Systems Thinking World Group Rules

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Group Rules Rewritten Effective as of STW Update 13.05.27
Systems Thinking World was established by and for those who believe a systemic perspective provides the best foundation for creating effective approaches for dealing with challenges and shaping a better tomorrow. It has expanded to include those with systemic perspectives that span all levels of proficiency and current dedication to the principles and foundations of Systems Thinking. We are connected by our desire to understand Systems Thinking, apply system approaches, and increase our systemic perspective. -- Steven Schneider

If we believe Systems Thinking is valuable paradigm then shouldn't we actually be an example of what we believe? The implication being that at Systems Thinking World we really should be demonstrating the value of a Systemic Perspective. Within this context the following guidelines have been established for approving new posts for the Systems Thinking World discussion group.

New Submissions. All new discussion submissions are moderated. Once a Discussion has been approved members may post to it without moderation. Settings on the group are such that any post receiving two inappropriate flags by participants will be automatically deleted by LinkedIn.

  • Discussion
    • For a discussion submission to be approve is must be one of the following types:
    (GPR) General Perspectives Request. No particular intent, just soliciting perspectives, substantiation not required, around some topic or question.
    (INV) Investigation. Well defined intent to understand and possibly develop an approach for dealing with a situation employing a defined Systems Thinking Model or Method where appropriate, e.g.,
    (FYI) For Your Info. Message or article reference very Systems Thinking oriented and perceived to be relevant to the majority of the group.
    (tbd). If a time arises where we realize the above three categories are insufficient we'll extend the list.
    • Before one initiates a discussion they should ask themselves the following grounding questions:
      • What is my reason for starting this thread?
      • What results or responses do I envisage from this?
      • What do I expect to learn?
      • Could these responses change or strengthen my perspectives on the topic being discussed?
      • What will I do with the result of these responses?
    • The first line must identify the type of discussion, i.e., (GPR), (INV), (FYI), with a clear statement of intent the discussion. The first line requirement is because after the initial post the first line is all others see in their email to remind them what the discussion is about.
    • The body of the post needs to:
      • Provide supporting information so others have a context for the initial statement
      • Provide relevant references others might need to understand the context
      • Identify the Systems Thinking Model or Method to be employed in the investigation, if appropriate. Note that those wanting to participate may not be familiar with the model or method selected so the initiator should be prepared to provide references if participants request them.
      • Identify what is to be done with the result of the investigation. Is the intent to write a paper, present the findings to some group or organization, develop a video, publish a model, etc.?
    • The initiator is expected to participate in and facilitate the discussion endeavoring to keep it on track in a professional manner consistent with the discussion's initial intent.
    • The quality and character of the discussion is the responsibility of all participants. Please note the above comment about posts with two inappropriate flags automatically being deleted by LinkedIn.
    • Discussions abandoned by the initiator, if not taken over by another person, will simply evaporate.
    • A submission may be considered a good topic for discussion and simply need some rework of the format for approved. In this case the submission will be returned with thoughts about rework for resubmission.
    • If the submission doesn't qualify as the basis for a new discussion it may qualify as a post for the Doing Systemic Inerventions for a Better World: Bulletin Board.
    • If the submission doesn't qualify for posting on the Bulletin Board it will be deleted.
  • Promotion
    • As far as we can determine almost nobody reads the posts on the Promotions tab so we've done away with it. The alternative is the (FYI) post which request that the content is likely to be relevant to the majority of the Systems Thinking World community. This sort of implies that it needs to be Systems Thinking oriented. Another alternative is posting on the Bulletin Board thread noted above.
  • Jobs
    • There is no longer a Jobs tab in Systems Thinking World. The majority of the posts which might on the surface look like jobs posts were actually just attempts to prey on the current situation of job seekers.

Membership Requests. Requests to join Systems Thinking World are reviewed in an attempt to ensure the group is not invaded by spammers. As such there are certain restrictions placed on new members to the group and new members of LinkedIn for a period of time.

Creative Commons. Posts by members of the Systems Thinking World group are considered to be Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike” (CC BY-NC-SA). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms.

This I Believe

The following is the initial post for the This I Believe discussion at Systems Thinking World on LinkedIn.

I initiated Systems Thinking World under the following premise:
We believe a systemic perspective provides the best foundation for creating effective approaches for dealing with challenges and shaping a better tomorrow. Our purpose is to create content and foster interactions which furthers understanding of a systemic perspective and enables thinking and acting systemically. To "Enable a Systems Thinking World."
I wanted this discussion group to be the support mechanism that was missing during my initial 35+ year quest for understanding. I though that it would be marvelous if those who shared my passion for Systems Thinking could share their learning and support the learning and development of others and possibly compress the learning cycle. And I still want it to be all those things.
My message to those who seem to be a legend in their own mind, are continually intent on demonstrating that they think they're the smartest person on the planet, and simply must create meteoric posts that crash into discussions adding no value that anyone can fathom, your days are numbered.
I encourage members of this group to flag posts that they consider inappropriate to the particular discussion they appear in so the posts can be reviewed by the group managers and deleted if they concur. If the negative value added continues an individual's posts will first be moderated and the individual subsequently blocked and deleted if needs be.
Please join with me in an endeavor to develop a community that continually strives to learn how to learn together for the continued development of our collective future.
Gene Bellinger
Host Systems Thinking World
April 12, 2012

Systems Thinking References

Other References

Additional Resources
Systems Thinking World Discussions
Systems Thinking World Q&A * Gene Bellinger
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