GT-Families Mailing List

GT-Families is an electronic mailing list for the discussion of the range of issues facing families raising gifted children. All who are interested in supporting and nurturing gifted and talented children are most welcome, so long as they agree to follow the rules and principles set out below.

Topics welcome on GT-Families include:

1. Parenting GT children
2. Educating GT children
3. Dealing with GT children who face other issues such as learning disabilities or physical challenges
4. Advocating for GT children
5. Social issues surrounding giftedness
6. Research on GT issues
7. Issues facing GT adults

List members are asked to remember that our children can and do read list e-mail. Please post in ways which would you would be proud to point to as models of good citizenship to your kids.

If you would like to subscribe to GT-Families from this web page, you can skip down to the bottom of the page, but we'd really appreciate your taking the time to read our stuff about being civilized first! Please note that to post to the list, you must first subscribe!

You can also unsubscribe from GT-Families using the web interface.

If you would like to see what we have been talking about, you can take a look at our archives using the web interface.

Promoting a Civilized Environment

We find a list works best when everyone treats everyone else with respect. Below are a few suggestions designed to keep GTWorld the kind of place where the experienced want to stay and the brand-new feel welcome.

• Every list evolves its own culture over time. One of the best ways to make a good impression in a new place is to spend some time "reading the room" to get a feel for the place. Take some time to read the posts over a few days, then please write a little note to introduce yourself to us!
  
  
• Remember that a mailing list is a highly public forum. Please think twice before divulging information which you would feel uncomfortable mentioning in a restaurant or other public venue where anyone could overhear you. While our list member agreement outlines acceptable use for the information on this list, our open membership policy means that it is possible for anyone, with any motivation, to join the list and read our posts.
  
  
• To the extent we are successful in creating a friendly, helpful atmosphere, we are likely to attract people you know in real life...neighbors, teachers and friends. Once you've been around for a while, the Internet quickly ceases to be a place where you are truly anonymous. For this reason, you need to take the same responsibility for the things you say as you would anywhere else.
  
  
• We recommend including your name, and e-mail address in the last two lines of each message sent to the list, to make it simpler for people communicate privately with you via e-mail. We also encourage including the state or province you live in, because it helps people find others who are covered by the same local laws. Please do not include quotes or line-art in your signature block.
  
  
• It is helpful to include part of the message to which you are reacting in your response, but please don't quote the whole thing. If your reaction is a simple "I agree", you may wish to send that privately.
  
  
• We don't flame here. Most of us have to deal with plenty of disrespect elsewhere...here we are trying to help one another. Because support doesn't always mean saying "I agree", it's important to phrase challenges in such a way that it is clear that it is not the worth of the writer you are questioning, but rather the validity of the idea.
  
  

  What is a flame?

  It is important to recognize that to disagree respectfully, or to politely request a change of behavior, is not to "flame".

  The following is NOT a flame:

  Please, be aware that parents of gifted children are frequently accused of "pushing them" through the use of flash card programs like the one you mention. GT World is not really a forum for the discussion of competing "superbaby products."
  
  Could you please not post straight laundry lists of products and favorites? It's not very interesting just to read lists. If you want to talk about these products, say how they have been helpful in your experience. lt would help if you could add something to the discussion that hasn't been mentioned several times before.

  This is a Flame:

  Listen you stupid little jerk...we bigwigs who have been on this mailing list forever and have forgotten more about gifted issues than you could ever know are sick and tired of hearing about this dopey program. If you are too impaired to read the FAQ go sell your boring flash cards on AOL.
  
  

• It's important to remember that each of us speaks only from our own experience and reading. What works for some families does not work for all. Each reader is responsible for evaluating the information presented here in terms of the credibility of the source and the applicability to the reader's own situation.
  
  

Whew! Now that we've covered all the boilerplate, relax, put up your feet, and get ready for a good chat. There are lots of funny people here, folks who can be wonderful travelling companions on this adventure we're having with our children. Welcome. We hope you'll stay a while.

Technical Details

The GT-World mailing lists run on listserv Server version 2.548 software. For a list of commands send e-mail to listserv@listserv.icors.org with the one word help in the message body. 

listserv offers two methods for managing your membership options. You may send commands to the listserver via e-mail, or use the web interfaces for the various lists.

Web Interface

The following link will permit you to set your preferences for GT-Families Lists:

E-Mail Interface

The following is a summary of the most common e-mail commands: