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Manuals and Guides: Networking

The Electronic Forum Handbook, continued
Study Circles in Cyberspace

Manual Index

Introduction
Organizing an Electronic Discussion Group
Moderator Guidelines for an Electronic Discussion Group
Participant Guidelines for an Electronic Discussion Group
Lessons Learned
Appendices

Contents

Appendices
a. Dialogue versus Debate
b. Netiquette
c. Emoticons
d. Moderator Technology Checklist
e. Ground Rules
f. Evaluating the Experience

Appendix A: A Comparison of Dialogue and Debate

The following comparison of dialogue and debate is reprinted with permission from The Study Circle Handbook: A Manual for Study Circle Discussion Leaders, Organizers and Participants. 1993. A Publication of the Study Circles Resource Center, sponsored by Topsfield Foundation, Inc.

Dialogue is collaborative: two or more sides work together toward common understanding.
Debate is oppositional: two sides oppose each other and attempt to prove each other wrong.

In dialogue, finding common ground is the goal.
In debate, winning is the goal.

In dialogue, one listens to the other side(s) in order to understand, find meaning, and find agreement.
In debate, one listens to the other side in order to find flaws and to counter its arguments.

Dialogue enlarges and possibly changes a participant's point of view.
Debate affirms a participant's own point of view.

Dialogue reveals assumptions for reevaluation.
Debate defends assumptions as truth.

Dialogue causes introspection on one's own position.
Debate causes critique of the other position.

Dialogue opens the possibility of reaching a better solution than any of the original solutions.
Debate defends one's own positions as the best solution and excludes other solutions.

Dialogue creates an open-minded attitude: an openness to being wrong and an openness to change.
Debate creates a closed-minded attitude, a determination to be right.

In dialogue, one submits one's best thinking, knowing that other peoples' reflections will help improve it rather than destroy it.
In debate, one submit's one's best thinking and defends it against challenge to show that it is right.

Dialogue calls for temporarily suspending one's beliefs.
Debate calls for investing wholeheartedly in one's beliefs.

In dialogue, one searches for basic agreements.
In debate, one searches for glaring differences.

In dialogue, one searches for strengths in the other positions.
In debate, one searches for flaws and weaknesses in the other position.

Dialogue involves a real concern for the other person and seeks to not alienate or offend.
Debate involves a countering of the other position without focusing on feelings or relationship and often belittles or deprecates the other person.

Dialogue assumes that many people have pieces of the answer and that together they can put them into a workable solution.
Debate assumes that there is a right answer and that someone has it.

Dialogue remains open-ended.
Debate implies a conclusion.

The Study Circles Resource Center's version of "A Comparison of Dialogue and Debate"was adapted from a paper prepared by Shelley Berman, which was based on discussions of the Dialogue Group of the Boston Chapter of Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR). Other members included Lucile Burt, Dick Mayo-Smith, Lally Stowell, and Gene Thompson. For more information on ESR's programs and resources using dialogue as a tool for dealing with controversial issues, call the national ESR office at (617) 492-1764.

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Like other frontier societies, the Internet is a wild and wooly place where few formal rules or sanctions exist. However, there is a "code of the Net" to which considerate users try to adhere. Knowing and conforming to these guidelines will allow you to take advantage of the Internet in a civilized manner that does not impose on other users. These guidelines are also designed to spare you painful learning experiences which Net neophytes often endure.

Notions of netiquette center around a few simple realizations about the Internet.

Internet Resources are Limited

This idea may seem to conflict with the image of the Internet as a sprawling global network that ties together almost unimaginable amounts of computing power. Keep in mind, however, that use of the Internet is growing at a rate of 15 to 20 percent every month. Bandwidth, the capacity of the network to carry information, is a precious resource that should be used efficiently.

Consequently:

• Keep e-mail messages short and to the point.

• Avoid sending "me, too" messages. A "me, too" quotes a previous message in its entirety and adds a comment such as "Me, too," "I agree," or "Good point" at the bottom. Quoting may add needed background for discussion participants, but don't reply to a posting unless you have something new to contribute.

