B. Handling communication on the list

Handling communication on the list

1. Help! There are so many messages every day. How do I read them all?

You can't. Ours is probably one of the most highly-trafficked EDGs that the College Board has. You cannot possibly read every single email. Don't expect to. You'll go crazy, neglect your home, family, teaching, grading, and end up a neurotic mess, no good to any of us.

Seriously, though, there are several suggested possibilities here:

1. Change your subscription format to receive only one email a day that lists and contains 24 hours' worth of contributions.
2. Use filters, email threading, or other features built into your email client to store messages somewhere until you have a chance to read them.
3. Make liberal use of your DELETE button. If a message seems irrelevant or useless to you, don't bother reading it.
4. Direct listserv emails to a dedicated email account or folder. Otherwise, the volume is likely to overwhelm your other work or personal email. Many of us have accounts with services like Hotmail, Yahoo, or Gmail that we use exclusively for listserv purposes. (Personally, I highly recommend Gmail for its unique message-organization system that allows you to delete entire threads, and for its Google-driven search feature, which allows you to search your own messages just as you would "Google" for something on the internet, in essence creating your own searchable archive).

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is almost impossible to read the list efficiently (i.e. choose which messages to read and which to delete) if messages are not accurately labelled in their subject headers. It also helps immensely if labels are indicated clearly at the beginning of the subject header (ALL CAPS is one way to draw attention to them) and the subject header is kept short and focused.


2. How do I change the format in which I receive my mail?

Clicking on http://lyris.collegeboard.com/read/login will take you to Lyris' login page. Using the same login info with which you signed up, sign in. From there, use the "Conference" tab to enter the ap-english forum, and then you can go to the "My Account" tab to change your "Membership type" settings. Some people like to use this feature when they go on holiday or otherwise need to prevent a buildup of unread messages in their inboxes.

There are advantages and disadvantages to each delivery type:

Messages as they are contributed:

• best method for sorting, reading and storing messages by subject, especially if your email client sorts emails into threads by subject header
• easy to reply either to original sender or to list at large (or both)
• many many many emails daily
• blocks of messages come out three or four times a day (when Tim sits down to approve those waiting in the message queue)

Digests:

• only one email per day (keeps distraction down & the mailbox from clogging)
• all the subject headings for that day in a list at the beginning
• scroll down and read at leisure or use "find" to follow a thread or to jump to and single out messages you want to see
• does not separate different messages
• requires changing subject header each time you want to reply to the list
• comes out only once a day -- several rounds of contribution might have gone by from one to the next

3. What do I do if I go on vacation and don't want my inbox to get clogged with messages?

Your best option is to log in to Lyris (see previous item) and select "None" as your message delivery type. You can always return to Lyris to log back in and change your message delivery type back. You can also check the Messages section or the archives for any messages that have gone back and forth while you were away -- although that's bound to be hundreds, so take the vacation from the list, as well. :) Please do not set an automated vacation message without turning your message delivery type to "none". Lyris may not only reject your auto-replies, but if it registers enough of them (one for every message sent), it will cut off the messages anyway.


4. There are two AP English courses, Language and Literature. Why don't they just create separate lists for them?

This is a question that seems to come up perennially, especially when there is a lull in specific discussion about one or the other, or when there seems to be an especially high volume of traffic overall.

This is not a simple question to answer, but one short version is that many teachers teach both. Another facet of this answer is that many Language teachers benefit from the discussions and strategies offered by Literature teachers, and vice versa. There really isn't a definitive line separating the two -- they are both English courses, and they share many characteristics. For example, as a Language teacher, I still teach novels and plays, and I greatly appreciate the insight I get on those texts from those who discuss them in the context of the Literature course.

While in the short term it might seem intuitive to have separate lists, in fact it is useful to have this information and discussion of it all in one place.

It helps to label your message with "LANG" or "LIT" in the subject header if it is subject-specific. (See section below on labeling accurately for more suggestions on finding the information you want amongst the volume of messages.)


5. Why does the message I opened not contain what was indicated in the subject header?

There are several different reasons why the relevance of a message may be difficult to discern:

1. Threads (chains of related messages) often transform as tangents take them in different directions. There is an expectation that if your reply to a message takes it in a new direction, you will change the subject header. The usual format for such a thing is: New Header (was: Old Header).
2. As the messages go through Lyris, the server adds standardized information to the bottom of the message, creating a long added portion of text each time a reply is sent. Also, the more people reply, the more text gets added, often burying the reply. There is an expectation that if you reply to a message that seems to be growing too long, you will delete irrelevant material from the body of the message.
3. Occasionally people get over-zealous in their deleting, and reply to a message without providing the context of the exchange. This results in messages that say, "What a great idea!" or "John is absolutely right and I hope you'll all contribute." If we don't know what the original idea was, or what John said or what we're expected to contribute to, the message becomes useless. There is an expectation that if you delete part of a message before replying to it, you will leave enough context for your reply to make sense to the rest of the list.

Frequently-used subject-header labels you will see on the list:

* LANG or LIT for topics specifically related to one of the two different AP English courses
* NON-AP for topics related to other English courses
* GEN (or GENERAL) for topics of general concern to all English teachers
* OT (i.e. off-topic) for topics of interest that aren't necessarily English-specific


Other labels can be applied more or less intuitively. For example, if your posting has to do with the Audit, you might preface the subject with AUDIT; if you feel your response to a previous post is more a debate than informative, you could change the subject header to include DEBATE or POLITICAL at the beginning. If you're posting something funny that a student wrote, you might use a label FUNNY or HUMOR (or HUMOUR if you're Canadian, like me!).

