We frequently ask one another for recommendations, i.e., “Can anyone recommend a good plumber?” I have seen these messages redistributed in two different ways. The cut-and-paste method strings the replies together in a long email, sometimes leaving the senders' names attached. I would argue that this should never be done without permission. The messages can contain potentially embarrassing negative information, and even seemingly innocuous positive statements can have unanticipated consequences, as when you recommend someone other than your neighbor, who is also a plumber. Authors can sometimes be identified even when their names are removed. A second approach summarizes the responses in numerical form and evaluates the results without quoting anyone directly or naming the senders' names. This seems to me to pose no ethical problems. (If anyone disagrees, please say so.) However, it takes a little more time. It seems unlikely that all of the people who respond to our requests will want their responses reposted using the cut-and-paste method. In fact, the knowledge that someone might repost my email without my permission discourages me from candidly sharing useful negative information. Absence of a tagline giving permission to repost will always be ambiguous. Did the person object to reposting or merely forget to give permission? Tracking these folks down is more cumbersome than summarizing the results in your own words. I suggest the summary method of passing along recommendations to the list. Lloyd Stires On Tue, 22 Nov 2011 22:30:45 -0500 "Sherry Goldman" <sherry.goldman@verizon.net> wrote:

I'd like to suggest that we ask people to write at the bottom of their messages if it is ok to pass on. Many times people have requested we share recommendations, but it is cumbersome to write for permission to all people that respond to you. Also, sometimes people ask if you know anyone that would be interested in something they are posting, but neglect to say we can redistribute. Thanks for such a great list and resource!

"No matter how cynical you get, it's impossible to keep up." Lily Tomlin