The Board of Directors of Minnesota-E-Democracy (our sponsoring organization) has agreed to a change in our rules.
Under "Removal From the List" (at http://www.e-democracy.org/mpls), the current wording is: 6. Any member removed from the list for the above reasons may not return for one year. They may read the postings from the WWW archive, but not post to the list. The new rule will state: 6. Any member removed from the list for the above reasons may not return for six months. They may read the postings from the WWW archive, but not post to the list. Why the change from one year to six months? The new rule is consistent with other E-Democracy forums. It is less severe, but may be more broadly applied. As always, I will try to work with repeat violators, but this gives me a more precise tool to penalize persistent minor rules violators. I had asked the board for a two-month penalty for those who repeatedly violate minor rules, but the board decided penalties within our forum will be consistent. According to our rules, members receive one warning before any expulsion. As many members will attest, I try to work with members, especially those whose violations were inadvertent or in the heat of passion. I will still do that, but as recent forum criticism has evidenced, a decline in civility can greatly undermine the forum's credibility. Final warnings mean just that: the next one will result in a six-month suspension. Please, everyone, strong opinions are fine, but personal attacks and uncivil rhetoric will lead to expulsion, no matter how strong your points. David Brauer List manager _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
