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
:
> Further comments?  Note, I'd like to stay away from mechanics at this
> point -- I think the big question right now is "Is something broken?
> Can we fix it, if it's broken? Do we even have the right to fix it?"
as 
> opposed to "Do we use an elected body or trust the list administrator?
> What email clients support killfile/filters? etc."  Just trying to
keep
> some focus.  

I don't think that moderation is necessary, or desirable.  It tends to
cause more problems
than it solves, and it's not going to be 100% effective (until and
unless we obtain a psychic
moderator) in any case.  One man's fascinating discussion is another
man's boring drivel,
and a list like this one has, potentially, a very broad focus.

Two solutions suggest themselves:

Think Before You Post is the key, I think, and I speak as someone who's
been guilty of PWI
(Posting While Irritated) on a few occasions.  This covers both flamage
and off-topicallity.

And secondly, Post Something.  If Topic X doesn't interest you, start a
thread about Y.  If
Topic Z *does* interest you, and you have something to contribute to the
discussion, speak up!
And if you realize that you and one other person are the only ones
keeping a topic going, think
about taking it off-list.

-- 
John Crimmins
johncrim@voicenet.com