[nagdu] Please Read: From the President

[Marion Gwizdala]

Dear All,
    I want to express my sincere appreciation to everyone who is a part of this email list. It is one of the most valuable tools for the membership to keep in touch and to exchange important information. At the same time, if it is to remain so, we need to be respectful of other subscribers. Keep in mind that we have about 250 subscribers on this list and each message you send goes to every one of those 250 people.
    I generally allow those I appoint to do a job the freedom to do so without my interference. After all, I have appointed them to the task because I believe they have the ability to perform it with little or no supervision and it is one less thing for me to do! I am also not one to be heavy-handed; rather, I prefer to work cooperatively through gentle suggestion.
    This being said, Julie Johnson and marsha Drenth are the moderators of this list and I will not usurp their authority to manage it. At the same time, Julie has sent at least two messages urging subscribers to follow a few simple rules. One of the rules is to be respectful of others. Being respectful not only means maintaining a respectful tone, but also being respectful of other subscribers' time by posting only messages that are substantive. Likewise, David Andrews posted a message about the volume of messages on this list which, I believe, was an effort to illustrate the importance of keeping posts substantive. Rather than heeding the suggestions, it was seen as humorous and caused still more unsubstantive messages! This is not a list for us to exchange personal messages with others on the list. If you have something to say to an individual, say it to that individual; not to all 250 subscribers. In other words, take personal exchanges off-list.
    I have had a very busy weekend and have not had much of an opportunity to check my email since Friday. As I write this message, it is 11:21 am. Though I have made a few phone calls - and taken a couple - I have been in my office since 8:00 am and most of the time has been spent wading through and deleting email, the vast majority of which have come from the NAGDU list. This means I have spent more than 3 hours deleting mostly unnecessary mail. If I were not in a leadership role of this organization, I might very well have unsubscribed long ago. 
    It is not my intention to discourage list participation. Quite the opposite, I believe the high number of subscribers is due to the quality of the information gleaned from here. Similarly, in order to maintain the quality of information obtained from this list, we need to reduce the junk mail we are getting in our "In" boxes. Please be respectful of others and cooperate with us. We want this list to be a positive experience for all.
    So, before you send the next message to 250 people, ask yourself if you think most of those 250 people want to read what you are going to send. Again, be respectful of our time. 

fraternally yours,
Marion Gwizdala, President
National Association of Guide Dog Users (NAGDU)
National Federation of the Blind
813-626-2789
President at NAGDU.ORG
HTTP://WWW.NAGDU.ORG