Conference turris::womannotes-v3

		The Equal Rights Amendment
			complete text


Section 1.
Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United
States or by any State on account of sex.

Section 2.
The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the
provisions of this article.

Section 3.
This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

Occasionally, women may wish to start a topic to which only other women reply.
We have a convention of starting two parallel, adjacent strings for such
conversations. The first is labeled FWO (For Women Only), and the other, FGD
(For General Discussion). This convention is a courtesy and is unenforceable. 
    
If you'd like to have an FWO note, please do the following:

    - Put "FWO" in the title of the topic.
    - The very next base topic should be labeled "FGD". It is often a repeat of
      the topic note in the "FWO" string.
    - We request that men refrain from writing in the FWO topic.
    
	Mary Ellen Zurko
    	=wn= comoderator

   Because the policy string was becoming uncomfortably long, we decided
   to condense it, summarising the history of the changes so that we
   don't lose track of how things have evolved...OR the very fact that
   we're still working on who we are as a community and how we want to
   do all this!    
   
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   .1  (23AP86)  At Tom Blinn's suggestion, I made explicit the fact
                 that participation by men is welcomed and encouraged.
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   .2  (25AP86)  The burden of the formal "Press Release":
   
       To all DEC-ies, women AND men: 

       Please feel free to participate in the new, open VAXnotes
       notesfile =WOMANNOTES=, dedicated to discussion of all topics
       of interest to women. 
                             
       Essentially any subject is fair game.  Career, family,
       children, education, health, hopes, poetry, sport, DEC, world
       events,.... 
    
       Whatever. 
    
       Real-world (as opposed to intimate) relations between men and
       women are certainly a potentially legitimate subject: men
       know very little of us as people...and perhaps we are nearly
       as ignorant about them. 
    
       Sexism whether overt or covert is unwelcome.  It's expression
       will be the subject either of gentle correction or scathing
       criticism according to the will of the community in the
       actual event. 
       
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   .3  (06MY86) If we want to preserve our community, we must do
   two things:  contribute to the discussions, and not harrass each
   other by extracting and republishing material in an offensive
   way.
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   .4  (09JL86) Brief introductions solicited from *all* members,
   including read-onlys.  Women in 2.*, men in 7.*
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   .7  (20OC86) Karen Taber ("Bugsy") agreed to help out as co-mod
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   .8  (07NO86) 107.0 becomes the first note to be set hidden because
   of an objection.
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   .11 (28JA87) Anonymous postings via the moderators are explicitly
   encouraged whenever desired. "No one should ever have to refrain from
   starting or participating in discussions because of fear." 
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   .14 (02AP87) Bonnie Reinke agrees to replace Karen, who has taken
   on other responsibilities that keep her too busy, as co-mod.
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   .16 (07AP87) We reserve the right do summarily delete entries
   posted anonymously by someone other than one of the moderators.
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   .20 (07JL87) We clarify that our policy is to only hide or delete
   notes when we're forced to do so.
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   .21 (08JL87) A pointer to 378.0 et seq.
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   .24 (19AU87) We are voted (438.*) the authority to summarily delete
   or otherwise dispose of "trashnotes", defined as "entries that appear
   to be pointlessly provocative, or otherwise devoid of worthy content
   according to the purposes for which this file exists. Notes that are
   merely light-heartedly trivial are specifically *not* considered
   trashnotes within the meaning of this policy.  Since any action is
   necessarily a judgement call on the part of the moderator(s)
   involved, you might wish to save a copy of any marginal submissions
   for later re-posting if needed.  Responses that will be "orphaned" by
   the removal of a trashnote will also be removed." 
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   .25 (20AU87) Keywords are made available and their use encouraged
   where appropriate:
     DEC           HOME            STRAIGHT
     EEO           KIDS            TRADITIONAL
     FAMILY        LESBIAN         WC2
     FEMINISM      NETWORKING      WC4
     FOOD          RELATIONSHIPS   WORK
     FUN           SO
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   .28 (04OC87)  In response to objections from members of the
   community (mostly men), we delete the original 1.28 (a clip of
   another note, written by Lee Tatistcheff).
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   .29 (09OC87)  A current-directory string (500.*) is finally established.
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   .34 (27OC87)  Some housekeeping requests:
       
