Greetings and happy holidays,
Dorothyanne has raised some important and timely issues about the nature of
this listserv. As one of the list-owners of CLICK4HP since it began in
1996, I have watched the ebb and flow of discussion and of membership, and
the narrowing of participation in discussion in the past few months.
CLICK4HP is not a 'moderated' list - it is open to all subscribers to
participate in an active exchange of issues, ideas, resources and queries.
CLICK4HP should be an environment of respect, trust and encouragement.
Different personal perspectives of the broad field of health promotion are
equally valid. We need to respect each other's perspective, discuss our
views and come to a useful agreement.
Our list's Minimum Standards of Respect and Personal Conduct ask that we:
"Demonstrate respect for the ideas of others in your replies even if you do
not agree. Debate and discussion are welcome and encouraged. Do not send
email when angry or upset.
When attempting humour or sarcasm always clearly indicate this with
the use of an emoticon such as :-) or ;-) commonly referred to as smilies."
There was a question about number of people on this listserv, which could be
viewed in two ways - number of subscribers (which I have monitored every
month since Sam Lanfranco, Liz Rykert and I began this list) - or number of
participants. Although Dr. Raphael claims that the number of subscribers
"has never been higher", he is not a listowner, and does not have access to
the subscriber adminstration. The number of subscribers today, at 1203, is
in fact lower than a month ago (1228), and lower than in June of this year
(1220).
But more important is the question of number of participants in the
discussions on the list, and the degree of safety and comfort that all
subscribers feel in taking part in wide-ranging discussions. There has been
a proportional decrease in the number of people posting messages on this
list over the past year as compared to 2000 and 2002.
A critical analysis of the list discussions over the first three months of
this year, by Michel O'Neill's graduate class at Laval University noted that
(as translated from french and summarized) 'messages that were less than
respectful towards opinions submitted by health promotion professionals...
appeared less than professional and that a strict code of 'Netiquette'
should be followed so that all opinions are respected... the issue of
respect is crucial in health promotion as it is the foundation for
interventions in health promotion and should be valued.' "'De plus,
certaines personnes pourraient hésiter à participer à une telle liste ayant
peur de se faire discréditer sur la place publique."
Let us regard this holiday season as an opportunity to share and appreciate
each others contributions, and go into the new year with resolutions of
keeping CLICK4HP list a welcoming and open exchange of perspectives on the
field and practice of health promotion.
Alison
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alison Stirling, co-facilitator Click4hp listserv
health promotion consultant, Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse
email: [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
Tel. 416-408-2249x226 or toll-free in Ontario 1-800-263-2846 x226
WWW http://listserv.yorku.ca/archives/click4hp.html
-----Original Message-----
From: Dorothyanne Last [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: December 21, 2003 8:33 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: discussions about poverty, trans fats, and more
Hello and happy holidays to everyone -
I have recently resubscribed to this listserv after a period of absence and
I am discouraged to see that the discussion seems to have narrowed to one
between Dr. Raphael and one or two others. There seem to be very few people
on the list and I wonder if it is because, although most of us would agree
with the vital importance of addressing the determinants of health, we would
also like to see some other discussions about different areas of health
promotion? Dr. Raphael would perhaps argue all the rest of health promotion
activity is meaningless, but I would differ. I have worked in physical
activity promotion, in healthy family promotion, and am now working in
injury prevention and tobacco addiction prevention. I have seen that we can
actually make a difference in the health of people with health promotion
measures - maybe we are not reaching everyone - but we are reaching many.
Without assigning blame.
Is this listserv a free and open one? Are others welcome to voice an
opinion without being flattened by rhetoric? When I first subscribed to the
listserv, some years ago, it was a wonderful place to hear about ideas and
new research and to share our challenges. Right now, I find it intimidating
and barren. I remain hopeful it will return to its former broad and
welcoming focus.
Wishing everyone a more egalitarian new year, in discussion as well as in
wealth.
Dorothyanne Last
RN, BSc, MSc
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