[nagdu] Proposing New List Rules

[Marion Gwizdala]

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