Hi folks, I heard back from Mike that he created a thread for these kinds of issues.
This is now posted at: http://z11.invisionfree.com/Kasama_Threads/index.php?showtop ic=427 Ben -----Original Message----- From: Ben Seattle Sent: Saturday, December 13, 2008 10:25 PM Subject: [pof-300] Community, engagement and moderation on Kasama Hi Folks, Currently I am not allowed to post to the Kasama blog but am permitted to post to the "threads" section of the site which has a much smaller audience. Mike Ely (who, along with a few others, runs Kasama) told me that the Kasama project is committed to public discussion of moderator policy. So I sent him a private email asking him if it would be ok to post an essay in the "threads" section under the title: "Community, engagement and moderation on Kasama". I have not yet heard back from Mike. If he tells me that the post will be deleted or that he would ban from the "threads" section also--then I will not post it. Most of my posts to Kasama are indexed here: http://mediaweapon.wetpaint.com/page/Ben-Kasama-posts The only thread which is currently active is this one: http://z11.invisionfree.com/Kasama_Threads/index.php?showtop ic=426 I should note that I am in a period of political sabatical and it is possible that I exercized poor judgement to allow myself to get sucked into participating in the Kasama discussion to the degree that I have. Anyway--the post (if Mike allows me to make it) is below. Comments and suggestions are welcome! Ben ---------------------------------------------------------- Community, engagement and moderation on Kasama ---------------------------------------------------------- Mike and the group around him have done a tremendous job in creating the Kasama blog. Revolutionary-minded activists from around the world come here to check things out and post. There has been very good discussion on some of the most interesting news items of the day as well as some of the most important questions facing the progressive and revolutionary movements. What makes this growing community valuable to me is the ability to directly access a relatively large number of activists who have practical experience building organization with revolutionary aspirations. This site could not have become the success that it so far is without its effective moderation policy. We can post our thoughts, explore topics and learn from one another without having our time wasted by word-twisting hotheads and the aggressively clueless. People who come here "leave their guns at the door" and treat one another with respect. That's my introduction. I wanted to make it clear that I understand the necessity for moderation before explaining that I created this thread because I have a disagreement with Mike that prevents me from posting to the Kasama blog. Basically, Mike has concluded that I do not respect the culture of the site. Mike has said that I can post if I engage others in a way where I do not lecture, repeat myself or reference various political or theoretical articles I have written. On the other hand, it appears that if I do any of these things, even one more time, I will be [b]permanently banned[/b] from the site. In these conditions I see little point in posting to the blog. Of course it is not good to lecture people, or be endlessly repetitive or to constantly bombard people with links rather than to engage them. Mike makes some good and practical points. The problem is that, if I post, I will eventually write something in such a way that someone feels I am lecturing, or I will repeat myself, or I will feel it appropriate to inform someone of something I have written. And then I will be permanently banned. It is better for me to quit before I complicate things and further upset Mike. I suggested to Mike that, if he was concerned that I was alienating readers--that I could agree to limit my posts to some small number per month that he might be comfortable with. He would not go for it. To Mike these issues are very black and white. I think the basic problem here (from my side) is that I have not been successful in engaging people here. I have made many efforts to engage others--but with little result. Part of the issue is that I am not skilled socially and I do tend to be very blunt with people. In my view a larger part is that, so to speak, my machines may come from too far way. That is a way of saying that the principles which are the core part of my comments and articles are not connecting with the experience and conclusions of most readers. I hope that things eventually improve to the point where I can post to the blog. The revolutionary movement has room in it for people with a range of abilities and politics and I hope that the Kasama blog will eventually have room for me. In the meantime, I wanted to inform those few who have found my posts useful why it is that I am no longer posting to the blog. I am still allowed to post to the "Kasama threads" section of the site. This section has a far smaller audience and I believe that Mike has a lower level of concern that I will alienate readers there. And I invite readers (both those who have gotten pissed off at my posts as well as those who have found my posts to be insightful) to share their thoughts and feelings. How can I better engage with others in a useful way without watering down the things I need to say? My view is that, for many reasons, much of the left is in denial about some very basic and serious problems. The best analogy is someone you love and need who has a problem with alcohol. At some point you need to confront the problem. And, no matter how carefully you choose your words--you are likely to make the person very angry. It is for reasons like this that I believe that questions related to moderation and culture are often not black and white. Ultimately, we will need to tap the brainpower and experience of the wider community in order to resolve the kinds of contradictions that prevent me from posting to the blog. Ben Seattle -- http://struggle.net/ben/ ------------------------------------ (This is not a discussion list--the discussion list is pof-200) THEORIST LIST -------------- To unsubscribe: [email protected] To subscribe: [email protected] Archive: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theorist/messages Info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theorist/ POF-200 ------- home page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pof-200/ to subscribe: [email protected]! 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