for a gracious negative should that be the answer.
IMO it is ok to ask people’s permission to e-mail them or even just e-mail them if it is done graciously. People have the option to show or hide their e-mail address in their profile so they are basically saying it’s ok to e-mail them by doing that.
I have received unsolicited e-mails from Dopers and enjoy the opportunity to expand on a relationship.
However, some things would be considered in poor taste: Spamming, flaming, witnessing, continuing an argument that is considered over on the Dope, and other such things.
I would only e-mail someone if I wanted to discuss something with them that I didn’t feel like putting up on the boards. For example, one of SDMB doctors, Qagdop the Mercotan, was participating in a thread about some medical issue. I had a question about prescription drug commercials on TV. To ask in the thread would have hijacked it, and to open up another thread would have been wasteful, so I just asked permission to e-mail him off boards. He granted it, my question was answered, and all is well.
Members have the option of whether or not to display their e-mail address to other members. If they choose to have it displayed, I consider that an invitation to write them, if you have something to say that wouldn’t be appropriate on the board for whatever reason. I’ve received e-mail from Dopers along the lines of “I saw where you mentioned such-and-such; I’ve got some sound clips I could send you if you’d like”; I was flattered by the offer.
Flaming and other unpleasantness, of course, would NOT be appropriate in an e-mail.
What most other replies said! 
People have the option to keep their e-mail details hidden, so I should be inclined to think it perfectly OK, and you do sound as though you would be doing so with the utmost civility.
I’ve had the occasional e-mail from members here - to ask for further details about something, or to thank me for my (usually meagre) contribution to a questions, etc, and have not minded in the tiniest bit, but have instead been rather pleased. Likewise, I too have sent the occasional mail - perhaps to make a remark or a question that I felt would tend towards hijacking a thread. I can’t say that any of my (admittedly very very few) “victims” expressed any displeasure.
I’d think there is no one, real true “official” answer to this, but now you have my tuppenceworth (or 2 cents if you must )
And a belated welcome to SDMB.
I’ve been emailed by a doper or two and emailed one or two in my time as well. Every time it was to either thank someone for information (or in my case, for my sig) or to introduce a local doper (hi Baker!).
I don’t see any problem with it. If anyone had, for example, filmmaking questions they felt were extensions of discussions from the boards, etc., they should feel free to email me.