On Sat, 26 Jun 1999, Bill Southerly wrote:
> ... This person quickly develops strong supporters in the group
> for his right to offer these type of questions (e.g., the free
> speech arguments) and logical arguments why they are related to
> the groups discussion of teaching (e.g., these are the type of
> questions students often ask) ...
Note that the following is my opinion based on my experience running
my own discussion lists. There are very few universal solutions,
appropriate for all mailing lists. Each list admin should do what is
best for their own particular situation.
The first thing to remember is that, in most cases, the list admin is
the boss. Most mailing lists are not democracies. The admin doesn't
have to answer to anyone or make apologies for their decisions. This
is not to say that all admins can act capriciously. If you are too
heavy handed, your subscribers will go elsewhere. Typically, the list
admin is the host of invited guests who are on the admin's turf. Act
accordingly.
Personally, I don't have much sympathy for folks who insist that they
have an absolute and unconstrained right to free speech. There are
almost always limits to freedom of speech. First amendment rights
have never been interpreted as the right to say anything, anywhere,
any time, particularly when the speech is at someone else's expense.
You can't hijack the forum of your choice to do with as you please
either online or off. If you doubt this principle, go to a public
event and demand the right to make a completely off-topic speech.
This won't cut it at a basket ball game, a theatrical production, a
rock concert, a church service or even most political rallies.
Similar rules apply to most administered online forums. The admin can
set the agenda (charter) and enforce the agenda if need be. Most of
the time, I've found that diplomacy by private email can steer a list
away from off-topic threads. Occasionally, a public announcement is
needed. On one extraordinary occasion an exceptionally ugly flame war
forced me to switch one of my lists to full-blown, software
controlled, moderation for a few days.
The exact method used to guide a list is not as important as
establishing guidelines. Take care in defining a charter for your
list. Specify both the topics which are appropriate and areas that
are off topic. The tricky part is to write in a manner that is not so
vague that you can't understand it and is not too specific as to be
overly confining. You should also specify list netiquette guidelines
in a similar manner. Once you have the charter, publish it on the
list. Mail it to every new subscriber. Let it be known that the
charter is "the law of the land" for your mailing list.
If you need a starting place, I can send a sample list charter. Ask
via private email <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
- murr -
