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Forum Working Rules
Abstract: The increasing use of e-mail as a collective discussion media is in itself a good thing, but to get the best out of this form of collective undertaking, the following working rules need to be kept in mind.
The basic principle is simple: it is to respect others, in other words, all the other persons involved in the discussion. Practically speaking, there are three questions you need to ask yourself before sending any message:
For WHOM? For WHAT? HOW?
This message will deal with the first two questions, which are linked to the content of the message, and in a separate message, called Formatting Guidelines for Messages, we will deal with the third.
It is best to write your message off-line (non-connected), and never actually send it before having reviewed it in your "out" box. All e-mail software reformats the messages you have just written before sending them. You therefore need to check that what everyone is going to receive is actually what you wish to send them.
For WHOM?
As you know, all e-mail addresses look like this: . The problem is that such an address can be an individual's (e.g. jsmith@mail.com), a single address for an organization, or the address of a forum to which several dozen persons could be subscribed (e.g. forum-e@netgroup.org).
Therefore, check the "To" field of your message carefully, as well as, possibly, the Cc field (courtesy copy).
This is especially necessary when you * reply * to a message. If this latter reached you via a forum, your e-mail software will automatically address your reply to the forum. If it is in fact a personal message to the author of the message received on the forum, you need to * change * the address in the "To" field. This avoids that dozens of people on the forum receive personal messages not meant for them.
The forum WORLD-PARL being moderated (which is not the case for all forums), this type of message will not go directly to the forum, but if you send a personal message, a previous check of the address will avoid your sending it to the forum moderator.
The question is always: " Who is actually going to receive my message"?
For WHAT?
This is about the content of the message.
Messages sent to a forum [(after the moderator's validation in case of a moderated forum), will automatically be distributed to all the subscribers of the forum.] If your message is going to a forum (and is therefore not personal), you still need to wonder if the subject of your messages is relevant to this forum, as all forums are specialized according to a theme and / or a language.
The overall objective of the forum is to establish a dialogue concerning the proposal of a world parliament in a broad sense.
The topics of discussion will therefore be the WP relevancy, its basis, values and principles, its role in relationship to a new global governance, the possible ways to organize its internal and external relationships, its performance in the production and application of international law, as well as the steps to initiate a preparatory process toward a global Constituent Assembly.
How can you best contribute? Share your experience, or anything you could have heard, concerning aspects close to parliamentarism, democracy or global governance.
Share with the forum your experience in your field along the following lines, if possible.
1 - Describe the experience: positive outcome or failure?
2 - Analyze the experience: What lessons could we draw from it?
3 - What could be changed for better results?
* Don't forget that the forum is a place for discussion. * The point is not to send articles, dissertations, previously published documents, etc., but to engage in a "discussion" as you might do around a table. You can, however, offer the forum the possibility of reading a more elaborate document. If you wish to do so, please observe the instructions in the message called Formatting Guidelines for Messages.
HOW?
This concerns the format and the coding of the message, that isthe layout, rich formatting (bold, underline, italics, etc.), inserts (e.g.: images), attached files (e.g.: Word files).
You will find all the indications you need in the message Formatting Guidelines for Messages.
Don't forget to print this message and to read it over again from time to time.
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