List FAQ (August 2022)

[ten grrl]

This message is your monthly reminder that you are a member of (or you can join) WPA-Anno...@googlegroups.com. This Google Group provides a curated list of announcements and calls for nominations, proposals, and job applicants, all relevant to people in rhetoric and composition, including writing studies, composition pedagogy, and program administration. Feel free to share information on the list with interested colleagues and students.

What Is WPA-Announcements?

This is an announcement list for calls, job listings, conferences, and other matters of interest to those who teach rhetoric and composition in higher ed. Appropriate posts can include announcements for new sites, new open access books/articles, new journal issues, and other new/updated things of interest to those teaching in or managing writing programs.

The list does NOT forward the following:

• Announcements related to individual conference sessions
  
• Repeated posts/information on calls, jobs, etc., unless a reasonable period of time has passed or a correction is needed

What Kind of List Is WPA-Announcements?

This is not a discussion list. It focuses only on distributing relevant details on new, evolving, and in-progress work relevant to the scholarship of writing studies, composition, rhetoric and teaching (and all the intersections of those areas).

How Are the Announcements Organized?

Typically the first word of the subject line will tell you the content area of the message (e.g., Job, CFP, Event). I frequently rephrase subject lines to make the content of the message clear and precise.

Where Can I Find the Announcements?

If you prefer email, join https://groups.google.com/g/wpa-announcements. The email list feeds distribution to other social media, so the same posts appear in these locations:

• Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/WPAannouncements/ [Will show ugly HTML formatting for some messages]
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/tengrrl
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WPAannouncements

CFPs are also posted at https://www.tengrrl.com/blog/educational-resources/cfp/. The calendar lists calls only, not job postings or events. These posts are copied from the same email messages, but they are sometimes edited because of space limitations. This webpage is powered by Google Calendar, which gives you three options for using the calls: 

1. You can visit the webpage.
2. You can add the entire calendar to your Google calendar.
3. You can add individual calls to your Google calendar.

Where Do WPA-Announcements Come From?

Announcements are forwarded from a variety of sources, including WritingStudies-L, WCENTER, ATTW-L, NextGen, and CPTSC. Announcements from Twitter and Facebook may be forwarded as well. I review all messages before posting them.  I make decisions on all items that are posted. My decisions are final. 

How Do You Join WPA-Announcements?  

You can join the list by visiting https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/wpa-announcements/join. You will receive a confirmation message. Please follow the instructions in that message to finalize your list membership. 

How Do You Change Settings on WPA-Announcements?    

Note that you can adjust settings (for instance, setting your membership to digest) by clicking the settings menu at the top right of the page, shown in the image below or view at https://www.screencast.com/t/3Xqt5kEyv:

How Do You View  WPA-Announcements without Joining?

If you prefer not to join, you can review messages on the website, where they are also publicly available: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/wpa-announcements.

How Do I Get My Announcement Posted to the List?

 I monitor the following email lists and groups for announcements:

• NextGen
• WCENTER
• CBW-L
• WritingStudies-L
• CFSHRC
• CPTSC
• ATTW
• TechRhet
  
• DS-HUM
• GSOLE
• WAC-L
• NWP

If you post your announcement to any of those lists, I will find it and forward it. You don't need to do anything. If you don't post your announcement in any of those places (um, why don't you??), you can email it to me at ten...@tengrrl.com. 

Are there reasons that you will not forward a message? 

Yes. All messages must be accessible. If the message is an image only, I usually won't forward it. Please provide a transcript for all images. Because of the high volume of messages forwarded, I frequently do not have time to create a transcript for you.

Do you edit messages? If so, how? 

1. I often edit subject lines to make them specific, so that list members know whether to open the post.
   
   
2. I remove phone numbers (personal or cell) that are included in messages. Institutional numbers tied to an HR announcement are sometimes included.
   
   
3. I remove direct Zoom links, including links to personal Zoom rooms. If your link will take me directly to a Zoom room, I will not forward the message in order to avoid Zoom bombers. Links to Zoom registration forms are fine.
   
   
4. I remove extraneous information. My goal is to keep the messages short and on point. These guidelines apply to that goal:

• Confidentiality statements are deleted (the statements that say this information if for the recipient only, etc.)
  
• Extra sig information is deleted. Your quotations of various great writers and speakers are nice, but they are extra, irrelevant text.
  
• No appointment sign-up links are forwarded. Those are typically meant for local readers on the sender's campus.

Are there limitations to this free service? 

Yes. I am the sole moderator, and I reject posts that are off-topic and clearly sales promotions. I also reject inappropriate posts. I focus on announcements that are equitable, diverse, and inclusive. I reject posts that do not support the needs of colleagues with disabilities. For instance, I would reject an announcement that includes all information in an image without a transcript or parallel description in the text. My decisions are final.

I do not send a reply to requests to post an announcement. This is strictly a time management decision. It is not in any way a reflection of my love and respect for my colleagues. It's about reality: If I have to send out an announcement AND a message to tell you that I posted your announcement, I double my work.

Questions? Requests?   

For questions about the list, please contact the list owner, Traci Gardner <ten...@tengrrl.com>. You can also check the Google Groups documentation for technical questions: https://support.google.com/groups/answer/2464926?hl=en