    -- If the link to the file hangs, please control-Y out, not control-C.
    -- Please don't leave a connection to the file unless you are actively
       reading it.
    -- Please defer exciting things (like major extracts) til off-hours.
    -- Please don't run multiple simultaneous connects unless you really
       need to.
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   .38 (16DE87)  We plead for fewer tangents and (again) for fewer
   duplicate topics (check the directory:  your topic may have been
   discussed last year and all it needs is revival)
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   .39 (01JA88)  Liz Augustine and Holly Hendricks join us as co-mods.
   New blood!  (and zero sense of self-preservation)
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   V2
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
    .3 (02JUN88)  We restate the purpose of the file more clearly.
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
    .6 (07JUN88)  We institute an FWO/FGD policy after a 3-month trial
    and formal vote.
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
    .7 (18JUL88)  Holly retires as a mod
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
    .8 (08AUG88)  We're notified of a forthcoming change to P&P making
    our FWO/FGD enforcement a violation of policy (though it was not at
    the time we instituted it)
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
    .11 (20SEP88)  Jody Bobbitt, Ann Marie Lupacchino, and Mary Ellen 
    Zurko join us as co-mods.
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
    .17 (01MAR89)  Liz retires as a mod.
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
    .18 (26JUL89)  We clarify rules for posting from generic accounts.
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
    .20 (18OCT89)  SRO/FGD notes are instituted.
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
    .22 (20NOV89)  We point out that this is not a "vigorous discussion" 
    file.
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
    .32 (17APR90)  Justine Sullivan will join us as a co-mod when V3 
    opens tomorrow.
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
    V3 opens 18th April 1990...our fourth anniversary.
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
    
                   

    This file is meant to serve as a forum for the discussion of topics
    that are interesting or important to women.  Essentially any topic is
    fair game:  art, children, cookery, crafts, family, history, home,
    humor, life, politics, religion, sport, spouses, work, the world...
    anything at all.  If women want to talk about it, it is ipso facto a
    "Topic of Interest to Women".
   
    In this file, the views of *all* DEC women --all skin colors, ages,
    nationalities, jobs, sexual orientations, native languages, and degrees
    of feminist/traditionalist consciousness --are sought for and welcomed.
    We particularly wish to encourage participation by women whose views,
    orientation or status tends to place them in a minority within our
    community.  This is our place to talk with and learn from one another.  
   
    While we also generally encourage and support participation by men in
    this space, this file does not exist to meet men's needs for education
    or sport.  Whenever it seems clear to us that the needs of women and
    the needs of men are in conflict --and ONLY in that limited case-- the
    needs of women will take precedence and we will take whatever action
    seems appropriate to meet those needs. 
                                                                
    If moderator assistance is needed in order for your views to be heard,
    your legitimate needs to be met, or your activity to go forward without
    hassle, please let us know by email.  We promise early, vigorous, and
    impartial action.  If you feel that you have been the target of
    harassment or attempted intimidation because of something you have
    communicated in this notesfile, we strongly urge you to keep full
    records of the experience(s) (dates, times, copies of mail,
    transcriptions of telephone contacts) and make copies of them available
    upon request.
    

    Whether this file succeeds or fails is up to the members of the
    community, not the moderators.  We will do our best to manage the file
    on an ad hoc basis, but formal policy decisions are made by the members
    of the community through the balloting process described elsewhere in
    this string.
    

    Policies for administering WomanNotes can be established in either of
    two different ways:
    
    The moderators may create policies via an informal process whenever we
    think we see the need, and these ad hoc policies will remain in effect
    for an indefinite period thereafter.

    Any member of this community acting in good faith may also propose
    changes to file management policy, including rescinding those policies
    established administratively by the mods.  The moderators will enforce
    any such change if it is ratified by a formal vote of the community and
    does not violate law or corporate policy.
    
    If you wish to propose such a change, draft the proposal such that it
    is clearly understandable and enforceable as written.  If you need
    advice or help with writing the proposal, please send mail to the
    moderators.
    
    When the proposal has been written to your satisfaction, post it as a
    basenote.  This will start a 7-day discussion period (which may be
    waived by the mods if timing is critical) during which time any members
    wishing to register to vote may do so by introducing themselves in one
    of the three "Intros" strings.  When the discussion period is up, the
    intro strings are locked and the 7-day voting period begins.
    
    Votes are cast by writing a response in the proposal string.  The body
    of the response may be blank or contain further discussion or argument
    pro or con, but to be counted as a valid vote, the title of the note
    must take this form:  the vote (yes/no/abstain), open parens, your
    registration number, close parens.  E.g., "yes (2.1)", "abstain (3.0)",
    etc.  (The votes are tallied by a procedure file.)
    
    Votes may be freely changed during the balloting period by writing a
    new note and blanking the title of your old note:  MOD NOT .n/TIT=""
    
    At the close of the balloting period, the voting string is locked, the
    intro strings are unlocked again, and the votes are counted.  The
    proposal will always FAIL unless ratified by 67% (.5 rounds up) of
    those casting "yes" or "no" votes.  Although "abstain" votes may also
    be cast, only "yes" and "no" votes will be counted in the total, since
    otherwise an "abstain" takes on the value of a "no" without the
    clarity.
    
    Normally, votes by women and men are counted together without regard to
    sex membership.  If it should ever happen, however, that women and men
    clearly line up on opposite sides of an issue, the mods may elect to be
    guided by the women's vote regardless of the absolute numbers involved.

    
           <<< RANGER::$2$DUA8:[NOTES$LIBRARY]WOMANNOTES-V2.NOTE;1 >>>
                        -< Topics of Interest to Women >-
================================================================================
Note 1.27                           Welcome!                            27 of 32
RANGER::TARBET "Set ******* hidden"                  31 lines  21-MAR-1990 13:05
                  -< What "Valuing Differences" REALLY Means >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    
    Every time I have to read or write this clarification, I wish Barbara
    Walker had chosen a less foggy term than "Valuing Differences".
    
