[Imc-uk-network] PROPOSAL: netiquette guidelines for our online communications

[JimDog]

Hi all.

Thanks for that. We'll try to discuss it in the next week in t'north.

A proposal that we discussed and got consensus on making to the network at our meeting this weekend i'll forward here now, again to allow prior discussion to take place within the regional collectives in good time.

We would like to propose that one of the two main uk lists ie imc-uk-process or imc-uk-network adopts the same moderation guidelines as the global imc-process list in that all emails sent to it should be on behalf of a collective and not an individual within a collective so as to keep it as a working list where all correspondence has consensus of the groups involved in the discussion.

Thanks

jimdog on behalf of imc northern england.

-original message-
Subject: [Imc-uk-network] PROPOSAL: netiquette guidelines for our online communications
From: Mara <mara at aktivix.org>
Date: 06/04/2010 11:47 am

email sent to: imc-uk-propose, cc: imc-uk-network



Hi everyone,

inspired by our discussions about the network in London, I have been
thinking about the difficulties of organising online. Email lists are
good for a lot of things, but they've never been the ideal medium to
deal with disagreements and conflicts. Email list conversations are
prone to misunderstandings, and discussions get heated easily. Sometimes
things turn bitter for no reason other than that the original tone
doesn't carry, and an email comes across as more
hostile/arrogant/defensive than it was ever intended.

As a positive step towards dealing with this problem, I suggest we adopt
some netiquette guidelines for our online communication. This is not to
become more bureaucratic, and add another layer of criticising people,
but to help us all to create a pleasant working and organising
atmosphere, by reminding ourselves of some of the steps we can take to
make the lists a more welcoming and engaging space.

I have started a list of guidelines at:
https://we.riseup.net/uk-network/netiquette-guidelines

These are just the ones that came to my mind, please edit, amend if you
think something is missing or worded wrongly. However I do think we
should keep things simple and straight forward.


PROPOSAL: Imc UK adopts the netiquette guidelines at the network meeting
on April 17th. This leaves 10 days for discussion and amendments.


Clarifications:

I hope that by the time of the meeting there will be a version that
everyone is happy with. The adoption of the guidelines should be an "aye
or nay" decision, rather than a discussion. This is not to avoid
discussion, but to leave time for the more general discussion about the
network.

I am using the term guidelines, not rules, as they should help us and
act as a reminder, but are not to be enforced by sanctioning people.

To a better future!
cheers,
mara
-- one of imc london



==========
Proposed Netiquette Guidelines
==========

* Respect and appreciate the opinion and arguments of other people.
* Say what you like and agree with as well as what you disagree with.
* Do not use derogatory language, belittle the ideas of others, or
paternalise others.
* Keep it simple: long and complicated arguments can be confusing and
are easy to be misunderstood.
* Keep it short: a lot of people skim long emails rather than reading
them with the proper attention. Also they are a hurdle for people who
have limited online time, and may in effect exclude them from
participating in the discussion.
* Focus on the main arguments, and try to avoid being pulled into
"dissecting" the emails of other people.
* Always consider whether there might be a misunderstanding. If you are
not entirely understand what the other person is trying to say, ask!
* If you feel very passionate and are angry or upset, sleep over your
reply or discuss it with your collective/a friend before sending it.
* Give others the chance to chip in, by holding off responding for a
little while, discussions with only a few people get heated a lot faster.
* It may help to identify which collective the writer is active in,
especially it may be helpful for new people who are not yet familiar
with all the nicks.
* If you refer to outside documents, previous discussion or emails,
provide links for reference
* Try and avoid quoting people out of context (this can be difficult, of
course quoting is important, but it is easy to get sidetracked into the
wording of a sentence instead of focusing on the issue)
* Try not to "put people on the spot" or "call people out". While it is
important to raise concerns, people who feel attacked tend to react
defensive. Try to raise your concerns without cornering the other
people, but rather opening doors.
* Always keep in mind the the aim is not necessarily to get everyone to
agree with you, but to find a solution that everyone is happy with. This
may mean others have to compromise, but it also means that you will have
to compromise.
__
Imc-uk-network mailing list
Imc-uk-network at lists.indymedia.org
http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-uk-network
Also other list of similar interest Indymedia United Kollektives process:
http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-uk-process