Thank you, John, for this email.

 

I've been on a number of public, unmoderated lists, and the key difference
in behavior among them comes directly from the list members.  It works, too
- it's just a matter of forming the habit, really.  I am certain this list
can be one, too.

 

-patty

 

From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of John Dews-Alexander
Sent: Friday, December 31, 2010 4:56 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Reminder Regarding Discussion List Etiquette

 

And the discussion group gets smaller. We lose members after every other
exchange it seems these days.

Please, everyone, moderate thyself. We often have entire classes of students
join our discussion group; these students, ranging from high school students
to graduate students, often observe only and deserve better than what they
sometimes get from us. I've been contacted by more than one teacher who has
expressed disappointment in the amount of unprofessional behavior seen on
the list at times. I explain to them the nature of a public, unmoderated
list with the hope that they will understand. However, without stating
anything as a "rule," let me share some common precepts and expectations
that make for successful listserv groups:

*	 All those who use this list are expected to maintain quality levels
of professionalism, ethics, decorum and civility regarding postings. 

Postings and Etiquette/Netiquette 

Postings should exhibit the following: 

1.	Maturity and tact 
2.	Audience-appropriate language 
3.	Cogency when possible 

Avoid posting that can be reasonably described as any of the following: 

1.	Libelous
2.	Defamatory
3.	Obscene
4.	Pornographic
5.	Threatening
6.	Invasive of privacy
7.	Abusive
8.	Illegal
9.	Constitute or encourage a criminal offense
10.	Violate the rights of any individual, group or entity
11.	Create liability
12.	Copyright infringements 

These seem like no-brainers, right? We currently do not moderate or censor
messages nor do we impose consequences for violations. To do so would
require interpretation of content, which is subjective. We've tried to stay
away from this. Please allow us to continue to do so. I will be working with
ATEG's leadership to review policies for blatant offenses such as commercial
spam and pornography. I truly hope we don't have to expand the policies to
encompass more than that.

John Alexander
ATEG
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