    To "value" differences doesn't mean to *approve* of them, it means to
    *evaluate* them.  
    
    Some are an asset in terms of the momentary context, some a liability;
    most are a mixture...and a very large percentage are simply
    *irrelevant* (eg, hair color), though we may judge them "bad" or "good"
    out of our own fears, desires, childhood training, or whatever.  Most
    traits that aren't irrelevant (eg, sex membership) vary from "asset" to
    "liability" and back as the context changes.
    
    So let's take sex membership as an example:  being a female may or may
    not be an asset if a baby must be breast-fed but being a male is
    certainly a liability; being male or female is probably irrelevant if
    there's an engineering task to be done; being female is probably a
    liability if raw physical strength is needed; being female or male is
    probably irrelevant if artistic ability is needed;....  Fill in some
    blanks yourself.
    
    Similarly race membership, sexual orientation, national identity,
    musical ability, skin color, psychological tenacity....   All of
    varying "value" depending on context in the moment.
    
    The only people who fail to "value differences" are those who fail to
    think hard and continuously about them.  
    
    						=maggie

    Any member of the community may post a note anonymously on any topic
    via the moderators.  No permission need be asked, no reason need be
    given, nor is there a limit on the number of notes that will be posted
    for a member.
    
    To have a note posted anonymously, write your note and send it to one
    or more of the mods, telling us what string to post it to if it's not a
    basenote, and what if any title you want it to have.  It will be posted
    at the earliest possible opportunity.
    
    The identity of an anon author is never divulged to a non-moderator,
    and typically is not divulged even to the other mods.
                 

    Because of the high cost to DEC of defending against lawsuits, even
    when we win easily, please do not make negative comments about third-
    party businesses or professional practitioners such as doctors or
    lawyers.  If you have had a negative experience, please say only that
    you have dealt with the firm/professional in question and are willing
    to talk about your experience on the phone or by mail.

    It has once again been brought to my attention that people who
    have written to this file have received mail in response to their
    notes that they regarded as harassing. This information seldom
    comes to any of the moderators directly, but rather second or
    third hand, so that we are unable to do anything about the
    situaton. We would appreciate it if people receiving such mail
    let us know about it. Also we would request that when you send
    mail, especially on issues that you care very strongly about, that
    you be careful not to do so in a fashion that could be interpreted
    as harassing or bullying other noters.

    Thankyou
    
    Bonnie J Reinke
    comoderator

    
    From time to time authors post basenotes or responses from "generic"
    accounts that are used by more than one person.  Such accounts can
    range from "duty" accounts, such as for operators or security
    personnel, to "transient" accounts such as those given to people who
    are away from their home system for training or other temporary
    purposes.
    
    The problem arises when people use such accounts without further
    identifying themselves in the body of their notes.  Without such
    personal identification, determining the name of the author can be a
    time-consuming activity if it should become necessary for some reason.
    
    Because of this lack of accountability, postings from generic accounts
    are not allowed in this file unless the appropriate condition has been
    met:
    
    1) duty accounts: the author has introduced her/himself in 2.* or 3.*
    and signs her/his notes.
    
    2) transient accounts:  each note includes the name and usual email
    address (node::account) of the author.
    
    
    This is in no way meant to discourage members of our community from
    posting anonymously via one of the moderators.  In those cases, there
    is no violation of systems security because a responsible party --the
    moderator-- does know the identity of the otherwise-anonymous author.

    						=maggie

    If you are new to the file, or have just returned after an absence,
    please check 17.* for news of hot topics that you might want to read
    now rather than later

    1.0  Original "Welcome!" Note
    1.1  Directory of 1.*
    1.2  Purpose
    1.3  Full Text Of The ERA
    1.4  Policy History
    1.5  What is "Valuing Differences"
    1.6  Changing Policy by Vote
    1.7  Noting Style Policy
    1.8  Anon Notes Policy
    1.9  Generic Accounts Policy
    1.10 Trashnote Policy
    1.11 "For Women Only" (FWO/FGD) Policy
    1.12 "Sensitive Responses Only" (SRO/FGD) Policy
    1.13 Negative Comments About Businesses
    1.14 Harassing Mail

    On the 19th of August 1987 in Volume 1 of womannotes the moderators 
    were empowered by a vote of the community to exclude "trashnotes" 
    from the file by summarily purging them whenever found, without notice 
    to the author.  
                               
    For the purpose of this policy, "trashnotes" are defined as notes that
    appear to be pointlessly provocative, or otherwise devoid of worthy
    content.  Notes that are merely light-heartedly trivial, entered by
    people of good repute, are specifically *not* considered trashnotes for
    the purpose of this policy.

   Since any action is necessarily a judgement call on the part of the 
   moderator(s) involved, you might wish to save a copy of any marginal 
   submissions for later re-posting if needed.  Responses that will be 
   "orphaned" by the removal of a trashnote will also be removed." 
    

