COMGAR Charter

Purpose and Goals

 This listserv is for community gardeners in the Twin Cities Metro Area to share timely information, seek advice from other gardeners, and learn about resources available to gardeners.

Participation Rules

By taking part in this forum, you accept the full E-Democracy rules of the forum.

Gardening Matters asks that COMGAR subscribers also follow the rules listed below to maintain the integrity and relevancy of our listserv as a valuable community resource to gardeners in the Twin Cities!  

Keep topics on gardening: All posts should be directly related to gardening. There is no other listserv specifically geared to community gardeners in the Twin Cities Metro Area, and we want to keep our focus. If you are responding directly to another member and the response is not relevant to the whole group (ie, you'd like something they are offering), please message the member directly by clicking on their individual email address, rather than hitting "reply". When you hit "reply", the message will go to the entire group. 

Jobs: Postings for jobs that directly support community gardening are appropriate. No job-seeking on COMGAR is allowed. 

Events: Events related specifically to community gardening will be posted directly to the listserv. Events related more generally to urban agriculture, local foods and sustainability should be sent to info@gardeningmatters.org and will be posted to Gardening Matters’ public calendar. If you have any doubt as to whether or not your event is related to community gardening, try including some intro text to your post clarifying its relevance to community gardeners. Please post your event only once. Event reminders clog the list. Time your post as you think it will have the most impact. 

Stuff: Many items can be "repurposed" in the garden. However, only items that have obvious garden relevance should be posted here. Please use Craigslist or a local neighborhood forum for other giveaways. Sharing garden surplus is a great way to make a local friend!

Advertising: Absolutely no advertising for products or services is allowed on COMGAR. Referrals to local businesses are allowed if in response to a legitimate inquiry. No fundraising campaigns are allowed on COMGAR. 

Check the archives: Gardening is a cyclical activity. Many questions you have this year may have been asked by someone else last year! It is a good practice to check the COMGAR archives for common gardening questions. If you don’t find what you’re looking for in the archives, ask away!

Privacy: The group is visible to anyone. Posts made to the group are visible to anyone, although email addresses are hidden from the public. The Privacy and Public Life Policy details the complete privacy policies of E-Democracy.org.

How to post: Send COMGAR submissions to comgar@forums.e-democracy.org. Alternatively you can post a topic via the COMGAR forum page on E-democracy.org. You can update your profile and manage your subscription preferences (removal, digest mode, etc.) via your E-democracy profile settings.

Messages sent to COMGAR for any unique user will be moderated for adherence to COMGAR/E-Democracy rules. For this reason, there may be up to a 48 hour delay in posting. 

Forum management: Quantina Beck-Jones is the volunteer Forum Manager and is responsible for facilitating this forum. The volunteer Forum Manager shall:

  • enforce forum rules
  • respond to participant questions
  • listen to complaints or concerns
  • encourage active participation
  • maintain respectful tone of discussion

She can be reached at comgar-fm@e-democracy.orgAny user in violation of COMGAR guidelines will be notified by the Forum Manger and posting privileges may be restricted.

If you have any questions or concerns about the forum, please contact us.