Thomas Dalton wrote:
And, as as a member of these group discussions, please allow me the right to decide what upsets me or not. If I don't like what's being said, I can simply move on to another discussion.
All these "let me decide what to read" arguments are fundamentally flawed. You can't make that decision until after you've read the email, by which point it's too late.
Thomas,
Too late for what? Of course you can't "unread" what you've read, but I'm NOT advocating the elimination of all moderation...I am advocating the light-handed application of it. I support moderating messages that contain personal attacks, etc. What harm have you received by reading a message? Or by reading a message enough to decide it's not worth reading further? And you can decide for yourself whether to respond.
You can decide who to ignore in the future, right? Isn't it better to be able to do that for yourself, instead of having someone else do it for you? In fact, don't most mail clients allow you to filter certain messages based on criteria? That would allow you to moderate anyone you choose.
-Rich