This document supplements and interprets the "Guidelines for the Re-evaluation Counseling Communities" in the practice of using the electronic mailing lists as a means of communication between Community members.
Adherence to these Guidelines is a prerequisite for access to the electronic mailing lists.
If variation or divergence from these Guidelines seems to become necessary in a particular practical situation, permission for such temporary divergence must be obtained from the International Reference Person.
That access to RC electronic mailing lists be granted only to people who are Community Members in good standing. For this purpose, Community Members in good standing are those Co-Counselors who participate regularly in RC classes and workshops, who make tangible contributions to the RC community, and who are in good contact with RC leadership.
Membership in a list other than the RC List requires that the applicant be leading in the list subject area. Applications for membership on the electronic mailing lists should be endorsed by an official Reference Person (Area, Regional, International Liberation, or International Reference Persons). If the electronic mailing list has been set up for a constituency for which there is an associated International Liberation Reference Person, then that same person must approve the membership.
That these endorsements or recommendations shall be made to the International Reference Person whose validation of the recommendation is necessary to receive access to electronic mailing lists. However, access to local mailing lists require just the recommendation of the Area Reference Person for the applicant.
The best role for subscribers to the electronic mailing lists is that of thoughtful discussion and speculation among people who understand the fundamental role of RCers and the agreements between them. We're trying to find and share the nature of reality and keep it distinct from the pseudo-reality that fills the oppressive society.
Verification of recommendations by the International Reference Person is necessary because of the confusion that still persists at all levels of the organization.
International Liberation Reference Persons generally have good contacts with the members of their constituencies and are expected to take responsibility for the healthy functioning of the electronic mailing list supporting their constituencies.
That membership in the electronic mailing lists for Regional and Liberation Reference Persons be mandatory.
That subscriptions to mailing lists other than those for Regional and Liberation Reference Persons not be done without a prior request from or the approval of the subscriber.
A high level of communication is expected between the International, Regional, and Liberation Reference Persons to support the healthy functioning of a growing international community of RCers. Using the electronic mailing lists significantly increases the effectiveness of and reduces the cost associated with such communication.
Apart from the above mentioned exceptions, unsolicited subscription to electronic mailing lists, however urgent these may feel to the list keeper, can only be considered an imposition and is not respectful of the unsuspecting potential list member.
That people who wish to reprint material from the electronic mailing lists ask and secure permission from the original authors in each case before doing so. This applies also to editors of RC publications.
Postings to a list are meant to encourage thinking and can be communicated to individuals not on the list with the following provisions:
This guideline puts the electronic mailing lists in compliance with existing copyright laws.
This guideline also attempts to protect the privacy of people identified in posted messages.
That the electronic mailing lists be maintained by volunteers (mailing list administrators) who are approved by the Regional Reference Person for the Internet. That persons maintaining Area mailing lists also be approved by the Area Reference Person for the Area.
That persons taking such responsibilities not be paid for their role, but consider such work to be a contribution towards the growth and development of the Community.
That administrators of electronic mailing lists maintained by the International Communities may be reimbursed from the Community Service Fund of Re-evaluation Counseling Community Resources Inc. for incidental costs incurred in the performance of their duties when their request is recommended by the Regional Reference Person for the Internet and approved by the International Reference Person.
That administrators of local mailing lists likewise may be reimbursed from the Area maintenance fund for similar expenses if their request is approved by the Area Rreference Person.
While many maintenance tasks can be done automatically, an electronic mailing list still requires routine clerical tasks to be performed for smooth running. Such tasks include handling certain error messages, solving and dealing with problems with bounced or misdirected mail, and requests for technical information from list members.
The present financial conditions of our Communities make it unrealistic to suggest payment for the work done by mailing list administrators. However, expenses incurred in carrying out these responsibilities may be paid by the Community when possible and reasonable.
The purpose of the lists is for sharing information and encouraging thinking and action. This takes thoughtful effort. An important part of that effort is to keep one's distresses out of the communication as much as possible.
The more expression of distress that is included, the more difficult it is for people to find the thinking contained in the communication.
There is a very important distinction between sharing one's thinking and acting out one's frustration, discouragement, or other distresses on the list. It is important that people continually try to make this distinction. The lists are not to be used as attempted substitutes for sessions.
That quotations be limited to passages from RC literature or, if necessary for context, short passages from messages sent previously to the same list. That quotations from other messages be kept as short as possible to establish context.
That list members are encouraged to post only their own elegant thinking on topics relevant to the subject of the list.
That no list member posts messages for someone else, whether that someone else is a list member or not.
The lists are for the communication of the elegant thinking of the list members. If a broader audience for a list message is deemed useful, that should be handled by the International Reference person.
The list members assume a certain level of privacy when posting a message to the list. Messages from other lists should therefore not be quoted on a given list.
Some list members may have trouble posting messages to a list. In such cases they should contact the Regional Reference Person for the Internet to get the problem resolved or to get the message posted.
That quotations from non-RC literature be short (no more than 250 words). That such messages be relevant to the application of RC theory and practice and to the topic of the list.
