Herbal Hall Protocol: The Professional Herbalists' Discussion List
Please keep this file accessible on your hard drive; it contains important
information that you may need to refer to in the future.
LIST TOPIC
Herbal Medicine. Western herbal medicine is the main emphasis, and dialogue
between traditions is encouraged. All subjects relating to the practice of
herbalism are embraced.
NATURE OF LIST
*The mailing list provides an international discussion forum for
professional herbalists and practitioners of all traditions of herbal medicine.
*The list is closed to the public to provide a confidential forum for peer
level practitioner discussion free from "entry-level" questions that
dominate open lists.
*New members are subscribed through nomination by an existing member and
approved by a membership panel. (See membership procedure below)
* The list is non-moderated, but members are required to follow protocol
guidelines.
* Quality not quantity of debate is the goal. Personal and clinical
experience is emphasized.
LIST PROFESSIONAL ETIQUETTE
*Individual members are expected to observe accepted standards of
professional conduct and extend normal professional courtesies to one
another on the list.
*Confidentiality is to be observed by all list members. This includes
normal protection of patient identity as well as the following:
reproduction of posted material for educational purposes should be by
permission of the original poster. List mail must not be discussed with or
reposted to non-list members. List content is not to be used for commercial
purposes of any description.
* Members are not to abuse the list by posting commercial-oriented
material. The list administrators reserve the right to interpret the term
"commercial". This will not apply to announcements of professional level
meetings, members' new publications, job vacancies or mention of named
products in clinical and research context. If in doubt, contact the
administrators for clearance.
* Members are requested to observe the protocol regarding use of
professional credentials and acronyms on the list (described fully below).
LIST NETIQUETTE
Members are required to practice basic mailing list internet etiquette
(netiquette). Members unfamiliar with normal internet mailing list posting
procedures should observe the following accepted standard guidelines:
* All posted subject matter must be within the scope of the list topic.
* Posts should be as short and concise as possible.
* When replying to a previous post, include a line or two of the previous
post to create continuity in the thread. Do NOT repeat the WHOLE of the
previous post or posts.
* Avoid posting a reply to the whole list if it is only intended for one
individual. Replies to requests for items/info should be sent to the
individual offering/asking them rather than "me too" posts to the whole
list. Think before you send your mail.
* Chain letters and virus warnings may not be posted to the list.
* "Flaming" and abusive posts are unacceptable.
* Offensive language is unacceptable.
* Attachments (including vcf personal data files) may not be sent to the list.
* Before you send mail always double check the address to avoid embarrassment.
MEMBERSHIP
Any current list member may nominate a new list member. The nominee must be
a professional herbalist known personally or professionally by their
sponsoring list member. Because "professional-level" is a poorly-defined
term, we have a nominating committee of herbalists with varying backgrounds
to make a case-by-case determination. In general, herb students are not
eligible for membership, and should have a certificate or degree, as
appropriate, before applying. An exception might be made on a case-by-case
basis for an advanced student previously certified as an herbalist in a
less advanced program, or who is seeing clients or patients in a clinical
setting as the primary care giver, or for a student who is also already
functioning as a professional herbalist in one capacity or another.
The sponsoring list member must then send to one of the administrators:
1. Nominees email address and name
2. Nominees resume and qualifications describing their training and
activities as a professional level herbalist. This must be WRITTEN BY
NOMINEE and sent in plain text only (No attached .doc or .pdf files please).
3. Confirmation that they do know nominee either personally or
professionally and that the details in the resume are correct to the best
of their knowledge.
The nomination is then forwarded to members of the nominating committee,
who consider each application independently for approval. Following
approval new members will be subscribed to the list by the administrators
and are expected to:
* Agree to follow the List protocol, etiquette and netiquette guidelines.
* Agree to "lurk" for one month (i.e., read only) before posting in order
to appreciate the list style and culture.
* Post their brief biography as a first post to the list in order to
introduce themselves to members. This is required before any replies to the
list are made.
The purpose of Membership Panel is to maintain a high standard of
professional membership and debate. The panel members are from different
countries, and the majority of panel members are respected and qualified
professionals who practice, publish, teach, or run schools of herbalism.
Panel members' identities will not be known to the list. List
administrators are not part of the membership panel. The administrators
may, but are not obliged, to divulge the reasons of the Membership Panel to
a nominating member for rejecting an application.
