SPPM Charter - Periodic Posting
Kimberly Barnard
psychotherapy. (Moderated)
CHARTER
Overview:
Sci.psychology.psychotherapy.moderated (hereinafter "sppm")
exists as a forum for the discussion of psychotherapy. Anyone
with an interest in such discussion is welcome. This would
include practitioners of all types (psychologists,
psychiatrists, marriage/family counselors, social workers,
etc.), students of therapy, and therapy clientele.
Appropriate and Inappropriate Posts:
Some examples of topics appropriate for discussion in sppm
include (but are not limited to) the following:
- A particular type of psychotherapy (e.g., cognitive-
behavioral, psychodynamic), or a comparison between two types.
There will be no restrictions on the types of therapeutic
modalities that are appropriate for discussion -- save for
treatments that seem to have no obvious connection to psychology
(e.g., palm-reading, crystals). The latter will not be accepted,
unless a clear, plausible connection to psychology is made.
- A particular psychological disorder (e.g., depression, eating
disorder)
- A particular psychological theory (e.g., object relations
theory, learning theory), as it relates to the material of
therapy
- Research relevant to psychotherapy
- Psychopharmacological (drug) or other biological treatments,
as they relate to psychotherapy
- Diagnostic issues
- Therapist training and supervision
- Ethical issues faced by therapists
- Trends in practice (e.g., emerging or alternative modalities)
the relationship between psychotherapy and other fields of
inquiry such as philosophy or religion (as long as the
discussion remains focused on psychotherapy)
- Career issues (e.g., establishing a private practice, coping
with managed care)
- Business related directly to psychotherapy (e.g., employment
opportunities, equipment for sale)
case studies (if and only if client anonymity is ensured)
- Announcements and reports of meetings, conferences, and
newsletters, including those put out by self-help organizations
(please consider posting or cross-posting these to
sci.psychology.announce, however)
- Requests for information about a specific problem. However,
those looking for exchanges characteristic of a support group
should seek out an actual support group, as sppm was not
designed to serve that function.
The following are inappropriate for sppm, and posts containing
them will be rejected:
- Personal attacks, including allegations of professional
misconduct (the latter should be brought to the attention of the
appropriate authorities)
- Discussions which wander far from the topic of psychotherapy
(including spam)
- Cross-posting to groups outside of the psychology topic area,
unless the reason for crossposting is evident (e.g., cross-
posting to a sci.med group when drug therapy is being
discussed). Responses may be made to the same groups or a subset
thereof without further justification.
- Gross violations of netiquette. These may include, for
example, excessive repetition -- defined as more than 90% quoted
material, or posting more frequently than once per month an
article with more than 90% unchanged text (moderators may change
these value in the future, if they find them to be
unsatisfactory) -- or chronic misattribution of quoted text.
Relevant Addresses:
Submissions: sp...@psychcentral.com
(Articles posted to the newsgroup will be automatically routed
to this address.)
Administrative/rejection appeals: sppm-r...@psychcentral.com
Ombudsman/complaints: sppm-co...@psychcentral.com
Overview of Moderation:
Moderation will be designed to uphold the charter. It will be
carried out by a panel of moderators, in concert with automated
moderation software.
Articles submitted to sppm will first be screened by the
software, and then, if necessary, passed on to a randomly
selected moderator. In order to facilitate rapid posting, reduce
moderator workload, and minimize moderator intrusion,
individuals who are able to meet charter guidelines in a
reliable fashion will be placed on a "green list." This green
list will be supplied to the software, which will automatically
(without moderator review) post articles by individuals on the
list.
The software will take one of two actions: 1) post the article
to sppm, or 2) pass the article to a moderator. Posts from
authors on the green list will be automatically posted to sppm,
without further review. Posts from authors not on the green list
will be passed to a human moderator. The software will send an
e-mail notification to each author (with a valid e-mail address)
whose post is routed to a moderator.
The Green List:
It should be noted that, when one is not on the green list, this
does not mean one is prevented from posting to sppm; it merely
means that one's submissions are reviewed by a moderator.
New sppm posters will be added to the green list if they meet
two criteria: 1) they have posted at least three acceptable
articles to sppm, without a rejection, and 2) someone advances
their name to the moderators for consideration (anyone may do
this, including the moderators, the ombudsman, or the person
him/herself, and the process may become automated in the
future). This initial green-lighting will occur automatically
for any poster who meets these criteria.
If an individual on the green list posts an article which
violates the charter, that person may be given a warning,
provided that at least four of the five moderators agree that a
violation has occurred. If, within a period of a month, that
same individual again violates the charter, he or she may be
removed from the green list, provided that at least four of the
five moderators agree that the post in question is a violation.
Any person may call to the moderators' attention an
objectionable post.
After being removed from the green list, a person is eligible
for reinstatement to the green list after two months of
uniformly acceptable posts. In addition, a minimum of three
articles must have been submitted since the date of removal from
the green list before one is eligible for reinstatement. Again,
any person, including the individual in question, may submit the
eligible person to the moderators for this consideration, and a
simple majority vote will restore him/her to the list.
