COMGAR Policies
This listserv is for community gardeners in the Twin Cities Metro Area to share timely information, seek advice from other gardeners, and learn about resources available to gardeners.
Please read the Rules of Participation that governs all E-Democracy forums. Besides these E-Democracy guidelines, Gardening Matters asks that COMGAR subscribers also follow the rules listed below to maintain the integrity and relevancy of our listserv. We appreciate your cooperation in maintain this listserv as a valuable community resource to gardeners in the Twin Cities!
Keep topics on Community Gardening.
All posts should be directly related to Community Gardening. There is no other listserv specifically geared to community gardeners in the Twin Cities Metro Area, and we want to keep our focus.
Jobs: Postings for jobs that directly support community gardening are appropriate. No job-seeking on COMGAR is allowed.
Events: Events related specifically to community gardening will be posted directly to the listserv. Events related more generally to urban agriculture, local foods and sustainability should be sent to and will be posted to Gardening Matters’ public calendar. If you have any doubt as to whether or not your event is related to community gardening, try including some intro text to your post clarifying its relevance to community gardeners.
Stuff: Use your Be Neighbors neighborhood forum (if there is one for where you live) to try to unload some of your garden giveaways first. Although this is a virtual community, our hope is that you’ll use E-Democracy to connect you more locally with gardeners where you live, and sharing garden surplus is a great way to make a local friend!
Advertising: Absolutely no advertising for products or services is allowed on COMGAR. If you are interested in getting the word out about your services to the community of gardeners in the Twin Cities, contact Gardening Matters www.gardeningmatters.org and inquire about our business memberships. Referrals to local businesses allowed if in response to a legitimate inquiry.
Check the archives
Gardening is a cyclical activity. Many questions you have this year may have been asked by someone else last year! It is a good practice to check the COMGAR archives for common gardening. For conversations prior to 8/26/2013 check the UMN Listserv archive. For posts on or after 8/28/2013, refer to the COMGAR forum page on E-Democracy. If you don’t find what you’re looking for in the archives, ask away!
Privacy
The group is visible to anyone. Posts made to the group are visible to anyone, although email addresses are hidden from the public. The Privacy and Public Life Policy details the complete privacy policies of E-Democracy.org.
How to Post
Send COMGAR submissions to . Alternatively you can post a topic via the COMGAR forum page on E-democracy.org. You can manage your subscription preferences and update your profile (removal, digest mode, etc…) via your E-democracy profile settings.
The first three messages sent to COMGAR for any unique user will be moderated for adherence to COMGAR/E-Democracy rules. For this reason, there may be up to a 48 hour delay in posting for your first three posts. After three successfully moderated posts, users will be unmoderated. Members of this group may post no more than 5 messages in a 24 hour period.
Forum Management
Mallory Morken is the volunteer Forum Manager and is responsible for facilitating this forum and enforcing the rules. Any user in violation of COMGAR guidelines will be notified by the Forum Manger and posting privileges may be restricted.