Re: Missing Brigade (2)

[Hans Reiser <reiser@ricochet.net>]

  I personally would also much prefer it if this list adhered to the ABA list
  standard rather than no standard at all.  I find the flames annoying to sift
  through.  I also recognize that the folks at essential are busy, and that
  moderating is a lot of work.
  
  Hans
  
  charles mueller wrote:
  
  >         In my musing last evening on how a discussion list might go at
  > attracting the most knowledgeable people in its field--in antimonopoly
  > policy, the very senior economic scholars who've written the textbooks for
  > the past 4 or 5 decades, conducted the leading empirical studies of
  > real-world monopolies, and so on--I was about to start my 3rd suggestion,
  > got distracted, and then later inadvertently hit 'send' while posting a
  > dozen or so other messages.  Here is the completed version of my suggestions
  > for making a list attractive to these distinguished people:
  >
  >                                                   .....................
  >
  >         1.  No name-calling, ad hominem attacks, or discourteous, uncivil,
  > disrespectful or offensive posts.
  >
  >         2.  The list owner will himself, or through a designate, provide an
  > E-mail address for the lodging of complaints under (1),  above, either by
  > the person offended or by any other member of the list.
  >
  >         3.  Upon receipt of such a complaint, the offender will be invited
  > to submit  to the group, and to the person offended, an on-line apology
  > which has been accepted by the latter.  Should the offender decline to do
  > so, he will be forthwith removed from the list of members.
  >
  >                                                   ......................
  >
  >         This morning I joined another antitrust discussion list, one
  > administered by the American Bar Association (ABA).  Its policy guidelines
  > include the following:
  >
  >         'This list is a privilege and personal attacks and profanity will
  > not be tolerated.         If you feel that this privilege is being abused by
  > a subscriber, it is your right            and your RESPONSIBILITY to email
  > to listman@abanet.org and report this.'
  >
  >         This covers my points (1) and (2).  And it would hardly be
  > surprising if, in their application, this group of lawyers doesn't also
  > employ my principle (3), namely, requiring an apology (made publicly,
  > on-list) that is sufficient to satisfy the person who has been offended.
  > The latter point, in my view, is vital--the list is going to lose that
  > offended senior scholar if HE is left with a sense of justice not fully and
  > fairly done.  It is his perception of the matter that is vital to keeping
  > him, which of course means that there must not just be an apology by the
  > offender but that it must be of a kind and character that fully satisifes
  > the victim, that is generous enough to persuade him to say, 'apology
  > accepted.'
  >
  >         Attracting the most knowledgeable people to Net discussion groups is
  > obviously the linchpin in their ability to contribute to the solution of the
  > world's harder policy problems.  So far, none of the lists I've been on have
  > spelled out such a consistent, coherent policy--or have attracted the full
  > roster of the best in their respective fields.  'List policy' is, I believe,
  > a key factor in making a real-world difference.  I hope we'll hear from
  > other members who have some thoughts here.
  >
  >         Charles Mueller, Editor
  >         ANTITRUST LAW & ECONOMICS REVIEW
  >         http://webpages.metrolink.net/~cmueller
  
  
  begin:          vcard
  fn:             Hans Reiser
  n:              Reiser;Hans
  org:            The Naming System Venture
  adr:            6979 Exeter Dr.;;;Oakland;CA;94611;USA
  email;internet: reiser@ricochet.net
  title:          Owner
  tel;work:       510-482-2483
  tel;home:       510-482-5071
  note:           Phone: +1 (510) 459-4681
  x-mozilla-cpt:  ;0
  x-mozilla-html: TRUE
  version:        2.1
  end:            vcard