Members nominating persons either unknown to them personally or who supply
incorrect information in order to enroll nominees otherwise ineligible will
have their rights to nominate new members withdrawn.
NOTE ABOUT CREDENTIALS
The meaning of the term "professional herbalist" differs in different
countries. In the USA there is no legally recognized professional status or
educational standard for the practice of western herbal medicine as in
exists in the UK for example. In the USA anyone earning their living from
herbalism and related activities such as wildcrafting or herbal product
manufacture may consider themselves professional herbalists.
* USA list members should not use ambiguous acronyms derived from
non-recognized titles such as CH ("certified or clinical herbalist") or MH
("master or medical herbalist") since these cause confusion to others,
especially those members from other countries. American members are invited
to append a full descriptive title e.g., "Clinical Herbalist", to their
signature.
* The title doctor should not be used except by appropriately medically
qualified list members (MD, ND, OMD, and DC). PhD holders should append
their qualification after their name.
ENFORCEMENT OF LIST GUIDELINES
The list generally enjoys a harmonious, informal and usually high quality
of discussion. The guidelines are respected with low levels of intervention
from the administrators. A few rules have become necessary as the list
membership has grown.
* Serious violations of professional etiquette and list netiquette
protocols will result in a warning from administrators and can result in
permanent removal of the offender from the list. The administrators will
interpret what constitutes "serious violation". Breaches of confidentiality
are all considered serious.
* Persistent, but less serious, violations of list protocol will be given
two warnings and then subsequently required to lurk for three months.
* Members may draw the administrators' attention to posts they consider
breach the list protocol by sending a complaint. Do not send complaints or
comments concerning inappropriate posts to the list itself. Administrators
may communicate privately with the posting list member concerned, without
this being a formal "warning".
LIST ADDRESSES AND MEMBERSHIP MAINTENANCE:
Posting Messages to the Group:
The address for posting to Herbal Hall is:
mailto:herbalhall@lists.ibiblio.org
Using the email interface is easy. Hit reply, type in your response, and
delete the quoted material that doesn't apply.
Current Archives:
To access the current archives (2002 to date), go to
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/herbalhall
You will need your password.
How to Change Your Herbal Hall Address or Get Your Password
Please try these steps before writing administration for help.
1. Go to http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/herbalhall
This address is on the bottom of every post you receive from Herbal Hall.
2. Enter your email address in the box at the bottom of the page and press
the button that says, "Get password or edit options."
3. On this next page you will be prompted to enter your password. If you do
not have your password, you can get it mailed to you by pressing a button
at the bottom of this page.
4. After entering your password, you will move to the page where you can
change your address, password, and other membership options.
Best of Herbal Hall:
Henriette Kress maintains a Best of Herbal Hall (1996-1999) edited by her,
arranged by herb, author, date, or problem. It also includes the raw,
unedited versions of those years.
The Best of Herbal Hall files are now here:
http://www.henriettesherbal.com/archives/bohh/
Please remember that this is not a public archive. Contact admin for a
password.
To contact an administrator send email to:
mailto:herbalhall-owner@lists.ibiblio.org
HERBAL HALL WEB PAGE
Rob Biddleman's web page Herbal Hall can be found at
http://www.herb.com/herbal.htm
Contributions are welcome. Contact Robert Biddleman for
more information.
Herbal Hall List Protocol can be found at:
http://www.herb.com/root.html
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/herbalhall
HERBAL HALL ADMINISTRATION
The members of the administration are unpaid, donating hours of their time
and energy to manage "behind the scenes" administrative work. The actual
person doing administrative functions can change from time to time. For the
fastest response to administrative requests write to:
mailto:herbalhall-owner@lists.ibiblio.org
Founding Members
Robert Biddleman john@herb.com
Jonathan Treasure greenman@herbological.com
Howie Brounstein howieb@botanicalstudies.net
List administrators have the right to express their views/feelings openly
in personal posts. Unless specifically signed as Herbal Hall
Administration, please assume that the opinions expressed in these posts
are personal and in no way reflect the policies of the List Administration.
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To change membership options or use the archives:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/herbalhall
For new member nominations and administrative business:
mailto:herbalhall-owner@lists.ibiblio.org
Howie Brounstein
for Herbal Hall Admin