On Sun, 27 Jun 1999, Chuq Von Rospach wrote:
[snip]
> If the list is unhappy or grumpy, though, it's probably better to
> let it all air out and get over with than try to corner it. It's a
> judgement call. But in general, I try to keep the list focussed
> and not discussing meta-issues on the list, because they have a
> nasty tendency to crowd out what the list is there for in the
> first place (and the meta issues are usually where the nasty
> flamewars come from. Not the topic issues themselves).
Discussing list policy on-list certainly has a lot of flame war
potential. There is also a good chance that the list admin will be to
target of those flames. If you normally bust people for flaming, it
can be awkward if the flaming was directed at you. (conflict of
interest, winning the argument through abuse of power, etc.) I'm
pretty thick skinned. I'm a bit more tolerent of abusive language
that is directed at me than I am of similar remarks directed at a
$ubscriber.
So far, meta-discussions have been worth the risks. Some policy
debates have been spirited but not too uncivil. On-list policy
discussions give me the chance to gauge the quality of my work... I
rarely receive frank criticism by private email. Folks appear to be
more blunt when they have the rest of the $ubscribers as an audience.
As Chung mentioned, on-list policy discussions also give the
$ubscribers a chance to air things out. They have the opportunity to
see what other $ubscribers feel about how the list should be run.
IMHO, such discussions are useful on several levels.
I'm sure that most lists have a few "problem $ubscribers" who believe
the list MUST be run EXACTLY their way. I'm chatting about policy
issues with one of my more self-centered $ubscribers by private email
this weekend. A meta-discussion about my setup choices for the new
Lyris server is currently running on-list as well... I haven't said
anything in the public debate so far. The subscribers seem to be
working out their differences pretty well without my input. I used to
quickly to make a public reply to any on-list mention of list policy.
Lately, I'm more likely to see how the group discussion goes before I
decide if a public announcement is needed.
- murr -
Late breaking news: Fancisco Franco is still dead. Disco still sucks.
