Interested in joining our email list? Please read our protocols + details prior to applying:
BAWS Listserv Purposes
What the Listserv is for
Sharing news, info, or opportunities (e.g., ads, listings, job opportunities)
Requests for peer support
Requests for advice and resources
Low and moderate support requests (see support request examples below)
Events promotions
Selling/seeking items
What the Listserv is not for
Yucks on others’ yums, judgment
Any racism, transphobia, homophobia, whore-archy, threats of violence, and other forms of oppression
High support requests and emergency needs support requests (see Table 2
Regular and substantial monetary support and mutual aid requests
Listserv Protocols
No posts including racism, transphobia, homophobia, whore-archy, threats of violence, and other forms of oppression
Confidentiality and Privacy
Maintain the anonymity of your fellow workers. Do not share information, names, or stories about other workers without consent.
Never share anyone’s legal name. This is a zero-tolerance issue.
If posting pictures, make sure you have the consent of everyone included and blur non-consenting folks in your image.
Assume positive intent in others
Listen to understand and replace judgment with curiosity.
Clear and concise subject lines with any relevant trigger warnings
Example: [Request for Support] TW: [Domestic Violence]
No explicit, graphic details of violence
Feel free to share that you are struggling. Please refrain from sharing specific details regarding trauma, abuse, self-harm, suicide ideation, and specifics that may be activating for others.
Ex: You can share that you are experiencing Intimate Partner Violence, but do not go into specifics of what that looks like.
One mutual aid request per season (roughly every 3 months)
The Listserv can help you with low—to moderate-level support requests. However, it is not a good place for regular and/or high-level of support. Our community and TOPS team are not equipped to support these of needs through the Listserv (please see support request level examples in the next section).
See our website for additional resources.
If you need additional help, please email us at bawsgrants@proton.me. We will connect you to resources that can better support you.
Do not post anything to incriminate yourself or others in the eyes of the law
Our Riseup listserv provides strong encryption, anonymizing services, and minimal data retention. And yet, this listserv goes out to 100s community members, and we can not ensure that every email sent will remain confidential. Please post with that awareness.
We suggest forming private Signal text threads with each other to discuss more sensitive information.
If found violating these protocols, folks will be contacted and removed from the Listserv, at the discretion of the TOPS team. You may request for readmittance by reaching out to bawsorg@gmail.com.
Support Request Levels and Examples
*Listserv is equipped to support Low + Moderate support requests
Support Request Level: Low
Accountants and tax information
Website recommendations
Screening tips
Selling/seeking items
Support Request Level: Moderate
Food resources
Seeking/offering housing/rooms and housing resources
GoFundMe
Rideshares
Resources for sexual assault and DV after-care
Monetary requests
COVID resources
Support Request Level: High and Emergency
Immediate support to leave a violent situation
Imminent threat to your safety (such as suicide threats and self-harm)
Regular and substantial requests for money and mutual aid
Email Mechanics and Formatting Guidelines:
Subject lines should be clear, informative, and short. Include TW/CW (Trigger Warning/Content Warning) as needed.
Ex: ISO Advertising platform recommendations
Ex: ISO $ for upcoming move, TW: IPV
Ex. Selling XX Brand Harness, Size YY. $100 OBO
Do not send administrative emails (ex: remove me from this list) to the whole server. Use the instructions at the bottom of each email to remove yourself from the list. If you need help with administrative tasks, email bawsorg@gmail.com.
Double check your email to see if it is a ‘reply’ or a ‘reply all’
“me too” or “thank you” emails should be sent to individuals, not the whole list
Sending hyperlinks works better than attachments
Listserv attachment limit is very low and will often bounce if the file size is too large.
Images tend to get shrunken down and have poor resolution.