Funakoshi's Code of Conduct

Contributors offers insight into the non-physical side of the Martial Arts, often ignored when discussing self-defense.
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gmattson
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Funakoshi's Code of Conduct

Post by gmattson »

PRINCIPLES OF CONDUCT

Membership applications may be approved only after pledging to strive to adhere to the Principles of Conduct.

Traditional Karate claims the goal of not victory nor defeat, but in the perfection of the character of the participants.

With this in mind, Gichin Funakoshi developed the DOJO KUN (Precepts of Karate Training):

Seek Perfection of Character
Defend the Path of Truth
Endeavor to Excel
Display Courtesy.
Refrain from Violent Behavior
And how these codes apply to the CyberDojo, one of the better martial art newsgroups. . .
All members must strive to follow these precepts when in the CYBER-Dojo (though it is encouraged that everyone strive to follow these precepts all the time). These precepts implies the following on this list:

Remain courteous at all times.

Keep in mind that truth is relative, depending on perspective.

Maintain an open mind.

Choose words carefully. Regrets should be offered when warranted.

Do not belittle anyone for any reason.

Keep the line of discussion within the topic of traditional Japanese/Okinawan karate.

Do not criticize another style/art.

When disagreeing with an issue, substantiate the disagreement with scholarly evidence or information based on rational reasoning based on personal experience.

When expressing an opinion, offer information in support of that opinion.

Members will make all efforts to keep this forum "flame-proof".

If you would like to have a personal discussion, please do so without posting it to the group.

When an individual feels offended, send a message back to the offender only. Maintain courtesy.
It may have been just a misunderstanding.

When anyone detects that a posting may have been offensive, send a message to the poster. The person may not have realized that the post was offensive.

Be courteous.

Violators of the Principles of Conduct may be given a warning from the list owner, though the violator may just as likely be immediately suspended from the CyberDojo. Once the problem has been solved. If the problem cannot be resolved, the violator may be expelled from the CyberDojo and Banned.


GENERAL E-MAIL ETIQUETTE AND GROUND RULES FOR POSTING TO THE CYBERDOJO --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Each dojo has its rules on courtesy and etiquette in the dojo. The CYBERDOJO is no exception. Courtesy and etiquette are especially important over any kind of electronic media, since it is very easy to misunderstand and/or take insult at otherwise innocuous statements. This section is a guide to good e-mail communication in general and the CYBERDOJO in particular. It has been liberally stolen from several publically available guides to newsgroups and e-mail (mostly the "Usenet Writing Guide") and experience by the FAQ maintainers.

- Keep paragraphs short and sweet. Keep sentences shorter and sweeter. This means "concise," not cryptic.

- White space is not wasted space -- it greatly improves clarity. A blank line only adds a byte to the article length, so don't be stingy if it will help make your meaning clearer.

- Pick your words carefully. Writing with precision is as important here as it is in any other kind of discourse. Consider carefully whether what you have written can be misinterpreted, and whether that is something you wish to have happen.

- Avoid abbreviations and acronyms, if possible, and define the ones you use. Try to include both the English and the Japanese for any techniques you are describing (names of kata and people excepted).

- Subtlety is not communicated well in written form - especially over a computer. Humor is not communicated well, either. When you are trying to be funny, mark it with a "smiley" (a colon, dash, and right paren in sequence, like this :-) or some equivalent (like :) ;-) =8^) O-) <g> (for "grin") or "ha ha" (hi Ray!) ). Look at 'em sideways if you don't know why they're called smilies.

- IN E-MAIL, CAPITAL LETTERS ARE USED TO DENOTE EMPHASIS. WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT MESSAGES IN ALL CAPS IS THE E-MAIL EQUIVALENT OF SHOUTING. DO YOU UNDERSTAND??!?!!?!!?! :-). It is also supposed to be easier to read a combination of upper- and lower-case characters than all upper-case or all lower-case.

- Take a break before posting something in anger or that might hurt or anger others. Walk away from your computer for a few minutes and hit a makiwara or something, and then come back and review what you have written. A good idea for posting messages in general.

- When replying to a question, ask yourself if your reply is really of general interest or if you can just send e-mail directly to the original questioner. Some CYBERDOJO members have to pay for e-mail access, and would rather not read something really intended for one person. In addition, many people have limited time to go through their e-mail, and it gets frustrating to read essentially personal messages in the CYBERDOJO. We're a friendly bunch and don't mind if total strangers send us e-mail.

- Apply the above two rules again if someone on the CYBERDOJO says something which strikes you as particularly flameworthy. We all get careless every now and then and we can all get misinterpreted. Nobody likes being flamed publicly, and most people don't like reading flames either.

- Most e-mail programs have the "sender" of a message to be the CYBERDOJO rather than the original sender of the message. This has led to some accidental postings of private e-mail to the public forum in the past. Check who you're sending to before you send. (See Section 2, below, to find someone's e-mail address on the CYBERDOJO).

- Related to the above, it's generally a good idea to at least include your name and e-mail address at the end of your messages so people who want to reply to you know who you are and how to reach you.

- Some people append a signature file to the end of their e-mail messages (with info like a name, e-mail or snail-mail address, pithy quotes, etc). If you use one, please keep your signature file to 4 lines or less.

- Quote other messages frugally, meaning that you include only the text that is necessary to make your reply comprehensible. This does NOT include the signature file. Anybody who sends a message to the CYBERDOJO that includes the complete text of a large message with full headers and signature, only to say something like "Me too!" or "Right on!" will owe the CYBERDOJO 100 cyber-press-ups. :-).

- Most people consider it a breach of netiquette to post private e-mail in a public forum without the original sender's permission. If someone sends you private e-mail that you want to share with the group, ensure that it is OK with him/her to post the message before you do so. If you do post the e-mail, try to "anonymize" the mail by removing "From:" information and any signatures.

- Remember - your current or future employers may be reading your articles. So might your spouse, neighbors, children, and others who will long-remember your gaffes.

- Please try to keep the width of your text to 80 columns. When a sentence breaks off in mid-line or ends suddenly, it makes it much more difficult to read.

- If you can, run your posts through a spelling checker before you send them (and remember joust bee claws eat goat paste thee spoil check her doe's ant mien it's spilt write :-).

- While not as easy as just spell-checking, try to use proper grammar when writing; Strunk & White's _The Elements of Style_ is a small, cheap, easy to read, and easy to find English-language style guide.

- Of course, there are non-native speakers of English in the CYBERDOJO, so don't yell at someone just for misspellings or bad grammar. This is considered bad e-mail etiquette in general.

- If someone asks a question in the CYBERDOJO, check any remaining messages before you fire off a reply to the group. It's possible that someone else will have already answered the question, and you won't be providing any new information.

- Profanity or obscene language in the CYBERDOJO is strongly frowned upon. In general, speak in the CYBERDOJO as you would on your dojo floor, though maybe a bit less formally and with more humor allowed. :-).

- The following types of messages are not permitted on the CYBERDOJO: o Style X is uncategorically better/worse than style Y. o Style X is not a legitimate/the only legitimate branch of Z karate. o Person X is a <CENSORED> , in regards to anybody else in the CYBERDOJO.

Posting these types of messages will be grounds for temporary or permanent removal from the CYBERDOJO.

- While it's considered bad form to break any of the rules above, it's also considered rude to publicly criticize anybody for breaking these rules. If you feel you absolutely must correct someone for breaching "netiquette," do so by private e-mail rather than a public posting to the group.
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