On 2/20/01 10:44 PM, "murr rhame" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I don't know who wrote the original "slippery slope" comment.
> You could both be right. The list admin has every right to
> define and enforce rules of acceptable behavior for their list.
I'm going to speak out of both sides of my mouth here (kids, don't try this
at home, this man is a professional)
Murr is completely right. If you're paying the bills, in practice or by
appointment, it's your toy. If they don't like it, leave. Even if you're
running a yahoogroup and all you're investing is sweat equity, it's still
your investment. It is not a democracy. It is, hopefully, a benign
dictatorship -- the way I put it is this: I'm *always* listening, but votes
only come when I ask for them, and I can jigger the results if I want to.
On the other, other hand, to disagree with myself, it's important to
remember that you're running the list for the users, so what they want is
crucial if you want to serve them. So while you can do what you want on a
list, what you want is, in most cases, what you see as the list users want,
even if you disagree with them and want something else -- within limits. If
they want to swap porn, I don't care. Not on my nickel.
The trick, to me, is knowing what the LIST wants. Not the two ro three
whining, yelling squeaky wheels. Just because someone is loud doesn't
remotely mean they're speaking for the consensus. The louder they yell, the
less likely they're the consensus view, in fact.
So what you need to do is find out what the users want -- talk to them,
listen to them, run surveys, dig out the lurkers and get them to talk to
you. Be the consensus builder, and manage to that consensus. And then, as
certain presidents of the US have said, you have the mandate, and you can
tell the squeaky wheels to shut .
Lists are not a democracy. They're not "free speech" (the internet is a
great bastion of free speech -- but that doesn't imply that *I* have to pay
so *you* can bluster. If you want to bluster, spend your own money. There is
no requirement that we are forced to listen against our wills, or pay the
bill of things we don't support.).
One of the great liberating things for me a few years back was realizing
that a mail list that monopolizes a topic is a BAD THING. I encourage people
who don't like how I run lists or don't like the audiences I attract to go
start their own lists. I list them in my directories with equal billing. I
look for ways to cross-fertilize if they're willing to cooperate. That's
great stuff, because it means I can run the list for the kind of audience I
want, and not have to worry about keeping everyone happy. Which if you try
to do, you'll fail at.
I don't want to be the only dog, or even top dog. I have a vision of what my
lists should be, I manage to that. I adjust the vision based on what the
users tell me, so we have a feedback cycle to keep things on track. And if
what you want isn't what I want to give -- the internet is a big place, and
I'll help you carve a niche, but I won't hand my niche to you already built
and furnished.
--
Chuq Von Rospach, Internet Gnome <http://www.chuqui.com>
[<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> = <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> = <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>]
Yes, yes, I've finally finished my home page. Lucky you.
I like you. You remind me of when I was
young and stupid.
