Most people are cooperative and well behaved most of the time, or want
to be, at least. Having clear cut Goals and Rules sets a model for us
to follow. However, there must be consequences for those who fail, or
refuse, to understand and live by them.
Penalties
On nearly every moderated mailing list of which I'm aware, it is
standard practice to punish violations of list rules with:
Warnings
Suspension
Removal
Sometimes a list owner can be persuaded to allow a Removed person to
return on the condition that they behave themselves. Failure at that
point may result in...
Exile
Experience suggests that these practices are effective provided they
are consistently and persistently applied.
Warnings
I will issue Warnings, usually in private, when I see behavior that is
in violation of list rules and needs to be corrected.
Please don't confuse Warnings with the suggestions, hints, reminders,
or other gentle influences I may send your way. I do a fair amount of
that as a normal part of running the list, so don't feel crushed if I
send you a benign private note.
In other words, you will know if you have been Warned!
Another necessary definition is how long before a Warning expires? I
admit that this will be subjective. "In recent memory" is a pretty good
guide. I don't expect to need to Warn anyone more than a couple of
times in a year. I don't expect to Warn anyone more than a couple of
times "in recent memory" before issuing a Suspension or worse.
Suspension and Removal
I will Suspend, or Remove a member if one or more Warnings are ignored
and additional violations committed. My choice of action will depend
on my judgment of the seriousness of the offense and the person's
intentions. No member's "value to the list" will excuse them for
repeated or serious violations of the rules.
Suspensions will be for a length of time I choose, from a few days to
a week or more, again based on my judgment of the situation. Removal
will be permanent unless the person can convince me that they
understand the issue and are willing to change their behavior. Don't
expect to be Removed more than once, ever.
Fixing Problems
Lastly, remember that I do not pre-screen messages to the list. To do
so would be more work than I am willing to do and would slow the list
to a crawl, no matter how diligent I and the necessary team of
co-moderators would be.
Therefore, problems are normally dealt with afterwards, frequently in
private communications off list. Do not believe that I have permitted
something just because I've not made a public announcement about it.
Notify me in private e-mail if you see something you believe I should
handle. Don't add to a problem because you think I'm not watching or
actually approve of what's going on. Either is unlikely.
Be well,
Mike Devour
silver-list owner
[Mike Devour, Citizen, Patriot, Libertarian]
[mdev...@eskimo.com ]
[Speaking only for myself... ]
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