Klarinet Archive - Posting 000074.txt from 2004/07

From: Oliver Seely <oseely@-----.edu>
Subj: [kl] Non-clarinet topics.
Date: Fri, 2 Jul 2004 16:15:45 -0400

I'll make this short because, with apologies, it is itself not, strictly
speaking, clarinet oriented.

I was the listowner of a list with a short list of posting guidelines. The
only substantive one was a prohibition against name-calling. All the other
guidelines were technical in nature. Everything else as regards subject
matter was allowed.

Each time there was name-calling I simply attached the guidelines to a
message to the poster and asked that the guidelines be followed. It never
failed to keep people in line. I didn't have to go to a second strategy,
as described below.

But the ownership of the list changed to a person who decided to allow
everything. I wondered if a list could be killed by a one or two
individuals posting anything they want. The answer is yes. Between two of
us, both academic professionals, we killed the list. The subscription list
went from about 165 down to six. Four of those were dead accounts. So
finally, the list was made up of the two people who decided to "go at it"
with each other.

I would recommend the following quiet strategy, based on the idea that the
Internet is big enough for everybody. If anyone wants a clarinet list
where the discussion of politics is acceptable, there is nothing
prohibiting that person from setting up such a list on www.yahoolists.com
and announcing it to the world, including an announcement on KLARINET. By
eliminating a person who decides not to follow guidelines of a list the
listowner is not somehow limiting that person's right to set up his own
list and to establish his own guidelines. Here's the strategy. Tell the
poster that the guidelines have been violated. If a second posting on the
same topic comes from that person, the listowner simply unsubscribes him
without notice. If he reappears again, the listowner unsubscribes him
again. It's a little labor intensive, but basing this opinion on what I
discovered can happen to a list by the imprudence of just two individuals
makes it worth it.

Oliver

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