Hello,

This is the automatic monthly post of the ReikiWorkshops Group
Etiquette and Rules. If you have already read this post, there is no
need to read it again unless you want to ;-> If anything changes in
it, I'll announce it to the group so if you haven't heard anything
new, then nothing has changed.

Since the rules are simple and the etiquette is common sense for the
most part, I don't expect that things *will* change a lot.

First, and most important, please remember that inclusion of a teacher
on this elist through a direct post, or in the Links, Calendar or Database,
should not be taken as an endorsement of their credentials, nor as a
guarantee of their qualifications to teach. There is simply no way that I
can check everyone out with a list as large as this one has become. As with
all things, if you are seeking certification for professional practice or
in order to teach, ask questions and investigate before signing up for
any course. Some energy work systems, such as Karuna Reiki, Tera Mai,
Lightarian, Australian Sekhem, and others are trademarked in various
countries and may only be taught by licensed teachers -- who are often
listed on the websites of those groups. When in doubt, ask about credentials
and check with the authorizing body.

Next, as to etiquette, please remember to be courteous and
professional in your posts on this group. One of the advantages of
using the internet is the immediacy of communication. That is also
one of the disadvantages, since people sometimes post quickly
something that they would not have said if they had given the matter
a bit more thought. A good guide to online etiquette, called
"netiquette" by folks who spend a good deal of time on groups like
this, can be found at www.learnthenet.com/english/html/09netiqt.htm
It is short and to-the-point, and covers the basics well. A more
thorough site, if you want to go into the subject more in-depth, can
be found at either http://www.onlinenetiquette.com/ or at
http://www.onlinenetiquette.com/shallwestart.html And if you want to
learn exactly what *not* to do, in a very funny way, then check Dear
Emily Postnews at http://www.templetons.com/brad/emily.html Even
experienced internet users will get a chuckle out of that site.

(If you are a relative beginner to the internet, and wonder about
some of the buzz words and strange terminology we use here, a good
site to check out is http://netforbeginners.about.com/index.htm You
can find the answer to a lot of basic questions there quickly.)

And speaking of strange terminology, I always get letters from new
subscribers asking what "flaming" means in the general rules sent out
when signing up for this group. Flaming is an internet community
term for abusive, inflammatory, irrational and offensive comments
made in a public post about another member of the group or someone or
something being discussed in the group. In other words, it is a
personal attack, and an invitation to a fight.

Some people, unfortunately, seem to delight in flaming others in the
relative anonymity of internet discussions. Others like to provoke
outbreaks of flaming, called "flame wars," by posting deliberately
provocative statements that will start the flame ball rolling. Some
people join discussion groups for the sole reason of provoking such
flame wars. The internet term for these people are "trolls," and
"trolling" describes their behavior in going from group to group
trying to be destructive. The presence of trolls (and spammers --
advertisers posing offtopic and often pornographic material to groups
in hopes of making money) is the main reason that all new members of
this group are "moderated" at first. This means that all new members
posts are seen by me, the group owner and moderator, before they are
emailed out to the group. It delays things by a few minutes to a few
hours, depending on my schedule, but it also makes group life a lot
more peaceful and pleasant in the long run. A good reference on
flaming is http://www.advicemeant.com/flame/10define.shtml
which has even more amusing internet definitions and is a fun read.

Another basic rule for the group: If you want to contact me
privately, email me at reikiworkshops@... To send a message
to the entire list, email me at reikiworkshops@yahoogroups.com If
you mix up the two addresses, it won't be a major tragedy and I will
probably catch it and redirectthe email appropriately. However,
please try to keep the two addresses straight for your own peace of
mind.

Also -- and this is *very* important -- if you are set to the
"digest" option please make sure that your email software does NOT
quote the entire message you are replying to by turning this feature
off in your email options. If you need help on this, email me and
I'll be happy to explain it to you. If you quote the digest message,
it will copy the *entire* digest of 20 to 25 messages back into your
reply which is quite annoying to those reading the list.

Another message reply basic: Remember not to simply hit the reply
button on your email program if you want to ask for further
information about a workshop. If you do that, your note will go to
over 1,200 people automatically. Click on the email address of
the person who posted the workshop to the list, and you will send a
private note just to them. This is much more likely to quickly get
you the information that you need. This is an international list,
and please remember that internet access if paid for by the minute in
many countries so message download time can be costly. Please try to
keep private messages off the general list out of courtesy to others.

