[Winona Online Democracy] Thanks, Dave, for the supportive message and for contributing some more references to assist with our exploration to define norms for our discussion process.
I also want to note publicly my own "rule-breaking" behavior yesterday in exceeding the 2 post limit. I beg the members to permit this latitude as I was compelled to post in order to respond as facilitator in addition to simply contributing to the discussion as a member. I apologize for over-stepping that limit and be assured that I certainly don't intend to make a habit of this! Let's all get back to talking about creative ways to develop our city and townships in order for our community to thrive!!! Kathy Seifert ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dave Derks" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, July 15, 2004 10:42 PM Subject: Re: [Winona] Re: The Never Ending Rules Debate > [Winona Online Democracy] > > Thanks, Ed for the candid and honest reminder that all of us have been on > both the receiving and sending end of personal attacks. It's hard to define > exactly what a personal attack is but to paraphase a famous quote personal > attacks are like pornography, you "know it when you see it". > > Email is such a wonderful form of communication, a real enhancement to civil > discourse when used thoughtfully. However, all of us know the feeling when > our perfectly crafted email ends up sounding a little more personal than we > intended it to. Unfortunately, we typically realize this about 2 seconds > after we send the email. All we can do is continue the discourse and > listen, moderate, and apologize when necessary. As someone else famous once > said "let he who is without sin throw the first stone". None of us are > blameless when it comes to emails we could have changed. So Ed, you are > correct that sometimes the best solution is to just "put down the email" and > not respond. > > Saying all this Kathy does an excellent job as moderator in meeting the > intent of the term "moderation". Rather than being "Big Brother", imposing > rules and regulations, the role of the moderator is to facilitate discussion > while being the conscience of WOD and reminding all of us of the joys of > democratic conversation, creating our solutions through interaction with > each other. Thanks, Kathy for all of your hard work! > > A few other wonderful books on the creative art of conversation and > discourse: > > "Turning To One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future" > by Margaret Wheatley > > "Calling the Circle: The First and Future Culture" by Christina Baldwin > > Dave Derks > _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org
