Foci, For those of you who asked about Dan's project you can find it at: http://members.tripod.com/~Glove_r/Childintro.htm And anyone interested in finding out more about slow reading groups should check out: http://www.freelance-academy.org/help.htm And John Beasley has a new essay in the forum, you can find it linked on the front page of the site. http://www.moq.org Diana ***************************************************** MOQ_FOCUS CHARTER MOQ_focus complements and adds an extra dimension to our open discussion group - MOQ_discuss. MF takes a single question related to Robert M Pirsig's Metaphysics of Quality each month and explores that to the exclusion of all else. We feel this is valuable for the following reasons: 1. Focusing on one subject at a time allows us to dig more deeply into it. 2. The planning and coordination of debates ensures we all study and discuss the same subject at the same time. 3. Our members can participate meaningfully even if they only have an hour or two a week to follow the list. 4. The clearly defined topic makes it easier for others to join in and follow the debate. ***************************************************** MOQ_FOCUS RULES 1. Members must have read both Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and LILA. 2. Members may post only one message every 24 hours (except for PROGRAM topic suggestions and voting in last week of month). 3. Members must answer the program question in every post and must not pursue topics that may distract from the program. 4. Members must express themselves clearly, concisely and courteously. They should not use html email nor send attachments. ***************************************************** MOQ_FOCUS PROGRAMS In the last week of each month we have an open vote to decide on the program for the next month. All our members are encouraged to suggest and vote for topics. Our voting procedure is as follows, where day 0 is the first day of each new month: day -6: Call for topics. day -3: New moderator consolidates all topics, posts list to the squad and reminds that voting will start on day -2. day -2: Voting begins (00:01 hrs GMT) day -1: Voting ends (24:00 hrs GMT) day 0: Moderator counts votes and posts new topic and subscribers begin dialog Rules * Members can vote for one topic only. * Suggestion of topic and vote for topic are separate. * If members suggest topics or vote before the set days these will be held back until the set days and then posted to the list. * In the event of a tie the moderator will decide. * The moderator may reword the topic question to make it more conducive to constructive dialog on the MOQ. **************************************************** MOQ_FOCUS STEERING COMMITTEE The MOQ_focus Steering Committee is Diana McPartlin, Magnus Berg, Horse and Keith Gillette. Every month one of us takes a turn at monitoring the posts -- this means we will read them before forwarding them to the group and may return posts which do not adhere to the rules. Any MF subscribers may apply to join the committee after they have been active members for three months. **************************************************** MOQ_FOCUS FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) How does this mailing list work? It's an email-based discussion group. When you email the list your mail is distributed to all the other people who have subscribed to this group, so we can all join in the dialog together.If you've never been a member of a mailing list before we suggest you check out this page on netiquette (ie Net-etiquette): <http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html> which tells you the commonly accepted standards of behaviour on mailing lists. How do I post to this list? Send an email to the mailing list's email address exactly the same way as you would send an email to a friend. You can use any email program - Eudora, MS Outlook, Netscape mail etc. This list's email address is [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. Our computer will automatically add the prefix LS to your post, you don't have to do that yourself. The prefixes are intended help you separate your MF mail from the rest of your mail. How do I unsubscribe from this list? Send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> with unsubscribe moq_focus in the body of the mail. Don't write anything else in the email. The subject line will be ignored so you can write anything you want or leave it blank. Why do you have two mailing lists on MOQ.org? The MOQ.org mailing lists - MOQ_discuss (MD) and MOQ_focus (MF) - serve two very different purposes. MD is a straightforward discussion group. It is unmoderated and you are free to raise and discuss any topic related to the MOQ. MF is run as a series of workshops. Each month we take a single question and investigate it to the exclusion of all else. MF is moderated so if you send a post that is not directly related to the monthly PROGRAM then it will not be allowed into the discussion. Think of MOQ.org as a giant online conference - in one room we have lectures, in another we have workshops and in another we have open dialog. By offering a variety of methods of communication we create a richer and more productive experience for all participants: you can send essays to the Forum, you can join the MD open area or the MF workshops, you can enjoy private conversations with other members or you can just sit at the back and lurk if you want. We don't ask you to participate in everything, but we do ask that you respect the distinctions between the different areas of MOQ.org and help us make them all good in their own ways. I have something to say that is relevant to both MD and MF, can I post it to both? Posting the same mail to two lists is known as cross-posting and is generally considered bad netiquette because it defeats the purpose of having two lists. If your post is relevant to the MF topic then post it there only and pursue it that topic in that forum for the rest of the month, after that you should continue the dialog on MD. Can I talk about this month's MF topic on the MD? Discussing the same topic in the open forum and the focus group at the same time can be disruptive and confusing as posts go back and forth between the two lists. In the interests of maintaining a high quality dialog in the MF focus group we ask that you refrain from discussing the MF topic of the month on the MD for the duration of that month. I've posted to the mailing lists several times and nobody has responded, why not and what should I do? The lack of face-to-face interaction on the Internet means that it can be difficult to gauge other people's reactions to your posts. There may well be people reading and learning from your posts -- you just can't tell. Don't take it personally and keep on posting. Keep your posts relevant, well-informed and courteous and you'll soon win the respect of the group. Somebody has made a nasty, sarcastic reply to one of my posts, what should I do? This is a philosophy discussion group and there's really no need for this kind of behaviour, but still, it happens. Don't waste your energy on it. Either reply calmly asking for clarification, or ignore it and devote your time to something more constructive instead. How can I send an essay for the Forum on the MOQ.org website? Send it to the webmaster, ie Diana ([EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>), preferably in plain text in the body of an email. Please don't use any fancy formatting unless essential because we'll just have to undo it all to convert it to HTML for publishing on the web. How can I send a bio for the Members page on the website? Send it to Diana, as above. What is the copyright situation regarding posts and essays? MOQ.org retains the right to publish all posts submitted to our mailing lists in our archives only and the right to publish essays submitted to our Forum on our website only. We will not use your contributions in any other publication or media without your written consent. All contributors will retain copyright over their own work. That means you are free to sell it to other publishers if you wish, and if anyone plagiarises your work or reproduces it without your permission it will constitute a breach of copyright. How can I help you develop MOQ.org? If you've only just joined we suggest you hang around for a few weeks and get to know us. If you understand what we've done in the past and what we're doing now you'll be able to contribute more effectively. If, after the honeymoon period is over, you're still interested, think of what you can do constructively to develop MOQ.org. If you can't think of anything specific but you still want to help, email us because we have a long list of things that we would like to do but never get round to. This is an abridged version of the FAQ that appears on the MOQ.org website at: <http://www.moq.org/faq.html>. If you have any further questions please contact the list administrator. ***************************************************** Diana McPartlin <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> MOQ_focus List Administrator MOQ.org - http://www.moq.org