    
    WomanNotes is not a "vigorous discussion" notefile.  

    While we positively encourage discussion of all "Topics of Interest to
    Women" by all members of our community, certain noting styles are not
    acceptable here regardless of the volatility of the topic, the strength
    of the author's feelings, or the acceptability of the style elsewhere.

    Form isn't everything, but it is important.  We expect that all members
    will adhere closely to the guidelines below, and that deviations will
    be infrequent enough to be obvious lapses:

    
    0) Once a topic is started, it belongs to the community and may not be
    writelocked except by a moderator.

    1) Avoid abrupt language to other individuals.  This is a place of
    sharing between friends and peers, not of discipline or instruction;
    temper your language accordingly.  "Own" what you say:  "I think...",
    "I don't believe...", "I can't see how...", "It seems to me that...".
    
    2) If a note sounds offensive, give the benefit of the doubt; think the
    best rather than the worst.  The other person may be having a bad day;
    *you* may be having a bad day; their native language might not be
    english; maybe they just misunderstood; maybe they're afraid.  Ask.

    3) Don't make insulting comments about other people in our community. 
    Personal shots are discourteous, unbecoming, and they violate both
    corporate policy and ours.  
    
    4) Don't make insulting comments about minority ethnic groups, even in
    jest or irony.  You know you don't mean anything by it, but do the
    members of that group know what you mean if they don't know you?

    5) Don't use "four-letter" words without softening them with "*"s. 

    6) Consider that you may be wrong:  nobody has a hammerlock on Eternal
    Truth.  Have some humility, *especially* if you don't think you need
    to!  
    
    7) Write from your heart, not your head:  we're not playing some game
    for points here; if that's what you really want to do, there are better
    places to do it.
    
    
    Where necessary, we will take action to restrict the use of harsh,
    confrontative, or manipulative styles that violate these guidelines.

    In response to a need for a more sensitive way to discuss certain
    topics, and after watching several times how a basenote dealing with
    some painful and sensitive issues will still get replies that include
    censure, moral judgement, and insensitive discussion, the co-moderators 
    have created the SRO/FGD dual-basenote concept.
    
    Like the FWO/FGD system (see 1.* for details), these topics will have
    two parallel, adjacent strings, the first labeled SRO (Supportive
    Responses Only) and the other FGD (For General Discussion).  SRO/FGD
    notes may be started by either women or men. 

    "Sensitive" responses, in this instance, will show respect for the
    intelligence and motivation of the basenote author, use non-judgemental
    and non-insulting language, and will be aimed at helping the basenote
    author move along the path that she or he is choosing.  We will move
    responses from the SRO to the FGD string if it appears they do not meet
    these criteria. 

    The FGD note will allow people more room to conjecture, question, and
    explore alternatives that might be slightly more forceful or awkward
    than the basenoter (and anyone else in a similar position) would like
    to read.  
    
    The basenote author, and others who may be in a similar situation or
    have similar feelings, may thus choose NOT to read the FGD topic, while
    still garnering the supportive and sensitive responses they wish.

    Please use this mechanism for topics which are highly emotionally
    charged for you.  You can also post anonymously through the
    co-moderators, and request the discussion be in the form of an SRO/FGD
    topic. 

    If you have any questions on how, or whether or not, to use this new
    method of seeking community resonse and support, please get in touch
    with any of the co-moderators. 

    
    To reduce the patchwork effect of having many notes in a string hidden,
    henceforth notes containing clear violations of our Noting Style Policy
    (1.7) will be summarily deleted without notice to the author.  Notes
    which quote such notes or which are orphaned by them may also be
    deleted at the responsible moderator's discretion.
    
    Particular attention will be paid to eliminating notes that:
    
    - represent use of a confrontational style (frequent challenges,
      disputation, categorical statements, demands, and/or threatening
      language); or 
    
    - disparage the character of other individual members of the community
      by, for example, implying that they or their notes are inherently
      unworthy or unwelcome. 
    
    We will of course strive to apply this policy as even-handedly as
    possible, but as we typically act independently and as every such
    deletion is necessarily a judgement call, it is unlikely that all will
    meet with universal approval.  If you believe you have evidence of
    bias, or have any other question about how this policy is being
    enforced, we urge you to write to us and discuss your concerns.
                                                        

    
    
    Certain topics, particularly "Primal Scream", "Hot Buttons", and "I
    really hate" seem to attract a lot of dialog even though they're meant
    to be strictly vehicles for one-way communication. In those strings 
    everyone is supposed to have "the last word" (indeed the only word), 
    and it almost completely defeats their purpose if folks immediately 
    come back with a response.  For that reason, we're going to start
    moving responses to replies and dialogs to The Rathole where they 
    belong, without notice to the author.
    

    
    As perhaps most of the community now knows, Mary Ellen is scheduled to
    take an MS in computer security under DEC's GEEP program.  During the
    two years that will consume, she'll be on leave from her mod duties. 
    She plans to drop off the active list sometime before the end of August
    and to rejoin us after she graduates in the end of summer session 1992.
    
