Writing Program Faculty List: writingfaculty-list@bu.edu

What is this listserv?

• The list is intended to facilitate communication and collegiality among members of the Writing Program faculty. Most of the messages concern professional matters such as questions about teaching. It is also fine to use the list occasionally for purposes that are not strictly professional: to distribute that too-good-to-be-true apartment listing, to announce publications or readings, to celebrate happy occasions such as jobs or births or winning the lottery, etc.
• Although posts may discuss problems and questions about students/teaching, the list is not a forum for faculty to complain or vent about our students. Please consider before posting what comments may be better suited to in-person conversations than a professional, and semi-public, forum such as the listserv.

Who can be a member of this listserv?

• Instructors teaching in the current semester are automatically subscribed to this listserv. A large number of additional people are also members of this list, including graduate students, senior CAS administrative staff (including deans), and other BU staff such as librarians and IT support people. Instructors who are not currently teaching in the Writing Program are welcome to remain on the list and will be left subscribed to it for three years after they have finished teaching in the Writing Program, unless they send a message to wpadmin requesting to be unsubscribed before that point.

Who can post to this listserv?

• Any member of the listserv may post and messages go to all list members (currently over 200 people).

How should you reply to this listserv?

• Please be thoughtful when deciding whether to reply to all or only to the sender (on- or off-list). For example, please refrain from sending very short replies like “Congratulations!” or “Thank you!” to the entire list. Those types of replies should be sent individually to the original poster because they are not relevant to the hundreds of other people on the list.
• All posts and replies to the list should be respectful of other members and posted in the spirit of fair-mindedness. Please bear in mind the following points when drafting your post:

We are a large and diverse program, with many different views and identities represented (there are over 200 current members on the listserv).

Alternative opinions are always welcome.

Bear in mind that tone can be difficult to interpret in email.

We urge everyone to post, read, and reply to the list professionally, graciously, and charitably, avoiding personal attacks, rhetorical dissection of colleagues’ posts, and potentially offensive comments.

If and when misunderstandings occur, it is good form to acknowledge them.