Dear Raiz, AssamNet started at the University of Pennsylvania in 1985 with about 10 members, and has grown to several hundred members, after merging with a similar service provided from the University of Missouri in the 1990s. Its mission is to promote healthy, free and frank discussions on topics related to Assam, the Assamese in Assam and outside Assam, and Northeast India, although other topics deemed relevant are welcome.
We have had differences in opinion on AssamNet over time during episodes of unfettered discussion, but in the past, we have been fortunate in being able to settle most our differences within the AssamNet community. However, we have recently observed that instances of personal acrimony have risen dramatically and it is possible that legal actions may be pursued by individuals who feel wrongly accused. AssamNet highly prizes its tradition of freedom of speech, but it also wants to promote itself as a friendly and enlightened forum, and it wants to survive and grow. Repeated caustic personal accusations whether relevant or irrelevant to issues under discussion degrade AssamNet's acceptance and appeal making it an intimidating platform. Even motivated contributors refrain from participating in discussions because they feel they will be attacked personally for the viewpoints they espouse, possibly months or years later. In particular, AssamNet and the University of Colorado have no intention to be parties to any acrimony with possible legal ramifications. Individuals who engage in repeated activities that may expose AssamNet to legal actions, possibly killing AssamNet for ever, will not be allowed to post messages on AssamNet. The decision to disallow individuals will be based solely on the administrators of AssamNet. Please remember that it's a free service provided by the University of Colorado and it cannot be abused just because if comes for free. With freedom, comes responsibility. Jugal Kalita, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Saurav Pathak, University of Pennsylvania April 23, 2004 _______________________________________________ Assam mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam Mailing list FAQ: http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/assam/assam-faq.html To unsubscribe or change options: http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/options/assam
