Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Use of email

[Laura Fitch (lfitch]

Every now and then our community slips into the trap of intense emails.
 Blame can be read into even the most innocuous emails, and it can be fired
off without thinking about what it is like to be on the receiving end.
Gentle follow up requests to take a discussion off line, or reminders about
how emails can be misinterpretted are usually enough to calm folks down.
 The culture needs to be established and gently reinforced.  Starting with
Face to face discussion about the issue is important.

Laura Fitch
Pioneer Valley Cohousing and Coho/US

On Saturday, February 8, 2014, Malcolm Eva <malcolm [at] malcolmeva.plus.com>
wrote:

>
> Hello all
>
> I'm interested in how US coho groups control use of email as an internal
> communications channel.  Do you find that you need to enforce an email
> etiquette?  Does it sometimes spill over into an emotional blame and shame
> storm, or is it always courteous?  How do you control a situation where
> some people will not use email, while others converse almost always by
> email?
>
> Do group moderators need to be very hands-on, or is that felt to be too
> intrusive and heavy-handed in a community?  We're heading for a single
> issue residents' meeting on this topic soon, and I'd be interested in
> knowing your experiences and solutions first.
>
> Thanks
>
> Malcolm( UK)
>
> Sent from my iPad
> If reply needed, please address to malcolm [at] m-eva.co.uk <javascript:;>
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-- 
Laura Fitch, AIA, LEED-BD+C
Kraus-Fitch Architects
110 Pulpit Hill Rd.
Amherst, MA  01002
lfitch [at] krausfitch.com

Board Member, Cohousing Association of US
www.cohousing.org