Greetings List Members A while back there were a couple of posts regarding structure, rules, chaos, anarchy and other generally fun stuff. This stuff about structure and chaos comes up occasionally so I think I should drop a few words in about it. This list (moq_discuss) has both a Charter and a set of Rules, both of which are on the website and are reproduced below. I used to post them at the beginning of the month (more or less) until it got to the point where I thought it superfluous. I can't currently see any reason to be going back to that but I thought it might be useful to occasionally post the Charter and Rules if for no other reason than to remind new members that they exist I would appreciate it if all members (especially those that post) could take the time to read through at least the Charter and Rules. I have also attached a FAQ which covers some related relevant points. PETER LENNOX (from a post on Fri, 20 Oct 2000 23:55:02) "Most importantly, WHO would do the imposing that you suggest? - there is no list-master as such, and so, like pedestrian traffic, (or indeed, road traffic, for that matter), organisation comes about in the form of commonly subscribed-to protocols, and without any central control; .....this being a new medium, there are many misunderstandings." HORSE: There is no list moderator for moq_discuss but there IS a list-master - ME, and if necessary it would be down to me to do any imposing. However contrary to what some may believe I'm not a control freak - in fact, just the opposite as I believe in providing the maximum freedom possible. There also exists a Steering Committee which can rule on more contentious issues. There is (are?) a Charter and Rules for this list which I would generally consider as guidelines. Where the Rules are observed, as they generally are, they provide for a reasonably ordered and relevant discussion group and members are free to participate as they wish. There is no list moderator because this is an unmoderated list and will remain so unless some extreme (and I do mean EXTREME) situation necessitated otherwise. This list has been operating for over 2 years now (and for about a year prior to that as Diana's Lilasquad list) and intervention has only been necessary a couple of times (see archives). MD is sufficiently stable and mature in Internet terms for there to be minimal intervention and to just let it develop. As far as I'm concerned moq_discuss belongs to it's members and it is for the members to decide, by their actions and interactions how it develops. If sufficient members believe in Pirsig's view of reality and behave accordingly then all will be good. If not .....?? Horse ***************************************************** The faq, rules and charter for MOQ_DISCUSS are below. Please have at least a cursory glance at them, if to do no more than remind yourselves of which ones you regularly ignore. ***************************************************** MOQ_DISCUSS CHARTER The MOQ_DISCUSS mailing list exists to provide a general and free- ranging forum for the discussion of Robert M. Pirsig's Metaphysics of Quality. The MOQ_DISCUSS mailing list is an unmoderated mailing list. Members should observe the Rules of the list in order that discussions can be conducted in in a civilized and reasonably courteous manner. Members are encouraged to become involved in dialogue and debate but are requested to refrain from flaming and abusive behaviour of all kinds. Members of MOQ_DISCUSS are free to initiate a new discussion or topic by posting a message announcing the new topic or with a Subject line identifying the new topic. Members of MOQ_DISCUSS are not required to participate. Members can be active, temporarily inactive or permanent lurkers. If it becomes necessary to remove a member from the MOQ_DISCUSS list for persistent disregard for the rules then this will only be carried out after reminders and warnings have been issued and reasons given. This will hopefully be an extremely rare occurrence. The Charter and Rules of MOQ_DISCUSS are subject to addition or modification under the guidance of the list administrator. Any additions or modifications will be posted to the list with reasons given. ***************************************************** MOQ_DISCUSS RULES 1) As a minimum requirement for joining the MOQ_DISCUSS mailing list members must have read Lila by Robert M. Pirsig. 2) All topics and discussions must be relevant to the Metaphysics of Quality in general or some particular aspect of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance or Lila. 3) Each member should limit the number of posts they submit to a maximum of four per day. 4) Members should reproduce only the relevant parts of any previous message to which they are responding. 5) Contributors should reproduce the Subject line of the thread/discussion to which they are replying. 6) Where possible, posts should be restricted to plain text - no HTML, Rich Text (RTF) or other formats should be used. 7) Posts may not contain attachments, gifs or other documents except by arrangement with the list administrator. MOQ_DISCUSS should not be used as a file transfer or document exchange service. Use FTP or the Web (put your file/document on the Web and mail the list its URL). 