The Commons is designed to provide an exciting opportunity for students, parents, advisors and all Commons' members to engage in meaningful conversations,post and respond to queries, share insights and resources and participate in collaborative projects. The Commons has conferences in which people can read and post threaded conversations; there is also chat capacity. Word processing documents and audio and video files can be attached to messages in conferences and chats. There is also slideshow capability for presentations.

We want to create an environment in which people feel free to explore new and different ideas and to feel comfortable expressing themselves. It is important to have some parameters within which the conversations and sharing of resources take place. The parameters described in this document relate to:

1.Protocol for posting so that there is some order to where and how we have our conversations. We want people to be able to follow the ideas presented and be able to find messages and choose where they would like to participate.

2. Protocol for balancing encouragement of open, free and varied conversation with the understanding that we need to be sensitive to and respectful of each other.

3. Respect for the privacy of people within the Commons as well as compliance with privacy laws.

4. Maximization of the safety and security of children while they are within the Commons.

We see this document as emergent - always open to feedback and change. We invite community members to participate in its ongoing development.

1. Sign in using your own ID so that people will know who is online, who has posted messages and e-mail and with whom they are chatting.

2. We ask that adults use their Commons ID and e-mail address when communicating with young people in the Commons and that they refrain from inviting young people to use their private e-mails and chat services outside the Commons.

3. Consider the relevance of your message to the topic of the conference before posting.

4. Within conferences, try to keep your posts relevant to the subject thread. If you want to change the subject, start a new thread by changing the subject line. If you want to reply to a post in a current thread, choose one of the Reply options from the Message menu.

5. Refrain from posting one message to multiple conferences. This is called cross posting.

6. When replying to a message, please quote all or part of the message to which you are replying so others can understand your response.

7. It is important to remember that without facial expression and voice tone to accompany your words, it is easy to misinterpret the meaning or someone else's posts and to "miscommunicate" when you write. Attempt to write enough in your message that others will understand what you are talking about. The use of visual smiley faces such as :-) and :-( can help make our intentions more evident.

8. Pay attention to the To: line of your post to make sure that you know who will receive it and have included those you intend to include.

9. Please post a reader-friendly biographical sketch of yourself (identified in our system under the 'Resume' function) so that people can know a little about who you are.

1. Respectful and positive language and a willingness to listen encourage conversations that deepen and expand our perceptions of ourselves, others and the world. In this learning community, we want to have conversations that contribute to the quality of understanding between people and the quality of life on earth.

2. We expect conversations to be respectful of the rights and sensibilities of other people. Behavior which breaches federal hate laws, as well as sexually explicit language, pornography, copyrighted material (other than short samples), swearing and violence-oriented language are not acceptable.

3. While these are concepts that have some gray areas in terms of definition, avoid the use of sarcasm. Do not use terms that denigrate other's ideas such as calling them "stupid" or "ridiculous".

4. The Clonlara Commons is a family environment where most conferences are open to everyone. It is, therefore, important that all topics and conversations be respectful of young children and their sensibilities.

5. We request that Commons members post within the Commons. Clonlara cannot be responsible for postings that occur through private mail outside the Commons, through outside chat groups, and the like. We recommend that parents be aware of the internet environments in which their children are posting. Clonlara spot checks and monitors contents of postings within the Commons.

6. Content in conferences is considered to be private and exclusive to the Commons. If you wish to copy, print or send out work to others, please ask for permission from the writer and respect his/her wishes.

7. When responding to or quoting another person, unless you have their permission, please post only to conferences in which the writer originally posted.

8. Clonlara encourages diversity of opinion and healthy, respectful discussion of ideas. Accordingly, if you encounter an idea or opinion contrary to your own, we encourage you to be considerate and inclusive when giving feedback or criticism to another's work and/or opinions. Similarly, if soliciting feedback on your work or ideas, it helps to request, and clarify a specific kind of feedback you might want from others.

9. Commons' users shall use the Commons for non-commercial purposes only, unless a prior agreement is made with the Commons Administrator.

