PCDC List Guidelines

Progressive Communicators of Washington, DC (PCDC) is a professional network of people working in communications who are committed to progressive causes, including in-house communications staff and consultants.

Our goal is to improve the ability of our network’s members to serve progressive organizations and causes by sharing tips, strategies, opportunities, and best practices, and providing forums for progressive communicators to share information and build community, including our groups.io email list and in-person and virtual gatherings.

PCDC was founded in 2006 and has grown to more than 2,000 members. Membership is open to people who self-identify as progressive and work in any field related to communications (e.g., earned media/PR professionals, digital strategists, journalists, event planners, researchers, pollsters, content creators, graphic and website designers, videographers, photographers). Most of our members work in the DC/MD/VA area, but many are located across the country.

Members agree to create a supportive and welcoming environment that reflects PCDC’s core values of inclusion, belonging, and equity. The following guidelines were updated by the Steering Committee in Summer 2024 to reflect the evolving nature of PCDC.

Guidelines

The PCDC Steering Committee encourages members to use our groups.io email list to share ideas and information of interest to others in the progressive communications field. In the spirit of keeping this list true to its original intent, we maintain the following guidelines:

• The PCDC email list is a forum about communications on a range of progressive issues. It is not intended to be a forum for discussing the merits of the issues themselves.
• PCDC’s email list is open, which means that your postings could be forwarded to others outside of the group. Emails do not require prior approval from moderators.
• Do not use this list to promote for-profit enterprises, announce product launches or advertise services.
• Limit your discussions to the sharing of tips and strategies to do our jobs better, rather than promoting events unrelated to communications, such as personal fundraisers, advocacy campaigns, film screenings, etc.
• Keep your posts appropriate, constructive, and respectful — not unnecessarily critical. We are all here to learn from each other.
• To the best of your ability, use detailed subject lines and subject line topic tags to make it easy for PCDC members to search for specific topics or to opt out of reading particular message topics. PCDC topic tags include MARKETING MONDAYS, FOR CONSULTANTS, and JOBS/RFP THREAD.
• Often, replies are best sent only to the original poster and not the whole list. Please remember you can use “Reply to Sender” to keep the subject line but not email the entire group, or cut and paste their email address into a forwarded email.

Members who violate these guidelines will receive notice from the Steering Committee. Those who repeatedly violate the guidelines may face removal from the group. If the Steering Committee feels that your postings or interactions with other members are intended to cause harm or use harmful or offensive language, we reserve the right to remove you from the group without warning.

Some examples of appropriate uses of the email list:

Questions
Pose questions about how to pitch a story idea; reporters on a particular beat; requests for recommendations for graphic designers, photographers, pollsters or other services; requests for advice about tools like online surveys, AI, media databases, etc; and other questions of that nature. This is a way to get terrific insight and help from your fellow progressive communicators.

Professional Development Tips
Share anything useful to your fellow progressive communicators, such as upcoming free or paid trainings (provided that the posting does not generate income to you or your business); best practices advice, like how to pitch content creators and influencers or reach reporters internationally; book or article recommendations; job openings (but not resumes/job requests) and recommendations for recruiters; and other assistance.

Job Notices and Requests for Proposals
Post relevant job/internship notices and Requests for Proposals (RFPs) provided that the post includes salary ranges or compensation offered. Use JOBS/RFP THREAD in your subject line so that people who are not looking for jobs can skip the message.

Events and Trainings
Spread the word about events and trainings of interest to progressive communicators (provided the posting does not generate income to you, your business, friends or family members). The Steering Committee also welcomes ideas for upcoming PCDC events and trainings, and appreciates offers to volunteer to organize events.

Some examples of inappropriate uses of the email list:

Postings that Do Not Directly Relate to Communications
Our rule of thumb: If you think you need to add a disclaimer that your post might be off-topic, it probably is. For example, a request for housing for your family member’s visit to D.C. does not belong on this list.

Postings that Would Generate Income to You, Your Business, Friends or Family Members
This includes requests for a job, consulting opportunities, and paid or unpaid internships. It also includes notices of seminars, trainings and product advertisements that would generate income to you or your business. Offers of free trainings or pro bono consulting, including through “gratitude grants” to nonprofit organizations, are acceptable. Please specify why the opportunity is useful to the PCDC community in particular versus the other lists you might share it with.

• For example, Mary Smith could put out a post recommending Dr. DoLittle’s $99 workshop “Wonder what your dog is thinking? Learn how to talk to the animals.” In contrast, if Dr. DoLittle put out a notice inviting people to the workshop, it would be an inappropriate post.
• One exception to this rule is that if someone asks for a recommendation for a consultant in a particular field, and you provide that service, you are free to notify the poster. For example, if someone asks for a videographer, and you perform that service, you are free to reply directly to the poster that you are available.
• A second exception to this rule occurs on “Marketing Monday,” the first Monday of every month. On Marketing Monday, members are free to introduce themselves and share what kind of work they do, describe the services they provide or ask for a job or internship for themselves, a friend or a family member. Use MARKETING MONDAY in the subject line of your post.

Links to Your Own Writing
The exception to this rule is writing that provides guidance on improving communications strategies and tactics. In this case, please pull out the tips directly into the body of your posting rather than simply sharing the piece in its entirety.

Personal Correspondence
We hope that PCDC will generate new relationships and that the email list will be a forum for sharing thoughts with new friends, but if you are providing feedback or ideas that will likely benefit only one person, please contact that person directly.

We ask all members of the PCDC community to voluntarily abide by these guidelines. If you are unsure of what is appropriate, please email pcdc+owner[at]groups.io.

Thanks for reading this and for all the work you do to make the world a better place.

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PCDC Membership

To become a member, please send an email to pcdc+subscribe@groups.io or request access through groups.io.

Membership in PCDC is free of charge.

To join PCDC, members are asked to share their background as it relates to progressive communications, your reasons for wanting to join the PCDC community, and the contributions you hope to make within the community.

Once you have requested membership, you will receive an email from the PCDC Steering Committee. Please respond to the included questions within 48 hours.

If you do not respond within 48 hours, your application will be rejected due to non-response.

You may submit another request to join in the future.

You may also be rejected from membership if your responses and/or communications background do not align with PCDC’s core values of inclusion, belonging, and equity.

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PCDC Subject Line Topic Tags

We use detailed subject lines and subject line topic tags to make it easy for PCDC members to search for specific topics or to opt out of reading particular message topics. We recommend writing the tag in all caps to differentiate from the rest of your subject line.

The following are the approved PCDC topic tags:

• FOR CONSULTANTS — When sharing information or requests that are relevant only for consultants (such as requests for office space, referrals to accountants, etc.), use FOR CONSULTANTS in your subject line.
• JOBS/RFP THREAD — When sharing relevant job/internship notices and Requests for Proposals (RFPs), use JOBS/RFP THREAD in your subject line.
• MARKETING MONDAY — On the first Monday of every month, the Steering Committee will send a reminder that it is “Marketing Monday.” On this day, use MARKETING MONDAY in the subject line when posting your introduction, overview of your services offered or job/internship requests.

If there are additional topic tags you think would be helpful, please email pcdc+owner[at]groups.io to share your ideas and recommendations with the Steering Committee.