[Winona Online Democracy] Uh -- make that 10 Commandments...
Jerome Christenson -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jerome Christenson Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 2004 5:46 PM To: Online Democracy Subject: RE: [Winona] Tips for Using Electronic Communication forPoliticalDiscussion [Winona Online Democracy] Good grief --- God only needed 120 Commandments. Lighten up already. Jerome Christenson -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Kathy Seifert Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 2004 4:49 PM To: Online Democracy Subject: [Winona] Tips for Using Electronic Communication for PoliticalDiscussion [Winona Online Democracy] In response to this most recent personal conflict and the fact that this is a recurring issue that we confront on WOD, I'm forwarding this document from Steve Clift, Board Chair for E-Deomcracy. I think it is very helpful to keep many of these in mind and to review them before hitting that send button! Kathy Seifert List Co-Manager/Facilitator Using Electronic Communication for Political Discussions by Steven L. Clift, Copyright 1996 Current Version: http://www.publicus.net/articles/ecomm.html File URL must be included with copies of this document. 1. Take what you write seriously. 2. Don't take yourself too seriously. 3. Never post when you are upset. 4. Avoid one-on-one battles on public forums. Take disputes "off-line" whenever possible. 5. Expect what you write to be around for you great great grandchildren to read. 6. Think of your major postings as letters to the editor. 7. Use your real identity and sign your posts. 8. Use correct spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. 9. Use humor and sarcasm cues - ;-) - Be careful. Be clear. 10. Don't overuse acronyms. 11. Use private e-mail accounts for personal opinions to avoid problems at work. 12. It is appropriate and encouraged that people in their official capacity use work e-mail to participate in public forms. 13. Don't expect to quickly change any minds in this medium. 14. Build your own personal "civic network." Send public responses to another's message and send short thank yous to individuals. 15. Avoid acidic, mean-spirited tones. Don't expect that people who are jerks in person will be any better online. 16. Be careful when you post or respond - double check to make sure you are sending it where you want to. (public lists, individuals, CC: area) 17. Write clear and concise subject lines. 18. Maintain subject line integrity with responses. Change the subject line if the topic shifts significantly. 19. Write in short paragraphs. Use white space to improve effectiveness of communication. 20. Avoid lengthy signature sections on messages. 21. Make sure you correctly attribute quoted text. 22. Only include attributed quotes that are needed. Do not include the entire message if you are posting a brief reaction of a general nature. 23. While you won't be judged online by many of the factors involved with in person discussion, you will be highly judged on what you write and style with which you write it. 24. Most complaints about postings to online forums are based on tone and style not the content of the messages. Good content is easily obscured by poor tone and style. Bad content is bad content regardless. 25. Developing charters, rules and guidelines for online forums that cover political topics are often quite helpful. 26. If one forum does not suit your interests move on to another. 27. "Lurk" on an active forums at least two to four weeks before posting your first message (or seek out the archives for a forum if one exists). 28. Carefully read all the information you receive when subscribing to a new forum. 29. Expect differences in how electronic communication manifests itself with different applications (e-lists, newsgroups, WWW-conferencing). 30. Never post unsubscribe requests to the entire list. 31. Always save subscribe confirmation information. Consider creating a folder called "lists." This will be very useful when your you decide to leave the forum. 32. Be a good net citizen - unsubscribe from all e-lists before an e-mail account closed. Bounced message are the biggest time waster for list managers. 33. If a discussion is not going the way you like, try to shift its direction. _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org
