Dear list friends, Most people are cooperative and well behaved most of the time, or want to be, at least. Having clear cut Goals, Guidelines and Rules sets a model for us to follow. However, there must be consequences for those who fail, or refuse, to understand and live by them.
PENALTIES: On nearly every moderated mailing list of which I'm aware, it is standard practice to punish violations of list rules with: Warnings Suspension Removal Sometimes a list owner can be persuaded to allow a Removed person to return on the condition that they behave themselves. Failure at that point may result in... Exile In the past I've never Suspended anyone. By the time I've been convinced they're unremediable all hell has usually broken loose repeatedly and Removal was basically the same as Exile. Nobody I've Removed has ever really asked to be let back on the list -- or at least not so as to convince me they intended to correct their behavior. Serious problems have been so few that I've basically handled them on a case by case basis. That said, I've admittedly *not* handled as many problems as have existed. Experience suggests that I should be a bit more aggressive in policing rule violations and disruptive behavior, and that I should take better advantage of the disciplinary tools I have available. Therefore: I will issue Warnings, usually in private, when I see behavior that is in violation of list rules and needs to be corrected. Please don't confuse Warnings with the suggestions, hints, reminders, or other gentle influences I may send your way. I do a fair amount of that as a normal part of running the list, so don't feel crushed if I send you a benign private note. In other words, you will *know* if you have been Warned! I will issue a Suspension, or Remove a member if one or more Warnings are ignored and additional violations committed. My choice of action will depend on my judgment of the seriousness of the offense and the person's intentions. The member's "value to the list" will matter less to my judgment than it has in the past. Suspensions will be for a length of time I choose, from a few days to a week or more, again based on my judgment of the situation. Removal will be permanent unless the person can convince me that they understand the issue and are willing to change their behavior. Don't expect to be "Removed" more than once, ever. Another necessary definition is how long before a Warning expires? I admit that this will be subjective. "In recent memory" is a pretty good guide. I don't expect to need to Warn anyone more than a couple of times in a year. I don't expect to Warn anyone more than a couple of times "in recent memory" before issuing a Suspension or worse. Lastly, remember that I do not pre-screen messages to the list. To do so would be more work than I am willing to do *and* would slow the list to a crawl, no matter how diligent I and the necessary team of co-moderators would be. CONCLUSION: Well? I need to know if my planned strategy makes sense, is specific enough or too vague, too strict or not strict enough, or whatever concerns you the most. Please give me your opinions, questions, suggestions. In the next Part, I will address some matters of list Etiquette. Not quite to the level of rules, but still part of being a good citizen! Be well, Mike Devour silver-list owner [Mike Devour, Citizen, Patriot, Libertarian] [[email protected] ] [Speaking only for myself... ] -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: [email protected] -or- [email protected] with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the SUBJECT line. To post, address your message to: [email protected] Silver-list archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
