[nagdu] Proposing New List Rules

[Jordan Gallacher]

Peop?e have the right and are entitled to their opinions and they have the right to express their opinions as long as no harm is done

"Marion Gwizdala" <blind411 at verizon.net> wrote:

>dear All,
>The Moderators and I are discussing the possibility of implementing new
>list rules. Lately, the traffic on this list has been quite voluminous
>and those of us with busy lifestyles cannot afford to spend the time
>going through so many posts. Before someone says, "There is always the
>'delete' key!", let me say that, due to my busy work and travel
>schedule, I was not able to check my messages for about a week. On
>Monday, I spent - without exaggeration - 2-1/2 hours going through my
>In Box deleting messages. Frankly, I have better things to do. If I
>were not the President of this organization, I might have unsubscribed
>from the list.
>Before we implement new list rules, I would like to try a less formal,
>common sense approach. First of all, the list is for the *discussion*
>of guide dog related issues. Messages such as "Great post", "Thank you"
>or other single line messages are not discussions. Also, personal
>messages to another subscriber are inappropriate to this list. Even
>messages such as, "Write to me off-list" should not be posted. If you
>want to contact someone off-list, then do so. Please do not post these
>messages to the list for the more than 200 subscribers to read.
>Also, we are all guide dog users here. Though you may be enamored by
>your guide dog, please do not post messages to the list about some
>*amazing* thing your dog just did! Such messages may be the stuff
>sighted people will ooh & aah over but they are not messages meant to
>be a point of discussion. Now, if your dog starts talking to you and
>you are not on LSD or you wake up in the morning and find your dog has
>prepared breakfast, this would really be amazing and we might want to
>know about this! However, if your dog blocks you from a moving vehicle
>or refuses to step over a cliff, that's what a guide dog is trained to
>do! It's not "amazing"!
>As our friendly Moderator, Julie, has frequently urged us, please be
>respectful! Remember, when you send a message to this list, you are
>sending it to more than 200 other people. They have subscribed to this
>list to discuss issues relating to guide dog use. Let's keep on track
>with this purpose.
>Finally, as the adage says, opinions are like - well, you know -
>everyone has one! You can feel free to express your opinions; however,
>if you exercise this privilege on the list - and keep in mind it is a
>privilege, not a right - you must allow others to express theirs. You
>can respectfully disagree but you must do it respectfully. Those who
>have been in the Federation for some time know that we are a very
>opinionated bunch but personal attacks are not tolerated. If you would
>not say something to another face-to-face, do not say it on this public
>forum. Making personal attacks while hiding behind a computer is
>cowardice! 
>I am imploring your cooperation on this issue. I hope we will not find
>it necessary to implement more rules; rather, I trust our subscribers
>will conduct themselves with integrity and decorum. I feel the fewer
>rules we have, the more enjoyable the experience will be. At the same
>time, rules are meant to maintain some semblance of order. If we find
>them necessary, we will do what we need to do! Thank you for your
>cooperation!
>
>Fraternally yours,
>Marion Gwizdala, President
>National Association of Guide Dog Users
>National Federation of the Blind
>813-626-2789
>President at NAGDU.ORG
>HTTP://NAGDU.ORG
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