Acceptance and Rejection of Posts:
When the software routes a post to a randomly selected
moderator, that moderator will approve or reject that post. In
no case will he or she edit any part of the post, including the
newsgroup line. All rejected posts, including cross-posted ones,
will be returned to their authors intact (assuming that author
has a valid e-mail address). A brief explanation of the
rejection will accompany the article. The author may then revise
and resubmit the article, appeal the rejection, or submit the
article to another forum (e.g., spp).
If you wish to appeal the rejection of a post, please write to
the administrative e-mail address. One may also contact any
individual moderator or the ombudsman (see below for addresses).
When an article is appealed, it is sent to all of the
moderators. If at least one of the moderators believe that the
article is acceptable, then the article shall be posted. Thus,
unanimity will be required to sustain a rejection. This should
ensure a loose moderation style where minority interests are
protected.
Ombudsman:
The ombudsman provides a means by which sppm readers can give
feedback about the performance of moderators and oust one if
necessary. The ombudsman's primary duty will be to receive
complaints (or praise) about the moderators' performance and to
communicate with the moderators about this. Comments and
complaints about the moderators may be sent to the ombudsman at
sppm-co...@psychcentral.com. On a monthly basis, the
ombudsman will post to sppm a summary of feedback received. If
you would like your feedback to remain confidential, please let
the ombudsman know this; your request will be honored.
Election of Moderators and Ombudsman:
The current moderators and ombudsman have been elected by
readers of spp. One year after the inception of sppm, a second
election of moderators and ombudsman will take place.
Thereafter, these elections will occur every two years.
Elections will proceed as follows. A voting committee will be
created, composed of the ombudsman and two other individuals
selected by the moderators. These individuals will not be among
the moderators currently serving. This voting committee will
oversee moderator and ombudsman elections, which will be held
simultaneously.
The election process will begin with a three-week voter
registration period. Sppm readers who would like to vote in the
upcoming election will be asked to send a simple e-mail. During
the same three-week period, sppm members will also be asked to
send their nominations for moderator and/or ombudsman to the
voting committee.
After this registration/nomination period, the voting committee
will promptly contact the nominees, and then post a list of
those who accepted nomination. After this, two weeks will be set
aside for moderator and ombudsman campaigning (at all other
times, such posts will be considered off-topic).
After these two weeks have passed, the voting committee will
post moderator and ombudsman ballots, together with voting
instructions. Only those who have registered will be eligible to
vote. The voting period will last two weeks. Each voter will be
allocated five votes to distribute among the candidates as he or
she sees fit, with no fractional votes allowed. Votes will be
sent by e-mail to an ad-hoc listserve (designed to ensure
accurate counting by the committee). The committee will collect
and count the votes, and then post final voting results.
Registration, ballot, and nomination announcements will be
repeated at approximately one-week intervals. All election-
related material should be posted only to sppm.
Replacement/Removal of Moderators and Ombudsman:
The ombudsman or a moderator may occasionally wish to leave
office before his/her term is up. He/she may also be removed by
the procedures described below. If either of these circumstances
occur, the vacant seat will be filled by a vote among the
remaining moderators and ombudsman.
If complaints against a moderator are substantial, it may become
necessary to remove that moderator from office. Sppm members can
institute a recall election of any moderator by gathering 10
valid e-mail addresses of authors who have contributed to sppm
and who believe a recall election is justified. This "petition"
should be sent to the ombudsman, who, after confirming the
validity of the petition, will form a vote-counting committee,
post a ballot, and then post the final results. If 75% or more
of sppm voters agree that a moderator ought to be removed, he or
she will be; the ombudsman will notify the owner of the post
distribution program to remove that moderator. It is possible to
unseat an ombudsman by a similar procedure, although in that
case the petition should be directed to a moderator, who will
assume the duties just described. If a moderator or ombudsman
survives a recall election, no further recall petitions of that
moderator or ombudsman will be entertained for six months.
Disclaimer:
Please be cautious about accepting any advice you might receive
on sppm. The quality of advice varies tremendously, and there is
no way to verify either the credentials or the competence of
anyone posting to this newsgroup. Those who self-treat based
upon information posted in sppm do so at their own risk.
Moderators are not responsible for any direct, consequential, or
other damages resulting from information or misinformation
posted to sppm. Moderators do not check articles for accuracy,
nor do they guarantee or warrant the information provided on the
newsgroup for any specific purpose or use. No warranties,
expressed or implied, are made.
Last reviewed:
On 20 May 2003
By John M. Grohol, Psy.D.
Kimberly Barnard
Co-Moderator, sppm
--
"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called
research, would it?"
- Albert Einstein
'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`''`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`
sci.psychology.psychotherapy.moderated is a moderated newsgroup.
Before submitting an article, please read the guidelines which are posted
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