I have a question about the comments Daphne made about being cautious in one's 
word choice, format, and the use of capital letters and jokes, etc. . . 
It concerns the use of the exclamation mark. I am aware that using all 
caps is regarded as screaming, but I wonder how people perceive the use of exclamation marks- do readers consider the use of exclamation marks as screaming as well. Even as aware as I am of the potential problems that occur with email-- such as the issues you mentioned in your posting-- I often wonder if people's use of the exclamation mark is their substitute for the all caps, thinking that they can still be screaming but not be so rude about it. . . I personally do not take offense to the 
use of them because I am aware of the inadvertent communications that 
often occur in emails, especially when we are talking to people who we do not know. However, the same people who are offended at the use of all caps are probably just as offended when there is an exclamation mark. 
   
  Thanks, 
  Ryan
  

Daphne Greenberg <ALCDGG at langate.gsu.edu> wrote:
  This is a longer than usual post, but I hope that you take the 2-3 minutes to at least skim it!

As many of you know, the National Institute for Literacy has decided to move all of their discussion lists to a fully moderated format. This morning, this has occurred for the Women and Literacy discussion list.
What does this mean?

First of all, I will continue to be the moderator and there will be no significant changes in the way you receive your discussion list mail. In addition, when you want to post something, you can continue to do so by replying to a previous post, or by sending your post to: womenliteracy at dev.nifl.gov 

However, what will change is that I will be reviewing messages posted to the list daily, prior to releasing them to the Listserv. Up until now, all posts went immediately out to the Listserv. These included posts that none of us wanted to receive such as out of office announcements and spam announcements, along with posts that were sent by mistake, such as personal emails sent to the whole group that were really meant for a side conversation with one individual. As a result of the fact that I will be reviewing messages prior to them being posted, there should be a significant decrease in those kinds of postings, in fact, there should not be any! 

Another change will be that there will be a delay from the time you send your posting to the time you see it posted. I check my email multiple times during the business day, so if you send your email during business hours, there should never be more than a few hour delay. I also check my email in the evenings and night, along with weekends, so although there may be longer delays during those time periods, your postings will be posted within a realistic time frame. The only times when there may be more significant delays is when I am away at a conference or full day meeting. During those times, I will be checking email at least once during the business day and then again in the evening. When I am away on vacation, I will find a substitute moderator to handle the email flow.

I urge all of you to continue to post your questions, announcements and thoughts. I love the exchanges that we often have on this Listserv. 

One last thing to share. Those of us who have been on this Listserv for many years, know that prior to 9/11 we had often very controversial discussions on this Listserv. We talked about abortion, gay rights, laws/policies we did not like, etc., etc., Then shortly after 9/11 it was more difficult to talk as freely about these issues. My hope is that we go back to the way "we used to be" and post anything that we feel is relevant to women and literacy, regardless of whether the posting aligns with the views of this or a future administration. With that in mind, I humbly request the following:

1. Please refrain from posting anything that urges people to vote in a certain way or to lobby political figures. As indicated by the National Institute for Literacy:
"Anti-lobbying laws prohibit the use of appropriated funds for lobbying. The National Institute for Literacy's discussion lists are maintained with appropriated funds; therefore, lobbying messages - i.e., those that are intended to influence or cause others to influence a member of Congress to favor or oppose legislation or an appropriation by Congress - will not be posted to the discussions lists nor will lobbying messages that contain direct links to other websites or web pages whose purpose is to influence or cause others to influence a member of Congress to favor or oppose legislation or an appropriation be posted."

However, this does NOT mean that you cannot post information about a new piece of legislation, as long as it applies to women and literacy AND you do not connect it to lobbying efforts.

2. Please keep in mind that members of this Listserv hold different beliefs, values, and judgements. Let us encourage an open space where ALL beliefs, values, and judgements related to women and literacy are encouraged to be expressed. We do not need to agree with fellow posters, but I do hope that we can engage in respectful disagreement where all voices feel welcome.

3. Please relate your posts to women and literacy issues. So for example, if you think that there is an important piece related to abortion that you would like us to know about, that is great-but please make a connection between your statement and women and literacy issues.

4. As always, I encourage you to be careful with your wording and formatting. Remember that email is read out of context. Capital letters often come across as screaming. They are fine, just as long as you really mean to scream! Also, sarcasm and jokes often come across poorly in a medium such as this one, where people who do not know each other are interacting. You may want to think twice before sending a message with sarcasm or a joke.

Please feel free to email me directly if you ever have any questions or concerns at dgreenberg at gsu.edu 
Daphne

Daphne Greenberg
Assistant Professor
Educational Psych. & Special Ed.
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 3979
Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3979
phone: 404-651-0127
fax:404-651-4901
dgreenberg at gsu.edu

Daphne Greenberg
Associate Director
Center for the Study of Adult Literacy
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 3977
Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3977
phone: 404-651-0127
fax:404-651-4901
dgreenberg at gsu.edu
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