PCB-Chat List Guidelines

Description:

PCB-Chat is an opinion and conversation forum hosted by the Pennsylvania Council of the Blind. This is where peers share ideas, feedback, experiences, tips, opinions, and the like on issues and topics important to people living with blindness or vision loss. This forum encourages thoughtful discussion and respectful dialogue among peers in the spirit of promoting independence and opportunity for our fellow peers. Additionally, the list provides an online community where peers can network, seek peer support, and mentor new and younger individuals living with vision loss.,

Subscribing & Unsubscribing:

1. To subscribe, send a blank email to: pcb-chat+subscribe@groups.io.
   When you receive a confirmation email from Groups.IO, simply hit reply and send.
   You may also subscribe by emailing the PCB office directly at pcboffice@pcb1.org with your request or by indicating your desire to join the PCB-Chat list when you complete our “Getting to Know You” peer questionnaire. No matter which method you use to join the list, you will need to reply to the confirmation invitation from Groups.io.
2. If, at any point, you wish to stop receiving list posts, send a blank email with a blank subject field to pcb-chat+unsubscribe@groups.io or click on the “Unsubscribe” link located in the footer of every list message.

Sending & Replying:

1. Each list subscriber is welcomed to post respectful, relevant discussion-based content to the PCB-Chat list. Please limit posts to three per day so others can provide input without the list becoming overwhelming.
2. To post a message to the list, address emails to: pcb-chat@groups.io
3. To participate in an existing discussion, select “Reply”. Your response will automatically post to the entire discussion list for further comment.
4. If you want your reply to go only to an individual, and not to the full list, one way to do so is to copy the sender’s email address to your clipboard, hit “Forward” and paste the address into the “To” field. This will retain the original subject line and relevant post. You might also consider creating an entirely new message addressed to the individual with similar wording in the subject field.
5. If you wish to send a message to the list which will also be copied to multiple recipients or lists, be sure to place all additional recipients in the “BCC” field to avoid inadvertently sharing a string of other recipients’ addresses with list members.
6. Do not send messages requesting a read receipt to the List.
7. When starting a new discussion topic/thread, be sure to use clear, concise words to describe the post in the “Subject” field so recipients can decide if the content is of interest to them. It is also helpful to change the subject line of a message to which you are replying if you suspect your reply may generate a new topic of conversation.

Message Content:

1. All messages must contain the poster’s name.
2. The participant’s initial post should include a general introduction, so list members have a familiarity with others in the online community.
3. PCB-Chat is a community discussion forum focused on topics and issues relevant to persons who have been impacted by blindness or vision loss. Appropriate content may include comments about disability issues, questions about vision loss, feedback on products and services, sharing of personal adjustment experiences, requests for and offers of help, calls for legislative or community action, conversation starters, and the like.
4. Content unrelated to blindness, vision loss, or disability is not permitted. If you are unsure of the appropriateness of your information, please send it to leadership@pcb1.org for review before posting.
5. Posts should always include some form of original content. Thus, if you pass along an article, podcast, or other item for consideration, include a personal comment that explains your position and the content’s relevance to people with vision loss. The idea is to begin a discussion thread.
6. When posting external content, be sure to include as much publication information as possible for recipients to get more context, gather additional facts, and develop an informed opinion. For example, the author, the publisher, and the link where the article is posted on the web.
7. Remove extraneous headers such as those appearing when messages are forwarded from a forward.
8. While there is room for disability-related policy discussions, posts focused on political, partisan, or religious ideology are strictly prohibited.
9. Content which is sexually explicit, profane, discriminatory, inflammatory, hateful, or the like is always inappropriate and will not be tolerated.
10. The list is a forum for the respectful exchange of differing views and opinions. While negative critiques are permitted, a spirit of civility is expected. Demonstrations of intolerance, disrespect, or personal attack, either on-list or as a result of views expressed on-list, will be grounds for immediate suspension or expulsion from the list. If you feel you have been the recipient of such disrespectful behavior, forward the offensive email to pcb-leadership@pcb1.org for review.
11. While content may include personal reviews and experiences with certain products, services, books, and the like, overt advertising is not permitted on PCB-Chat.
12. Private conversations, holiday wishes, good will greetings, etc. should be communicated off-list.
13. Please remember that this is a public list which is subject to public scrutiny. We expect that all list members will exercise discretion when posting any information of a personal nature to this list.
14. Content is shared on this list as a free service to the community of Pennsylvanians and others with vision loss. PCB does not endorse any opinions, strategies, products, or services mentioned on the list.
15. If it is believed that a discussion is not relevant to this List or has outlived its usefulness, PCB leadership can call for an end to the discussion thread. List members will have 24 hours to comply with the request.