    Her leaving, of course, put is in a real pickle:  who would handle the
    Abortion topic? :')  None of the rest of us wanted to touch it with a
    pole of any length (we're nae bluidy daft!), so we decided we needed
    some fresh blood.  We briskly zeroed in on Ann Broomhead, but were
    foiled when, as a condition of acceptance, she demanded that we not
    stick her with it either (she's nae bluidy daft hersel').  But we
    figured she'd be such an asset that we asked her anyway and the foolish
    creature accepted, at least as a temporary measure.  She's poking
    around behind the scenes now, and will officially start on Monday.
    
    If she gets even half the support and kind treatment that the rest of
    us have always gotten, she'll have no cause to repent her acceptance.
    
    						in Sisterhood,
    						=maggie  
                                                                     

    It hasn't probably been obvious to more than a few of us, but
    
    RANGER is a cluster of 2 mainframes -- 8800s
    MOMCAT is just one little PVAX -- a 3100
    
    Knowing this, it stands to reason that while women's communication at
    DEC is now much more secure, some changes in our social behavior have 
    to take place if we're all to share in the benefits of that.
    
    PLEASE make the effort to be aware of how your behavior has an impact
    on other members of our community, and take these steps to improve
    things for everyone.  You'll benefit too!
    
    	- Exit the file if you're not *actively* reading.  If you "just
          have to do this one thing" and then you'll be back...exit before 
          you start that "five-minute task", for who knows how long it will
          really take. This is really critical.
    
    	- Try to time your reading for hours other than GMA lunchtime. 
          MomCat goes to her knees and her response time gets hopeless for
          everyone when we all try to read at once.  24-32 links is about
          as much as she can stand, and I've seen lunchtime counts in the
          50s.
    
        - Try to scedule your reading in *small* chunks throughout your
          day.  If you read just a few notes at a time and then exit, that 
          frees up the space for someone else to do the same thing.
    
        - If you get "insufficient resources" or some similar message, that 
          means she's just too busy with other people at the moment.  It's
          normal, even if frustrating.  Come back later.  Mail me if that's
          all you ever get, even in off-hours.
    
        - Don't open a second session during GMA work hours.  When you have 
          two sessions open, you are in effect two people and your share of 
          responsibility for the problem doubles accordingly.
    
        - If you have a terminal/pc/workstation at home, try to do most or
          all of your reading there, during off-hours.  Not all of our 
          members have that luxury; save the daytime resources for them. 
    
    The whole motivation behind these requests, of course, is to decrease
    the very heavy workload that MomCat experiences during the day...and
    the frustration we all experience when time after time we get turned
    away at the gate.
    
    Thanks from me and from Mom.
    
    						=maggie

    Our community continues to grow in size and activity ( over 500 members
    per day read the file now!), and at the same time the amount of time
    available from each mod has stayed the same or even decreased because
    of changes in our work.  Since we quickly noticed the resemblance
    between those facts and the proverbial Rock and Hard Place, we reckoned
    we'd better do something before one or more of us broke.  So we bent
    our heads and hunted up a new vic...er, mod to share the workload for
    awhile.
    
    After making us hold our collective breath for nearly a week while she
    checked to see whether her health insurance covers this sort of risk,
    she finally accepted on the condition that we wouldn't stick *her* with
    the Abortion topic either. :-)
    
    Please welcome Kathy Maxham, who if past form is any indication will
    provide a quiet, sensible contrast to the rest of us.
    
    						in Sisterhood,
    	   					=maggie

    Two years ago we had a problem and posted this note:


            <<< MOMCAT::PIGGY:[NOTES$LIBRARY]WOMANNOTES-V2.NOTE;1 >>>
              -< ARCHIVE-- Topics of Interest to Women --ARCHIVE >-
================================================================================
Note 1.12                           Welcome!                            12 of 37
RAINBO::TARBET                                       24 lines  13-OCT-1988 15:40
                             -< Potential Problem >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    We've recently learned that a Digital employee has been contacting
    women members of this community and, in the context of seeking
    information and help with a personal relationship, engaging in
    sexually explicit conversations with them.  We have asked him to
    stop and to seek further help through more conventional channels
    such as the EAP. 
    
    Here are some things you can do if this person contacts you: 

    1) Do not feel obligated to answer any questions at all.   
    
    2) If you are talking to this person and start to feel
    uncomfortable, let him know that you feel this way and disengage
    from the conversation.  For example, "I don't want to be rude, but I
    don't feel comfortable talking about personal matters with you and I
    want to stop now.  Goodbye." 
    
    3) Let the moderators know *right away* so that we can work on
    preventing this behavior in the future.  This is important! 
    
    Thank you
    the moderators

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Although you may find it hard to believe, the same individual is
    back at it!  We believe the excuses being given are fraudulent and
    that this behavior constitutes sexual harassment within the meaning
    of DEC Policy 6.03.  We want to put a stop to it once and for all. 

    If you think you know who this person is because of an incident...
    *tell us* so that our records show the real magnitude of what's
    going on.

    If you know of other files whose women members may be victims,
    please mail this warning to the moderators of that file and ask them
    to post it.  And tell us about it.

    This person has been put on notice by moderators of 4 major files,
    ours included.  One future incident will be enough for us get the
    disciplinary action process started.  If this individual makes
    contact with you, please tell us at once!  This exploitation must
    be STOPPED.
              
    Thank you.

    We're scheduled to play Musical Offices again on the 25th and 26th, so
    unless I can work out something unusually clever, MomCat will be down
    those days and perhaps even that weekend, depending on how much agony
    the move entails.  
    
    Apologies for the inconvenience.

    Apologies for taking Mom offline this morning, folks.  It shouldn't
    happen again anytime again soon.

    Our next round of Musical Offices will not occur this Friday after all,
    but rather in early December.  It turns out that there was some
    confusion about when the other group were moving out of the building,
    and they have some silly objection to the idea of our moving into their
    offices while they still occupy them.  :-)

    
    It is quite possible that many of the conflicts in this file are
    gender based or at least come up around issues of sexism and
    perceived sexism.  But the way in which these conflicts seem to get
    played out lately is very personal.  "You are a ..."  "S/He is a .." 
    Even when it's impersonal it's personal!  "This file is...."  "The
    moderators are....".  "I hate people who...."                 
   
    We think that the only way we're going to have a notesfile left for
    anyone to enjoy is if we change the way we talk to each other.  Too
    many people are feeling hurt and angry.  Too many people are leaving
    the file, feeling insulted, not listened to.  And this is a shame
    because we all have a lot to learn from and give to each other.
    
    From now on, the moderators are going to use a much heavier hand in 
    removing contentious notes from the file.  
   
    If you want to give some person or group negative feedback, use this
    and only this format:  
   
    "When you said/did ___, I felt ___."  
   
    "Whenever people/women/men/moderators do/say ___, I feel ___." 
                      
                     
    This does not mean that it's okay to say "When you said x, I felt
    that you were pond scum"  or "...I feel that you violate every
    human-rights law in the world and should be taken out and shot". 
    Talk about your own emotional response, don't make judgements.  
   
    We will all benefit if everyone carefully uses "I" statements.  If
    you think you might need help in phrasing your reply in a way that
    meets this new guideline, please don't hesitate to contact us.
   
   
    We also plan to change our sequencing.  Before when we were in doubt,
    we often let a note remain visible while we conferred about it. When
    we erred it was on the side of wait-and-see. Now when we're in doubt,
    we will set the note hidden while we confer.  And if we're not in
    doubt, the note is gone.
    
    This may seem drastic, but it seems that we have no other good
    choice. There are lots of things to talk about besides each other. 
    There's the economy, pay equity, music, poetry, art, rape, war,
    pregnancy, child rearing, sports, religion, fashion, activism,
    ecology... and scores of other topics that seem to be of interest
    to women, so there is no reason to let this wonderful forum be
    destroyed over personal conflicts.   
   
    We ask for  everyone's support, cooperation, and understanding as we
    work to make this community (which has meant so much to all of us)
    feel safer again.  All notes that appear after this one are eligible for
    this new style guideline.  
    
    Justine - for all the Womannotes Moderators

    According to Ron Glover, attorney and Corporate Policies Manager,,
    moderators have the final authority to decide when and whether a note
    will be edited, hidden, or deleted.  If a member defies that authority
    by restoring such a note, the moderators have the authority to ban that
    member from the file.
    
    We will use that authority from now on.  The first offence will bring a
    30-day suspension, a second offence 90 days, and a third offence will
    result in the member being barred from the file permanently.
                                                              
    Please be careful. 
    
    						the Moderators

    Mom may have disk controller problems, and if so then she may crash or
    have to be taken down at very short notice.  Please be careful to
    save off your longer edits periodically so losses will be minimised.

    Here is a caution, cribbed shamelessly from another conference, which
    we should all take to heart.
    
    It is permissable for noters to write here about their thoughts and opinions
    regarding the war in Iraq.  It is not the place to insult or attack those
    who hold opinions other than our own.  We will delete any note that is
    not within the usual or the above guidelines.

    Please use restraint and tolerance for other people's point of view when 
    replying on this subject.

    						Ann A. Broomhead, for
    						the Womannotes moderators

    I've detected some file corruption in WomanNotes, severity unknown. To
    fix it, I'll have to close and lock the file sometime this weekend and
    run a utility program to tidy it up again.  In that process, some notes
    occasionally get lost, so save off anything important for eventual
    reposting.

Important information from Corp. Security about the war. Please keep this
memo in mind when writing notes about the war.

