[RP TownTalk] List posting guidelines / Promoting a Civilized Environment

[Alan Thompson (Riverdale Park Webmaster)]

Following some recent questions about appropriate postings to this 
list, list member Sarah Wayland came up with the following helpful 
guidelines (many of the ideas are based on guidelines from other 
lists, but she put a lot of work into making them specific to the 
lists sponsored by the Town of Riverdale Park).  I will be putting 
these guidelines into the descriptions and subscription notification 
letters for Riverdale Park sponsored lists soon.  Constructive 
comments are of course welcome.

Regards,

	Alan

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Promoting a Civilized Environment

We find a list works best when everyone treats everyone else with 
respect. Below are some guidelines designed to make TownTalk a safe 
environment for discussing difficult issues.

1. Posters may not attack other list members for their choices or 
opinions, although they may suggest that certain opinions are worth 
evaluating or that there may be other points of view. We don't flame 
here - we respect the opinions of our fellow citizens. Because 
respect doesn't always mean saying "I agree", it's important to 
phrase challenges in such a way that it is clear that it is not the 
worth of the writer you are questioning, but rather the validity of 
the idea. What is a flame? It is important to recognize that to 
disagree respectfully, or to politely request a change of behavior, 
is not to "flame".

Examples:

NOT acceptable: "I can't believe you think that! No right thinking 
person could possibly believe something so stupid."

Acceptable: "I have a different perspective on this. My family 
actually enjoys eating hockey pucks."

NOT acceptable: "Listen you jerk - how can you be so stupid and 
listen to the idiots want a hockey puck garden?!? If you'd bothered 
to read up on hockey puck gardens, you would never be arguing in 
favor of such stupid things."

Acceptable: "What has led you to believe that people who live in 
Riverdale Park want a hockey puck garden? When I lived in Hockey 
Town, we had a hockey puck garden for one year, but no one maintained 
it and it looked horrible. I think a hockey puck garden is a bad 
idea."

TownTalk will be a much more effective resource for all of us if we 
endeavor to keep it flame-free, and to avoid personal attacks.

2. Think carefully when you respond to a post about whether you 
should "Reply to Sender", or "Reply to All" (which will send your 
e-mail to the entire list.)

3. We recommend including your full name and e-mail address in the 
last two lines of each message sent to the list, to make it simpler 
for people to communicate privately with you via e-mail.

4. Remember that people read this list using a very wide variety of 
hardware and software, and that some  users are limited in their 
mailbox space or must pay  according to the volume of mail they 
receive. As a courtesy, please configure your e-mail software to use 
"7-bit" encoding, and avoid sending attachments when possible.

5. It is helpful to include part of the message to which you are 
reacting in your response, but please don't quote the whole thing. If 
your reaction is a simple "I agree", please send that privately.

6. Please don't post chain letters or warnings about e-mail viruses. 
For more information on these and other hoaxes, see 
http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html or http://www.snopes.com .
-- 

Sarah Wayland & Alan Thompson
twacks at his.com