Collaboration Guidelines

Guidelines for Collaborative Document Participation

Ground Rules

1. Respect Others' Contributions
   • Do not delete another person's text.
   • Propose deletions using the "Suggesting" mode.
   • Report accidental deletions for correction.
2. Engage with Comments
   • Use comments to provide feedback, ask questions, express appreciation, or request clarification.
3. Suggest Modifications
   • Use the "Suggesting" mode to propose modifications to others' text.

Technical Tips

• Sign In with your user name to identify your contributions and build trust.
  • At the top right, click on {Access}, then select your Google account, so your contributions
• Identify your Contributions
  • Use headings (e.g., "[Your Name]'s Thoughts") with appropriate heading styles.
    • Select the text of the heading, click on {Normal Text}, then {Heading #}
  • Use horizontal lines to visually separate contributions.
    • Go to {Insert}, then {Horizontal line}
• Use Comments
  • Add comments by selecting text, right-clicking, and choosing "Comment."
  • Reply to comments to engage in dialogue.
  • Use "@name" to notify specific contributors.
  • Comments can include appreciation, divergence, questions, or suggestions.
• Use the Suggesting Mode
  • Switch to "Suggesting" mode to propose changes that clearly show the original and revised text.
  • Rewrite extensive changes in a separate paragraph.
  • Original authors typically accept or reject suggestions.

Personal Considerations

• Universal Participation:
  • Strive for a participation that allows everyone to contribute.
    • Depending on where you’re at in your life, this might mean speak less or speak more, in alignment with the goal of universal participation.
• Knowledge Evolution:
  • Recognize that digital texts are dynamic and open to co-creation.
  • Embrace suggestions as opportunities for improvement and clarification.
• Knowledge and Kindness:
  • Aim for excellence through truthfulness and kindness in contributions.
    • Develop both qualities to their fullest expression for the best results.
• Clashes of opinions, not of egos
  • Having and expressing a diversity of opinions enhances the group's capacity to read reality.
  • Having personality clashes harms participation and the exploration of reality.

Caveats

• These proposed guidelines are based around the experience that Google Documents provide. Using other platforms may require adjustments.
• The assumption upon which these guidelines are proposed is that the group that uses them tends towards a “flat” structure, with little or no hierarchy among its members.
  • A related assumption is that richer participation will lead to better results, reflected in greater unity among the group members, and a shared feeling of progress in the endeavor.

Author: Vahid Masrour, 2025. This post is inspired both by my experience with Bahá’í consultation and as a Wikipedian.