GEN: Discussion of school violence, and etiquette

[Peter Milbury <pmilbury@ERICIR.SYR.EDU>]

Dear LM_NET Colleagues,

In view of the current discussion of the school violence and guns topic, I
would like to offer an observation: It is not so much the topic that
bothers some folks, but rather the tone or emotional content of some of
the messages. When messages seem to push the limits in that regard, it
tends to make many members uncomfortable, in the same manner as it would
at a social gathering if two or three people raised their voices in anger
or alarm.

It is often difficult to remember that we are making use of a new
communications medium, one into which we have invested a certain faith, an
electronic community, and the way that we react to the messages in this
community is very different in some critical respects from other
communities and social situations in which we are involved. Please keep
that in mind.

Here are some of our LM_NET Etiquette guidelines that might offer some
help in understanding the dynamics at play here:

1. LM_NET has its own character, just like any "real" grouping of people
   (such as a party, or a meeting). The list functions best when people
   respect the character of the list. It's also good to respect the
   differences among list members and have a certain tolerance for our
   individual eccentricities. It is recommended that folks new to the
   group "lurk" awhile, getting a feel for what is appropriate.

6. Never post a message to the group which would not be of interest to
   thousands of people. It is considered wasteful of the time of list
   members to be pestered with meaningless (to them) messages which are
   of value only to a small number of people. LM_NET is NOT a newsgroup,
   where people reply to each other routinely posting to the group.

11. To post to LM_NET, send to:  LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU

   Think before you post. Do I really want to say this to the entire
   world (and have it posted to the LM_NET Archives as well?) Reread
   what you wrote. Did you really say what you intended to? Once a
   message is sent, it can't be retrieved. Sending to the individual
   or to the entire group is an important consideration.

   Normally, please send information only to the individual person who
   requested it. If they receive a lot of replies, they will probably
   post them to the group. Please use our Target/Hit procedure to
   gather information, and share later with the group.

14. Be extremely careful when replying to the sender of an LM_NET
   message. Many e-mail systems will automatically send your reply to
   the entire list of LM_NET members if you simply use a reply command.
   When an individual asks a question that you can answer, just send it
   to the individual who posted the original message to which you are
   responding. Imagine how it would feel to have a very "personal" or
   revealing message read by thousands of people!

18. Flames: a "flame" is an emotionally charged posting, and is often
   directed at an individual who has posted to the group. Be sure you
   really want to post it, and remember that LM_NET does not tolerate
   flames. We will immediately drop members posting rude, inflammatory or
   grossly inappropriate messages.

   Note: This guideline includes private e-mail sent in response to
         to something that an LM_NET member has posted. It doesn't
         matter if you send the rude message to someone in private. If
         you reply to an LM_NET posting, please remember to be polite
         and civil.

19. To signal humorous intent, use some sort of "smiley", such as :-).
   Facetiousness and sarcasm can be misunderstood easily in electronic
   communication. (See Arlene Rinaldi's excellent Netiquette Guidelines:
   <http://www.fau.edu/netiquette/net/>

20. Please be considerate of others. Through inexperience or limited local
   software, list members may inadvertently violate these guidelines. A
   private message to the offender from an experienced friend or from the
   list owners is more appropriate than a public flame. Our LM_NET
   Hospitality Committee may have already contacted the person regarding
   the inappropriate posting.

22. Please participate! Your ideas are important. Just because you think
   everyone knows something doesn't mean they do. If you're not sure, send
   the posting to an experienced friend on the list (or the list owner) to
   see if the information may be valuable.


Peter Milbury                        pmilbury@cusd.chico.k12.ca.us
Librarian-Mentor Teacher, Chico HS, Chico, CA  Co-owner of LM_NET
Now With 12,000+ Members      See: http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/
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