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An
Important Message for all Rotarians
1 October 2000
Electronic Communication has proven to be most
useful in Rotary. Email is
fast becoming the preferred form of communication in many clubs and
districts. It is the
preferred form of communication in all Task Force work.
And all of Rotary is beginning to see the potential of Email as a
way to communicate quickly.
But as is often true with new experiences, we have
some excesses, and some misuse of Email.
Some valid criticisms are being expressed, complaining about the
volume of Email and complaining about broadcasting and copying too many
Rotarians on Email. It is
not surprising to be hearing complaints like these at this point in the
development of our use of Email, but it does indicate we need to give
some definition to the use of Email and Electronic Communication in
Rotary.
The following set of
“Guidelines for the use of Electronic Communications in Rotary
International” has been established and approved by the RI Board of
Directors for the use of Email in effective
communications in Rotary.
Tom Todd
Chair, Technology Task Force
Customer Focus Group
Guidelines for the Use of
Electronic Communications (Email)
in Rotary International
Electronic
communication is fast becoming the preferred method of communication in
our Rotary world. These Guidelines
have been developed to promote the efficient and effective use of
electronic communication.
Use and Privacy of Email Addresses
Rotary
Leaders and Rotarians interested in future Leadership positions at any
level of Rotary are strongly encouraged to both have Email addresses and
use the Internet. (See RI
Board recommendation November 1999)
When a Rotarian submits their Email address to the club, district
or Rotary International, the Rotarian thereby acknowledges and agrees
that Rotary may use the Email address for purposes of Rotary
communication at that level. Rotarians who accept leadership positions acknowledge and
accept that their
Email
addresses will be used for Rotary communication as appropriate at all
levels of Rotary International.
No one should freely distribute Email addresses
without the owner's consent. Similarly,
forwarding of Email should not be done without first obtaining
permission of the initiating author.
Group and Broadcast Email:
No Rotarian should be added to an
“e-groups” or other type of bulk mailing list without that
person’s permission; excepting mailing lists specifically established
for RI Directors, Trustees, and Officers (including, but not limited to
District Governors, District Governors Elect, District Governors
Nominee), as well as RI Committee members, RI Task Force Chairmen and
Coordinators, DICOs, CICOs, and Club President.
By virtue of having accepted the duties and responsibilities of
their positions, Rotarians included in the “exception” list shall be
presumed to have given permission to receive Email pertaining to their
positions.
Whenever
possible, one to one Emails are encouraged.
When essential for efficiency, Emailing to a select group of
Rotarians directly involved in a particular task or interested in a
particular subject is acceptable. Copying
Rotarians who may not need to receive the Email is discouraged, to help
minimize the quantity of Email received.
Broadcast Email is discouraged except where
essential for efficiency or effectiveness.
Rotarians are cautioned to avoid frequent use of this method. Broadcast Email should not be used outside your assigned area
of responsibility in another assigned area without first obtaining
permission from the Rotarian responsible.
Broadcasting or copying numbers of other leaders on Emails is
also discouraged.
Email Form:
Subject line identification can be useful and
efficient in identifying Rotary Email.
“Rotary” should be used in the subject line.
All
Rotary Email should contain a signature block that includes the name of
the person sending the Email and the sender’s title or committee
designation (if any).
Replies
should be placed at the top
of a message for easy reference.All policies and procedures contained in
the Rotary International Manual of Procedure pertaining to
circularization shall be applicable to all Email communication.
Brevity:
Brevity in all Emails is encouraged.
Wherever possible, “copy and paste” content into the body of
the Email message, rather than add attachments.
When attachments must be used, employ some file form generally
used by everyone, such as Adobe Acrobat file form or rich text format.
Communication Chains, Database Security and Management
(A) The President, the District Governor, the Club President
The
communication chain between these three offices is considered special
and reserved. In this key
communication chain, organizational structure is to be respected: The President should always copy the District Governor on
communications via Email with the Club Presidents. The Club President should always copy the Governor should
they
communicate
with the President. Others
are not expected to use this communication chain as an Email
communication path.
