Netiquette
The Conversation Flows When We Choose Civility
The HCCA e-mail discussion group is a powerful tool for sharing information and ideas. We cannot expect to police everyone’s thoughts before they hit send. The following rules are intended to encourage dialogue and to make your emails even more effective.
HCCA expects a high level of civility because everyone is entitled to respect. Civility also encourages expression of valuable minority viewpoints.
We are a non-partisan organization. This listserv is not the place to present personal political views including no election slogans, or to make any negative comment(s) towards anyone. The context of discussions should be in accord with HCCA’s mission, as presented on our website. Remember that the group includes some county and state elected officials, members of the press as well as prospective HCCA members, in addition to actual HCCA members. The subject matter and the way you express your views should always consider the wider audience. Discussions should be constructive and provide additional insights.
Communications must remain flame-free. “Flaming,” for our purposes herein, is defined as a personal attack by a group member of anyone, a public official, HCCA or its Board Members, a Civic group, group member, etc. Criticism and productive discussion are allowed. Insulting language and personal attacks are not allowed. Repetitive comments and criticisms are not allowed.
Those who do not follow these rules may be placed on “moderation,” meaning that all emails posted will be reviewed before being released, or deleted, without warning at any time. Subsequent infractions may lead to suspensions of three months or more, or permanent removal from the listserv without further warning. The HCCA President will instruct the Listserv Coordinator accordingly for suspensions or removals. A majority vote of the HCCA Board is necessary to suspend or remove a listserv member, or reinstate, if requested.
HCCA Entity Complaint Process
The stated purpose of the listserv is to discuss Howard County events and issues. Debating positions either in agreement or opposition to HCCA’s testimonies or published positions is certainly allowed within the Netiquette rules, as always. Send complaints and concerns about HCCA’s internal procedures, rules, coalitions, or policies to info@theHCCA.com. A Board member will respond, in order to facilitate accurate, focused and productive communications. If those issues arise on the listserv, a board member will respond individually, so as not to inundate our Members. Moderator(s) will decide if member communication is warranted. Repetitive posts are not necessary and are against the netiquette rules of repetition and flaming.
Details of Sending E-mails
Brevity is important; you are replying to hundreds of busy readers. Please avoid repetition or insisting on the last word and being a part of spreading rumors that cannot be substantiated.
When starting a discussion, choose a good subject line. Readers may rely on it in deciding whether to open the message. Use the REPLY function to maintain the discussion but if the subject matter changes, create a new subject line.
Be sure to sign your full name. Anonymous posts will have their write privileges revoked.
If your reply is really in response to an individual and is not of interest to the group, send it only to that individual (Note: you have to substitute the individual’s address for the listserv address in the TO line). Personal messages have caused some members to unsubscribe because they see them as a waste of their time.
When replying to a lengthy message, please do not repeat the entire message; quote only that specific part to which you are replying. Solicitations, spam, and chain letters must not be sent. Neither political advertisement nor campaigning of any kind is permitted. Solicitations on behalf of another group are not permitted unless relevant to our mission and approved in advance. Spam consists of irrelevant or inappropriate messages, especially commercial ads. A chain letter is any message that suggests you should forward it.
The posting of canned information is discouraged. Canned information is totally unoriginal information, quoted from another source. Consider furnishing URLs (Internet addresses) of the sources of information instead. Short quotes, if properly attributed, are acceptable.
We permit attachments to emails. Note: — Attachments do not appear on the Digest version. The Digest version is a compilation of the daily Listserv postings. However, try to use text or PDF formats which can be read by everyone. Keep the file size of attachments small. Sometimes we wish we had not hit the SEND key so fast. If you are replying quickly in an impassioned manner, take a deep breath, save the message and send it later after reviewing the wording. The HCCA Listserv is generated by a Google Group tool which HCCA has no control regarding the timing of delivery of your postings.
Reviewed and Board approved March 2022