All participants are expected to familiarize themselves with and observe the rules and guidelines outlined in this Code of Conduct which was approved at the OLITA AGM of 2018.

Rules

All subscribers are expected to follow the rules in this section. Rules will be enforced by OLITA Council.

1. All participants are expected to engage in discussion that is civil and respectful in a manner
2. Participants are expected to preserve a harassment-free space.
3. OLITA is dedicated to ensuring this listserv remain harassment-free for everyone, regardless of sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, physical appearance, disability, age, race, citizenship, or religion. Harassment of any kind will not be tolerated, including discriminatory, defamatory, threatening, insulting, or otherwise disruptive or harmful behaviour.
4. Participants are expected to avoid posting prohibited content. Prohibited content includes commercial content, copyrighted content, and spam.

Best practices

1. Stay on topic. New topics should start with a new discussion thread.
2. Messages sent to the entire list, including replies, should primarily consist of content that is likely to be relevant to most participants on that list. Off-topic discussions should be avoided.
3. Participants should try to limit their messages, including replies, to substantial contributions.
4. Any conversations between a small subset of participants should be taken off-list.

Subscription

OLITA observes Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation regarding subscription. You may choose to leave the OLITA-L listserv at any time. You can unsubscribe from a list in one of two ways:

1. Send an e-mail to Michelle Arbuckle at marbuckle@accessola.com
2. Unsubscribe using the web interface: https://mailman.mcmaster.ca/mailman/listinfo/olita-l

Reporting harassment

If a participant feels they are being harassed, they can submit a report to Michelle Arbuckle who will confer with OLITA Council. A representative from OLITA will respond to the participant within one week, acknowledging the report and explaining what actions have been taken to address the issue.

Warnings & suspensions

If a participant posts a message that violates the Code of Conduct, the administrator will issue the participant a warning that identifies the violating message and describes the guideline(s) violated. OLITA reserves the right to waive the warning process and suspend the participant from posting or ban them from the list if the violation is understood to be particularly egregious.

If a participant repeatedly violates the Code of Conduct resulting in multiple warnings, the administrator reserves the right to suspend the participant from posting or ban them from the list.

If a participant is suspected to have joined the list solely for the purpose of posting spam or other prohibited content, the administrator reserves the right to ban the participant without warning.

If a participant wishes to dispute a warning or suspension, they may contact the administrator for the list. OLITA Council will take requests into consideration, but ultimately have the discretion to make a final decision.

Adapted with permission from the Ontario Colleges Library Service (OCLS) Listservs Code of Conduct.

Last updated January 2018