Elderflower Womenspirit
Discussion Listserv Description

Purpose

The list exists to facilitate the exchange of views and ideas, and to enrich our community with discussion relevant to members of the Elderflower Womenspirit Festival Community. This is discussion list to share ideas and thoughts about our lives and spirituality, and the festival. Off-topic discussions are allowed. Discussions will be not be monitored unless there is complaint registered with the list moderator. Although members may use this list for announcements, please keep in mind that if you are selling products or services that are not relevant to the topic of women's spirituality, we reserve the right to block those posts. This list is by subscription only. It is a subset of the community membership.

Who may join the list

Membership in this discussion list is open to members of the Elderflower Womenspirit Festival Community. Member of the Community means: women and girls who have attended Elderflower Womenspirit Festival at least once previously; including women who are registered for the current year's festival, but may not have attended yet; women who are not registered for the current year's festival, and have decided to extend their membership in the community by donating a nominal membership fee.
Please note: until we get the membership tracking online, let us know if you wish to join, and as long as you have attended the festival in the past, we will allow you to try out the discussion list, even if you haven't attended the Festival for a few years.

Posting Policy

Posts that contain topics relevant to the Elderflower Womenspirit Festival community: news, queries, information, and announcements of rituals, classes etc.. Basically anything of interest to members are appropriate. The list moderator reserves the right and responsibility to declare discussions ended if proper netiquette is not met. Send messages in plain text only as the listserve does not handle rich-text (.rtf) or HTML mail. Images and attachments will be automatically stripped.

After you subscribe

You will be sent a welcome letter. You can follow the link to the list page, log in and change your email settings to receive digests or individual email messages. It is also easy to stop emails when you vacation and turn them back on later. Additionally, from this page you will have an access to an archive of previous messages.

Elderflower Womenspirit Community
Guidelines For A Polite Discourse
• I honor the diversity around me.
• I appreciate the rights of others to be different from me.
• I respect the lifestyles and spiritual choices of others.
• I recognize the beliefs of others are as valid to them as my own beliefs are valid to me.
• In my interactions with others my intention is to empower myself and others.
• I pledge to think about other feelings before I speak.
• I am mindful in speaking my truth.
• When there is a disagreement, I recognize that all involved have the good of the festival at heart.
• If I experience something as offensive, I recognize that the intention may not have been to offend.
• When speaking from my own pain, I pledge to use “I” statements.
• I recognize when someone speaks to me in a way that hurts me, that she may be speaking from her own pain.
• I intend to do my part to maintain the sacred space.
• I acknowledge the importance of everyone’s contribution to the festival.
• I accept responsibility for contributing positively to the festival.

Basic Listserv Netiquette
Here are few generally accepted listserv rules of conduct. This will be handy if you have never posted to a list before.


• After joining, it is OK to "lurk" (not post any messages) for a while. This will help you get a feel for how people behave and the types of messages that are usually posted before jumping in.
   
• After lurking for a while, your first posting can be a short "bio" introducing yourself to the other members of the listserv.
   
• Don't type in ALL CAPS. That means you're SHOUTING.
   
• Always put something on the "Subject" line that is relevant to the post. This helps people decide whether or not to read your posting.
   
• Be sure to identify yourself by name at the end of each message. Not all e-mail readers display the sender's name and address, so it's a common courtesy to include your magical or real name and email address at the bottom of the message. Signatures should be short. As a rule, anything over eight lines is frowned on. It helps other members understand your post and "where you're coming from".
   
• Turn off HTML in your e-mail program. Our list doesn't handle it, so your messages will come through garbled.
   
• If you are replying to a posting always quote or paraphrase the part you are replying to. Try not to copy the whole original message in your reply, even though it is more convenient. Take the time to paraphrase and make a synopsis of the original message. This is especially true if you are receivng the list in digest format. This will save everyone on the list valuable reading time.
   
• Be careful in your use of humor and especially sarcasm in your communication. E-mail is not face to face and your message may be interpreted in a way you may not have attended.
   
• Don't post "Me, too" or "Thank you" messages. Send those privately.
   
• If your message is of interest to only one person, send it privately.
   
• And last, but not least, here's one of the MOST important rules:
  Always save the directions for unsubscribing that you got when you first joined. Don't embarrass yourself by sending "unsubscribe me" messages out to hundreds of members (none of whom can take you off the list).