[Foundation-l] Moderation and this list

[Dan Rosenthal]

Foundation-l, the mailing list nobody can edit for the encyclopedia  
everyone can?

If we're going to get on the topic of censoring mailing lists, we  
should deal with Wiki-en-l first, THEN foundation-l. Most of what I  
see on foundation-l is constructive criticism, and inspired debate  
with a few snide remarks, not straight trolling attempts. Moderating  
this list would serve the effect of censoring legitimate criticism by  
allowing it to be subjected to a "judgment call" by the list  
moderators before being approved. You want to see a REAL cesspool,  
spend some time at Wiki-en-l; after that this list smells like roses.

-Dan
On Dec 21, 2007, at 12:25 PM, Andrew Whitworth wrote:

>> I have to say that I agree with Birgitte here.  For me, Foundation- 
>> l has
>> becoming incresasingly useless as a mailing list because it is so
>> frequently dominated by people who seem to be very "bitter and
>> mean-spirited" to the point that they are on the attack no matter  
>> what
>> happens.
>
> So ignore them, block them, ban them, etc. If there are people whose
> mean-spiritedness is preventing us from conducting legitimate business
> here, or is preventing this list from being a useful resource, those
> people should be removed from it. It is not anybody's duty or
> responsibility to "put up" with people who are unhelpful,
> unproductive, and even counter-productive. This list has a purpose and
> "empowering trolls" or "dealing with trolls" is not that purpose.
>
>> I am unsure what we should do about foundation-l.  It has become a
>> sewer.  It is difficult to balance our very strong desire for an
>> unmoderated forum where people can feel comfortable making strong
>> criticisms (nothing wrong with that!) with a forum where trolls are
>> exhausting a lot of good people and spreading misinformation due to  
>> the
>> inability of others to keep up with the sheer volume of malice.
>
> I don't see why this list has to be "unmoderated". None of the wikis
> are unmoderated, and some of them are very strictly moderated. Set
> rules: legitimate users will follow them, trolls will not. This is not
> to say that the rules need to be complicated, or strict, etc. The
> rules may not even need to be explicit, set some moderators who have
> good judgement and tell them that they will "know it when they see
> it". Hell, it works for pornography in the US, it will work for trolls
> on the mailinglist.
>
> I would also submit a small disagreement that this list has become a
> "sewer", but it's effectiveness has certainly been limited
> unnecessarily.
>
> --Andrew Whitworth
>
> _______________________________________________
> foundation-l mailing list
> foundation-l at lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: http://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l