Discovery Blogging Rules
2006-2007

  1. I will not give out any information more personal than my first name or post pictures of myself.
  2. I will not plagiarize, instead I will expand on others' ideas and give credit where it is due.
  3. I will use language appropriate for school.
  4. I will not insult my fellow students or their writing.
  5. I will only post pieces that I am comfortable with  everyone seeing; other pieces I will keep as drafts.
  6. I will not be afraid to express my ideas, while not overgeneralizing or making derogatory/inflammatory remarks; any posts on controversial issues must be submitted to Mr. Wilkoff for consideration before they can be posted to my blog.
  7. I will use constructive/productive/purposeful criticism, supporting any idea, comment, or critique I have with evidence.
  8. I will take blogging seriously, posting only things that are meaningful and taking my time when I write.
  9. I will try to spell everything correctly.
  10. I will not use my blog posts or comments as a chat room. (No IM language.)
  11. I will not bully others in my blog posts or in my comments.
  12. I will never access another student's account.
  13. I will be proactive in monitoring the comments that others leave on my blog, utilizing the comment blacklist if necessary.
  14. I will personalize my blog and keep my writing authentic, while taking responsibility for anything blogged in my name.
  15. I will not provoke other students in my blog posts or comments.
  16. I will use my blog as an extension of the classroom, and in doing so, I will leave anything that unsaid in the classroom unsaid on my blog.
  17. I will only post photos which are school appropriate and either uncopywrited or correctly cited.
  18. I will not spam.
  19. I will only post comments on posts that I have fully read, rather than just skimmed.
  20. I will not reveal anyone else's identity in my comments or posts.

Infractions of these rules will lead to the following consequences in order of severity and number of offense:
  1. Letter of apology to those offended by the infraction (individual students, one core class, or whole blogging community), warning by teacher, and editing or deletion of offending post/comment.
  2. Letter of apology to those offended by the infraction (individual students, one core class, or whole blogging community), temporary loss of blogging privileges (duration of quarter), editing or deletion of offending post/comment.
  3. Letter of apology to those offended by the infraction (individual students, one core class, or whole blogging community), permanent loss of blogging privileges (duration of school year), editing or deletion of offending post/comment.

The process by which blog posts violating rules 3, 10, or posts of a controversial nature may be used:
  1. Students present the idea/draft for Mr. Wilkoff's consideration.
  2. Mr. Wilkoff will either accept or reject the writing based upon its merit on a case by case basis.
  3. The student will post the piece of writing with this warning: "This piece of writing is authentic in its use of controversial language/topics."
  4. Mr. Wilkoff will post a heading: "This blog post was accepted by Mr. Wilkoff for use as a Weekly Authentic despite its controversial nature."