[RP TownTalk] Request for Civility and List Moderation Policy (was Re: Ice storm clean up)

Alan Thompson twacks at his.com
Thu Feb 22 12:01:46 UTC 2007


On Feb 21, 2007, at 8:21 PM, Jennifer Gerwig wrote:

> Also for personal curiosity:  How long does a person
> stay on moderated status

To date, the policy regarding moderation has been:

(1) People are moderated when the list moderator (that would be me!) 
thinks they have violated the posting guidelines.
(2) They are removed from the moderation list when they tell the list 
moderator that they have read (re-read?) the guidelines, understand 
that someone (not necessarily them) might have thought that their note 
violated the guidelines, and agree that, to the best of their ability, 
they will abide by the posting guidelines in future postings.

Councilmember Oppenheim is developing a more formal set of guidelines

As a refresher, I have included (at the end of this message) the 
posting guidelines for the list, taken from the website where you sign 
up for the list at 
(http://riverdale-park.org/mailman/listinfo/towntalk).

As moderator, I'd appreciate it if we could *all* work to keep this 
list respectful and productive.

The conversation that has led to this post has resulted in at least one 
person signing off from the list.

Regards,
Alan Thompson
E-mail List Administrator and Acting Webmaster
Town of Riverdale Park Website & TownTalk Listserve

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Promoting a Civilized Environment

We find a list works best when everyone treats everyone else with 
respect. Below are some guidelines designed to make TownTalk a safe 
environment for discussing difficult issues.

    1. Posters may not attack other list members for their choices or 
opinions, although they may suggest that certain opinions are worth 
evaluating or that there may be other points of view. We don't flame 
here - we respect the opinions of our fellow citizens. Because respect 
doesn't always mean saying "I agree", it's important to phrase 
challenges in such a way that it is clear that it is not the worth of 
the writer you are questioning, but rather the validity of the idea. 
What is a flame? It is important to recognize that to disagree 
respectfully, or to politely request a change of behavior, is not to 
"flame".

       Examples:

       NOT acceptable: "I can't believe you think that! No right 
thinking person could possibly believe something so stupid."

       Acceptable: "I have a different perspective on this. My family 
actually enjoys eating hockey pucks."

       NOT acceptable: "Listen you jerk - how can you be so stupid and 
listen to the idiots want a hockeypuckgarden?!? If you'd bothered to 
read up on hockeypuck gardens, you would never be arguing in favor of 
such stupid things."

       Acceptable: "What has led you to believe that people who live in 
Riverdale Park want a hockeypuckgarden? When I lived in Hockey Town, we 
had a hockeypuckgarden for one year, but no one maintained it and it 
looked horrible. I think a hockeypuckgarden is a bad idea."

       TownTalk will be a much more effective resource for all of us if 
we endeavor to keep it flame-free, and to avoid personal attacks.

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e-mail to the entire list.)

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For more information on these and other hoaxes, see 
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