Internal Communications (Mailing Lists)
In order to facilitate communication among the members of the Green Party of Virginia, official e-mail listservs have been created. The lists have been separated into distinct topic areas, so that members will only receive e-mail that truly interests them. Cross-posting to the GPVA lists is strongly discouraged! Posting for each list is limited to members of that list. The GPVA adheres to an opt-in policy for e-mail listservs; your approval is required for subscription.
The GPVA uses Mailman for its listservs. Mailman is a web based program which archives messages. In fact, list subscribers don't even have to get messages in their e-mail in box - they can read the list online, and can reply to messages (via their own e-mail accounts) right from the webpage. Only list subscribers can read the archives. As an organization dedicated to grassroots democracy, we encourage all GPVA members to participate in our discussion lists!
The GPVA Announcements Only List
gpva-announce is an announcements only list for members of the GPVA. This will be low volume - about one announcement per month of state meetings or other important events. Posting is limited to the Co-Chairs and the Postmaster. All GPVA members who have e-mail are encouraged to join this list, as this is our preferred method of communicating important Party announcements.
The GPVA Business List
gpva-business is for e-mail discussion of party business only. It is limited to members of the GPVA. Upcoming meeting agenda items, GPVA committee reports, and items that our delegates to the GPUS National Committee need to vote on are appropriate discussion topics here.
The GPVA Discuss List
gpva-discuss is for e-mail discussions about how to foster a greener Virginia and a more responsive government. It's also a good way to advertise an upcoming events and activities that support environmental sustainability and social justice.
The GPVA News List
gpva-news is for non-members to receive press releases, pertinent news, and notices of upcoming events. This low-volume list is perfect for those who just want to stay informed on GPVA progress and activities.
Committee Lists
GPVA Committee Lists are for e-mail discussions among the members of a specific committee. See the committee list under "Committees" at the top menu of this website, and click on one of them to view details of that committee, and a link to join their email list. Joining a committee's email list is the same as joining the committee, and is something we encourage. Get involved!
NOTES regarding use of the mailing lists
- You can't send anything to a list from an address that's not subscribed to that list.
- All lists have some restrictions on length of email and ability to forward attachments. This differs from list to list.
- Some lists are moderated, meaning that messages are held for approval.
- Individual people can be flagged for moderation, if they regularly violate the protocol below.
- Some lists are one-way (e.g. gpva-announce), limiting sending to the list owners only.
- Every subscriber has the option of "bundling" their to-be-received emails into daily or weekly digests, so they are not CC'd on every email as it is produced.
- Every month, every list subscriber is sent an email reminding them of the lists to which they are subscribed, and giving links for editing their options or unsubscribing.
- Until we find a fix for the multiple-domains/single-server certificate problem, people directly accessing list webpages may see certificate warnings, saying that the page certificate is for "fredjazz.org" (for example). It is safe to continue to the page. Anyone with a clue as to how to fix this problem is welcome/encouraged to join the IT Committee and/or notify the webmaster of the solution. Thanks!
Listserv Policy
The GPVA provides its listservs as a private communications service to its members. If you have changed your membership information, please let us know. If you have any problems subscribing, send an e-mail to the Webmaster.
The GPVA reserves the right to provide an atmosphere conducive to intelligent discussion on these listservs. Ad hominem attacks, crazed rants, inappropriate cross-posting, anonymous posts and spamming will not be tolerated. Subscribers who abuse the lists or other e-mail services will have their posting privileges restricted or terminated. As per the above listserve protocol, we now have a Listserve Moderator, who is empowered to enforce these provisions. Please contact him/her if you have complaints about disruptive behavior on the listserves. Do NOT contact the webmaster for this.
Click here to read the full LISTSERVE PROTOCOL, adopted Sept. 8, 2012.
External Communications (Social Media)
The GPVA also maintains a number of social media accounts worth checking out, for the latest developments in political action opportunities, discussing current events, strategizing on promotional efforts, and more. Our social media accounts are managed by the elected GPVA Press Secretary. They can be reached at GPVApress@gmail.com.
Facebook GPVA Main Page
This page is for the promotion of the Green Party of Virginia. Its purpose is to engage the public, to promote the party, and to educate non-party members about the GPVA, its principles, and its political program.
Facebook GPVA Organizing and Discussion Page
This page is for GPVA members to engage one another on topics of direct relevance to the GPVA or GPUS.
GPVA Twitter account
This account is for the posting of timely information about the GPVA, and of official GPVA responses and comments on current events.
These social media accounts are reserved for the use of GPVA members, and there are guidelines to follow here too.
Click here to read the full text of the SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY, adopted Dec. 27, 2017.
Here are some guidelines for getting the most out of the mailing lists and social media outlets:
- The proper abbreviation for the Green Party of Virginia is "GPVA". The proper abbreviation for the Green Party of the United States is "GPUS". The proper abbreviation for GPVA local organizations is theirs to determine -- the most recent choices are shown on the "Locations" tab of this site.
- Non-committee GPVA listservs do not accept attachments. HTML mail is also converted to plain text to prevent the spread of viruses.
- Keep on topic for the list. No cross-posting.
- Attempt to keep posts concise and to the point. Consider the e-mail storage space limitations of your fellow list members.
- No spamming! Spam will be reported to the spammer's ISP and will result in your subscription being terminated.
- Check your facts.
- Copy the URL's of pertinent articles into your posting, and a brief summary - not the whole text. Your comments or suggestions for action add more to the discussion than just the text of articles which can be read elsewhere.
- Copy only the pertinent parts of the posting to which you are responding.
- Don't feel obliged to respond to every post - give others a chance to speak up.
- Don't fan the flames and don't feed the trolls!
Finally, here is a short guide to some of the logical fallacies. Your argument will carry more weight if you avoid these:
- Arguing from ignorance (the failure to disprove something does not prove it).
- Equivocation (An elephant is an animal. Jumbo is a small elephant. Therefore, Jumbo is a small animal.)
- Straw man (misquoting, exaggerating or distorting the other position).
- Arguing in a circle (Is God kind? Kindness is a virtue and God has all the virtues, therefore God is kind.)
- Slippery slope (Something catastrophic will happen because of an inevitable sequence of events starting from the item being discussed).
- Composition (all the players are good, so the team should win).
- Division (the school is good, so all teachers in it are good).
- Ad hominem argument (Attacking the poster, instead of the topic).
- Argument by authority (Someone well respected or well known said it, so it must be true).
- The fallacy of complex questions (When did you stop beating your wife?).
- The fallacy of irrelevance (ignoring the issue).
- Appeal to force (I'll complain to the postmaster on you, if you don't agree with me).
- Appeal to emotion, without backing evidence.
- The fallacy of false assumption (If Nader hadn't run, Gore would be President).
There are others, these are just a few suggestions for things to beware of in a good discussion. We Greens distinguish ourselves from the major parties by our values; let us keep those values in mind in our discussion methods.
