Objectives

PMJS provides a forum for discussion on premodern Japan. We also welcome the dissemination of information relevant to the field such as new publications, conferences, workshops, and job announcements. Commercial functions and advertising are discouraged.

1. Be relevant. PMJS is a forum for discussion of premodern Japan. Posts should be pertinent, with appropriate tone and style for a professional and collegial community. Critical examination of pertinent topics, theories and hypotheses is welcome. Personal correspondence should be conducted off-list.

2. Be nice. PMJS strives to maintain an inclusive, professional, and welcoming environment for members. Be mindful that PMJS is a diverse community; in addition to differences in racial, ethnic, religious, linguistic, gender identifications, and other forms of social identity. PMJS comprises graduate students, junior and senior scholars, independent scholars, and others who may have limited or no institutional access to certain research materials or regular mentorship. Ad hominem attacks, messages that violate the norms of civility and professional courtesy, innuendo, private messages forwarded for posting without permission, or unattributed quotations will not be tolerated.

3. Be respectful. PMJS is a community that will not tolerate discrimination. Specifically, members should not discriminate against others based on a person’s qualifications, background, experience, area of study, university of residence, national origin, heritage, mother language, religion, race, color, ethnicity, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, (dis)ability or other areas of difference. The use of slurs, ridicule, or other offensive language will not be tolerated.

4. Encourage participation. PMJS provides a forum for members to engage in scholarly conversations that are accessible to a membership ranging from non-specialists to senior scholars. The tone should be respectful and, as a general guideline, be less formal than a book or article, but more formal than a casual chat.

5. Be constructive. PMJS aims to share knowledge and help educate others. Offer suggestions for improvement, rather than focusing on mistakes. PMJS aims to educate as well as foster collaboration and the exchange of information about premodern Japan, but we ask that members be considerate of others by posting carefully considered, scholarly, and relevant comments.

6. Be open. PMJS invites discussion of a wide variety of topics related to premodern Japan. As such, it is imperative that discussions not be silenced through intentional derailing, irrelevant personal attacks, or condemnations of the discussion. Members are strongly discouraged from directly posting to request that a conversation or member be censored or halted from posting. If you prefer not to participate in a conversation, please ignore it, or contact the moderators if you feel that it is inappropriate for the list.

7. Respect the moderation process. The moderators volunteer their time to help maintain an open, welcoming, and scholarly environment for everyone. In order to accomplish this goal, they will follow the steps below if they determine that a member has violated the Terms of Use. However, extreme violations of a threatening, abusive, destructive, or illegal nature will be addressed immediately by skipping the first or second steps.

   1. 1. First occurrence: a friendly reminder (public or private) to the list at large or the individual that some of the behavior displayed in the email or thread is inappropriate according to PMJS guidelines.

      2. Second occurrence: a private message to specific individual(s) with a warning that any additional violations will result in a temporary or permanent ban on posting to the PMJS mailing list.

      3. Third occurrence: a temporary or permanent ban from the PMJS listserv.

All messages sent to the PMJS list or moderators are subject to the Terms of Use. If you would like to appeal a decision or report a moderator, do not attempt to discuss it on the list or contact individual moderators directly. A decision can only be reversed by an agreement among the moderation team. Please contact the PMJS moderators via email to initiate a discussion among the moderators about the appropriateness of the decision.