Kathy Maxham, for the Womannotes co-moderators

------------------------------------------------------------------------


                  I N T E R O F F I C E   M E M O R A N D U M

                                        Date:     28-Jan-1991 03:38pm EST
                                        From:     Charlie Coggins
                                                  COGGINS.CHARLIE AT A1 AT CSSE 
AT OGO
                                        Dept:     Corp. C.S. Security
                                        Tel No:   276-8646

TO: See Below

Subject: SECURITY ADVISORY






                        ** Digital Internal Use Only**

                              SECURITY ADVISORY

  Recent events in the Persian Gulf have led to a number of issues of concern 
for all of us.  Unfortunately some of the concerns have led to speculations 
which are not in the best interests of Digital.

  One area of speculation has led to a rumor that "Digital has been identified 
as a likely target of terrorist activities."  Neither Charlie nor I are aware 
of any reason to suspect that Digital is a particular target.  As a large, 
transnational, American-based Corporation; the potential is always there.  
However, we are not aware of any reason to feel that Digital is any more at 
risk than any other such corporation; and possibly less so than some.  If we 
do hear of any reason to feel a particular concern, we will let you know 
immediately.

  A second area of concern is the use of Digital's Easynet and Electronic Mail 
systems.  The current crisis in the Gulf is on everyone's mind, and many 
people have very strong feelings about it.  Expressing those feelings via 
electronic mail and notes files can have a detrimental effect on Digital.  

  We need to remain cognizant that Digital is a transnational corporation with 
employees from many different backgrounds.  Statements via notes files, 
electronic mail or other business related media should not be made which might 
offend or be inflammatory to other employees.  We also need to be aware that 
messages coming from employees in that region of the world may contain 
information which could be considered sensitive.  The indiscriminate 
forwarding of messages (especially posting them to notes files) should be 
avoided; to preclude potential embarrassment to the authors and to Digital.  
Regrettably, we have had incidents of both during the past few days.

  During this crisis we need to be sensitive to the potential implications of 
what we say, verbally and electronically.  Thank you for your understanding 
and support.

  Please distribute as you feel appropriate.

Best Regards,

Charlie Coggins

                       ** Digital Internal Use Only **

    Unless someone knows of a job I can get *TODAY*, then MomCat will very
    likely go off the air permanently:  I've just been notified that I'm
    being laid off.
    
    							=maggie

For a variety of reasons, not the least of which is time and a busy
work schedule, Kathy Maxham will be resigning as a womannotes comod,
effective Monday, March 11.

We will miss Kathy and hope she will be able to continue to be
active in the file. I'd like to take the time now to thank her for
the hard work and thoughtful words she's contributed to
the moderation of this file.

At the same time we would like to announce that we have found
a new vic... er, volunteer to help us moderate the file. Several
of us were privleged to first make her acquaintance last year
during the Decwomen facilitators training course. Since then
we've been glad to welcome her increasing participation in womannotes.

We would like to welcome Manisha Kher as a new moderator for
Womannotes. She will become an offical moderator on Tuesday.

Bonnie J
for the moderators

    The archived versions of Womannotes are now available on IKE22.
    
    You may now either type:
    
    Notes> ADD ENTRY IKE22::WOMANNOTES-V1
    Notes> ADD ENTRY IKE22::WOMANNOTES-V2
    
    if you don't already have them in your Notebook, or type:
    
    Notes> MODIFY ENTRY WOMANNOTES-V1/FILE=IKE22::WOMANNOTES-V1
    Notes> MODIFY ENTRY WOMANNOTES-V2/FILE=IKE22::WOMANNOTES-V2
    
    or (delete the ones you have and) press Keypad key 7, or the
    Select key on this (for V1) and the next (for V2) note.
    
    						Ann B.

            
       One of the members of our community was informed recently that
       someone printed out everything she wrote in Womannotes during the 
       last two weeks and forwarded the printout (anonymously) to her 
       personnel rep.  This certainly feels like a violation of the trust 
       that we have come to feel exists in this community, and we thought 
       we should warn folks that somebody out there may be doing this kind 
       of thing.  
    
       It's true that in a public notesfile you never know who may be reading 
       your notes, but the idea that someone might print them out and forward 
       them to your management feels like a terrible invasion and an
       attempt at intimidation.  To whoever is doing this: please stop.  
       
    Justine for the Womannotes Comoderators
       

    For those who are 'noterly naive' ...
    
    Press the 7 key on your keypad in notes 1.34 and 1.35 and the
    two archived volumes will be entered into your notebook.
    
    What I will do after I do this is to 
    
    1. rename the two files modify entry <mumble> /name = v1
    (where mumble is the name in my notebook of the first volume
    and modify entry <mumble> /name = v2 (ditto).
    
    2. put them in a different class than my main class that I
    look at regularly. modify entry v1 /class = oldstuff
    for example.
    
    Bonnie

It is time to announce additional changes in our Womannotes
moderation staff. Change fosters growth, and keeps life interesting!

We are adding two new moderators, Ann Johnston and Diana Carroll
(aka D!). The present mods welcome them and are very greatful for 
their willingness to help us out. We hope that you will continue
to give them the same type of support that you have given the 
moderators in the past.

Welcome Ann and Diana!