Whatever you use, please remember that the purpose is to expedite reading for the other 6000+ people on the list.


6. Why did no-one respond to my request for materials?

There may be many reasons. The request may have been lost amongst a large volume of emails. There may be no one who is familiar with what you are teaching available at that time to reply.

It may also have to do with how you have established yourself within the community. While many of us are happy and even eager to share our materials, if your tone is demanding or perfunctory, you are less likely to receive the quality materials you will find are available when you ask courteously and perhaps even offer something of your own. It's also best to request materials, including tests, well before you begin a unit, rather than trying to find materials last-minute in a panic and expect to receive them immediately.

It may not be a good idea to request a key either -- there are several reasons why such a request might be ignored, not the least of which is the presence of students on the list. We discourage the posting of keys directly on the list itself; such things are usually emailed directly. (On the other hand, some people will include keys with their materials, especially the very challenging AP released exam materials if any have those available.)

Released AP exams and their keys are available at AP Central -- if you haven't yet browsed the site, you really should. There is a wealth of information there that you can find even before asking for it on the list.


7. I'm sure my request has been made before. Is it OK to make it again?

It certainly is -- if you stick around long enough, you'll begin to notice that certain requests get made every few months, or even weeks (e.g. "What are your top choices of novel for an American Lit class?" "Is there anyone out there who teaches Lang and Lit in the same class?").

However, sometimes it's a good idea to go to the archives first (see Section C.3), and do some background reading to see if the request has been made recently. It's not that people won't be willing to respond -- it's just that you don't want to overlook what could amount to a wealth of valuable, existing information.


8. The answer to my question is out there on the internet somewhere! Should I ask people on the list first?

This is a judgment call. Sometimes, people post requests to the list for things that could be easily found using Google or another search engine. Although there are always people willing and able to perform such Google searches for you, in the long run, it's probably much more efficient to learn and apply good search strategies and look for those kinds of items first yourself, before asking, because it can be pointless to clutter the list with identical Google search matches from several list members.

Here is a good starter site from a Berkeley internet research course on learning to use Google more effectively: "Google to the Max - Getting the Most Out of Google"
And another site, also at Berkeley, on the best and most effective ways to approach and focus a search online: "Search Strategies: Search with Peripheral Vision"


9. There seems to be a lot of non-English-related discussion on the list. Why don't people just stick to what the list is for and take their debates and political commentaries elsewhere?

This is another question that seems to come up fairly regularly. It helps to remember that this is a list that serves two AP English courses: Literature and Language. Language, in particular, is a course focused on the study and practice of rhetoric, and such rhetorical study also includes the study of argumentation.

Many teachers (myself included) feel that in order to improve one's own appreciation of rhetoric and argumentation, participating in activities that strengthen one's own abilities in these areas is crucial. So, the members of this listerv engage frequently in debates on a wide range of issues. Some may seem directly related to instruction of English; others may only seem tangentially related; some may seem completely unrelated. But the practices of critical thinking and composition are inherent in many of the debates themselves. In fact, debate is one of our community values on this list.

Inevitably, politics become major foci of debate simply because politics stir deep emotions and ideals in people. They feel passionate about their views and want to defend them. In defending them, they are forced to think critically about them. The development of critical thinking skills is what we're all about. Also, many find the political concepts are related to themes in their courses.

In debating, rarely do people set out to deliberately offend others. Sometimes things get out of hand, and our intrepid moderator, Tim (who is justly averse to censorship) reminds us about the damage done to one's arguments when one resorts to ad-hominem attacks.

NOTE: If you are engaged in a debate, please remember some important principles that will help recipients decide whether to read a message or delete it:

• Please LABEL your response as a debate post (see section above on labeling accurately for more details) so that if people want to avoid these posts, they know which ones to delete
• If a debate appears to be between only a couple of people, it may be a signal to take the debate offlist and email only one another as you continue. Ask yourself whether continuing onlist constitutes performing for an audience, and whether 6000+ people need to see your exchange.
• Ask yourself whether what you are posting constitutes actual debate (i.e. civil argumentation and counter-argumentation) or just niggling, posturing, name-calling and responding to tone. See this excellent essay on what the difference is.

10. Wow, that person just said something really offensive! What do I do?

Pause. Breathe. Remember that the kind of quick-draw communication enabled by the internet tends to distort tone. If you feel intense anger over something you've read, draft your reply but wait before sending it. One listserv member, Gretchen Polnac, recently posted: "Anytime I am inclined to respond in a less than kind manner to a post, I just remember that if we were all sitting in a teacher's lounge having these discussions, and I used an inappropriate tone with any one particular person, how quickly the lounge would clear out. [. . .] Offer opinions--but do it in a kind manner." When all else fails, a good approach to take when a thread offends is to delete that thread.


11. What is not considered appropriate communication on the list?

• Ad hominem attacks, especially when they become vicious, and other demeaning forms of expression (although different people consider different things demeaning -- best rule of thumb may very well be Gretchen's, above)
• Discussion of AP exam questions within the 48h moratorium following the exam
• "Me too" requests in response to offered materials, sent to the entire list rather than to the individual who offered them
• Publicly sharing material, interactions, or information from offlist that may have been shared in confidence