Updated policy guide on (edu-)blogging (Jan 08)

Underlying principle: Respect yourself and others.

Privacy and decency: Please remember that your blog is in the public domain, you may not wish to reveal certain personal information. As this blog is associated with your study at NTU-NIE, under no circumstance should you post materials that are pornographic, vulgar, racially-discriminatory, or in any way consider unbecoming of your teaching profession.

Copyright issue: please do not post extensive excerpts of copyrighted music scores; when posting sound/video clips (including those via U-Tube), please check the copyright status and obtain copyright clearance if necessary.

Netiquette: Please maintain an atmosphere of collegiality. This does not mean you cannot be critical in your comments, but there must always be a sense of mutual respect and be constructive. A sense of humour is always welcome.

Language policy: For blog discourses, you may be more informal in tone but basic grammar and spelling must be observed. Some use of point form is acceptable but these should be intelligible. On the other hand, uncontrolled rambling should be avoided: learn to be succinct (you’ll appreciate this when you have to read many blog postings).

Plagiarism: please acknowledge your sources of information, especially when quoting directly or paraphrasing. Any offence discovered will be dealt with according to the university’s policy on plagiarism.

Finally, may I emphasize again that the blog you have created for yourself IS YOURS! You may certainly post more personal ruminations besides those stipulated as our course requirements. You are also welcome to invite your music friends to participate in our blog discussions.