If you discover something that may represent a breach of the guidelines for appropriate use as outlined in this document, such as objectionable language in conferences or in chats, or if you feel offended by someone else's behavior, you may respond directly to the poster in a conference or e-mail them privately and if you wish, send a copy to the Commons Administrator. It is helpful to provide a sample of the communication or direct quotes. If you do not wish to contact the poster directly, you may send a message to the Commons Administrator for consideration. She will investigate the concern and report on the progress of the investigation.

Relationships which involve student/student, mentor/mentor and student/mentor dynamics are encouraged. In order to optimize relationships, each individual is requested to assume that the other people on the network are operating from positive intent. Each person is encouraged to express his/her point of view, as long as that point of view does not indicate harm to others. Interesting dialogue can evolve as points of view are shared and differences are discussed. Since we encourage discussion between children and adults, we insist that people take extra care not to manipulate or intrude on the rights of others, especially young people.

Messages sent to and from your mail box are private and accessible only to you and to the Commons online administrators. Normally, mail will not be looked at by any administrator. However, if there is some indication that a Commons member is participating outside the Commons Agreement, private mail may be checked by administrators. Administrators will only read and copy private mail in order to ensure a safe and positive Commons.

The security of messages and files posted to the Commons is excellent, but exceptions can occur. There is always a chance that your data could become lost or corrupted. There are number of systems in place to back up data to insure against loss. However, it is important to know that loss is possible.

Access to the Commons is available to family members currently enrolled in Clonlara's Homebased Education Program and campus school.  Once enrollment ceases to be current, Commons access and the contents of files or documents saved on the member's Commons desktop will be deleted.

Unwanted disclosure may also occur due to software or hardware malfunction or through deliberate circumvention of privacy protection features by malicious persons.

If you feel a private message or file posted on the Commons is too sensitive to chance the possibilities of disclosure listed above, please do not post it.

If anyone has something valuable to share, and the copyright provisions permit, they may upload it to the Commons, so their fellow users can benefit. As an educational and a not-for-profit venture, we permit portions of copyrighted text to be posted for review and discussion. Use your discretion - this is a grey area. Please quote your sources and make reference to the author, so that people can access the complete work and support the work of the author.

Giving away copies of commercial software is illegal and cannot be done through the Commons.

No warranty, express or implied, is offered with respect to this service or any files or messages on it.

The uploader of any file is responsible for making reasonable effort to insure that the file is free from viruses or other damaging bugs.

Likewise, Clonlara does not warrant the performance of any software or files uploaded to the Commons.

Users who download files or messages from the Commons are hereby notified that they do so at their own risk.

Clonlara School and any other persons associated with the running of the Commons are not responsible for the accuracy of any information posted to the Commons.

Opinions expressed in the Clonlara Commons, whether in a public message or private email, are the opinion of the originator, not Clonlara School, or any related person or persons, unless expressly stated as such by the Clonlara administration.

Clonlara School makes no warranty as to the availability or scope of the services offered here. Changes to the hours and services offered in the Commons may be subject to change without notice.

Commons' users shall use the Commons according to the general goals and philosophy of Clonlara School, as outlined in this Agreement of Use.

As much as possible, Clonlara will attempt enter into mutual dialogue regarding these guidelines when exploring a particular situation. Often, misunderstandings arise due to the unique nature of electronic communication. The Executive will attempt to open up the lines of communication to bridge this gap, if possible.

Users who act outside the above guidelines shall be contacted by the Commons Administrator to discuss any apparent breach of the guidelines. A breach of these guidelines may result in temporary or permanent cessation of access to the Clonlara Commons.

1. Each person must use his or her own User ID while in the Commons.

2. Clonlara understands that it may be more convenient to use an external e-mail address. We ask that, for safety, parents and adults not ask children to use e-mail addresses or chat services that take their conversation outside of the Commons.

3. Users should use discretion in accepting invitations to meet other users in person. Children should inform parents of this intention. Clonlara cannot attest to the character or behavior of all adults in the Commons. Only advisors and Clonlara School staff are subject to criminal record checks. However, all adults are considered to be in a position of responsibility regarding their relationships with children in the Commons.

4. Please check websites that are posted within the Commons in order to be sure that content and tone are acceptable for children