** 1. FORUM WORKING RULES ** Dear friends, You have expressed your interest in participating in discussions on the European Continental Assembly forum. Following are some elementary rules to make communication between all of us easier. Take the time to read them: you will see, if you apply them, that the "virtual discussions" you are part of will be all the richer. Print this message and keep it handy. Best regards, Forum Co-ordination _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ °°° Abstract: The increasing use of e-mail as a discussion media is in itself a good thing, but then, this means recalling some working rules that we all tend to forget. The basic principle is simple: it is to respect others, in other words, the recipients. Practically speaking, as a mnemonic aid, 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 "Advice," we will answer the third. °°° _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ ---------------- For WHOM? ---------------- The forum being moderated, only the messages for all the participants of your topic will go to the forum. So, check that the messages you send are addressed to all the participants of the forum. In sum, the question before writing and sending a message is always: " Who is actually going to receive my message"? ------------------ For WHAT? ------------------- This is about the content of the message. Messages that are personal must be sent to one or several people; more general messages can be sent to a forum, will automatically distribute it to all subscribers of the forum. How to contribute? Start from your experience. ------------------------------------------------------- A golden rule: start from your experience on the field in order to propose possible actions that are of direct concern to us. Some advice. To formulate an idea on the forum, ask yourself three questions. 1 - Description of an experience: positive outcome or failure? 2 - Analysis of this experience: What lessons should we draw from it? 3 - What action can be taken to change things? * 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 other forum members the possibility of reading a more elaborate document. If you wish to do so, please observe the instructions in the message called "Technical Advice". --------- HOW? --------- This concerns the form and the coding of the message, that is, in practice: - diacritical signs (accents and others) - enrichments (bold, underline, italics, etc.) - inserts (e.g.: images) - enclosures (e.g.: Word files). For this forum, we propose that you lay out your messages in a form that was widely approved by the forum members in the first six months of the forum. You will find all the indications you need in the message "2. Technical advice". Don't forget to print this message and to read it over again from time to time. ------------------------------------------------------ European Continental Assembly FORUM Web site: http: www.echo.org e-mail : fax : 33 (0)1 43 14 75 99 - to unsubscribe, for new subscriptions, or for additional information, send a message to that effect to