That references to a quotation's source (for example a URL) should be included in all cases where non-RC literature is quoted.
The lists are for the promotion of your thinking, in your words, as reached through thoughtful examination and held up to discharge. Use only a short quotation to clarify or serve as a reference for your thinking. You can refer people to the quotation's source if you feel strongly about their reading it. The forwarding of non-RC articles or large portions of such articles is a violation of copy rights of the original author, due to the large membership and publication-like nature of the RC electronic mailing lists. Small quotes are acceptable, although a written permission from the author to post the quote is preferred.
Giving full information about the source of quotes is the standard courtesy shown the original author.
The lists should not be used as a medium to spread chain letters, such as petitions, virus alerts, pyramid schemes, etc. These messages are almost always hoaxes and cause a great amount of wasted time, resources and worries. A large number of these messages are also purposely designed to be restimulating to the person receiving them. Please check with the Regional Reference Person for the Internet if you have any doubts about a particular message or if you need more information about this kind of messages.
That in organized geographical Areas, electronic mailing lists can be set up to supplement Area newsletters for the communication of local and international RC events and other information of interest to the Area Community Members.
That electronic mailing lists not be maintained at the Regional level at this time.
Communications beyond the geographical Area are currently adequately served by the mailing lists maintained by the International Community.
Area level electronic mailing lists provide a convenient means for rapid communication of between Area Community Members.
That all messages sent to local electronic mailing lists first be approved by the Area Reference Person.
That the Internet Reference Person be subscribed to all local electronic mailing lists.
The contents of messages sent to local electronic mailing lists are sent to a potentially large fraction of people in the Area. The Area Reference Person must approve all such communications, regardless of the medium in which they are sent.
The Internet Reference Person can provide guidance and mediation when necessary, and can also archive messages for future RC historians.
That all new list members be given a copy each of these guidelines, the rules of etiquette for list submissions, and a welcome message from the reference person sponsoring the list (IRP for lists maintained by the International Community, ARP for local lists).
To ensure the quality of communications on each list, it is necessary that each list member has read and agreed to follow these guidelines.
That the only program of the Re-evaluation Counseling Communities which is binding on all members be: Through Re-evaluation Counseling to seek recovery of one's occluded intelligence and to assist others to do the same.
That all other activities undertaken by the Community be in support of this program and that no agreement beyond consistency with this program be required of members of the Community.
All use of the electronic mailing lists by the Community must be in support of the One-Point Program. This implies that such lists differ considerably from the usual Internet mailing lists and newsgroups, which allow, and indeed often encourage, messages which are rooted in distress.
The main purposes of the RC electronic mailing lists are to exchange original and clear thinking about: 1) the work we are doing in RC, 2) our application of RC theory and practice to the work we are doing in the wide-world, and 3) current situations in the world.
To unawarely take on the role of Client before any audience which has not agreed to taking on the role of Counselor, in this case the electronic mailing list members, is very much discouraged.
The following are examples of the kind of messages which are in support of the One-Point Program.
The RC Community maintains a number of electronic lists for particular interests and/or constituencies. Messages to such lists should be limited to the particular set of topics for which the list was set up.
That, starting with Re-evaluation Counseling theory, all Co-Counselors are encouraged to illuminate, examine, and arrive at correct, intelligent positions on all issues facing humanity, including the most controversial ones. That this process be helped by special conferences, workshops, and publication of statements. None of the positions so emerging will be binding on members of our Community even if everyone is in complete agreement.
There is generally no restriction on the set of topics that can be discussed on the RC electronic mailing lists. However, some lists have been set up for particular interests or constituencies. Messages to such lists should be limited to the topics for which they were set up.
The nature of electronic mailing lists allows several topics to be discussed simultaneously. (These different topics are sometimes referred to as "threads.") The RC email lists certainly support multiple threads to be discussed simultaneously.
There is no restriction on when and how long any topic can be discussed.
Adherence to the Guidelines is a prerequisite for the participation in the electronic mailing lists.
If variation or divergence from these Guidelines seems to become necessary in a particular practical situation, permission for such temporary divergence must be obtained from the International Reference Person.
As adopted at the November, 1993, World Conference, Aptos, California, USA. In an effort to have a climate in R.C. that does not encourage gossip or attacks and allows for the legitimate correcting of mistakes and the interruption of patterns:
(See "Side by Side," Issue #2, page 3, copyright by Rational Island Publishers.)
In all publications or writing forms sponsored or produced by Re-evaluation Counseling, any writers identifying themselves as Lesbian or Gay must do so with pseudonyms rather than their given names.
Any RC publication or Internet discussion group is covered by this policy.
Since the mail servers accept messages only from known subscribers, writers wishing to use a pseudonym for this or any other reason must do so by sending their message to an address specified by the Internet Regional Reference Person, who will then save the messages, eliminate any mail headers that indicate the original source, and forward the text of the messages to the mailing list.
(The Internet Regional Reference Person may refuse forwarding individual messages if such messages are contrary to the purpose of the list).
The Internet Regional Reference Person is: Allan Hansen at hansen@rc.org.
The International Reference Person is: Tim Jackins at ircc@rc.org.
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