The
President will communicate via Email with District Governors and Club
Presidents bi-monthly using an Action Team Update. Only under special circumstances, which, in the judgment of
The President, require quick communications, will The President use
broadcast Email to these groups more frequently.
These same general guidelines are commended to the District
Governor in communicating to the District.
For
logistical reasons, The RI President cannot respond to all Email.
Rotarians are encouraged to:
1.First communicate on issues with their
Governor or, if appropriate, Task Force Coordinators.
2.Consider communicating with Secretariat
staff listed in the Rotarian Magazine
The
database of Email addresses for this communication chain is both stored
by and managed by the Secretariat.
Security of this information is important, and requests for
access to this information by others will require the approval of The
President or the General Secretary.
It is envisioned that The President
would give permission for the Webmaster to have access to the
Email addresses of the Governors and Club Presidents to carry out his
instructions on Emails. And it is envisioned that the General Secretary might give
such approval to a staff person for a particular communication purpose.
The Secretariat and/or the Webmaster will execute this
communication.
(B) Other Key Rotary Leaders: Task Force
Appointees, DICO, DTFC, DMDC, CICO
This
communication chain is essential to the successful operation of the Task
Forces and of Rotary Administration.
This database will be stored at the Secretariat and managed by
the Secretariat, but will available to the Chairs of the Task Forces,
and other Key Rotary Leaders as approved by The President or the General
Secretary. At this
time, it is envisioned
that such Email activity will be done outside the Rotary based Email
system
(C) Incoming District Governors, Incoming Club Presidents
This communication chain is essential to
continuity and to the President elect’s planning.
This data base will be stored at the Secretariat and managed by
the Secretariat, but will available to the President elect, and other
Key Rotary Leaders as approved by The President elect or the General
Secretary
(D) Update and distribution of Database:
When approved, MIS will provide updated Email
addresses in electronic format as an Excel spreadsheet, on a routine and
regular basis during the first week of each month.
(E) Additional Key Positions to the www.rotary.org
Registration system
The General Secretary will review and approve
all additions of Key Positions to the Registration system.
Email Guidelines for Rotarians
1.
Email
pertaining to Rotary should contain “Rotary” in the subject line.
2.
All
Rotary Email should contain a signature block that includes the name of
the person sending the Email and the sender’s title or committee
designation (if any).
3.
No
Rotarian should be added to an “e-groups” or other type of bulk
mailing list without that person’s permission; excepting mailing lists
specifically established for RI Directors, Trustees, and Officers
(including, but not limited to District Governors, District Governors
Elect, District Governors Nominee), as well as RI Committee members, RI
Task Force Chairmen and Coordinators, DICOs, CICOs, and Club President.
4.
By
virtue of having accepted the duties and responsibilities of their
positions, Rotarians included in the “exception” list in Guideline
#3 shall be presumed to have given permission to receive Email
pertaining to their positions.
5.
There
should be no presumption of delivery of Email, unless the Email is
acknowledged by the recipient.
6.
E-groups
and other bulk mailing lists shall not be used for expressing political
views or for the distribution of “spam,” such as jokes and the like.
7.
All
policies and procedures contained in the Rotary International Manual of
Procedure pertaining to circularization shall be applicable to all Email
communication.
8.
E-mail
lists shall not be published in any form that is available to the
public. Websites containing
mailing lists or individual e-mail addresses (other than the e-mail
addresses of the webmasters) should be password protected.
Such passwords should not be distributed to non-Rotarians.
9.
All
users of e-mail should be encouraged to maintain an up-to-date version
of virus-checking software on their computers.
10.
Whenever
possible, attachments to e-mails should be avoided. Copy and paste information into the body of the email.
If an attachment is absolutely necessary, the attachment should
be scanned to ensure that it is virus free before it is sent.
11.
Brevity
in email messages is encouraged. No
Forwarding of email without consent.
Copying large numbers of Rotarians is discouraged.
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