Em's Guide to Pagan Netiquette

 

As our yahoo group gets larger, we have more and more people interacting.

This group was created to bring us together as a community, and I want this to be a place everyone can be comfortable, feel welcome and be able to share their fears, wants, desires, thoughts, and questions.

 

At the same time, we do need to figure out how to have a healthy balance of conversations, discussions, etc. As you can see, there are always exceptions to every rule. Think first. Re-read your email before you hit the send button. Remember, over 100 people are going to read what you have written.

 

Also, keep in mind that if you are holding a private ritual, gathering, etc., please do not post it to the group. If everyone is not invited, everyone does not need to know about it.

 

And NO flaming. Outright flaming used to be my only rule. It is still my most important rule.  If anyone feels offended, attacked, or otherwise finds a message or string of messages inappropriate, he or she needs to contact Em: flinthillspagans-owner@yahoogroups.com or any of the Moderators / Council Members to review (consensus) the content and take action. 

 

1.   Please, when possible, crop the original emails as short as you can. If you are responding to a line from the email, crop to that line. Sometimes it is important to keep most of the previous email(s), but you can still crop the junk that Yahoo (and other email providers) throw on the end as advertisements. When in doubt, cut it out.
BUT

Please leave enough of the previous email that you are responding to so that people reading your response will know what you are talking about and to whom.

 

2.   There are some netiquette rules that say “if you are only going to add one line to the conversation, don’t bother”. I disagree.

Yes, sometimes the “Oh yes” and “me too” responses are a waste of email space,

BUT

When someone asks for candles lit and positive energies, you don’t have to write a book to respond to it. Simply share with them that you are thinking of them, that you have lit candles or are sending positive energies. This is important in a pagan community. And these short responses are always welcome, especially to the people making the requests for help and support. That is one of the main reasons this group was created.

 

3.   ALL CAPS ARE CONSIDERED YELLING! Please, do not yell. Use caps to emphasize, but do not write your entire message in all caps. It honestly is really difficult to read.

 

4.   Signature files: Yes, they are great, they are fun. Keep them short and sweet. Try not to use huge pictures that end up larger than the rest of your message.  You don’t need to use your sig file with every single message, yahoo I know, allows you to turn off your sig file (the little check box at the bottom of the message, right above where you hit send). Hotmail, you can delete your sig file before you send it. I don’t know about other email providers, but when responding to a group message, it helps cut down the length, especially for those getting digests.

 

5.   Before you forward anything, check with SNOPES (http://www.snopes.com) to make certain it isn’t falsified. Also, before you forward anything, cut all the extra forward stuff out. If you can, copy and paste the content into a new message. Always, ALWAYS think twice before forwarding on messages.

BUT

Anything pagan related, pagan jokes, pagan stories, thoughts, etc. are welcome!

We also have a forum http://www.flinthillspagans.org/phpBB/ for things that don’t necessarily need to be emailed to everyone.

I’m always open to ideas of things that we can add to our website. If you have a story or recipe or poem or anything that would enhance our site and you would be comfortable having it there, I would be glad to put it on our site with a copyright sign next to your name (either your pagan name or your real name is acceptable).

 

6.   Be sure to change the subject line if the conversations strays from the original topic

 

7.   I've seen it recently, and I don't want to see it any more. Please, Please, respect other's privacy and do NOT post private emails to the group. If you have serious issues you are concerned about, send them to me, Em: flinthillspagans-owner@yahoogroups.com or any of the Moderators / Council Members.

 

First violation will result in a warning.

Second violation will result in being placed on 
moderation for 1 month

Third violation gets you removed.