[Mpls] Tips For Effective Participation: E-Democracy

[Tim Erickson]

I'm in the process of helping to write/edit the official E-Democracy 
training manual. I'm wondering if anyone would be willing to read the 
following section and provide feedback/comments/additional 
suggestions?

What would you add to this list.....?

NOTE: These are "tips" not "rules".

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How to Effectively Participate in a Local Issues Forum
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Everyone participates in a Local Issues Forum for a reason. Whether 
their goal is to advocate for a particular project or simply to keep 
informed about what is happening in their community, they usually 
have a purpose for subscribing to the forum. Whatever your particular 
purpose for participating, its worth thinking about how to make the 
most effective use of the time you spend reading and posting messages 
to the forum. Here are some tips, that will help you make better use 
of your time and get better results:

1. Short messages are the most effective.  While it can be tempting, 
particularly on a complex issue you feel strongly about, to lay out a 
lengthy detailed argument of your position; in practice, a brief, 
on-point, messages is much more likely to be read and responded to. 
When trying to sort through a number of messages, participants will 
often feel overwhelmed by a long, dense message and move quickly on 
to a more straightforward and targeted message.

2. When possible, speak from personal experience rather than from 
ideology.  Talking about your personal experiences in dealing with an 
issue creates for more compelling and persuasive reading that is 
easier for people to connect to.  It also reinforces the "local" 
impact of the issue and makes it more likely people will respond in a 
constructive way even if they don't agree with you.

3. "Listen" and don't be afraid to ask a question. When you 
participate in a Local Issues Forum, try to think of yourself as 
engaging in a dialogue rather than a debate.  In addition to stating 
your opinions, ask questions to try and understand others' views. 
People are more likely to pay attention to your point of view, if 
they see that you are willing to listen to others and incorporate new 
ideas or facts into your perspective.

4. It's o.k. to delete messages and not read them.  Don't feel that 
you need to read every message, every day.  Having a busy day? 
Delete.  The topic doesn't interest you? Delete. Some messages look 
interesting, but others don't? Delete.  The most important thing to 
keep in mind is that you should use the Issues Forum in a way that 
works for you and fits with your schedule.  It is always o.k. to 
"take a break" and delete messages without reading them and then 
resume your participation when your schedule permits.

5) Whenever possible, add information to the discussion. Local Issues 
Forums are dependant upon participants to share information when they 
have it. The quality and value of the discussions go up dramatically, 
when individuals take the time, to share what they KNOW about a topic 
at hand. Discussions based upon rumor and speculation, are a source 
of frustration for everyone and damage the credibility of the forum. 
Its up to every participant, to help raise the quality of forum 
discussions by sharing facts and information, when they are available.

6) Never post when you are angry: One of the advantages of an online 
discussion is that it takes place over time. You have the luxury of 
being able to think about your response, before issuing it. If 
something in the forum really gets you angry, wait an hour or two 
before responding. Your much less likely to post something that 
you'll later regret. If you feel an immediate urge to respond, write 
your reply right away, but hold it an hour before hitting the send 
button. Reread it one last time and make necessary changes at that 
time. Most often, you'll find yourself making major changes or even 
deleting the message entirely.

7) Always reread your post before sending: It always a good idea to 
read back through a post one final time before sending it. You will 
often catch mistakes or refine your ideas, usually for the better. 
Unlike a verbal discussion, you leave a permanent record of your 
comments to in an online forum, make sure that you are going to be 
comfortable with the record that you are leaving.

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Tim Erickson
tim at politalk.com
Hamline Midway

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Tim Erickson              http://www.politalk.com
St. Paul, MN - USA                   651-643-0722
tim at politalk.com             iChat/AIM: stpaultim
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