EDUCAUSE Constituent and Discussion Group Program Participation

[Joan Couse <jcouse () EDUCAUSE EDU>]

Dear Colleagues,

I am writing as the staff coordinator of the EDUCAUSE Constituent and
Discussion Group program to address the program and listserv
administrative concerns recently raised with this group. The primary
purpose of the program is to support educational dialogue among
individuals with an interest in the topic as it relates to the
community of information technology professionals in higher education.
Subscription to constituent and discussion groups is open to all and
discussions are monitored closely. Those individuals who choose not to
participate in a collegial spirit, as well as those incidents reported
to EDUCAUSE staff involving those who engage participants offline in
ways that are unacceptable are routinely addressed offline.

The program description and participation guidelines are shared with
each subscriber and are available through the Community section of the
EDUCAUSE Web site (specific URLs are noted below). The guidelines
address vendor participation in general and clearly state that using a
professionally descriptive signature block is highly recommended for
all. Individuals who post to the list whose identity and relationship
to the community are not clear are contacted offline and advised to
employ such professional courtesy in future postings. EDUCAUSE also
maintains the right to block subscribers whose behavior is egregious.

Program Description
<http://www.educause.edu/ProgramDescription/890>
Participation Guidelines
<http://www.educause.edu/ConstituentGroupParticipationGuidlines/892>

The open subscription philosophy behind the constituent and discussion
group program has been considered by EDUCAUSE leadership before, with
these very issues in mind, and has been reaffirmed. In addition, we
review the program each year at the constituent group leaders meeting 
and will again do so this year.

The community as a whole should not be adversely impacted by the ill-
conceived actions of a few. Comments and concerns about program
management and/or appropriate engagement are best directed to me
offline at jcouse () educause edu. (Please note that email addressed to
cg () educause edu is also routed to me.)

REMEMBER: Using the reply function of your e-mail application will send
your message to the entire group. Please take a moment before
responding to ensure that you have addressed your message only to those
you wish to receive it.

Best wishes,
Joan Couse
Member Programs Associate

EDUCAUSE
4772 Walnut Street, Suite 206
Boulder, CO   80301-2538
303/544-5668; fax 303/440-0461
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EDUCAUSE 2005, October 18-21, Orlando
http://www.educause.edu/e05

Transforming Education Through Information Technologies
http://www.educause.edu
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