If ICANN really wants to manage "so many serious, substantive, on-
topic comments," I'm sure ZNet would be happy to help them set
up a similar system. Indeed, given their respective (and
prospective) budgets, perhaps ICANN should be asked to show
cause why its failure to take this step in the past six months
should not be considered as deliberate disenfranchisement of the
great majority of its 'membership' from the setting-up process.
kerry
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date sent: Thu, 27 May 1999 22:10:30 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Michael Albert" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: ZNet on new content & systems + recent Howard Zinn Kosovo
commentary
Hi,
This is another in our series of ZNet Free Updates (ZNet is at
www.zmag.org) [...]
The second big addition to ZNet this week is a new forum system.
You may remember from a prior ZNet Update that the old forum
system (with over 12000 messages in it) crumped out just a couple
of weeks back. Well, we now have new software from Webboard to
replace the old defunct software from IChat, and it is much
improved, we believe. But there are other changes in the system
too.
Mainly, the ZNet Public Forum System which will soon be open to
all users of ZNet just by signing in from a link on the ZNet top
page, is no longer moderated. All posts will appear automatically
and immediately, and none will be removed or moved, for that
matter, for any reason. Also, there will only be a few broad areas of
focus, not the forty or so that existed in the past. We hope that
folks will be civil and constructive, but we aren't overseeing the
system and there is no reason to think that only folks with Z/ZNet
sensibilities will be using it. Also, a number of notable participants
in the old public system including myself, chomsky, zinn, and
ehrenreich will no longer host their own forums or likely participate
much at all.
What the hell is happening--you might reasonably wonder? Why this devolution
in scope and participation of the public forum system?
The answer is that:
(a) a public system, even impersonal and anonymous, was too much to keep up
with especially for the noted forum hosts, and...
(b) it was too much to provide (the maintanence, software, and bandwidth)
without any required supporting resources or sustained comittment to it by
all its participants.
In other words, for a really rich and diverse discussion system with
responsible participation by lots of different kinds of folks plus oversight
and moderation, we need a higher level of comittment from everyone who is
involved. Thus, we have added to our operations a SECOND forum system,
distinct from the public one, which is accessible only to recipients of
ZNet's Daily Commentaries -- that is, only to regular donors to ZNet/Z.
This second forum system, which is for for ZNet Commentary
recipients and writers only, is moderated -- uncivil messages (of
which there unlikely to be any in the first place) will be removed --
and also has many diverse forums. More, a substantial selection of
the writers participating in the ZNet Commentary Program are
hosting their own forums in this system to answer queries and
respond to critical comments about their commentaries and views
more generally. And, as well, all past commentaries are in the
system, searchable, etc., with future ones to be added as
available.
The writer participants of the Commentary Forum System so far
include noam chomsky, howard zinn, michael albert, tim wise,
elaine bernard, robin hahnel, barbara ehrenreich, leslie cagan,
stephen shalom, cynthia peters, mokhiber/weissman, peter
bohmer, brian dominick, and sandy carter, with more joining daily.
Each of these commentary writers hosts a forum where
commentary recipients can ask about the host's commentaries or
other matters, as well. The new system has an improved browser
interface that includes an easy to use live chat facility, user paging,
searching of messages by author, key words, etc., plus email
access (which means that you can have any conference function
for you as a listserv so that you can participate entirely from your
email program receiving all messages to it, replying via email to
any message you wish to and having your reply show up in the
system, etc.), plus (still being prepared) news reader access as
well. Supporting all this functionality, participation, and community
is a good part of what the ZNet Commentary Program
(http://www.zmag.org/commentaries/donorform.htm ) which is now
serving 950 users, is all about. We hope you will consider joining
the program and to make it easy, the next message you get, likely
within a few hours of this one, will be about a special promotion
offer for joining between now and June 1 at a temporarily reduced
donation level.
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