I waited a considerable time, and then when I logged in this morning,
I had a nice letter from Abe about his sysop application, and I liked
it, and I posted a declaration about it. Ah, good, wikilove, I
thought: a controversial person, but...
And only *after* that did I see the quotes from him, SHOUTING AT CUNC
and so on. And two highly respected contributors adding their
opposition to his sysophood.
But, I already made a declaration, and it'd be the worse for all of us
if I acted in a wishy-washy fashion on such things. However, I do
want to acknowledge the opposition and express my regrets at having
made a decision before hearing all sides.
So, he's a sysop now, and NEXT TIME, please let's not hold our
tongues. If you're concerned (and you should be, of course!) that
your opposition might be viewed as inflammatory on the list, then
write to me privately. And quickly. Of course I'll hold confidences
as requested. And I can try to synthesize the objections into a
coherent and helpful decision for all parties.
In the meantime, I strongly recommend to Abe/172 to LAY OFF THE CAPS
LOCK and LAY OFF ANY TALK OF BANNING ANYONE. :-)
And let's all try to relax and make the best of things.
And of course, as always, and as for all of us, the position of sysop
is to be regarded as purely technical, and there is a priestly
obligation NOT to use it as a power tool.
In this case, 172's application was already held up (filibustered in
the Senate of my subconscious, I guess) for an embarassingly long time
as compared to others, and I felt a need to act favorably upon receipt of
his nice letter.
--Jimbo