TOP 10 RULES (continued)
SUMMARY: Here’s a screaming recap of the top 10 rules:
1. USE APPROPRIATE PROFESSIONAL LANGUAGE
2. USE PROPER GRAMMAR AND SPELLING
3. BE HONEST AND TRUTHFUL
4. RESPECT COPYRIGHTS
5. USE APPROPRIATE SIGNATURE LINES
6. RESPOND TO SPECIFIC REQUESTS IN A TIMELY FASHION
7. do not type in all caps
8. AVOID FLAMING
9. AVOID MULTIPOSTING, CROSSPOSTING, OFF-TOPIC POSTING, AND HIJACKING A DISCUSSION THREAD
10. DO NOT FORWARD INAPPROPRIATE JOKES, ANY CHAIN LETTERS, ETC.
OTHER RULES: Have you had enough rules yet? No one likes to be Mirandized with all of these rules, but it couldn’t be helped. I needed filler for my blogs.
Guess what? I’m almost done, but you’re just beginning. This generic top 10 for academicians is a starter list. Your institution may have additional guidelines for Intranet and Internet communications. Further, if you teach or are a student in online courses, a separate set of rules may be required for all virtual classroom communication (for examples, Google “Stefany Smith or Sheila Chase, netiquette”). Check out these other rules. At least you have a Netiquette foundation on which to build, unless you skipped some of the blogs.
EPILOGUE: Please consider the importance of these rules and how they can affect what you say online and, especially, HOW you say it. After you write anything, review it and be sensitive to the consequences of its reading before you hit “send” or “post.” Your professional reputation and credibility and career trajectory will depend on it.
As Phil Esterhaus of Hill St. Blues used to say, “Hey, let’s be careful out there!”
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
TOP 10 RULES (continued)
Did you guess the number 10 rule? “No.” That’s okay. I got it wrong too. Well, here is the final DON’T:
10. DO NOT FORWARD INAPPROPRIATE JOKES, ANY CHAIN LETTERS, ETC.: Be very careful of attachments or any other material that are not of the professional kind. If they look suspicious, don’t open them and hit delete. If you know the source and you open the material, inspect it. If it’s off-color, potentially offensive, or inappropriate for professional consumption, delete. Do not forward unprofessional material or spam to colleagues and students.
As a humorist, I often recommend that faculty, staff, and students send each other “appropriate” jokes, cartoons, pics, and video clips for stress relief and possible class or conference presentation use. The operative word here is relief. No it isn’t. It’s appropriate. The humor can serve important functions, but it must be handled by a trained professional; it should not be attempted at home by rank amateurs. Don’t throw the baby …!
Tomorrow, I’ll summarize the list, mention some other rules you may have to honor in your institution, and offer an epilogue. We’re nearing the end. Hang in there.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
WHAT IS OFFENSIVE?
Definition: It seems that we should know what is offensive when we see or hear it. We do, but it’s not that simple. Any medium that offends is based on an individual, subjective interpretation. Consider this definition:
Any word, object, or action that violates a person’s values, moral principles, or norms of behavior is offensive.
The operative word here is VIOLATION. A significant violation is what offends. The determination of that violation is very personal. You can not take a vote in your classroom and determine by a majority what is offensive to your students or not. It’s an individual, reflexive reaction. Ah, the plot thickens. Therein lies the difficulty of determining teaching material that could be offensive.
Examples: An example of violation is sexist jokes. They offend feminists because they stereotype and degrade women. Racist or ethnic humor offends people who are strongly committed to the principles of human dignity. Belching and other bodily sounds in comedies such as Shrek, The Nutty Professor, and Doctor Doolittle 2 offend many adults because such noises violate propriety; other adults and children find such behavior hilarious.
The level of attachment or commitment to principles may determine whether the medium is offensive. A violation of others, such as put-downs, does not produce as strong an attachment as a violation of oneself. Disparaging and vulgar lyrics about women in rap music and videos would constitute a personal violation to women. Lyrics, dialogue, and jokes at the expense of other people are more acceptable to performers than spewing put-downs of themselves. Why? Because they are much more committed to their own dignity and comfort than that of others.
IMPACT ON STUDENTS
When a student is offended by something we say, do, or present, he or she experiences this personal violation. What emotional effects are manifested from this offense? It can produce the following negative effects:
• Withdrawal
• Resentment
• Anger
• Tension
• Anxiety
• Turning off/tuning out
If we are offended by something we see on TV, in the movies, or at a concert and exhibit those reactions, we can turn it off or walk out. Our students have no where to go if they're offended by a YouTube clip we showed in class. They have to come back to class over and over again as they fester anger and resentment toward you. Quite possibly, you have lost those students for the semester and may not even be aware it.
My next blog will examine those responses further and suggest a few guidelines for minimizing the chances of these problems from occurring.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
