This is a USM conduct guide to help maintain a positive and productive Google Chat environment for all participants. These norms may not be exhaustive, and they might evolve over time, but they are a startlng point for ensuring that everyone feels welcome and appreciated in the forum.

1. Participate: This is a shared USM environment Notice the discussion thread of others. For the benefit to all contribute if you have valuable input.
2. Be Patient: Read everything in the discussion thread before replying. This will help you avoid repeating something someone else has already contributed. Acknowledge the points made with witch you agree and suggest alternatives for those with which you don't.
3. Be Brief: You want to be clear. Be direct, stay on point. Don't lose yourself, or your readers, in overly wordy sentences or paragraphs.
4. Proper Writing Style: Write as if you were writing a term paper. Correct spelling, grammatical construction and sentence structure are good style which is appreciated here.
5. Cite Your Sources: If your contribution to the conversation includes the intellectual property (authored material) of others, e.g., books, newspaper, magazine, or journal articles -online or in print - they must be given proper attribution.
6. Respect Diversity: lt's an ethnically rich and diverse, multi-cultural world in which we live. Use no language that is - or that could be construed to be - offensive toward others. Racists, sexist, and heterosexist comments and jokes are unacceptable, as are derogatory and/or sarcastic comments and jokes directed at religious beliefs, disabilitles, and age.
7. No YELLING! Use proper capitalization. Beware the electronic footprint you leave behind. Using bold upper-case letters is bad form, like stomping around and yelling at somebody (NOT TO MENTION BEING HARD ON THE EYE).
8. No Flaming! Criticism must be constructive, well-meaning, and well-articulated. Rants directed at any other contributor are not accepted and will not be tolerated. The same goes for profanity. The USM environment expects higher-order language.
9. USM is Non Profit: Respect that USM is not for profit. You may use USM concepts in your professional career for commercial purposes. In our community we do not want participants to advertise their products or services for generating individual profits.
10. You Can't Un-Ring the Bell. Language is your only tool in an online environment Be mindful. How others perceive you will be largely - as always - up to you. Once you've hit the send button, you've rung the bell. Review your written posts and responses to ensure that you've conveyed exactly what you intended.