– How do we protect the confidentiality when we share stories from our work and our lives?
– What happens to that material posted on the forum?
– Is it possible to post something and then erase it?
– What from this forum might become listed on google search engines for others to see?

These are such good and important questions (thank-you Malachy for bringing them to my attention).

Since it began in 2008, this online learning community has been developing its own group culture. Let’s continue to do all we can to co-create a protected, respectful, thoughtful space where we can share/think/learn from each other about developments and challenges in our work. At the same time, we have to be realistic and cautious, paying attention to the limits of this medium.

Re-authoring Teaching website brings together public/open source and private/password protected pages. The Collab and the courses are all password protected as is this Conversation Forum. Only members of The Collab (including members of the Narrative Practices Adelaide certificate programme) can access these discussions and the discussion for the first course, Narrative Therapy: Foundations & Key Concepts. Even when we start offering more online courses, I’d like to keep this Conversation Forum space for Collab members.

So…these conversations here are more protected than writing on a blog. none of what is said here should show up on google or other search engines. At the same time, we know our world has become very small (!), and we know sometimes “leaks” happen. For example, a few years ago, I discovered part of our conversation on a public blog – luckily it was all with good intentions and we liked what we were quoted as saying (!), but it was quite sobering to follow the track that got us there…hopefully with a bit of care this won’t happen again, but we do need to remember..we cannot guarantee that what you write here will be entirely protected.

Re-authoring Teaching does actually have it’s own blog. You can actually see what is posted on the Reauthoring Teaching blog here. Nothing should show up there without permission. For example, originally, we thought we would make “View from my window” protected – available only to Collab members-, until it looks like a terrific way to show off what is possible with a group project. Before we decided to share this with the world, I asked permission from everyone who sent me contributions. If there is something else we wish to share with the world, we can decide this together and then it could be posted on the blog.

While we will share stories from our own lives and work, remember that this is primarily a study group – not therapy or supervision. There is no better way to learn practices than by trying them out on ourselves and telling stories from our own work settings. And a community often forms by consulting with each other. All of this is part of the power of using an interactive discussion board like this. This way of sharing stories is different from case presentations. Or supervision. We will place ourselves -and our learning – at the center of the exchange.

While this is a study group, it is also personal. We will share stories from our own lives and work. I hope we will show edges where we are learning as we go, and making mistakes along the way. We seek to attract a diverse international group of people doing quite different things.

When talking about others, we are bound by the ethics of confidentiality. This has become a very small world! Please change details so we cannot identify whom you are speaking about. Whenever possible, request permission from people whose stories you share.

In the first year, Sarah Hughes also offered a really useful suggestion about sharing/referring to stories outside of this study group. Let’s remember whose story it is – and speak from the position of reflecting on the effects of something in particular on our lives and work (Sarah – can you refresh our memories about these specifics?

I’ve written elsewhere about our commitment to hospitality- but I think this is worth repeating. Together we can make these conversation forums into the kind of learning community we have always yearned for. In order to do this, we hope to collectively articipate in making each other feel comfortable- and being careful about asking permission to share something said here outside of this forum. (Over time, others will join us. Please help me in welcoming each other and newcomers as well.) Members will only post to the extend we feel respected and protected…

Our settings now give you the opportunity to edit what you write for 60 minutes. However, I can always go in to make changes or to delete. If you ever want to remove something you have written, just email me and I will delete it for you.

How does that sound to you? What would you like to ask, add or modify? Do you think it makes sense for me to write up a formal “agreement for members” or is this sufficient?

Peggy