Sahana Community Etiquette

Sahana consists of a broad and diverse community from different cultures, professional groups and languages as any open community project. Email however is a very limited medium for conveying your good intentions and tone, thus extra care needs to be taken with email and how you communicate for the healthy functioning of our community. Always remember this project is also ultimately about helping to save lives and reduce suffering through the effective application of ICT during a disaster, thus any form of personal disputes can seem very petty in comparison to what this project is trying to achieve.

However with experience we have learned that there are a few simple rule for newbies to follow when using electronic communication such as email and IRC. Here are some of those simple rules you are encouraged to follow in your interaction with the rest of the community.

Is what I'm writing appropriate for this list?

The reason people have signed up to read this list is because they are interested in goals goals around which it was founded. Sahana has multiple lists for development, users and localization. Please try to target your email to the appropriate list. A guideline of what is appropriate for what list is given here. Please ensure you understand the goals of the project and the appropriate communication for each list.

Does this message have to go to everyone on the list?

People occasionally inadvertently do a “reply all” and end up saying personal/damaging/embarrassing things in messages not intended for mass consumption. Sadly, if you do that, it's your own fault. Please check to see if your message is a personal message.

Is my message as short as it can be while still conveying the point I intended?

Shorter is always better (size does matter). We're all busy people. It's much easier to hold people's attention with 3 paragraphs than over 3 pages. Sending anything that's larger than it needs to be is an imposition on the other readers on the list (not to mention the list server - in this case, I am donating the bandwidth, server hardware, admin, etc. that this list requires, and it costs me real money). If what you're saying requires a comprehensive treatment, it's probably worthwhile to spend a few minutes to provide a brief summary at the start so that the 150+ or so of us subscribers don't have to spend a lot of time deciding whether what you've written really interests us.

Have I removed any unnecessary “quoted text”

Often email clients allow you to quote the text of the message to which you are replying - and over the course of an animated email conversation, that quoted text can become very long. The classic is when you get a message in reply to someone's long, involved treatise which simply says “Ok.” and then proceeds to quote the treatise over again. Waste of space - please trim quotes.

Did I proof read my message?

Email doesn't offer the additional modes of communication of in-person communication. Body language, tone, eye contact, etc. aren't available to help you get your point across. Be precise and concise. You have no idea who is going to read your email - it's not quite the same as personal email. Poor grammar, lack of proper punctuation, bad spelling, incorrect use of simple words like “their and there and they're,” etc. reflect poorly on you as the writer. Moreover, a lack of care is taken by some people to mean that you don't respect them or their time enough to proof read your work.

Did I write in CAPITALS?

If so, in the email world you're shouting. Just keep that in mind. Text is a somewhat limited medium when it comes to being demonstrative. Use it wisely.

Did I include any obscure abbreviations that aren't necessarily common knowledge?

iirc and wrt and rtfm are useful ways to abbreviate *when* we know that the person reading our message knows what they mean. If we don't know that, then we come off looking pretentious and exclusionary which isn't particularly useful, right?

Did I attempt to use sarcasm or sincerity that could be mistaken for sarcasm?

These things don't always come across in text for others as they did for us when we're writing them. Despite their smarminess, I suggest the (sparing) use of “emoticons” or sideways smileys to indicate that you've said something with a smile on your face (or not, as the case might be).

I am now afraid to ask a question because I not sure I will be violating etiquette?

Don't worry. It is a learning experience . You will find the Sahana community is in general very tolerant and will be happy to help you in any way. Please feel free to communicate as much as you would like to!

If and when people do breach the etiquette of this list, I do believe it is our duty to alert them, but to do so with sensitivity which shows that we care enough to include them rather than simply rebuking them. Publically shaming someone is never a good way to influence their behaviour. I suggest the following approach:

1. point out to them that they have acted contrary to the expectations of the list - do so by back channels (back channels are direct communications rather than the list, e.g. phone, instant message, sms message, or direct person-to-person email). It is never appropriate or constructive to admonish someone via the list.
2. explain to them the rationale for your suggestion - always assume that they have the best of intentions, and make sure they know you do too.
3. never attack someone personally - it immediately closes any channels of communication that might have been open, and can make people angry/hurt, which is never a good basis for convincing someone that you have a valuable point of view…

The open source community is rich with constructive energy because most people admire generosity and the energy to include and welcome. Let us demonstrate our worthiness.

• Email Etiquette for NZ Open Source Group
• The tyranny of email