Second, I feel a bit like Bilbo Baggins at his famous birthday
party (his 111th)....that while eleventy leven years wasn't
long enough to live among such admirable hobbits...

    
    
after 4 years of moderating I am going to take a three month 
sabbatical from being a mod of womannotes starting June 10th.

I have put a lot of personal time, and love and energy into
womannotes over the past 4 years and feel a need to be 'just a
noter' for a while. Taking the summer off will give me time
to be with my family, work on my garden, and lower my stress
level. I expect to resume moderating after labor day.

Bonnie

    Er, um, uh.
    
    Our host system, IKE22, had been going to be down for about an hour
    next Monday, while it was moved.
    
    Now it seems that IKE22 will be packed up sometime Thursday (tomorrow)
    or Friday, and kept in mothballs until August.  There is an offer of
    another workstation to host =wn=, but we haven't connected yet, so we
    can't give you an address yet.
    
    I hope we have enough time to have a pointer here to the new address
    once we get it.  In any case, there will be a pointer put up in Note 1072
    of TURRIS::EASYNET_CONFERENCES, and we will send Mail to people who
    signed up in 2.* and 3.*.
    
    						Ann B.
    						for the moderators

    The server on IKE22 will be locked around 16:00, so that =wn=
    can be moved to its new home.
    
    The new home will be the new IKE22 -- and it will have the same
    net address 'n' everything.  See you!!!!
    
    						Ann B.
    						for the comods

    Hi, all.
    
    It's time.  I've grown a lot here as a moderator and it's wonderful to
    have watched the file grow and change also.

    But I think it's time to NOT be a moderator.  I'm not sure if I'll
    never moderate the file again, perhaps when time has passed I will want
    to, and then maybe they will take me back ;).....but I know I need some
    space from the tasks, and I need to reclaim the time I spend moderating
    this file for some other projects.

    July 19th will be my last day as moderator.    As of next Friday I will
    have been a co-moderator of this file for 2 years and 10 months (which
    is, coincidentally, about 10% of my life).

    When I became a moderator, I lost a voice I was just starting to have,
    because I *wanted* to be MODERATE, and to be able to entertain all
    thoughts, and both sides of a situation, and try to be fair and true to
    the file and ALL its voices.  This impartiality cost me, though.  I
    would like that voice back.  As a noter, perhaps I can cultivate it
    again.

    When I became a moderator, I was full of energy and new ideas.  Now I
    feel a little tired.  And I won't hide the fact that I also feel a bit
    jaded, and sometimes when I perform moderatorly tasks it is with less
    of my heart than I once did.  It takes a great deal of energy to
    moderate here, and it takes a lot of love and a lot of time.

    I *love* this notesfile.  I love what it's taught me, and I love
    watching the people grow here.  I hope you will welcome me as a noter. 
    Of course, I would still enjoy posting archive-style pointers until I'm
    old and wizened (or is that wisened?!).

    *hugs*

    -Jody

    Hi everyone,
    
    I'm back from sabatical.
    
    Bonnie

    IKE22 is supposed to be brought down for a few hours this afternoon
    for an upgrade.
    
    I should have posted this earlier.  I'm sorry.  Grovel.  Grovel.
    
    						Ann B.

    Version 4 appears to be ready to go. It will open Monday and this 
    file will be set /reply_only for a week, to allow people to finish
    off existing conversations or to transfer them to the next version.
    
    To make life easier when trying to access two files with nearly 
    identical names, let me make a few suggestions.
    
    You can rename this version of womannotes 'v3' as follows: Modify
    entry womannotes-v3 /name=V3. Then you can add the new version of
    the file: add entry ike22::womannotes-v4. Then you can rename
    version 4 the same way you renamed version 3. Then you can open
    either file by typing open v3 or open v4.
    
    We have seeded the file with copies of a lot of the more popular
    notes from previous versions of the file, and when possible giving
    credit to the person who first started a particular topic. Please
    read through the 1.* note, copy your introduction into v4 (or write
    a new one) and continue on with your discussions/interactions/foolishness.
    
    enjoy
    
    Bonnie J
    for the moderators
    

    For those of you who are into keypad navigation:
    
    Rename this version to something which comes after "womannotes-v4"
    in the alphabet, like:
    
    Notes> MOD ENTRY WOMANNOTES-V3/NAME=XWN-V3
    
    so that V4 will now appear where V3 used to be, rather than one
    line further down.
    
    (I myself expect to rename WOMANNOTES-V4 to AAA-WOMAN, so that I can
    just enter Notes, hit KP7, and read.  (For those among you who find
    this comment incomprehensible, just read through Note 31.*.))
    
    						Ann B.

>    You can rename this version of womannotes 'v3' as follows: Modify
>    entry womannotes-v3 /name=V3. Then you can add the new version of
>    the file: add entry ike22::womannotes-v4. Then you can rename
>    version 4 the same way you renamed version 3. Then you can open
>    either file by typing open v3 or open v4.

	You can add &rename the new version at the same time by doing a:

	notes> add entry ike22::womannotes-v4 /name=v4



	*A*