ON THE LISTS

by Bob Finn

In the last issue I wrote about how troubled I was about the tone of some recent discussions on the nasw-x mailing lists. NASW's officers and board members have also been troubled about this. As a result they asked me to work with them to modify our policies and procedures regarding the mailing lists. We went through three complete drafts, and here is the final result. It will be posted here.

NASW Mailing Lists-Policies and Procedures

1. The mailing lists are intended for discussion of professional issues. Nasw-talk is for general discussion, nasw-freelance is for issues specific to freelancers, and nasw-pr is for issues relating to public affairs issues. Messages to nasw-talk should be relevant to subjects surrounding science, science writing, or journalism. Messages to nasw-freelance should be relevant to subjects surrounding freelance writing. Messages to nasw-pr should be relevant to subjects surrounding public relations.

We recognize that discussions will naturally range beyond these boundaries, and individual subscribers will not be warned for posting off-topic posts. However, please recognize that while there are many listservs and Usenet newsgroups available to discuss current events, TV programs, and every other topic under the sun, the nasw-x mailing lists are just about the only listservs available for the discussion of science writing, and that's why most people subscribe. As a courtesy to other subscribers, please keep your posts on topic.

2. All nasw-x lists are intended to be cordial discussions among professionals, similar to those one would hear around a water cooler or at a professional seminar. They are not intended to be adversarial proceedings such as one might find in a court of law or at a hostile press conference. Participants must maintain a civil tone. There must be no name-calling, personal attacks, offensive language, badgering, or excessive posting. Excessive posting consists of stating one's opinion or position more than twice unless one is responding to specific points or questions raised by another poster. It also consists of rephrasing an argument or opinion in successive posts unless another poster has asked for clarification.

While it is permissible to argue with another's point of view, restrict your disagreements to the other person's ideas; do not attack him or her personally. Do not state your position over and over, even if the person with whom you are arguing seems not to have understood your point. Do not continue arguing in an attempt to get your opponent to capitulate; this rarely happens.

If a discussion devolves into a debate between two posters over some specific point or points, then once each has stated his or her opinion, and responded once to the other's points, they should take the discussion off-list if they wish to persist.

3. The mailing lists must not be used to distribute press releases or other promotional material. Other services, including EurekAlert! and Newswise, are intended for that purpose. Exception: news related to our profession, such as honors and information about meetings intended to develop professional skills, is appropriate for this site.

4. Formal job notices must not be posted on the general mailing lists. If you or your institution wishes to advertise a job opening, contact NASW Administrative Secretary Diane McGurgan. Rates for ads posted on NASW Online are $50. This rate includes posting on the nasw-jobs mailing list and a three-month listing in the jobs archive on the member-only Web pages. The rate for ads placed in ScienceWriters, our quarterly, printed journal, is $5 a line with a 10-line minimum.

5. The discussions are unmoderated and open to everyone (not just NASW members). However, those who post messages violating these policies will be warned and then removed from the list in accordance with the procedure detailed below.

6. All messages should be signed with the author's real name. However, subscribers are asked to limit or eliminate long "signatures" or "sig files" (personal identifying material) at the end of their messages.

7. Original authors retain all copyrights to material posted on nasw-talk, nasw-freelance, nasw-pr, and all digests and compilations derived from these mailing lists. Material may not be reproduced in other media in whole or in part without the express permission of the original author(s).

8. When replying to another message, take special care to quote only the relevant portions of the message. Many people find it very annoying to scroll down through a long message they've already seen to find that the person replying has added only, "I agree!" If you're a digest subscriber, be especially careful not to send the entire contents of a digest back to the mailing list.

9. Please choose a relevant subject heading. This is particularly important to remember if you subscribe to the digest version. When you reply to a digest, most e-mail software will insert an unhelpful subject heading like, "Re: nasw-freelance V5 #246." Please edit that subject to conform to the subject of the message to which you're replying.

Enforcement Procedure

The cybrarian has the power to remove from the list people who don't follow these policies according to the following procedure:

1. If, in the judgment of the cybrarian, a subscriber violates one of these policies, he or she will first be warned. That warning may be appealed to the NASW president.

2. If a subscriber under warning violates one of these policies again, he or she will be given a final warning. That final warning may be appealed to the NASW president.

3. If a subscriber under final warning violates one of these polices yet again, he or she will be unsubscribed from the list, and will not be permitted to resubscribe for one year. That action may be appealed to the NASW president.

4. If, in the judgment of the cybrarian, a subscriber engages in an especially egregious violation of these policies, the cybrarian may summarily suspend that subscriber without moving through the three steps above. That suspension may be appealed to the NASW president.

Bob Finn administers NASW's Web site and e-mail lists at nasw.org. His e-mail address is cybrarian@nasw.org.