Thanks for being part of our Listserv community. To ensure the best possible experience for all Listserv members, we have established some basic guidelines for participation. We will periodically send this document to the section lists as a friendly reminder for experienced users and to assist newer users with listserv operations.

By using the Discussion Forum e-mail list, you agree that you have read and will follow the guidelines set for these peer discussion groups. You also agree to reserve list discussions for topics best suited to the medium. This is a great way to solicit the advice of your peers, benefit from their experience, and participate in an ongoing conversation.

Please take a moment to acquaint yourself with these important guidelines. If you have questions, contact the VCOE helpdesk at helpdesk@vcoe.org, or by telephone at 805-383-1955. To preserve a climate that encourages both civil and fruitful dialogue, the Ventura County Office of Education reserves the right to suspend or terminate membership on all lists for members who violate these terms. If you do not accept these guidelines, please unsubscribe from the list by following the directions at the bottom of the listserv message.

• Do not "flame," challenge, or attack others. The discussions on the lists are meant to stimulate conversation, not to create contention. Flaming includes the making of derogatory comments, ridicule, excessive sarcasm, and innuendo. Let others have their say, just as you have yours.
• Use caution when discussing items. The information posted on the lists is available for all to see, and comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws.
• Do not post commercial messages on any listserv. Contact people directly with product and service information if you believe it would help them.
• All defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive or illegal materials or language are strictly prohibited. Do not post anything in a listserv message that you would not want the world to see or that you would not want anyone to know came from you.
• Please note carefully all items listed in the disclaimer and legal rules below, particularly regarding the copyright ownership of information posted to the list.
• Remember that the VCOE and other e-mail list participants have the right to reproduce postings to this listserv.
• Do not distribute any SPAM, solicitation, jokes, chain letters, petitions for signatures, or letters relating to pyramid schemes, missing persons, or once-in-a-lifetime deals.
• Send your message only to the most appropriate list(s). Do not spam several lists with the same message.
• Do not use the listserv to invite the entire list to join your social network (i.e. Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn.). You may invite individuals to join your network but may not invite the entire list.

• Include a signature tag on all messages. Include your name, affiliation, location, and e-mail address.
• State concisely and clearly the topic of your comments in the subject line. This allows members to respond more appropriately to your posting and makes it easier for members to search the archives by subject.
• Include only the relevant portions of the original message in your reply. Delete any header information and put your response before the original posting.
• Only send a message to the entire list when it contains information that benefits everyone.
• Send messages such as "thanks for the information" or "me, too" to individuals--not to the entire list. Do this by using your e-mail application's forwarding option and typing in or cutting and pasting in the e-mail address of the individual to whom you want to respond.
• Do not send administrative messages, such as "remove me from the list", through the listserv. To unsubscribe from the list, follow the directions at the bottom of the listserv email message.
• Warn other list subscribers of lengthy messages either in the subject line or at the beginning of the message body with a line that says, "Long Message."
• When using an Auto-Reply message for times you are out of the office, please be sure to "Create a Rule" (this is easily done with Microsoft Outlook’s Out of Office Assistant) that would prohibit sending the message to the list.

This list is provided as a service of the Ventura County Office of Education. VCOE accepts no responsibility for the opinions and information posted on this site by others. VCOE disclaims all warranties about information posted on this site, whether posted by VCOE or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall VCOE be liable for any special, indirect, or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data, or profits, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of any information posted on this site.

Do not post any defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal materials. Do not post any information or other material protected by copyright without the permission of the copyright owner. By posting material, the posting party warrants and represents that he or she owns the copyright with respect to such material or has received permission from the copyright owner. In addition, the posting party grants VCOE and users of this list the nonexclusive right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, and use such information or other material.

Messages should not be posted if they encourage or facilitate members to arrive at any agreement that either expressly or impliedly leads to price fixing, a boycott of another's business, or other conduct intended to illegally restrict free trade. Messages that encourage or facilitate an agreement about the following subjects are inappropriate: prices, discounts, or terms or conditions of sale; salaries; profits, profit margins, or cost data; market shares, sales territories, or markets; allocation of customers or territories; or selection, rejection, or termination of customers or suppliers.

By using the VCOE listserv, subscribers agree to indemnify defend and hold harmless the VCOE, its committees, and sections, its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, and agents from and against all losses, claims, demands, causes of action, liabilities, expenses, including reasonable attorney’s fees and costs arising from any claims arising out of or resulting from any breach of these guidelines by the user or any omission or act taken by the user.

VCOE does not actively monitor the site for inappropriate postings. However, in the event that any inappropriate posting is brought to VCOE's attention (by VCOE staff or otherwise), VCOE reserves the right to take all appropriate action in response. VCOE reserves the right to terminate access to any user who does not abide by these guidelines.