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ABNET

Abnet is a forum for people involved in Aboriginal education
in British Columbia


ADD me to the Abnet Listserve: l_educ_abnet-join@lists.gov.bc.ca
  • New members, please introduce yourself to the listserve. After that, post when you have comments relevant to everyone on the list.

REMOVE me from the Abnet Listserve: l_educ_abnet-leave@lists.gov.bc.ca

SEND MESSAGE to the Abnet Listserve: l_educ_abnet@lists.gov.bc.ca

This Listserve is Moderated by the Ministry of Education. To contact the moderator send email to l_educ_abnet-owner@lists.gov.bc.ca

Policy Guidelines for Abnet E-Mail Listserve Users

Policy Objective:

Policy guidelines on the use of Abnet are designed to ensure that the reputation and integrity of Abnet is not jeopardized and that the democratic nature of the listserve is not compromised by inappropriate use.

Abnet Background:

Abnet was initiated by the Ministry of Education to provide a forum for open discussion for individuals and groups involved in Aboriginal education in British Columbia. The listserve has grown to over 200 members who participate regularly in dialogue about educational topics and issues that affect Aboriginal students, schools, educators, other professionals and Aboriginal organizations and communities across the province. Postings are available to anyone who joins the list serve. The comments expressed on Abnet are the views of the individual contributors.

As a communication tool, Abnet is shown to be effective for information-sharing and keeping people connected throughout the province about Aboriginal education. In addition to providing a discussion site on relevant issues and trends in Aboriginal education in British Columbia, the listserve is used to post upcoming events, activities, current literature and information about Aboriginal education here and in other jurisdictions. Abnet is funded, supported and moderated by the Ministry of Education.

Abnet Policy:

  • when participating on Abnet, users are requested to practice good judgment and to exercise courtesy, respect and appropriate communication
  • the use of Abnet must be able to withstand public scrutiny to the extent that all users are accountable to their organizations, communities and to each other
  • when necessary and as the responsible moderator, the Ministry will intervene to remind users of these policy guidelines

Abnet Protocols:

You can subscribe yourself to the list. If you are a new member, please introduce yourself to the list. After that, post when you have comments relevant to everyone on the list. Please keep it brief and on topic.

Members observe courtesies as prevail in a discussion group around a conference table. Discussion topics, or threads, can be started by any member. The initial posting should have the topic listed in the subject line. Postings should be reasonably concise. To take part in a discussion, any member of the list can use the reply function in their e-mail server to respond to the whole listserve. Others will join in and do the same, so the readers can tell quickly if this is a thread in which they have an interest. If the particular thread is not relevant, the reader can delete the e-mail without reading it. Be aware that when you use the reply function all members of Abnet will receive your message. Be sure it is relevant to everyone. Otherwise reply to a specific person only.

An advantage of listserves is their very democratic nature. However, time has shown that some ground rules must be stated from time to time. A few that come to mind are:

  1. As in any roundtable discussion courtesy for differing opinions is expected. A variety of opinions adds greatly to the discussion. The respect shown to others strengthens the value of the listserve.
  2. If you become involved in a two-way discussion that is not directly relevant to the whole list, do not use the reply function. That sends your comments to the whole list. In such cases reply using an individual e-mail address. By clicking on the name in the heading, the address should appear.
  3. All members are encouraged to participate as often as they like. It is important to limit each posting to a single topic so that discussion threads can be followed.
  4. When adding comments to an existing discussion thread, it works well to use the reply function. However, when doing this, please delete most of the post to which you are replying. Leave or copy only enough that the reader can know to what you are referring but will not have to download and re-read a long file.
  5. Stay on the list topic. This list is intended to provide a place for discussions relating to Aboriginal education in British Columbia.
  6. If the list is getting to be too much for you, please don't complain to the list. Simply delete messages without reading them or cancel your subscription for a time. It may also happen that if your e-mail address starts to send back error messages, your address may be deleted from the list. If this happens, please do not take it personally-simply re-subscribe.
  7. If you are enjoying the discussions Abnet provides, invite a friend (s) to join the Abnet listserve
Pictures of the Aboriginal Community