[Advocacy Advisors] List behavior and moderation [was Re: Wikipedia Zero and net neutrality

[Luis Villa]

On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 9:14 AM, Nathan <nawrich at gmail.com> wrote:

> This might be a good point for the list moderator (someone from Legal?) to
> step in to help maintain a constructive atmosphere on this list. We can and
> should discuss, debate and disagree while maintaining a degree of
> collegiality.


Generally, I think list moderation is *extremely* important for keeping a
mailing list healthy. I described my best practices for behavior and
moderation in the draft OSI Code of Conduct for Mailing Lists:
http://opensource.org/codeofconduct/licensing

However, I don't think that imposing such a policy in the middle of a hot
debate is a good idea. So I suggest we have a discussion about that once
this has run its natural course.

In this specific case, I agree that the tone has become hostile and
unconstructive from some participants. I hope everyone will take a deep
breath, and if appropriate, apologize either to specific people who have
been attacked or to the list as a whole for creating an unproductive
environment.

I also hope that, in keeping with the "disclose potential conflicts"
section of the OSI code linked above, some of the new list members will
introduce themselves and explain their interests and motives for joining
the group. Advocates from other groups are of course welcome here, but we
hope in the spirit of transparency you'll disclose your goals and
intentions for joining in our community.

Thanks-
Luis


-- 
Luis Villa
Deputy General Counsel
Wikimedia Foundation
415.839.6885 ext. 6810

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