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STEMteachersNYC Google Group Rules, Guidelines, and Etiquette

(revised June, 2020)

By joining and using STEMteachersNYC Google Group, you agree that you have read and will follow the rules, guidelines, and etiquette, as follows:

  1. 1. STEMteachersNYC’s mission is the “cultivation of excellence in STEM teaching and promotion of deep understanding and success for students through innovative, teacher-led professional development.”
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  3. 2. You agree to focus all messages in some way on that mission, that is, on excellence in STEM teaching and learning.
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  5. 3. You can send a message to the entire Group by either addressing the message to [email protected] or by “responding to all” to a message that contains that address in the “To” or “CC” fields. 
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  7. 4. Do not send commercial messages or attempt to sell or market products, including educational products. Discussion of pros and cons of various STEM curricula, including commercial ones, and of STEM educational products is encouraged, but advertising or marketing is not allowed. No messages are permitted which advocate something for which the originator of the message stands to profit or is employed by a firm that stands to make a profit. 
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  9. 5. All defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal messages and/or materials are strictly prohibited.
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  11. 6. Sharing of events and opportunities (workshops sponsored by other organizations, job openings…) related to STEM education is encouraged, with the proviso that you avoid events that conflict directly with our programs, for instance, events that occur on the same date as a scheduled STEMteachersNYC workshop. If you represent an organization that offers workshops or other programs for STEM teachers, please reach out to us directly, NOT to the whole community, for which you will be invoiced. We will send out reminders to share upcoming events and programs with us by the first of the month, and work to share one group thread per month to the community with all shared listings. Fee schedule is below:

Free to $5 programs accrue no fee.
Programs charging $5.01 to $10.00 will be invoiced a $5 fee;
$10.01 to $25.00: will be invoiced a $10 fee;
$25.01 to $50.00: will be invoiced a $30 fee;
$50.01 and up: will be invoiced a $50 fee.

Sign Up for Monthly Partner Org Resource Calendar!
  1. Before sending a message about an outside event, please consult the list of our upcoming workshops published on this website (STEMteachersNYC.org/upcoming). All notifications should be posted infrequently, certainly no more than once per week, and preferably only once.
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  3. 7. Please do not use the Group simply to advertise activities of an outside organization. As a member of the Group, you should be contributing your own individual thoughts, comments, and questions much more often than simply circulating info about what someone else is doing. If you are presenting a talk or conducting a workshop, our members will welcome a personal invitation, but make the audience for your message clear at the beginning, for example, “for all physics teachers.” Please avoid the temptation to “forward” a message to the entire group unless it really is pertinent and valuable.
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  5. 8. We have been able to keep this Google Group easy and free to join, and open to anyone, as a result of Group members’ willingness to be reasonable about what they send out to other members of the list. So the vast majority of messages represent something of real value to most other members. What attracts teachers to join and to stay is the steady stream of interesting messages between members of the Group about their teaching and about STEMteachersNYC workshops. But there is also a constant pressure, from outside individuals and companies, especially those who are making a profit from teachers as consumers. Messages from such outside sources are not allowed, but do get sent out from time to time, and if not controlled, can, over time, overwhelm the vital community that exists due to the authentic messages between members of the Group about their teaching and STEMteachersNYC workshops. So please do not send out such commercial messages, and report any that you see to us at [email protected], so we can follow up with the sender.
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  7. 9. The bottom line is that we ask that you take your membership in our Google Group community seriously as a part of your own professional development, so that in your posts you observe the “Golden Rule of the Internet:” “Post unto others as you would have them post unto you.”

Disclaimer and Legal Rules

  1. 10. This Google Group and its email tools and services is provided as a service of STEMteachersNYC, and STEMteachersNYC accepts no responsibility for the opinions and information posted on this site by others. STEMteachersNYC disclaims all warranties with regard to information posted on this site, whether posted by STEMteachersNYC or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness.
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  3. 11. In no event shall STEMteachersNYC be liable for any special, indirect, or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data, or profits, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of any information posted on this website or in this Google Group. Messages should not be posted if they encourage or facilitate members to arrive at any agreement that either expressly or impliedly leads to price fixing, a boycott of another’s business, or other conduct intended to illegally restrict free trade.

Google Group Etiquette

  1. 12. Include a signature tag on all messages. Include your name, affiliation, location, and e-mail address.
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  3. 13. Address a specific topic; avoid rambling and unfocused messages.
  5. 14. State concisely and clearly the specific topic of your post in the subject line.
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  7. 15. Only send a message to the entire list when it contains information from which everyone can benefit.
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  9. 16. Send messages such as “thanks,” “I agree,” or “me, too” to individuals—not the entire list.
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  11. 17. Do not send admin messages, such as “remove me from the list,” at all, and especially not to the entire Group. This is inconsiderate “spamming,” because you can unsubscribe yourself at any time by simply clicking on the link that is included at the bottom of every message.  

Monitoring and Enforcement 

  1. 18. STEMteachersNYC routinely monitors posts in this Google Group for inappropriate content or language or violations of the rules, guidelines, and etiquette described above. Depending on the severity of the violation, STEMteachersNYC will take all appropriate action, including notification, warning, suspension, and/or termination of access to the Group.
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  3. 19. STEMteachersNYC reserves the right to suspend or terminate access to any user who does not abide by the rules, guidelines, and etiquette laid out above.

Please direct suggestions and questions to [email protected]