On 05:22 PM 2/20/01, Chuq Von Rospach wrote:
>On 2/20/01 11:18 AM, "JC Dill" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>> But after the poster posts and the replier replies/attacks in private email
>> (following netiquette), what happens next?
>>
>> The simple solution is for the poster to use the "delete" function and
>> ignore the unpleasant reply and not reply to the attacker.
>
>I have real problems with this. I agree with you completely if it's
>criticism. If oyu post an opinion on something, don't get upset if someone
>disagrees, even strongly.
>
>But abuse? We're not talking about the virtual equivalent of someone coming
>up and yelling "you suck" in your face. We're talking about the virtual
>equivalent of someone coming up and punching you in the face. They should
>just take that stoically -- because why? Nobody would in real life. Why is
>the virtual world different?
It's not up to *me* to police their private email interactions!. The
recepient can take it up with the ISP of the person who sent it, or delete it.
>> I belive people need to develop their own spines, I'm not
>> running a list to be their surrogate mom.
>
>So you don't see yourself as responsible for the actions done while people
>are in "your house" and under your care?
Posts sent *to the list* fall under my care, but posts sent privately do not.
If two people (not friends, but say neighbors who came to a house warming)
come to my house to a party, and one person says something at the party
that another person objects to, but the other person is quiet about it
until after they leave my party, how is it *my* responsibility to settle
the subsequent dispute that happens outside my control? Or to take sides
on who I invite to the next neighborhood gathering? As long as they don't
disrupt the party, I don't believe I should take it upon myself to settle
their outside dispute just because it started with something that was said
at my party. When they disrupt the party, then I can get
involved. Otherwise it's a private matter.
How is a mailing list different?
>> Stifling "free speech" in the name of having
>> a "nice" list is heading down a slippery slope. Personally I wouldn't
do it.
>
>But -- someone will. If you don't keep the trolls from abusing your other
>users, the other users will shut up, and all you end up with is the trolls.
>They drive everyone else off, and you end up with someone ELSE defining what
>is and isn't acceptable on your list isntead of you.
We aren't talking about posts on the list. We are talking about private
email that is in response to a post on the list.
There has been exactly one private email incident that I've been involved
in resolving in the years I've been running lists. When I questioned both
the people involved, the troll attacked me. Well, that's easy. You don't
attack the list administrator and expect to remain on the list!
Do you have trolls that behave otherwise? I suppose they might exist,
theoretically, but my personal experience has been that they do stupid
things like mouth off to the list administrator who can then take action
against THAT response. You want to be on my lists, you have to respect my
rights and role as list owner. Duh.
jc
