Like most people, I have a job to do that takes 110% of my time, so it
leaves little to devote to mailing list issues. That's my excuse for
being silent up to now....
First I'd like to point out to everybody (all 862 of you) that the
acceptable use policy for JISCmail lists, emailed when you joined, is
available at:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/help/policy/index.htm#about
and a guide to etiquette can be found here:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/help/policy/etiquette.htm
Secondly, I have received two emails of complaint about the content of a
particular thread from earlier in the week and a couple expressing
concern that dis-forum is veering away from being the useful source of
information and discussion that it has always been.
I feel little would be achieved by 'raking over the coals'. However, I
do feel it's appropriate to repost, below, an email sent to another
list, by a colleague, Nicki Martin:
"I am pleased to see this comment about careful use of language in
emails so we don't come across as aggressive. Thanks for this. It is
really easy to fire off a comment, especially if it's something which
evokes strong feelings. We are all really hard working and very keen to
get it right in order to improve things for disabled students, so strong
feelings, frustration, exasperation, radical ideas etc are inevitably
often part of this.
A few seconds to re-read before pressing send to check tone and content
will save us all a lot of hassle and upset in the long run. I also feel
it will stop members from disengaging with the list on occasion because
of its tone. Hope this is helpful. That is my intention."
I'd also like to state that dis-forum is not a virtual staff room. Since
its inception in 1995 it has always been open to anybody with an
interest in disability and Higher Education, regardless of their status.
Staff working in the sector may find the list offered by NADP, to their
members, an additional useful resource.
Those of you using Outlook may like to get to grips with the 'Rules and
Alerts' option on the Tools menu. I use it to divert my list mail to
folders automatically. This means I dip into the dialogues when I have
time but, in the meantime, it doesn't interfere with my day job.
Finally, I'd like to draw a line under the activities of the week and
suggest that, when such strong feelings are evoked on issues, it can
indicate the need for another list or group. Anybody feel like creating
a new list? What should we call it? I'll start off this Friday afternoon
by suggesting dis-tracted! :-)
Paul Dilley
CLASS Manager
University of Westminster
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