Dear Participant,
Thank you for subscribing to the Online Conference - "Biosafety Considerations in the use of Genetically Modified Organisms for Management of Animal Populations". The conference is now open and will be hosted on the Biosafety Clearing-House until 15 November 2004 at <
http://bch.biodiv.org/onlineconferences/GMOAM.shtml>. Complete instructions on how to participate are attached below, and are also available on the conference website.
All subscribers are encouraged to actively participate in the conference discussions. Topics may include but are not limited to:
the use of GM microorganisms, nematodes and insects for biological control (including those used to cause sterility in pest species for conservation and/or commercial purposes);
the use of GM viruses to protect mammal populations against disease;
the use of GM insects for reducing disease transmission rates.
Instructions for Participants:
1. The online conference is web-based and is threaded. This means that any general posts will be part of the main discussion, while responses to particular posts create subtopics or “threads” in the discussion. In order to clearly visualize and follow the threaded nature of discussions, it is helpful to visit the web page of the online conference at <
http://bch.biodiv.org/onlineconferences/gmoam.shtml>.
2. By default, all participants will be registered to track the conference by email and will receive each post in sequence as an email for convenience. If you would prefer to receive all posts once daily as a daily digest, please modify your subscription preferences online after signing in on the conference webpage, or send an email to
bchlistserv@biodiv.org with the subject line empty and the message “SET GMOAM DIGEST”. To change from receiving a daily digest to receive each email as it is posted, send an email to
bchlistserv@biodiv.org with the subject line empty and the message "SET GMOAM NODIGEST". If you would prefer to follow the conference exclusively on the website, please log on through the web page and change your subscription preference to read "never receive posts" from the conference.
3. For participants with limited access to email and Internet, please contact the secretariat by fax (+1 514-288-6588) if you would prefer to receive the daily digest by email or fax.
4. The conference will be based in English. Other languages will be accepted but will not be translated, therefore participants are encouraged to use a language that is familiar to as many participants as possible.
5. Participants using the website service can open a new discussion topic by using the "Create a new thread" button. Contributions to the online conference sent by email should be sent to
bchlistserv-gmoam@biodiv.org.
6. To respond to a comment through the website, please use the "submit a comment" button, located within the discussion thread. When using email to respond to a post, do not delete the reference number of the original post which is found in square brackets in the subject line, because this reference is needed by the BCH to ensure that email posts are correctly threaded on the website.
Example:
Original message: Subject: Welcome to conference [x001]
Your email reply: Subject: Thanks for the invitation [x001]
After submission, each post to the conference will automatically be given a new, unique reference number. In the example above, the reply to the original message would then be posted online and circulated to participants as follows:
New Subject: Thanks for the invitation [x002]
If the reference number is deleted, the response will be treated as a new discussion topic (thread) in the online conference and will not be associated with the post to which the response was made.
7. When using email to respond to a post, please delete the body of the original message in order to avoid unnecessarily long messages. (It may be helpful to refer to the message number of the original post if you wish to quote certain passages.) The moderators reserve the right to delete any unnecessary text, such as automatic footers created by the use of certain web-based email accounts. Edited posts will be clearly marked where this occurs.
8. Posts should not contain any text or links that are disrespectful, obscene, violent, threatening, or that may intimidate. The moderators reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts, and the Secretariat may deny access to this online conference or future conferences to any participant responsible for such posts.
9. It is assumed that the views expressed in a post are those of the individual and not of any affiliated organization or institution, unless otherwise stated.
10. Attachments will not be accepted. Should you wish to make additional information available to participants, please contact the secretariat (
bch@biodiv.org) for assistance.
11. The conference, including all posts, will be archived on the Biosafety Clearing-House for future reference.
12. The first post by a participant may be moderated to ensure relevance, which could result in a short delay before the post is made public. Subsequent posts by a participant will not be moderated and therefore will be made public on the website without delay. (There may be a period of a few minutes before posts are circulated by email.)
13. To unsubscribe at any time, please send an email to
bchlistserv@biodiv.org with the subject line empty and the message “UNSUBSCRIBE GMOAM” in the message body.
14. As a final reminder:
Any emails sent to the address
bchlistserv-gmoam@biodiv.org will be circulated to ALL participants and should be strictly limited to the topic of the conference.
Emails about subscribing/unsubscribing, or changing your subscription preferences, should be sent to the address
bchlistserv@biodiv.org where they will be processed automatically.
If you have any questions about the conference, use of the online or email conference facilities, or about the BCH, please contact the Secretariat using the address
bch@biodiv.org.
We hope you enjoy the conference and look forward to your active participation!
Kind regards,
Ryan Hill and Kirsty Galloway McLean
CBD Secretariat
393 Rue St-Jacques, Suite 300
Montreal QC H2Y-1N9
Tel: 1 514 288-2220
Fax: 1 514 288-6588
Email:
bch@biodiv.org