At 06:23 PM 6/12/04 -0400, Paul wrote:
>There are only two ways the list can be handled. First, the admins can
>be "list nazis" and smack down everyone who gets out of line. Obviously,
>I don't like that strategy. Second, list members can mostly regulate the
>list themselves, which means enforcing the list guidelines on themselves
>and others without a lot of intervention from the list admins. I like
>that better.
>_______________________[ End ]_______________________
Paul:
I've moderated lists for over a decade. You're using the formula
that I've found most successful - an on-topic list plus an off-topic list.
With that winning combination, any moderator actions become
mostly an editor action and re-director action instead of Gestapo.
Through the years I've mellowed. I used to be one of those "list nazis"
that you mentioned because I did not want to lose those subscribers who
depth of experience meant a lot - when they spoke up at all. When they
got too annoyed at the fluff, they dropped out without comment. The
remaining subscribers never realized how great their loss was.
On the other hand, genuine friendships developed over the years, and
there was a lot of topic drift and friendly give-and-take. I've learned that's
the nature of quality mailing lists! It's healthy. As moderator, I had a
canned FAQTNOA* that I posted when I thought a topic had drifted far
enough. This FAQTHNOA simply explained
[1] the focus of the primary group
[2] the existence of the companion list, and its focus
[3] how to re-address a message to the off-topic forum by simply changing
the [To] block, and
[4] how to sign up for the off-topic mailing list for those subscribers who
wanted to follow the thread there...
My standard used to be the 2nd off-topic post, but now I'm out to about
4-5 off-topic posts if no one else speaks up first.
On my off-topic list, subscribers were "singing" - and rewriting - songs much
like the Haiku that was recently posted here. Sometimes it was a lot of fun.
Other times discussions got quite heated over world peace and hunger.
But that was the purpose of the off-topic list!!!
I also discovered that occasionally the off-topic list discussions sometimes
drifted back on-topic! Then not only did I post the canned FAQTNOA,
but I also pointed out that there was three times the audience
if they moved the thread back to the original list. Then I shut up.
The group was going to do whatever it wanted to do, anyway.
I always considered on-topic any discussions about the group and about
the host (me). I took my fair share of arrows.
-- Rick
FAQTHANOA=Frequently Asked Questions That No One has Asked :)
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