Guidelines for Using the ISI MEMS Electronic Discussion Group

1.0 About the Discussion Group

The Information Sciences Institute (ISI) of the University of Southern
California is the caretaker for an electronic discussion group which serves
members of the MEMS community who have Internet access. The intent of this
service is to foster discussions about topics of interest to MEMS researchers
and developers, and to disseminate important information to this group in a
timely manner.

The principle access medium is electronic mail exchange. Messages sent to the
account "[email protected]" will normally be broadcast to every individual on the
mailing list. This is a powerful means for disseminating information and one,
if abused either intentionally or otherwise, would diminish the value of this
service to the community and potentially embarrass the submitter. Hence, all
submissions are first reviewed by a moderator, a member of the ISI technical
staff.

2.0 The Moderator

The role of the moderator is to review all incoming messages for
appropriateness to the mission of the discussion group and to see that the
information is disseminated in a timely manner. It is our intent that all
incoming mail will be processed within one business day. The task of the
moderator is a delicate one. On the one hand information exchange is to be
encouraged on an as open basis as possible, while on the other hand annoyances
such as the proliferation of trivial exchanges and the broadcasting of
advertisements ("commercials") are to be filtered out on an as just and
unbiased basis as possible. To this end the moderator will follow the short
list of guidelines described in the next section.

In the unlikely event that a message is deemed inappropriate one of many steps
may be taken. In some cases the moderator may communicate directly with the
submitter asking for clarification. In other cases the moderator may suggest
that the message more appropriately belongs in the ISI MEMS Archives. For this
option, the message would be deposited in the Archives and a short summary
message would be distributed to the mailing list announcing the presence of the
new information in the Archives. Announcement messages will typically contain
multiple summaries and will be distributed biweekly or monthly.

The moderator is appointed by the project leader (Peter Will) and is a member
of the ISI technical staff who, in the judgement of the project leader, has
sufficient experience with the MEMS community. If the submitter feels that the
moderator is judging unfairly, appeal may be made directly to the project
leader ("[email protected]") who has final say.

3.0 The Guidelines

 1. Information is to be relevant to the needs and interests of the MEMS
    community.
 2. Announcements from non-profit educational organizations or established
    professional societies are acceptable for archiving and distribution in
    summary form.
 3. Advertisements principally for the benefit (financial or otherwise) of
    private enterprises are prohibited (but may be suitable for the archives).
 4. Messages containing information of a personal or private nature are
    inappropriate (for example, a message containing a private phone number of
    a third party).
 5. Subject threads for which there is indication that the general readership
    has grown weary of will be terminated.
 6. Derogatory or demeaning remarks are expressly prohibited.
 7. No quarreling.

Of course these guidelines are subject to interpretation and undoubtedly there
will be instances which will fall in the gray areas. Rather than try to be
complete our goal is to provide a simple checklist for what we are assuming to
be a responsible readership that will mostly be self-regulating. In no way do
we want any of the guidelines above to be interpreted as infringing upon
anyone's rights to express a difference of opinion.

We welcome your input ("[email protected]") pointing out the gaping holes in
our guidelines, whether you think we are being too regimental, too lax, etc.

- bill athas