• Use personal e-mail to follow up on a posting if your questions or comments are not likely to interest the other participants. Remember that your postings end up on computer disks all over the world; disk space, like bandwidth, is a precious commodity.

• When using telenet or ftp, be aware of local system time and try to avoid logging in during work hours. For example, if you connect to a system in California at 6 PM Georgia time, it's still afternoon in Palo Alto, and your connection may slow the system for its regular users.

Electronic Information Can End Up Anywhere

The Internet is not like postal mail; you should not assume that it provides the same degree of privacy. The ease with which e-mail can be forwarded and answered (and stolen) means you should be cautious about what you write.

• Think before you reply! The tendency when we read a message or posting that makes our blood boil is to fire off an angry response. This reaction is so common it has a name: "flaming."

  Though you will often see "flame wars" in mailing lists and news groups, they are considered both rude and asinine—somewhat akin to having a loud private argument in front of a large, bored audience. Take time to reflect before you mail an emotional response. If feelings are particularly hot, wait overnight before you mail—you'll be glad you did.

• Ask the writer's permission before forwarding a personal e-mail message to a mailing list, news group, or third party.

• Don't assume that others will remember to ask your permission! Write nothing in your e-mail that you would not want to see on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper. Be particularly cautious about comments about other people, which may find their way to the persons in question.

• Use privacy tools responsibly. If you need to post a message anonymously, you can do so through special anonymous mail servers. If you need to send a private message that must be secure from other readers, you can encrypt it with a tool such as PCP before mailing. Neither of these options should be used lightly or in any way that might harm other people or computer systems.

In Cyberspace, No One Can See You Smile

Communicating through an all-text medium like e-mail requires special care. Social cues like tone of voice, expression, and body language that help convey meaning in normal conversation are unavailable making it especially important to write clearly and carefully.

• Use a descriptive subject line for your messages. Many programs for reading mail and news display only the subject line of incoming messages, so provide a clear headline to signal what you're going to say. It's nice to use a question mark if you are asking for rather than providing information, e.g.

  Free Internet access in Utah?

• In the bodies of your messages, use normal capitalization and lower-case. TYPING IN ALL CAPS = SHOUTING. You can use _underscore_ or *asterisks* to emphasize words you would normally underline or italicize.

• Signal sarcastic and humorous comments with a "smiley" symbol. Consider the difference between the following:

  Don't you know you're supposed to read the manual?
  Don't you know you are supposed to read the manual? ;)
  

• Use block paragraphs (no indentation on the first line) and separate paragraphs with a blank line.

• If you are following up on an early message or discussion, quote or restate judiciously to establish a context for your reader.

• At the end of your message, include your name and e-mail address. Don't assume that readers will see this information in the header of your message, which may be stripped off by their mail or news software.

• Emoticons (See below) can be used to add nuance and humor to your text expression.

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Appendix C: EMOTICONS

Emoticons can be used on the internet to add a human element to the conversations you have. We offer some starters which are only limited by your imagination.

:-) basic smiley used to suggest a sarcastic or joking statement was just typed

;-) winkey smiley used to make a flirtatious or cynical remark; it serves as sort of a "don't hit me for what I just wrote" smiley

:-( frown conveys user's dislike of last statement or finds it sad, upsetting or discouraging

:-o Wow! smiley conveys surprise or shock

:-Y a quiet aside smiley

:-/ user is skeptical

(-: left handed user's smile

B:-) sunglasses on head; user is laidback!

:-X user's lips are sealed; secret is safe

%-} user has been staring at computer screen too long

:-I Hmmmmmm

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Have a conversation early in your planning with the technical support staff about information management functions that can be added to the set up of the listserv and those that will vary according to participants' computer systems, if different. Depending upon your needs and the electronic mail system in use, various functions can be customized to improve the user friendliness of the listserv. While this section is not intended to be a primer on e-mail, there are some functions that will determine the success of your electronic discussion. Please consider this a check-list which can be adapted to specific systems. You will want to determine how the system can handle various functions and communicate this information to participants. In many cases, the listserv can be set to automatically inform participants about how to use the functions to communicate effectively and manage information. [Please note: If participants are on the same system and share the same technical support staff, the coordination is simplified. However, this is most often not the case.]

