Good Morning,
I have a few concerns about the direction discussions seemed to have taken
during the past few days. Traditionally, you have been a very courteous and
professional
group, and I'd like to see each of you retain that demeanor.
I'd like to offer the following "netiquette" guidelines for your
review, in hopes that we can keep this and future discussions
productive.
These guidelines are abstracted from a document originally "penned" by
Dave Jackson, from the University of Iowa. Thank you, Dave:
1. Remember that email messages are easily misinterpretted. They
rarely carry the same message as "person-to-person"
conversation. There are no non-verbal signals, such as smiles,
frowns, a raised eyebrow or other body language, unless you
choose to utilize "emoticons" (emotional icons) which are also
confusing and deplete of meaningful inflection.
2. Please focus on the issues and not the person. Issues can be
debated, discussed and "philosophized" 'til the cows come home
without even mentioning a single name. Pointing fingers only
serves to divide us into the "good and the bad".
Avoid "I agree" or "I disagree" with "John Doe". If
you see an issue you agree with and feel is important, simply
build upon it; add your own ideas of credibility to it, or
repackage it so others may understand it better. If you
dissagree with it, simply present your own ideas which may be
different, or ask a question about the issue which gets others to
respond from additional perspectives. Not pointing to the author
of contention will absolve you and that person from personally
attacking each other.
3. If you simply cannot contain yourself in ire due to someone
else's viewpoint, don't fire off a response in haste to the
whole list. Either take it away from the general list of
subcribers and send it directly to the author, or wait until
you can respond without focusing on the person.
4. Keep in mind that a person's values are his/her
link to their dignity, ethics, reputation and sense of
competence. Our values are a collective and living/changing
set of virtues and characteristics based on the many paths we
have experienced in life. Since none of us has walked in
exactly the same path, we have many different values. Keep in
mind that attacking another person's values may be interpreted
by them as questioning their dignity and competence.
5. Keep in mind that issues are seldom as simple as "either/or",
and often are relative to a larger and complex system of which
individuals are often a product.
6. If we are truly to learn, as opposed to "digging in our heals"
with our own positions on a topic, then we will be asking
"why" an individual feels they way they do, and trying to
spend a few minutes in their shoes, rather than attacking
their intelligence and values.
An open discussion is important and I hope they will continue. It is
your adherence to these guidelines that will preserve the usefulness
of this list as an information resource and support tool!
As one of the sinners, I will do what I can to abied by these guidelines.
My $.02, for what its worth.
Thank you!
Ed
74 TR6 daily driver turned fixer upper still wanna be a daily driver
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