It�s my understanding that if a list (or Web site or online forum) is moderated, the moderator assumes legal responsibility and liability for content. Isn't that so?
In any event, though I'm usually a lurker due to time constraints, I prefer an open, un-moderated list where people's character and intentions are more easily exposed. I wish our politicians would participate regularly! Most people on this list seem to be proficient in "code-speak", delivering innuendo and casting asparagus (I mean aspersions) in styles as varied as the personality types that inhabit our dear "University City Village". As long as people do not post anonymously, let it ride! Alex PS. Ross' posts are sometimes hard to take, but they are most welcome "noise" in this system. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of William H. Magill Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2003 5:50 AM To: University City List Subject: Re: [UC] [ADMIN] decorum (and more noise) On Tuesday, September 30, 2003, at 05:34 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Every list-serve I have ever been on has had a set of rules, or > "netiquette" such as no flaming or personal attacks.� To be honest, > this is the only list I have ever been on that has or allows so many > such attacks.� All of the others I have been on, the offending post > has been deleted and the person saying such things has been told about > it.� Not taken off the list, but reminded that even though we're in > "cyberspace" common sense, common decency and a little respect are > still important. In the world of electronic communications as in the real world, there are two basic types of "communication" -- moderated and not-moderated. In a "moderated" forum of any type, the "moderator," EXCLUSIVELY, determines what can and cannot be said and when. This is true of mailing lists and Listservs just as with face-to-face communication. The "moderator" pre-approves every posting. And can even edit it if they so desire! It is the Moderator's sole determination of what is permissible or not which controls what is posted, not any set of rules, guidelines, or anything else which the "group" may decide. The "moderator" has complete authoritarian control of the list content, and may use any criteria they choose to approve or reject postings. Furthermore, there is no appeal process to the decision of the moderator. In reality, moderated lists are few and far between simply because of the headaches involved with being an effective dictator, err, moderator. If the moderator goes on vacation, all traffic on the list stops until they return. Any list which "prohibits" personal attacks or deviations from "the accepted purpose of the list" must be moderated, and the moderator must make the determination BEFORE the message is posted to the list -- of its appropriateness! This is euphemistically called "moderation" (or sometimes "Peer Review") in reality it is nothing more than pre-publication censorship. There are lists which do not censor materials in advance. However, with such lists, any inflammatory posting is distributed to the members of the list FIRST, and then the disciplinary actions taken against the poster. While it is possible that a post may be deleted from the archives of such a list; it is not possible to delete an email message once it has been sent. Like US Mail, once the message is sent, email cannot be retrieved by the sender. It no longer belongs to them, nor under their control; but belongs to the recipient and is under their control. The disciplinary action against the offending poster may be public chastisement -- as we are currently engaging in on the Spruce Hill list, or private admonishment. But unless the List Owner decides to remove the poster from the list, and only if the list prohibits posting from non-members, the individual may continue to post whatever they wish; subject only to "shunning," the delete key and junk-mail filters. On the other hand, Web based schemes, from BLOGS to WIKIs (ie. virtually any kind of "forum" which is not email based) can be trivially edited for content by the entity which runs the website where they are hosted. AOL and Yahoo are well known and notorious for editing the content of their forums if you do not follow "their guidelines." T.T.F.N. William H. Magill # Beige G3 - Rev A motherboard - 768 Meg # Flat-panel iMac (2.1) 800MHz - Super Drive - 768 Meg # PWS433a [Alpha 21164 Rev 7.2 (EV56)- 64 Meg]- Tru64 5.1a [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>. ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>.
