* Marcel: > The worst aspect about this whole episode--from my perspective in > isolation--is that nobody can tell that I am trying to respond > thoughtfully and intelligently to their posts; the censors do not even > need to forward a note to forum members saying that such and such other > member has been silenced nor do they need to provide a specific response > mentioning the "offending" portion of the post. This makes the > censorship even more violent.
This is not true. You can send your reply directly to the author of the post you are repling to and Cc: the list (like I did in this message). This way, they receive your response, whether or not it makes it to the list. Mailing list moderation is simply not a very effective tool for suppressing voices. After all, anyone can take addresses from the list and harass posters off-list. I don't like the moderation either for various reasons (if anything, it's confusing and reminds me of the mid-90s, when email was not real-time), but I trust the people who have deemed it necessary.