Re: Moderation of GZG-L (was Re: Back from SALUTE and bye bye)

On Mon, 29 Apr 2002 14:16:00 -0400, Jerry Han <jhan@warpfish.com> wrote:

>"Is something broken?
>Can we fix it, if it's broken? Do we even have the right to fix it?"

Really good question...

Lists, like every other social group, go through periods of evolution.
This
list is one of them. People are going to come and go. For one thing, new
players will ask questions that those of us who've been around for 6
years or
so will yawn and say, "Not this again!" New people will find the list
exciting
and interesting, old hands will start to dump tons of threads. People's
tastes
change. So does their amount of spare time. They even -- gasp -- move on
to
other game systems.

The list becomes what the majority of the people posting want it to
become.
It's a social group. It's a sub-culture. It evolves. Sometimes it's no
longer
what you want it to be. You can either adapt, try to change it, or you
can
leave. 

Is there a problem with that? Is there a problem here? Only if the
evolution
of the list takes it on a crash course towards extinction.

The two areas of concern appear to be signal to noise ratio, and flame
posts.

There will always be those who don't like the signal to noise ratio.
Even on
topic stuff will be a problem. Some people dislike modern military
discussions, yet others find it important for playing Stargrunt and
Dirtside.
Is the discussion of Japanese tanks off topic? Yes... except that there
could
very well be someone cobbling together SG2 stats for them at this very
moment.
SG2 isn't just a science fiction game, its been adapted to other eras.
If
discussion of Babylon 5 and Andromeda hardware is on topic, shouldn't a
discussion of the benefits of one WW2 tank over another be on topic? If
you
find modern military an issue, wait until FMA comes out and people start
talking about fantasy and magic. For that matter, I think we need more
Pax
Limpopo and Pig Tickler discussions!

We're always going to have a problem with signal to noise as the list
changes.
A coherent policy would be nice, something that everyone on the list can
point
to in a stern manner when someone has crossed a line. For the most part,
though, I find off topic posts self policing. I just wish (and I include
myself in this) people would spend more time thinking about things
before they
post off topic. Maybe if you have to put an "[OT]" tag on your message
it
really shouldn't be here in the first place...

A coherent policy would also help when someone crosses the line with
flame
wars. This is a different problem, but just as tricky to solve.
Suggesting the
use of kill files (which I've been guilty of suggesting) doesn't
completely
cut it as not everyone can access the list with an e-mailer with that
capability. 

Perhaps the solution lies within all of us. The original flame baiter is
always at fault. So is the person who jumps in and feels that he has to
reply
in the public forum. But so too are all the people who sit back and say
nothing as the flame war rages, even though it bothers them. I remember
back a
few years when off topic threads and flame wars were shot down in their
infancy due to a bunch of folk just saying, "Enough, take it off list"
right
away. Perhaps that's all we need.

Or, maybe we need something more. I think the list has grown enough that
a
policy should be developed before it is _truly_ needed.

But, to answer the question, is there a problem here? If there is, it's
the
same one that's infected Usenet and almost every other list I'm on after
it
hits a certain critical mass. From history, it's not one that's easily
solved.

Allan Goodall		       agoodall@hyperbear.com
http://www.hyperbear.com

"At long last, the earthy soil of the typical, 
unimaginable mortician was revealed!"