On Mon, 22 Jul 2002, Alberto Monteiro wrote: > Oh, so it was a **private** e-mail, and I accidentally > made its content public?
I thought it was public at the time, too; I assumed that those not on deutero-brin-l just had better things to do until the official conversion took place. That said: Reggie's summary of the discussion there is pretty accurate. No "how to fix Brin-L" debate was formally convened...conversation just drifted that way (surprise!), with lots of options being pondered. I believe it has been understood on deutero-brin-l that we have no authority to make any binding decisions on behalf of all of Brin-L. That being said, I'm going to share two points of view (my own, natch) that didn't make it on to Reggie's list. 1. Any system that requires elaborate voting mechanisms or ding algorithms will almost certain fail because most people won't go to the trouble to both with such a thing unless the sh*t has hit the fan, and once the sh*t has hit the fan, the mechanism has technically already failed. Therefore, go with the simple plan: let the list manager(s) use their discretion to punish individuals who can't play nice because they know that if they act rashly or without restraint they will never hear the end of it. 1b. Maybe have one or two rotating list manager positions so that anybody interested can try his or her hand at the job, and to prevent burnout for the more "permanent" list manager(s). 2. The Holy Guidelines - a set of rules and suggestions laid down as imperatives the violation of which may result in penalties but probably not because we can never agree on a valid penalty - should be scrapped in favor of a collection of aphorisms about the nature of conversation, the virtues of courtesy, and the benefits of tolerance. Anyone who finds a good quote can add to the collection, which will be posted to the list as part of a FAQ once a month or something. Marvin Long Austin, Texas There ain't no Devil; there's just God when he's drunk. -- Tom Waits
