LCAS Discussion List Serve

LCAS Discussion Discussion Listserve (LCAS) Guidelines for
lcas@webmail.itc.nps.gov


LCAS
Mission
Statement and Listserv Rules


I. LCAS LISTSERV

MISSION



The LCAS listserve is intended primarily to expedite
communication among the partner organizations which form the Learning Center
of the American Southwest on important issues related to administration of the
LCAS.


II. RULES FOR POSTING
TO LCAS LISTSERV


A. Who May Submit
Messages to the Listserv
: Subscription to the LCAS listserve is open to the
public, so appropriate postings from outside members are welcome, but strictly
within these rules. The listserv is primarily a focus forum for issues related
to the Learning Center of the American Southwest. All
members are encouraged to read postings, remembering however that existing
channels of communication are certainly not meant to be replaced by this
listserv.


B. The Prime
Consideration for Those Submitting Messages
: Please do not submit messages
to LCAS listserv unless you are reasonably certain your message is of
sufficient professional concern to a subset of LCAS listserv subscribers--or
that a reply would be of sufficient professional service to yourself--that it
warrants delivery to hundreds of subscribers.


C. Submission
Requirements
: Each submission must contain the following

  1. A
    "Subject" line descriptive of the content of the message.
  2. A
    brief and concise substantive question, comment, or information which
    meets the description of an "Appropriate Submission" as
    described below.
  3. The
    submitter's full name, institutional or professional affiliation, and
    email address at the end of the message.

D. Appropriate
Submissions
: Postings about substantive issues covering the Learning Center of the American Southwest and
which are relevant to at least a subset of the membership are generally
appropriate, except as described below.


E. Inappropriate
Submissions
: The following types of submissions are inappropriate:

  1. Commercial
    advertisements (SPAM's) or any unrequested commercial solicitations. A
    specific solution to a listserv request may be offered directly to the
    requester by a commercial vendor. Endorsements of quality products or
    services may be shared, however, if these are reports of personal
    experiences and discretion is observed.
  2. Topics
    generally irrelevant to the LCAS subject itself, such as budget funding or
    pending contract details before an award, and most matters of politics or
    policy.
  3. Polls
    or surveys. Besides being of little statistical value and often wasting
    time, there are federal restrictions on polling that can be legally
    allowed within the workplace.
  4. Any
    attachments whatsoever.
  5. Replies
    to individuals' requests for information, which are deemed obviously not
    of significant interest to the membership at large and should be sent
    "back-channel."
  6. Personal
    criticism of individuals or even general dissatisfaction with government
    practices, and including substantive contributions which violate
    professional ethics of fairness, impartiality, and integrity.
  7. Private
    or confidential information about others, including residence telephone
    numbers, or personal communications between individuals.
  8. Messages
    whose content might present legal problems for the LCAS listserv or
    subscribers.
  9. Messages
    of inconsequential or non-substantive content, such as merely posting
    "I agree" without contributing substantively to the discussion.
    Such replies should be sent directly to the author of the original message
    "back-channel," if sent at all. Before posting an opinion,
    consider if it contributes new substance to the discussion.
  10. Messages
    devoted solely to humor or light conversation.

Attachments of any kind are not permitted due to the risk of
transmitting computer viruses. The listserv software will automatically reject
attachments, and may reject certain signature files which "look like"
attachments to the software. If, by some chance, an attachment should
accidentally go through, subscribers are advised to open them at their own
risk. To this end the listserv has not been configured to handle attachments
and they may be bounced.


F. Bypassing "No
Attachments" with Long Messages
: The mode of the listserv is one of
concise statement within a forum. Including a large amount of text in a posting
may cause problems for some subscribers with limited email storage. Persons
wishing to share large documents should instead announce that the material can
be directly obtained from the person making the offer, and the file(s) should
then be sent directly to the interested parties' email addresses. Large files
might also be posted on the NPS public ftp site, if considered appropriate
under its management rules. There is a .5MB upper limit on message size, at
that size message will be bounced. Also, if the "To:" line exceeds
1024 characters the message will bounce. In other words do not cc everyone you
know.


G. Replies to Requests
for Consensus
: Requests for consensus differ from polls in that a specific
target group is asked to return an explicit response to a single question. As
this method serves an isolated bit of information for one's own need, responses
should be sent directly to the inquirer, NOT the entire listserv. The inquirer
should state that all responses should be redirected to him or her. When
appropriate, the inquirer can later post a single summary of multiple responses
to the listserv; the title should begin "SUM: the question..."


H. Decorum: Messages
posted to LCAS listserv must be courteous (at least civil) and professional in
tone. Communication via the LCAS listserv cannot provide the same freedom of
expression as would be possible in a private conversation among confidants.


I. Liability:
Neither the National Park Service, nor the administrators of the LCAS
listserv's host site can verify the content of postings for accuracy or be held
accountable for message content. Parties submitting messages to LCAS listserv
bear sole responsibility and liability for the content of their postings.


J. Sanctions:
Egregious disregard of LCAS listserv rules will ultimately result in revocation
of the offender's listserv subscription. Violations of law will be prosecuted
to the fullest extent possible by the appropriate authorities.


III. HOW TO SIGN UP


To subscribe to this list send an email to
majordomo@webmail.itc.nps.gov with the following at the body of the message:
subscribe lcas


IV. QUESTIONS


Please do not hesitate to contact the LCAS Listserv Manager
with any questions or problems you might have:


David Duran
IT Specialist
david_duran@nps.gov



National Park Service
Desert Southwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit
Rocky Mountains Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit
Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit
Sonoran Institute
Montana State University