Authority: Commission on Web Development; Student Body Statutes §3-8.10

§1-1. Scope.

These policies shall be applicable to all electronic mailing lists administered by or on behalf of any branch, department, board, or agency of Student Government.

§1-2. List Types.

There shall be several categories of mailing lists, as follows:

1. Mass announcement, lists with open subscriptions intended to reach the largest possible interested audience;
2. Group, lists with a membership inclusive of the officials and assistants of any given organizational unit of Student Government; and,
3. General, lists established for a specific special purpose.

§1-3. Administrative Authority.

The administrative authority for any given list shall rest with the Associate Webmaster of the branch involved with the list. The administrative authority for SG-wide lists shall rest with the SG Webmaster and the Senior Associate Webmaster. The SG Webmaster shall have administrative access on any such lists he or she deems necessary.

§1-4. Subscription Policy.

The subscription/unsubscription policy for any given list shall be established by the Webmaster with administrative authority over such list in consultation with the official in charge of the unit using the list, subject to the following provisions:

1. All mass announcement lists shall have an open subscription policy;
2. All members of a given unit shall be subscribed to the unit’s primary list and shall remain subscribed through their tenure as members; and,
3. Subscriptions for non-members of SG units may be granted by the head of the unit. Any former member of a unit shall be entitled to a subscription, upon his or her request.

§1-5. Initial Subscriptions.

Upon qualified appointment or election, each SG Official and Assistant shall be subscribed to the main SG announcement list (the Howl), the primary SG group list, any secondary SG discussion lists, and all group lists applicable to the unit he or she is entering.

§1-6. Public Archives.

Lists shall be configured with public archives whenever appropriate. Any list for a public body or that contains substantially the entirety of a public body’s membership shall be archived in a public manner.

§1-7. Moderation.

All mass announcement lists shall be moderated to protect the value of the list to the subscriber base. Group lists shall not be moderated en block unless a second unmoderated list is available for that group.

§1-8. Fair Use Guidelines.

Recognizing that mailing lists are only as valuable as the messages transmitted via them, the following rules for use are established:

1. Scope relevance. All messages should be transmitted to the smallest list that will achieve the purpose of the message. Messages that are transmitted to a less specific (more general) list than required must contain an explanation of why the item is of general interest;
2. Content relevance. All messages to group lists shall be relevant to the purpose or functions of the affected group. Items of general news or general leadership should not be transmitted to primary group lists unless deemed necessary by the head or second officer of the group;
3. Forwards. Messages that are retransmitted must meet the standards for relevance above. Further, all forwarded messages shall include an explanation of the forward, be formatted in a readable manner, and be absence any significant quantity of email addresses from past recipients;
4. Replies. Replies to messages transmitted over unmoderated lists should substantial and clearly addressed to the audience receiving it;
5. Carbon Copies. All messages transmitted over group lists shall be written in a manner directly addressing the members of the list, and not to a third party;
6. Repetition. The same or substantially same message shall not be transmitted twice within a timeframe that the repetition serves no obvious polite purpose.

§1-9. Fair Use Violations.

Violators of the §1-8 Fair Use Guidelines shall be given a warning for their first offense and for minor offenses. After a second substantial offense, the offending party shall not be permitted to post without moderator approval.

§1-10. Fair Use Determination.

Fair use violations may be issued by the webmaster(s) with administrative authority over a list. All violations beyond a warning may be appealed to the Commission on Web Development, which shall decide the matter by majority vote.

§1-11. Amendment.

These policies may be repealed or amended by a two-thirds vote of the Commission on Web Development.