General Rules and Procedures
Inside the Virtual Community

Objectives of the MISTICA Discussion List
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This mailing list has been created in the context of the MISTICA Project in order to facilitate the exchange among the members of a virtual community of researchers and actors working on the social impact of the ICT (Information and Communication Technologies).

Openness
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The community is open to everyone; however, the list is technically closed, as subscription is not automatic. That means that the participation requires you to complete a questionnaire (on the web or by e-mail sent to [email protected] - see list of Commands). This questionnaire has been designed in order to track the statistical evaluation of the experience. However, the information of this questionnaire will be available in a directory associated with the list, and each member will be able to remove partially or totally any information that was submitted to the Project Coordinators. The Project Coordinators do not divulge this information.

Moderation
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The list [email protected] is moderated. This means that all the messages sent by the members will first arrive to the Moderation Group who will then send them to all the subscribers (with or without editing). This procedure allows avoiding "noise" in the discussion that could be caused in particular by the messages that don't comply with the aims of the list, the messages of commercial nature, or "joke" messages (the email with "Internet virus" or various chains). It also allows to maintain the focus of the list on the given topics, to reduce the size of the messages in order not to overload the members, etc.

This allows combining the freedom of speech with the editorial responsibility, just as they are defined and guaranteed by the laws on the freedom of the press.

With all the messages, the moderation reserves the right of editing (mentioning it clearly when it occurs) if necessary for maintaining the debates inside the given norms. However, the content and the style of the contributions will always be respected. In the case of doubt, the Moderation Group will contact the author before taking a decision on editing.

The list moderators are:
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Luis Germ�n Rodr�guez, [email protected],
Daniel Pimienta, [email protected],
Senaida Jansen, [email protected],
Catherine Dhaussy, [email protected].

Archiving the Discussion List
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All the messages of the list are automatically filed specifically on the web site, in the "memoria" or archives of the project:

This device allows to preserve and to make the contributions accessible. Democratic principles prevent us from altering, modifying or erasing the archives of the contributions. Once a message has been sent to the list and has been processed by the moderators, it will be automatically stored and put on the web without possibility of successive modifications.

Member Responsibilities
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All members of our community commit to:

• Participate with contributions focused on the general topic, always referring to the social impact of the ICT, or to the specific topics that have been established.
• Follow the programmed agenda, which specifies the date for the beginning and for the end. These two dates embrace a six week period, during which at least two reference documents for the discussion should circulate. Of these six weeks, three are dedicated to the discussion on the topics to develop. One can find further details of the calendar on http://funredes.org/mistica/comunidad/metodos/agenda01.html
• Respect and use technical aspects of the communication by means of computer. These are explained in detail in Rules.
• Assume the basic principles of this project, which are: pluralism, respect for the diversity, democratic and respectful management of the differences, in particular of the conflicts
• Not to use the electronic conference for ends differing from its objectives; any distribution of messages of commercial character is strictly forbidden.

Discharge / Modifications
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FUNREDES can in any moment make changes in the facilities of the lists. Also in case of an abusive use of the lists or any other technical reason, FUNREDES can refuse any access to the lists within the funredes.org domain without any notification (temporarily or permanently). Funredes can do this on its own initiative or on the demand of the list administrator. Equally, FUNREDES can close a list. Finally, FUNREDES can use the lists under its domain for its own needs like diffusion of information it considers relevant. This will, however, always be done respecting the established rules.

Appendix 1: Discussion List Commands
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The whole list management is made through electronic messages. Here are some of these messages:

• to subscribe to the list via mail: send the message SUBSCRIBE MISTICA to the [email protected]
• to unsubscribe the list: send the message UNSUBSCRIBE MISTICA to the [email protected]
• to receive this message of information: send the message INFO MISTICA to the [email protected]
• to obtain the list of all the commands: send the message HELP to the [email protected]

The messages to all the members of the list should be sent to the [email protected]

Appendix 2: Advice on Writing for the Proper Use of the Lists
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Electronic mail is a means that is similar both to oral conversation and to the written world. Given this, the exchanges can sometimes be difficult. To facilitate the global understanding and to share ideas that you express efficiently, we are providing some rules. They derive from our experience of electronic forum management:

• Before reacting with an angry answer, think for a second: did you really understand the speaker?
• Avoid irony and jokes - you don't know in which context will speaker receive your message. Avoid personal attacks.
• Avoid too short (a single word messages, for example) or too long messages, as they both disperse the discussion. Moreover, very long messages also require time and attention that few can provide.
• Don't leave the message to which you respond uselessly quoted after your answer: quote only the parts of the messages that you reply directly to.
• Your ideas deserve to be exposed for the benefit of all. Therefore, be concise and direct (go straight to the point).
• When you introduce other people's context, make it explicit: think that your readers cannot have the same references as you.

Appendix 3: Rules for Proper Use of the Lists
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