The E-Mail Discussion Group
Welcome to CYC-Net which is a network for the child and youth care field world-wide.
A message sent to cyc-net@icon.co.za will be reflected in the e-mail of all members of the network – who may take note of the message, respond to it, or simply delete it if it is of no interest to them.
A few guidelines to make CYC-Net helpful and efficient –
Messages
CYC-Net can be used for giving information (of conferences, courses, new
books, etc), for requests for help and information (for literature on a
given subject, for a "what can I do when ..." issue) and for discussion
on any relevant child and youth care issues of the day. Send your
message directly to
cyc-net@icon.co.za.
Subject Headings
For most of us, dealing e-mail becomes a busier part of each day, so we
will help in these ways:
1. CYC-NET mailings are always labelled
[cyc-net] followed by the message header
2. Message headers are always as descriptive as possible, helping you to
choose between selecting and reading items – or deleting if they are of
no interest. Use the message headers the way you would use headlines in
a newspaper. Headers will look like this:
[cyc-net] Drugs and street children
[cyc-net] Info wanted on team building
[cyc-net] UK conference on child care
Length
As a general rule keep messages short and to the point. As the network
expands, a large number of long e-mail messages becomes technically
problematic. But feel free to use your own judgment about this.
Signing messages; threads posted on the
Internet
Please be aware that selected threads are posted on our web site (see
http://www.cyc-net.org/threads/threads-index.html) and may well be
seen by anyone who visits or searches the site. If you wish your query
or reply to be anonymous, please mark your message accordingly, clearly,
and your anonymity will be respected. Otherwise, do put
your name name at the bottom of your message. Members known only as
xyp3@durt.hoff.eu sound very intimidating! Members also appreciate
your putting a city and/or country with your name.
Pairing Off
Use the network as is most useful to you. Two members who share a
particularly small or focused subject area may meet on CYC-Net but then
may prefer to pair off on the basis of their subject – that is, to reply
direct to each other instead of through the network. On the other hand,
don't keep to yourselves a discussion which might be of interest to all.
If you do get involved in a paired discussion and are unsure of its
possible interest to others, you could always post a notice asking if
others want to become part of it.
Direct replies
When a reply or comment is of specific and limited interest to an
enquirer (for example, "How can I cantact John Smith?") it may be sent
directly to the enquirer and not posted to all members,
Moderating
Moderating includes two aspects –
1. When a member is not being helped by the discussion of some problem,
a moderator may step in to offer information, suggest further reading or
recommend a resource.
2. To keep posted material within the basic ethics of our field.
Costs
CYC-Net is a registered Non-Profit Organisation with Income Tax
exemption in South Africa. The site is technically maintained by
Pretext Publishers South Africa.
Membership of CYC-Net is offered free of charge in the interests of
promoting international child and youth care networking. However, the
natural expansion of the network can only be supported by the voluntary
donating of funds and organisations making contributions to the
increasing costs involved.
See this page
for further information.
General
Normal internet etiquette (netiquette) applies. While any relevant and
legitimate information about child and youth care is welcome, no
commercial advertising will be accepted – tell members about an upcoming
conference but don't try to sell them insurance!
Probably the dominant language is going to be English, but as CYC-Net is
a world-wide network, be aware of such things as time zones, spelling
differences, cultural sensitivities, etc.
Any message or query intended for the CYC-Net administrator should be
addressed to cyc-net@icon.co.za
in the usual way but with the subject field as ADMINISTRATOR
Signing On
Either fill in our online form here or
send an e-mail message to
cyc-net@icon.co.za asking to be included.