---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Miguel Braganza <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: 2008/9/29 Subject: How NOT to moderate Netgroups: A Goanet Guide.
Dears, Every man and woman has his or her prejudices. When one accepts the role of a "Moderator" one makes a commitment to keep one's prejudice to oneself and to be FAIR to even those with whose views one violently disagrees. In technical groups one is very strict about the "On Topic " nature of posting. A person on Botanical Society of Goa list is not likely to be interested in how to repair a spray-gun or assemble a AK-47. However, he or she may be interested in vermiculture, EM, marketing of fruits or preservation of seeds, though these are NOT botanical subjects. Unless the subscribers complain, there is no need to be excessively careful about posts that do not strictly conform to the moderators concept of things permitted. Village groups cannot be treated like Technical groups. the best example of good moderation [minimalist] is the Vascokars United, a vibrant netgroup that has acheived action on the ground ...right from "Those Were The Days" music programme of yesteryears right in the first year of the VU. The Aldonanet is the next best thing I know. Two destitutes have homes, the pioneer of English education in North Goa has a statue and a lecture series and the Aldona Institute has better facilities thanks to this netgroup. It was also a platform to gain support for the Aldona Bachao Abhiyan [ABA] which has its own net group and website now. The Goanet allegedly has a large subscriber list but those who actually post on it are the "usual suspects" numbering less than fifty persons in any given month ..... except, may be , in the run up to the June, 2007, Goa Assembly elections that saw a dozen new posters posting furiously on Goanet. That has all but disappeared. Moderation is needed to avoid flare ups ..... it cannot be a permanent wet towel. It also must be seen to be even-handed, not dishing out meaningless technicalities. Mog asundi Miguel