Checklist

1. What is the listserv e-mail address?

2. What are the instructions to participants for subscribing to listserv? How will these instructions be distributed?

3. What messages, if any, are automatically sent to subscribers?

4. What messages, if any, related to technical considerations should be sent to participants in addition to those they receive automatically? Who will send the messages and when?

5. What special functions can be arranged?

a. send mail to:

• reply to listserv

• reply to individual

b. digest
c. archive
d. message set-up

• signature

• subject heading

• sender address

e. set mail
f. unsubscribe/delete
g. assistance

• postmaster (e-mail address)

• automatic "help" information

h. others?

5. How do technical support staff want to handle technical questions?

6. What technical support is available for participants?

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Here are a few ground rules for communication during an on-line discussion. They are an abbreviated form of netiquette. These ground rules can provide a general framework for communications.

1. Keep messages short and to the point. (One screen, one message.)

2. Understand key facts about choices, with strengths and weaknesses. Consider consequences of the options within each choice.

3. Be informed.

4. Stick to the question at hand.

5. Listen with respect, and respond with conviction.

6. Avoid flaming (Flaming is reacting impulsively without reflecting on how your message might come across to those who will read it. Think before you send the message to avoid flaming. )

7. Use descriptive subject lines. This alerts readers to the topic in general and your point specifically.

8. Use personal e-mail messages to follow up on a posting if you think it should be addressed to an individual rather than the whole group.

9. Feel free to send the moderator(s) private e-mails if you have have problems or concerns.

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Evaluating electronic forums and study circles can help us improve them while they are being conducted and for the future. Other than our initial forum research there is little more than anecdotal information on the impact of electronic fourm experience. We have only preliminary information on how effective they are and whether or not they contribute to understanding and learning about selected topics and issues. We propose four types of evaluation: formative, intermittent, summative and impact. Also, we acknowledge both on-line and off-line evaluations have merit. Some forums may best be evaluated on-line, others off-line, and still others a mixture of on- and off-line. Formative evaluations could involve a representation of key stakeholders in the forum process - planners, potential participants, researchers, and moderators, for example.

Intermittent or midway evaluations are especially useful. Since for many this may be the first or among the earliest experiences with either the technology or deliberative discussion group processes, intermittent feedback will increase the likelihood of a successful experience. Formative and intermittent evaluations allow for corrective measures and give technicians and moderators a chance to adjust programs toward more effective outcomes in midstream.

Summative evaluations on-line should be implemented, especially if it is likely that contact with participants may dissipate at the end of the time frame for the cyberspace forum. In some situations planners may have ways and means to continue interaction with forum participants, but in other situations, this opportunity may not be the case. As people "unsubscribe" to the listserv, moderators might send a summative evaluation to be completed on-line.

Impact or followup evaluations are highly desirable, since they give planners and evaluators a chance to assess whether the forums have any lasting influence on participants. The rationale for who is involved and the format of all evaluations is similar for traditional and electronic forums. But in the case of electronic forums, the directions for participation in the evaluation, confidentiality and anonymity, and how evaluation findings will be used need to be carefully and coherently delivered on-line before the forum begins.

In sum, once planners determine their capacity to evaluate [money, time, personnel], then they must decide how often they will measure or survey participants, and whether it will work best to do this on or off-line.

You can request specific on-line and off-line evaluation questions from Dr. Margaret Holt on e-mail: mholt@uga.cc.uga.edu or write:

Dr. Margaret Holt
Associate Professor
Adult Education Department
Tucker Hall
University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia, 30602

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Manual Index

Introduction
Organizing an Electronic Discussion Group
Moderator Guidelines for an Electronic Discussion Group
Participant Guidelines for an Electronic Discussion Group
Lessons Learned
Appendices