List members are encouraged to participate in the discussions on the list while keeping these guidelines in mind.

1. The purpose of the ETNI list is to encourage discussion about improving English teaching in Israel and to provide a national virtual support group for English teachers. To fulfill its purpose, ETNI serves as a forum for discussing the integration of modern technology in English teaching.

2. Anyone connected to the teaching of English as a second/foreign language is invited to join the list.

3. The list will deal with issues pertaining to the teaching of English as a second/foreign language in general and in Israel in particular. ETNI members are encouraged to share information about: current problems in the classroom, issues affecting our status as teachers, international and local developments in the EFL and technology field, material that will introduce cultural practices in English speaking countries, specialized teaching issues (Native speakers, pupils with learning differences, bagrut preparation etc).

4. Members are encouraged to ask for help and advice or express opinions (technical and professional) concerning both teaching and technical issues.

5. Members are invited to share their experiences regarding course books, CALL programs and other teaching materials with each other. Commercially interested parties should refrain from these discussions unless their participation is of an explanatory nature and is not meant to advertize their products.

6. Advertising or promotion by vendors or interested parties is prohibited without the permission of David Lloyd, the list owner. The only advertising or promotion of material that may be permitted is that which is of special relevance to the teaching of English as a Foreign or Second language. Members who are not sure if a certain announcement would be suitable to the list should send the message personally to David Lloyd - david@boker.org.il - who will then decide whether to forward it to the list or not.

7. Pertinent humor is encouraged and welcome.

8. Discussions on the list should be kept as professional as possible and not be sidelined by irrelevant opinions (religious, political or otherwise).

9. The ETNI discussion list offers its services as a forum for open discussion between inspectors, counselors and teachers in the field. Inspectors and counselors are encouraged to take an active part in the discussions.

10. Members of ETNI are encouraged to share the discussions with off-line colleagues and to take an active part in non-virtual activities as well (e.g.: ETAI, district events, etc.)

11. Please keep in mind that the members of the list come from many different cultures and backgrounds and that many are not native speakers of English. Be considerate of everyone when reading or posting a message.

12. Think twice before hitting the reply button when another member has posted a message that you find disturbing. (First try writing to the member individually or to the list-owner.)

13. When replying to a message to the list, only send your reply to the list if you think it is of interest to the list as a whole. Note - email programs may be set up differently, so you have to pay attention to what happens when you press the reply button. Are you sending the message back to the list, to the original sender of the message, or to both? Is this what you want to do?

14. When replying to a letter on the list, include only those parts of the original letter in your reply that you are referring to. Including all of the original letter in the reply makes messages unnecessarily long. It you do include the original message, or parts of it, either insert your reply into the relevant parts of the original message, or put it at the beginning of your email message so that people don't have to scroll down through the whole of the original message looking for your reply.

15. Keep in mind that new members are continuously joining the list and some may not have much experience with e-mail and discussion lists. Our aim is to encourage these members and provide them with the tolerance and support necessary for them to become part of our virtual community.