I don't have a lot of storage in my email, so I know that I deleted Dr. Schild's response to my inquiry about the possibility of posting his paper here. I don't remember whether the reply came on list or off. Sometimes I goof and post off list when I mean to post on list and vice versa. Anyway, I cannot imagine any reason to feel offended however I received his reply.
I did not intend for the request to be confrontational and hope that it wasn't. Several posters have mentioned benefiting from Dr. Schild's paper and so, I made a direct request.
I understand Dr. Schild's issues regarding publishing the paper here if it violates an agreement with his academic journal. Perhaps the journal might have a link that would allow nonsubscribers to the journal view Dr. Schild's article when it is published. This may not be possible, and we may simply have to make do with whatever copies Dr. Schild puts at the library.
I also understand that Dr. Schild felt under attack by some of the posts in response to his paper, and perhaps by mine. If I offended Dr. Schild or any one on line by any of my comments, I apologize. I also hope that Dr. Schild realizes that some subscribers felt attacked by his paper; its conclusion seemed to be not that WOD is a work in progress, but that it is a failure. This is upsetting to those who value WOD as it functions now, and to those who work hard to make WOD a more diverse group, reaching more and more of the greater WInona community. And, of course, we have not been able to read the paper in its entirety, so perhaps we have jumped to some incorrect conclusions.
As to those who choose not to post because they are afraid someone will criticize them, I don't know how to respond. Personally, I enjoy debate and don't mind disagreeing with others, or being disagreed with, as long as the attacks are on the issue, and not personal. Sometimes, if my response is directed to one person in particular, in a way that does not benefit the group discussion, I will post off list, to the individual alone. For other issues, I may not choose to post at all because I either have nothing to contribute that I think will further the discussion.
One inherent problem with communicating electronically is that tone is often lost in the posting--what is intended to be humerous is sometimes harsh instead. Perhaps we all need to cut each other some slack and not leap to the assumption that offense was intended.
I cannot say enough how important it is to let your voice be heard. Everyone, every single one of us, is needed. We mustn't simply be spectators in our lives, including our political lives.
Terri Hyle
From: Steve Schild Winona Online Democracy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Winona] Continuing the conversation Date: Sat, 31 May 2003 10:26:51 -0500
[Winona Online Democracy]
To Winona Online Democracy,
Yesterday (Friday, May 30), I thought I was posting to the list my responses to a couple of questions I'd gotten from WOD participants. I was apparently doing something wrong, though, because my responses didn't appear online. Now, because I don't want to be accused of dodging questions I don't want to answer, I'm going to post those responses in this message.
The first is to a question from Dean Lanz; the question was, What was the point of my study? Mr. Lanz originally sent the question to me individually and then he posted it to the list.
The second question came from Terry Hyle, who asked if I'd make my
paper available online. I don't remember if she sent the post just to me or
to the entire list, but I'd like the answer to be seen by everyone who's been
following this discussion. If in so doing I've offended Ms. Hyle, let me
apologize in advance. However, I can see no harm in the answer I provide
(other than, of course, the possibility that some people might not like the
answer, which is a completely different question).
A final thing that I may have mentioned previously but that I want everybody
on the list to be aware of: Since the online fur began to fly here, I've been
contacted, either online in private e-mail or in person-to-person
conversation, by at least three WOD subscribers who said they refrained
from joining in the discussion for fear of being criticized or attacked by
those who disagree with them. I mention that because it's exactly the sort
of "silencing" that I believe can go on in any forum that's dominated by a
small group of people of the same ideological ilk.
Now here are the replies I sent yesterday to Mr. Lanz and Ms. Hyle:
���
(This is in reply to Mr. Lanz's question as to what the point of my study is.)
Dean,
I just had a computer (or computer-operator) glitch, so my earlier attempt to respond to your question may have been incomplete, garbled or nonexistent. Here's my second try, hopefully more successful:
It's hard to boil 100 pages down into a sentence or two. But if I had to wring one key message out of my study, it would be something like this:
Winona Online Democracy has thus far failed to create the "community-wide discussion" it aspires to in (what I believe is) its mission statement. The online discussions certainly aren't "community-wide" numerically, nor, it seems, are they "community-wide" in terms of involving a truly diverse group of participants, diverse both demographically and ideologically.
That's my point.
Steve Schild ��� (This is in response to a request to make my paper available online.)
Ms. Hyle,
I'll think about it. To be perfectly honest, the reception I've gotten from certain WOD posters has made me feel something less than giving.
Perhaps a better reason for my reluctance to do so is the fact that my
paper is now in the hands of reviewers for an academic journal that is very
persnickety about publishing only research that is original--that is to say,
unpublished in any other forum. I don't know if the journal editors would
regard online publication as removing my paper from the ranks of the
original.
At some point, however, though I cannot at the moment say when, I plan to give copies of the full paper to the Winona Public Library as well as the libraries at Saint Mary's and Winona State and the archives at the Winona County Historical Society. I haven't approached any of those four places to see if they would accept a copy, but I certainly plan on making the offer.
Based on the reasons above, that's as much as I have to say to your question at the moment.
Steve Schild >===== Original Message From "terri hyle" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ===== >[Winona Online Democracy] > >Dr. Schild: > >Would you consider posting your paper on WOD so that we might all benefit >from your research? I understand that it is very long, but perhaps as an >attachment it would work and be appropriate for those who wish to access it. > >Terri Hyle
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