Netiquette

Summary

• Be respectful of all contributors
• Delay your response if you feel very strongly about a matter
• Substantiate your comments with objective information, wherever possible
• Don't be self-righteous - have an open mind and try to understand others' points of view
• Don't keep repeating the same point
• Be honest and truthful
• Once a final decision has been made by the committee, accept it and move on

Forum Etiquette

1. Formulate your post in a manner respectful of others Comments should not be personal and people should not be criticized explicitly or implicitly.

   Try hard to understand the opinions of others before reacting to them. If you strongly disagree with something, it is good practice to delay your input for 24 hours, or at least overnight, before responding.

   Don't make comments that could be hurtful - remember that not everyone has a thick skin! And obviously, do not slander or libel anyone! It is a public forum.

   Do not be sarcastic!

   Assume best intentions on the part of all contributors. We're all part of the same association; it is our leisure pursuit. It is reasonable to assume that people are genuine in their opinions. If their opinion is different to yours, it may be that they have some experience that gives them an insight you lack. All the more reason to be respectful, even if you don't understand their point of view.

   Don't give in to the temptation of "point-scoring" - be at pains to be constructive in your comments.

2. Base your comments on objective information and facts As far as possible support your opinion, suggestion or comment with objective information and facts; rather than expressing generalized and unsubstantiated opinions.

3. Avoid a self-righteous tone in your comments Bear in mind that most situations that give rise to a debate are not amenable to a cut and dried answer. This has been a significant issue in some threads - there have been some inputs that appear to believe there is only one possible, right solution. Even though other, very experienced persons have different opinions.

   Consider the possibility that your own opinion might be misplaced! Bear in mind that people with different opinions may well be IMRA members with very substantial experience of the hills/mountains and hill/mountain running.

   Remember that even if your opinion appears to be supported by others contributing to the Forum, this does not mean it is necessarily widely supported by IMRA members. Many members do not read the Forum regularly and even if they do, many choose not to get involved in discussions. The Forum is very democratic in concept but not necessarily in content.

   In an association like IMRA, it is normal for there to be a huge range of opinions - nobody has a monopoly of wisdom. The Committee has to interpret the feelings of the membership more generally; and also use their extensive experience and collective wisdom to take the best decisions possible.

4. Avoid undue repetition of the same argument There have been cases where an individual keeps repeating an argument made previously by himself/herself or others. One sometimes gets the feeling that they expect the argument to prevail by sheer weight of number of repetitions (if you hammer at the door enough times, it will eventually open). I am quite sure that they are well intentioned in their actions, and simply passionate in their opinions; however, this could certainly be interpreted as political behaviour which has no place in the Forum.

   So, make your point and leave the field free for others. Don't expect everyone necessarily to adopt your opinion - there is nothing wrong with diversity of opinion and it is up to the committee to take decisions, not the Forum. Endless repetition just makes it difficult to follow the debate.

5. Be honest and truthful!

   This obviously goes without saying

6. Accept committee decisions with good grace We have elected the committee to run the association and they make a very considerable investment of time and energy in doing this. They deserve our respect and support.

   By all means give plenty of feedback; disagree with decisions, or events, or plans, or policy, or strategy; but don't criticize the people who have formulated these or who have been involved in communicating or implementing them. And once final decisions have been taken there is no benefit in beating a dead horse - if you have heartfelt opinions on some matter and disagree with something that is going on in IMRA, the AGM is the forum to get policy changed, or to be elected to the committee to influence from the inside.

   All comments on the forum should be respectful of the other parties involved, but this is particularly the case for committee members. Other people make a conscious choice to put their heads over the parapet of the forum, but committee members often have no choice but to get involved. Yes, they have allowed their names to go forward for election to the committee, but in reality this just means that they have had their arms twisted and have agreed to take their turn in the hot seat. There is never a queue of people to join the committee - let's not frighten off potential members.