Listen up, you folks in Mansfield, Rehoboth and other area towns where town hall bickering has been ratcheting up: There's a way to disagree without being rude.

A professor is teaching politicians, business leaders and ordinary folks the guidelines of respectful behavior - and it all started in a classroom.

According to a recent story in The Washington Post, Pier Massimo Forni of Johns Hopkins University remembers his epiphany clearly, although it was more than a decade ago. He was giving a lecture on "The Divine Comedy" and looked out over the earnest young faces.

"I would like very much that they know everything about Dante," he thought. But more urgently, "I wanted them to be kind human beings."

Six years ago, Forni published "Choosing Civility: The Twenty-Five Rules of Considerate Conduct." The book has sold 100,000 copies and has become the focus of seminars and reading groups in the Baltimore area as well as communities nationwide. The 25 rules are a simple list, but they are gradually catching on as a guideline for respectable behavior in a high-stress world.

"I keep the magnet on my desk," a customer service worker told The Post. "If you are dealing with a challenging customer, it's good to have it there. It helps you refocus."

It's not easy. Forni admits he sometimes fails to be civil. "I remain a flawed messenger bearing a good message," he told The Post.

But since that moment more than a decade ago, his life has never been the same, he said. "I think of myself as someone who gradually stumbled upon a truth greater than the truth he had believed before."

In any case, here for those folks in Mansfield and Rehoboth - and for everyone - are those 25 rules of considerate conduct:

1. Pay attention.

2. Acknowledge others.

3. Think the best.

4. Listen.

5. Be inclusive. 6. Speak kindly.

7. Don't speak ill.

8. Accept and give praise.

9. Respect even a subtle "no."

10. Respect others' opinions.

11. Mind your body.

12. Be agreeable.

13. Keep it down (and rediscover silence).

14. Respect other people's time.

15. Respect other people's space.

16. Apologize earnestly.

17. Assert yourself.

18. Avoid personal questions.

19. Care for your guests.

20. Be a considerate guest.

21. Think twice before asking for favors.

22. Refrain from idle complaints.

23. Accept and give constructive criticism.

24. Respect the environment and be gentle to animals.

25. Don't shift responsibility and blame.

MIKE KIRBY is editor of The Sun Chronicle. He can be reached at 508-236-0344 or at mkirby@thesunchronicle.com.