Irish Mountain
Running Association

netiquette

AuthorDateMessage
Louis MulleeMar 14 2024, 10:01amhttps://www.imra.ie/netiquette

Hi Everyone, Thought I would share the forum "netiquette" always good to refresh our knowledge of this :) link above

Summary
Be respectful of all contributors
Delay your response if you feel very strongly about a matter
Substantiate your comments with objective information, wherever possible
Don't be self-righteous - have an open mind and try to understand others' points of view
Don't keep repeating the same point
Be honest and truthful
Once a final decision has been made by the committee, accept it and move on


Forum Etiquette

Formulate your post in a manner respectful of others
Comments should not be personal and people should not be criticized explicitly or implicitly.
Try hard to understand the opinions of others before reacting to them. If you strongly disagree with something, it is good practice to delay your input for 24 hours, or at least overnight, before responding.
Don't make comments that could be hurtful - remember that not everyone has a thick skin! And obviously, do not slander or libel anyone! It is a public forum.

Do not be sarcastic!
Assume best intentions on the part of all contributors. We're all part of the same association; it is our leisure pursuit. It is reasonable to assume that people are genuine in their opinions. If their opinion is different to yours, it may be that they have some experience that gives them an insight you lack. All the more reason to be respectful, even if you don't understand their point of view.

Don't give in to the temptation of ‘scoring points' in a debate.


Base your comments on objective information and facts
As far as possible support your opinion, suggestion or comment with objective information and facts; rather than expressing generalized and unsubstantiated opinions.


Avoid a self-righteous tone in your comments
Bear in mind that most situations that give rise to a debate are not amenable to a black and white solution. This has been a significant issue in some threads - there have been some inputs that appear to believe there is only one possible, right solution. Even though other, very experienced persons have different opinions.

Consider the possibility that your own opinion might be misplaced! Bear in mind that people with different opinions may well be IMRA members with very substantial experience of the hills and hill running (mountains and mountain running).
Remember that even if your opinion appears to be supported by others contributing to the Forum, this does not mean it is necessarily widely supported by IMRA members. Many members do not read the Forum regularly and even if they do, many choose not to get involved in discussions. The Forum is very democratic in concept but not necessarily in content.
In an association like IMRA, it is normal for there to be a huge range of opinions - nobody has a monopoly of wisdom. The Committee has to interpret the feelings of the membership more generally; and also use their extensive experience and collective wisdom to take the best decisions possible.


Avoid undue repetition of the same argument
There have been cases where an individual keeps repeating an argument made previously by himself/herself or others. One sometimes gets the feeling that they expect the argument to prevail by sheer weight of number of repetitions (if you hammer at the door enough times, it will eventually open). I am quite sure that they are well intentioned in their actions, and simply passionate in their opinions; however, this could certainly be interpreted as political behaviour which has no place in the Forum.

So, make your point and leave the field free to others. Don't expect others necessarily to adopt your opinion - there is nothing wrong with diversity of opinion and it is up to the committee to take decisions, not the Forum. Endless repetition just makes it difficult to follow the debate.


Be honest and truthful!
This obviously goes without saying


Accept committee decisions with good grace
We have elected the committee to run the association, and they expend very considerable time and energy doing so. They deserve our respect and support.
By all means disagree with decisions, or events, or plans, or policy, or strategy; but don't criticize the people who have formulated these or who have been involved in communicating or implementing them. And once final decisions have been taken there is no benefit in beating a dead horse - if you have heartfelt opinions on some matter and disagree with something that is going on in IMRA, the AGM is the place to get policy changed - put forward a motion or get yourself elected.

All comments on the forum should be respectful of the other parties involved, but this is particularly the case for committee members. Other people make a conscious choice to put their heads over the parapet of the forum, but committee members often have no choice but to get involved. Yes, they have allowed their names to go forward for election to the committee, but in reality this just means that they have had their arms twisted and have agreed to take their turn. There is never a queue of people to join the committee - let's not frighten potential members off.
Maggie LawlerMar 14 2024, 10:54amI suggest renaming the ‘netiquette’ policy to the correct spelling. for people whose first language isn’t English or don’t get the colloquialism.
Eoin KeithMar 14 2024, 11:05amhttps://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/netiquette
Conor O'FarrellMar 14 2024, 11:21amCan we at least get Capital “N” for the forum title? It’s like the dark ages in here! ;-)
Maggie LawlerMar 14 2024, 11:26amExactly
Steven PettigrewMar 14 2024, 6:38pmEtiquette is a french word, Maggie.
Connie DottinoMar 14 2024, 7:11pmI’d keep Netiquette. Curiosity about what it meant brought me here!. Here’s the definition for the non-natives: ‘Netiquette describes the rules of conduct for respectful and appropriate communication on the internet’ What would we do without Google!!