GWSCSW LISTSERV GUIDELINES

1. SUBJECT MATTER:  Postings to this listserv should relate to the GWSCSW's activities or to clinical social work concerns. Most often this will include sharing information about resources, but may also include reference to social issues that affect our practice. Information related to the rental or sale of members' office space or property directly related to social work practice (i.e. books, office furniture) is also appropriate.  Occasional personal announcements by members of interest to others are fine as well (awards, artistic endeavors, etc).   If you have something you would like to post, but are not sure of its appropriateness, please email the moderator privately at joel.kanter@gmail.com

Also, and importantly, the listserv is NOT intended to be a forum for providing clinical supervision.  Ideas and resources shared are not intended to serve as the in-depth conversation that would take place between a clinician and a clinical supervisor.

2. SIGNATURE:  Sign all postings with your FULL name.

3. SUBJECT HEADING:  Make sure your subject heading reflects the content of your posting.  Sometimes new topics evolve in a discussion; change the subject heading to reflect this.  If possible, be specific; instead of "Referral wanted" use "Referral for adolescent girl in Arlington". Informative subject headings help others save time so they can quickly delete emails of no interest to them.

4. REPLY VS. REPLY ALL: Be careful not to respond to the group as a whole when you wish to respond privately.  If someone asks for a referral and you are interested, email privately with your contact information  (same with office space, etc).  A "reply all” is appropriate, for example, if someone asks for a psychiatrist in Bethesda who accepts Medicare, as others may be interested in the same information. These issues are not always black and white, but please consider if a group or private reply is most appropriate.

5. PRIVACY: Please respect your clients' privacy in all postings.  Avoid providing excessive detail that is unnecessary to achieve relevant objectives.  Consider whether the client would be able to identify him or herself if they read your communication.  If you wish to discuss a clinical problem, you might have a trusted colleague post an appropriately disguised vignette; this disguises your identity as well as your clients and, in doing so, further protects client privacy.  (It should be noted here that referral solicitations and other clinical issues are often posted with the client's consent.)

6. QUANTITY OF POSTS:  Be considerate of others in the quantity of emails you post.  We are a large organization and the listserve has over 700 members.  Think twice before posting more than two emails in a day.  If private communications (i.e. a "thank you") will suffice, please communicate privately.  Each member is entitled to post for an upcoming class or workshop [should be only twice per month] .  You may also consolidate postings for multiple classes into that weekly email.  However, if you wish to advertise more often, please place an ad in the society's newsletter, News and Views.  

7. OTHER LISTSERVS:  Do not forward personal communications from other listserv participants without their explicit permission.  If you wish to repost the remarks of others to other lists, please email your colleagues privately and ask their permission to do so.

8.  TONE:  The listserv is intended to be a forum that is welcoming and comfortable for all members.  To that end, we encourage members to take time - especially when responding to a posting about an issue that might bring about strong feelings - to read over what you have written before sending it to be sure that you have expressed yourself in a friendly, non-judgmental, and collegial tone.

LISTSERV DELIVERY SETTINGS: If you wish to change your settings for your listserv delivery, please send an email to admin@gwscsw.org and indicate what setting you prefer:

No email: web-only participation
Abridged Email: one summary email of new activity per day
Digest Email: up to 25 full new messages in a single email
All Email: send each message as it arrives