Once again, I am posting this to the list rather than to each new member.
Welcome!
You have joined the PARKINSN mailing list, also
known as the Parkinson's Information Exchange
Network (PIEnet).
Please send a message to the list members (if you
want to) introducing yourself and any
Parkinson's-related topics you would like.
Let me introduce myself. I am a secretary for four
faculty members in the School of Nursing, McMaster
University. In September, 1992, I was diagnosed
as having Parkinson's ... hence my interest in
this list.
My purpose in starting the list was the exchange
of information about Parkinson's. The list rapidly
changed into the largest support group I know.
Besides its original purpose, the list has become
'a means of feeling connected' to others... a way
of feeling we're not alone... of making the road
of living with pd easier to bear.
I have always felt that we hear each other better
on the list because we can't see each other.
Symptoms, age, colour, race, don't interfere. The
list knows no countries, has nothing to do with
money... there's no "what's in it for me?"
But these same qualities mean our words are open
to misinterpretation. Since others can't see our
wry smile or wink or hear our tone of voice, a
goal of keeping it "short & sweet" can result in
appearing abrupt.
Also, the same word can have different meanings
and different shades of meaning to different
people in different areas of the world so care
must be taken in both your writing and your
reading of the messages.
Flaming and selling are not allowed. Please send
messages in plain text only. Do not make any
changes in medication or any treatments without
consulting your physician. Be kind. Be honest.
Share the time fairly.... if you think you have
taken more than your share of the list resources,
you just might have.
Keep it generally related to Parkinson's. Don't
abuse the generosity of the University of
Toronto's free gift of the list. Don't include all
of the message to which you are replying. Use
plain text with no attachments. Wash your hands
with soap before you eat. :) In other words, use
the same common courtesy that you would elsewhere.
We need everyone's voices if we are going to make
a difference in the care and treatment of pd and
the motivation and funding of research. Speak up.
Tell your story. Ask your questions. Answer
questions. Debate/argue about the answers.
Debate/argue about the goals, administration,
day-to-day functioning of the list. Tell a joke...
but please don't attempt to silence anyone else's
voice.
The messages on the Parkinsn list may be personal
but they are NOT private... never have been. The
illusion of privacy when using e-mail is just
that: an illusion.
Never, in the history of this planet, has this
kind of relationship existed. We meet in a place
that has no walls. We talk to our friends whom we
have never seen. We care deeply for other members
whom we will never physically hug. Folks, we're
making it up as we go along, so any rules have to
be flexible.
I hope you enjoy your involvement with the
Parkinsn Information Exchange Network.
Barb
==================================================
Barbara Patterson [log in to unmask]
HSC 2J22 905-525-9140, ext. 22403
Secretary School of Nursing
McMaster University Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
==================================================
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To obtain a list of the commands that the
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HELP
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===========================================================================
Barbara Patterson [log in to unmask]
HSC 2J22 905-525-9140, ext. 22403
School of Nursing
===========================================================================
