The Grove Community School

Please note that these are guidelines to help communication on our mailing lists and web sites be as productive, efficient and friendly as possible. Some of the suggestions will really help make the mailing list a truly great resource. This year has seen far too much unnecessary traffic and by following a few of the key points below things can improve significantly. Thanks for taking the time to read this rather lengthy document.

Mailing List Etiquette

The subject of an email is important. Make it short and to the point. Subjects help let people quickly decide if they need to read it now or later or at all. They help with finding the message at a later date in your inbox. For example, a good subject for an upcoming event would be:

brunch at Dufferin Grove on March 21

A mediocre one for the same event might look like this:

brunch in the park

Including the actual location and date makes it far clearer and also provides some good keywords for searching later. Another point about subjects: if you are replying to a message but it no longer has anything to do with the original topic and hence the subject doesn't apply anymore, one convention is to modify it like this:

original subject -> "events meeting overview"

modified subject -> "next events meeting (was events meeting overview)"

Don't RSVP to the list. If someone is organizing an event and expects RSVPs, just send it to the sender. The From: field of the message always contains the email address of the sender. One easy way to make sure you are only replying to the sender is by copying the address from the From: field and then after you click on reply, paste it in the To: field. Make sure you delete the email address of the list from the To: field if you didn't already do that. This doesn't only apply to events. Surveys or issues that only the sender must deal with are other examples.

Generally, simple statements of agreement or disagreement are not appropriate. If someone has posted something that you think is truly amazing please don't reply to the list with "Right on, sista!". This simply increases traffic and doesn't contribute much to the thread. If you really want your sentiment to be heard, send it to the sender only.

Crossposting is also, generally, something you want to avoid. Crossposting is sending a message to multiple lists or a combination of lists and individual addresses. There are several reasons for this. One is that some lists, like ours, are private and we don't necessarily want everyone knowing it exists. It's very easy to end up on personal distribustion lists (read: spam). Now, I could see a good reason for crossposting to *our* other lists but that's a special case. So the rule to remember, send messages addressed to the mailing list address only.

Avoid sending large attachments to the list. If it's big and you want people to read and make edits and re-send to the list then you can imagine how much traffic will be flying back and forth. Documents that need input and edits should be uploaded to the ning or some other document sharing service on the web. Again, there are some exceptions to this rule but if you can avoid sending attachments, that's always best. Also, if you are replying to a message that did have an file attached, make sure that your email program doesn't attach it to your reply. Some programs do that automatically. You need to turn that option off in your email settings.

Always quote some of the original message when replying. If you reply to a message and delete all the text from the previous sender, the context can be lost. Just hit reply, trim and write your reponse above (top-posting) or below (bottom-posting) the other sender(s) message(s). Writing above or below has caused several religious wars on the internet so I'll keep that up you on how you want to do it. In the old days it was always below because it made reading a thread so much easier. You start with the original post and move down to the most recent post. Now, many email programs are a little better at presenting threads logically to the reader so it's not quite as important. Some people prefer interspersed style. To keep discussion friendly, please try interspersion with trimming (see next section for trimming rules). For a simple reply, this is equivalent to bottom-posting. So, remove extraneous material, and place your comments in logical order, *after* the text you are commenting upon.

Do not quote the entire content of the message to which you are replying. Include only as much as is necessary for context. Remember that if someone wants to read the original message, they can; it is easily accessible. A good rule of thumb is, don't include more quoted text than new text. There is always a need for some trimming - either a salutation, a signature, some blank lines or whatever. If you are doing no trimming whatsoever of the quoted text, then you aren't trimming enough.

Avoid HTML message if at all possible. Keep in mind that not everyone uses mail readers that can easily display HTML messages. Consequently, you will reach a larger audience if you post in plain-text. Many people simply ignore HTML messages because it takes a nontrivial amount of effort to read them.

If you expect people might need further explanation or discussion beyond what's already happening via email, put your phone number in the message. It's easier for everyone to find it. It is true that there are other ways to find peoples' phone numbers but I can tell you from personal experience that phone numbers in email messages that come to my cell phone makes it that much easier to make the call the momemnt I'm thinking I need to. Or any other time for that matter. Searching my phone's inbox for a message that I know contains the phone number I need has come in very handy more than once. Sure, I should probably put that number in my addressbook but that's one extra step I regularly choose to forget. ;)

The Code of Conduct for Online Interaction

Be respectful. The Grove community and its members treat one another with respect. Everyone can make a valuable contribution to the Grove. We may not always agree but disagreement is no excuse for poor behaviour and poor manners. We might all experience some frustration now and then but we cannot allow that frustration to turn into a personal attack. It's important to remember that a community where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive one. We expect members of the Grove community to be respectful when dealing with each other as well as with people outside the Grove that we collaborate with.

Be precise. Communication that's transferred from verbal conversations to email messages must be checked for accuracy before sending. Read your messages at least twice before hitting the send button. Rumours, gossip and inuendo are not welcome on any of the Grove's electronic media. If you're quoting or speaking for someone, name names, places and dates pertaining to those conversations. Writing stuff like, "A lot of people really like the Roots and Shoots program.", might be nice to hear but carries no weight without the specifics. Of course, writing, "I think the Roots and Shoots program is amazing!", is perfectly fine.

Be aware of history. It's tempting to revisit controversial decisions you disagree with, but it's rarely productive to do so, since it almost always results in the same heated, lengthy, and time/energy draining discussions leading to the same conclusion that was reached in the last round. Therefore, for issues already raised, discussed, and decided upon, reopen the discussion only if you have significant new information that would reasonably prompt reconsideration of the original decision.

Be concise.