8) Members should refrain from swearing, using offensive language and personal attacks on other members. Abuse, in any form, will not be tolerated. *************************************************************** MOQ_DISCUSS FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) [Created by Diana McPartlin - modified by Horse] *************************************************************** How does this mailing list work? It's an email-based discussion group. When you email the list your mail is distributed to all the other people who have subscribed to this group, so we can all join in the dialog together. You are welcome to jump into any discussions that interest you or you can initiate your own. If you've never been a member of a mailing list before we suggest you check out this page on netiquette (ie Net-etiquette): <http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html> which tells you the commonly accepted standards of behaviour on mailing lists. ############################################ How do I post to this list? Send an email to the mailing list's email address exactly the same way as you would send an email to a friend. You can use any email program - Eudora, MS Outlook, Netscape mail etc. This list's email address is: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. Our computer will automatically add the prefix MD to your post, you don't have to do that yourself. The prefixes are intended help you separate your MD mail from the rest of your mail. ########################################### How do I unsubscribe from this list? Send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> with unsubscribe moq_discuss in the body of the mail. Don't write anything else in the email. The subject line will be ignored so you can write anything you want or leave it blank. ############################################# Why do you have three mailing lists on MOQ.org? The MOQ.org mailing lists - MOQ_discuss (MD), MOQ_focus (MF) and the Lila Squad (LS) - serve different purposes. The MD is a straightforward discussion group. It is unmoderated and you are free to raise and discuss any topic related to the MOQ. The MF is run as a series of workshops. Each month we take a single question and investigate it to the exclusion of all else. The MF is moderated so if you send a post that is not directly related to the monthly PROGRAM then it will not be allowed into the discussion. The LS is for discussion, chapter by chapter, of Lila and is also moderated. Think of MOQ.org as a giant online conference - in one room we have lectures, in another we have workshops and in another we have open dialog. By offering a variety of methods of communication we create a richer and more productive experience for all participants: you can send essays to the Forum, you can join the MD open area or the LS and MF workshops, you can enjoy private converstions with other members or you can just sit at the back and lurk if you want. We don't ask you to participate in everything, but we do ask that you respect the distinctions between the different areas of MOQ.org and help us make them all good in their own ways. ########################################### I have something to say that is relevant to both MD and MF, can I post it to both? Posting the same mail to two lists is known as cross-posting and is generally considered bad netiquette because it defeats the purpose of having two lists. If your post is relevant to the MF topic then post it there only and pursue that topic in that forum for the rest of the month, after that you should continue the dialog on MD. ########################################### Can I talk about this month's MF topic on the MD? Discussing the same topic in the open forum and the focus group at the same time can be disruptive and confusing as posts go back and forth between the two lists. In the interests of maintaining a high quality dialog in the MF focus group we ask that you refrain from discussing the MF topic of the month on the MD for the duration of that month. ########################################### I've posted to the mailing lists several times and nobody has responded, why not and what should I do? The lack of face-to-face interaction on the Internet means that it can be difficult to gauge other people's reactions to your posts. There may well be people reading and learning from your posts -- you just can't tell. Don't take it personally and keep on posting. Keep your posts relevant, well-informed and courteous and you'll soon win the respect of the group. ########################################### Somebody has made a nasty, sarcastic reply to one of my posts, what should I do? This is a philosophy discussion group and there's really no need for this kind of behaviour, but still, it happens. Don't waste your energy on it. Either reply calmly asking for clarification, or ignore it and devote your time to something more constructive instead. ############################################# How can I send an essay for the Forum on the MOQ.org website? Send it to the webmaster, ie Diana: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> preferably in plain text in the body of an email. Please don't use any fancy formatting unless essential because we'll just have to undo it all to convert it to HTML for publishing on the web. ############################################## How can I send a bio for the Members page on the website? Send it to Diana, as above. ############################################## What is the copyright situation regarding posts and essays? MOQ.org retains the right to publish all posts submitted to our mailing lists in our archives only and the right to publish essays submitted to our Forum on our website only. We will not use your contributions in any other publication or media without your written consent. All contributors will retain copyright over their own work. That means you are free to sell it to other publishers if you wish, and if anyone plagiarises your work or reproduces it without your permission it will constitute a breach of copyright. ############################################## How can I help you develop MOQ.org? If you've only just joined we suggest you hang around for a few weeks and get to know us. If you understand what we've done in the past and what we're doing now you'll be able to contribute more effectively. If, after the honeymoon period is over, you're still interested, think of what you can do constructively to develop MOQ.org. If you can't think of anything specific but you still want to help, email us because we have a long list of things that we would like to do but never get round to. ################################################ MOQ.ORG - http://www.moq.org Mail Archive - http://alt.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/ MD Queries - [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe from moq_discuss follow the instructions at: http://www.moq.org/md/subscribe.html