I said that the rules of the group are simple, and they are.

First, use good netiquette in all of your posts.

Second, remember that we are here to help each other, so please try
to answer questions or offer advice when it would be helpful.

Third, please try to stay on-topic for the purpose of this group --
workshops, conferences, classes and events of interest to beginners
and advanced Reiki people and other energy work professionals. If
you offer courses in astrology, or hypnosis, or modern dance, or
whatever, in addition to energy work courses, then feel free to make
mention of that in your posts -- in addition to courses or workshops
in energy work that you offer. Please remember that folks are here
primarily for energy work events and make certain that you are not
abusing their attention to your posts for general advertising that is
not related to our subject matter.

(Along these lines, you might consider this rule 3a: There are many,
many groups at yahoogroups and elsewhere that focus on distant
healing, Reiki for world peace, distant attunements, state and
national legislation about the practice of Reiki, general chat about
Reiki and healing, etc., etc. These are all very important topics,
and very good things to be involved in. However, there is, as far as
I know, no other group that specifically focuses on helping people
locate residential workshops, conferences and other events. Please
avoid the temptation, however worthy the cause, to try to devote
entire posts to these other subjects that have many groups devoted to
them already and stick with our main purpose. Of course, if you are
offering a workshop on Reiki for world peace, legislation info or
business techniques for Reiki professionals, or something similar,
then that is obviously exactly what the members of this group want to
hear about. If you are ever in doubt about whether to post a message
to this group on a subject that is near and dear to your heart or
weighing on your mind, feel free to email me privately at
reikiworkshops@... and ask for an opinion. If it isn't
appropriate for posting here, I might be able to direct you to
another group or forum where you would get a better response.)

We also have a lot of interesting discussions on subjects of interest
to teachers and students of energy work -- symbol use, specifics of how
to deal with different diseases or conditions, the nature of energy,
lineage and history, and other related topics. If you have a question,
or have something that has come up in one of your classes that you think
would benefit others, feel free to post it.

Fourth, remember that the main focus of this group is on residential
workshops, classes (residential and distance) and conferences rather
than distance attunements. That is not to say that we prohibit
posting non-residential attunement information, it is just that there
are many other places discussing that subject and we specialize in
training and experience that comes after attunement or simulateous
with it. This is one of the only yahoogroups that that focuses on
Reiki and other energy work training. Personally, I have had Reiki
attunements in both a traditional residential session, and I have
also had distance attunements. I believe that both were "real"
attunements, in that I think that something definitely happened as a
result of them. I also personally believe that there was a
difference in the nature of the attunements. In terms of Reiki
training, however, I would not personally have wanted to have had my
*first* Reiki training by correspondence, because I think that I
learned better in a residential workshop. After knowing basic Reiki
through ART or IIIa or the equivalent however, I think that the
correspondence training that I have taken was very good and very
helpful to me in my practice. I mention my own personal beliefs and
prejudices on this subject here simply to let you know that the
emphasis on residential training in creating this group comes more
from what I saw as a need for a group focus than because of any
belief that correspondence and distance training are less important
or of less value. Hopefully, we can respect each others opinions on
this subject and not get into discussions of the relative merits of
these kinds of training, as that would be off-topic. Please do try
to remember to keep away from posts that are only concerned with
attunements and not with training.

Fifth, please do NOT post prices or costs for training to the group.
Doing so will only lead to "price wars" and a focus on cost rather
than value. Posts with price information in them will not be
permitted -- please reserve that for your website listings, and place
a link to the information in your group post. This also applies to posts
that indicate free training, or are philosophical discourses on free
reiki versus charging for services. Other lists deal with that issue.
Please cooperate in keeping the focus of this list on education and
training and reserve those discussions for your own website or elsewhere.

That is pretty much all there is to it. (I said it was simple ;-> )
The same rules and guidelines that apply to posts made to the whole
group apply to items posted to the Calendar, the Links section, and
the Teachers Database. You can find all of those sections at our
home page at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/reikiworkshops in the menu
at the left hand side of the page. If you have a web page of your
own, feel free to put a link to the group up to let others know about
us. You can also get a subscription boxto help promote the group, at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ReikiWorkshops/promote

Thanks for reading through this document, and please remember that I
am always available to answer questions by email. I hope that you
find membership in ReikiWorkshops to be a rewarding and enriching
experience.

Jeff
ReikiWorkshops Group Owner