[Tango-L] To moderate or not to moderate... be aware of Miles argument

['Mash]

I look forward to the day that we can use "flame wars" as a sustainable energy source. 

'Mash
London,UK

"May we be cautious in our perfection lest we lose the ability to dance."


On Wed, Jul 18, 2007 at 02:28:11PM -0600, Nina Pesochinsky wrote:
> Amaury,
> 
> On the tango lists, there are only two choices - you either die or be 
> killed, or grow thick skin.  Welcome to the list1
> 
> Nina
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> At 02:16 PM 7/18/2007, Amaury de Siqueira wrote:
> >My first experience with list moderation date as far
> >back as 1993-4 with the
> >KMUG (Kansai Mac Users Group) list.  At the end of the
> >day moderation was as
> >detrimental to the list as non-moderation.
> >
> >One of the rationales behind list moderation is
> >sustenance of an online
> >community.  Implicit in this argument is the idea that
> >constant disruption
> >and flame war is likely to push certain members to
> >leave the community thus
> >eroding the quality of membership and content of
> >postings.
> >
> >The bottom line for me is the 'age' of a list.  That
> >is, an old established
> >list with strong membership and displaying high
> >quality posting may not be
> >susceptible to the eroding effects of flame and
> >disruption.  It seems to me
> >that this list's quality FAR exceed the once in a
> >while virulent posting of
> >some listeras. ;)
> >
> >Some flames evolve into rich discussion and edifying
> >exchanges.  Nina's
> >abhorrent posting is a good case in point.  I learned
> >as a result of an
> >initial nonsensical posting - (thank you to
> >Konstantin, Huck, and all
> >others)
> >
> >A censored list may strip the list of its richness of
> >expression.  Granted
> >we should all try to display certain level of
> >civility.   However, I must
> >say that the entertainment value of some postings
> >bring a smile to my face.
> >That alone makes it all worthwhile.
> >
> >Cheers,
> >Amaury
> >
> >
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: tango-l-bounces at mit.edu
> >[mailto:tango-l-bounces at mit.edu] On Behalf Of
> >m i l e s
> >Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2007 3:11 PM
> >To: tango-l at mit.edu
> >Subject: [Tango-L] A Cautionary Phrase (was:
> >Acrimoniousness)
> >
> >Hi,
> >
> >After reading everyones responses my post about
> >Acrimoniousness...
> >
> >"You can tell a fool he's doing a foolish thing, it
> >may not change
> >anything, but at least the truth is where it needs to
> >be". - Kosh,
> >Vorlon Ambassador, Babylon 5.
> >
> >Oh and one thing about list moderation, the list
> >moderator in my
> >estimation in question isn't doing a good job of list
> >moderation if
> >they're acting like that.  A good list moderator,
> >shepherds the
> >conversation and doesn't stifle it!  That's a rare
> >skill and not
> >everyone is cut out for it, so its wise when starting
> >a list to pick
> >someone ELSE other than yourself to moderate a list.
> >
> >Lastly, I find it interesting that you folks took the
> >better portion
> >of my note and discarded it in favor of focusing on
> >the one thing
> >that was an after thought, the list moderation.  As a
> >friend of mine
> >once said, "People are gonna do what they're gonna do,
> >and you can't
> >change that.  But you can influence them by how you
> >carry yourself."
> >
> >M i l e s.
> >_______________________________________________
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> >Tango-L at mit.edu
> >http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
> >
> >
> >
> >
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