COMGAR Charter
Purpose and Goals
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.
Participation Rules
By taking part in this forum, you accept thefull rules of the forum.
Please read theRules of Participationthat 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 Gardening.
All posts should be directly related to Gardening. There is no other listserv specifically geared to community gardeners in the Twin Cities Metro Area, and we want to keep our focus. If you are responding directly to another member and the response is not relevant to the whole group (ie, you'd like something they are offering), please message the member directly by clicking on their individual email address, rather than hitting "reply". When you hit "reply", the message will go to the entire group.
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 nd 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 in your post clarifying its relevance to community gardeners. Please post your event only once. Event reminders clog the list. Time your post as you think it will have the most impact.
Stuff:Many items can be "repurposed" in the garden. However, only items that have obvious garden relevance should be posted here. Please use Craigslist oryour "Be Neighbors" neighborhood forum (if there is one for where you live) for other garden giveaways.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 Matterswww.gardeningmatters.organd inquire about our business memberships. Referrals to local businesses allowed if in response to a legitimate inquiry. No fundraising campaigns are allowed on COMGAR.
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. 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. ThePrivacy and Public Life Policydetails the complete privacy policies of E-Democracy.org.
How to Post
Send COMGAR submissions . 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.
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. Members of this group may post no more than 5 messages in a 24 hour period.
Forum Management
Nadja Bernecheis the volunteer Forum Manager and is responsible for facilitating this forum and enforcing the rules. She can be reached at.Any user in violation of COMGAR guidelines will be notified by the Forum Manger and posting privileges may be restricted.
The volunteer Forum Manager is responsible for the general health and well-being of the forum. The Forum Manager shall:
· enforce forum rules
· respond to participant questions
· listen to complaints or concerns
· encourage active participation
· maintain respectful tone of discussion
If you have any questions or concerns about the forum, pleasecontact us.