[sumo] Re: Moderation

[Barbara]

Dale Carlson wrote:
> At 07:41 PM 5/5/2007 -0700, Barbara wrote:
>> I suggest the owner of the list change it to a fully moderated one, and 
>> squash off topic messages without mercy.  This is NOT a chat room. We 
>> don't need to debate how offended or not we are when an off topic 
>> message comes through.  We should only be discussing sumo.
> 
> I could not disagree more. I regard the members of this list as friends.
> We aren't one-dimensional sumo fans. We are people who like sumo.
> And hopefully each other as well. There is life beyond sumo for most

But I claim you are making my point for me.
It is typical of people who subscribe to one and only one mailing list 
to try to make it into a multipurpose one. They want social chat as well 
as on-topic chat.  Social chat can sometimes be on topic too.  But if 
you are subscribed to a half dozen mailing lists that is the last thing 
you want.  Mailing lists are easy to make.  We can have a sumo-moderated 
list as well as a "sumo chat" list for friendly banter which may or may 
not have to do with sumo.  That way people who don't mind the random 
unrelated chatter can enjoy their mailing list but the rest of us 
wanting a more pure experience can hang out only in the other. I'm sorry 
if I seem harsh, but too often I've seen mailing lists collapse as 
furious subscribers leave in a huff never to return.  Strict on-topic 
mailing lists are such a pleasure to read. The quality of posts seems to 
increase, even. Partly because "old-timers" stay subscribed for decades 
at a time, and their writings are pure gold. But lists full of people 
using it for personal chat can become a burden and an irritant for those 
who are subscribed to many at once. Anyway again I stress that I do not 
want to seem harsh or critical of this list's owner because it isn't his 
fault these kinds of things are happening.

Here is the introductory text to an anime mailing list I have been 
moderating since 1996, as an example of a fully moderated list:
-----
" The list
is private and moderated.  I check, alter, and delete messages
to keep out spam, trash, non-members, commercial tag lines, flamboyant
signature lines, excessive quote text, accidental submissions, abusive
or personally insulting messages, and other unwanted mail.  However, I
never change one word of anything you have written - if part of your
message is unacceptable, it is returned to you with an explanation, and
an invitation to resubmit it.  An example of such a message is an on-topic
message you wrote which also contains an abusive or insulting reference
to another person on the list.  Your on-topic message is very much wanted,
but I will ask you to remove the personal attack and send it back.
The majority of list members have participated for years and have never
received a returned email, but you should know that it could happen.
Your name is never revealed
unless you sign your messages.  Only your email address is visible.
If you never write a message, no one will ever know you are on the
list.  (This type of behavior is called "lurking" and is OK...)
Email addresses in list messages are protected from internet spam
email harvesters because I do not allow message archives
to be exposed to the Internet or to be scanned by Google.
I encourage you to sign your messages and let people get to
know you.  You'll find that our many members are among the most
knowledgable and helpful found on any such mailing list.  Ugly arguments,
feuds, and rude messages will never be a problem.  Discussions are
in great depth, with many members being experts in some aspect of 
anime." End of quote.
---------

Full moderation has other benefits too. For instance, in this sumo list, 
frequently personal emails get sent accidentally to the whole mailing 
list.  A moderator can recognize such a thing and prevent the message 
from going through.  This can save a member from quite severe 
embarrassment, if the message is a sensitive one!

Obviously, the problem with moderated lists is the moderator. If the 
moderator is unobjective, lazy, or otherwise unsatisfactory, the mailing 
list fails.  If the moderator is good, the list thrives.  I would like 
this list to be fully moderated, but I'm not sure I'm volunteering for 
such a thing. Full moderation can be messy to set up for the moderator. 
I'm probably too busy to take on another list.

Anyway, I'm impatient for this basho to start. You can probably tell.
This basho, I'm going to put up 1 or more videos on my website each day, 
with commentary, like I did for basho 1 this year.  I finished the 
support code to allow me to do that easily and cleanly. (For an example 
of what it does see my site http://www.technogirls.org/enka/ ) So being 
able to put things up quickly makes a difference.  Warning: I will also 
indulge myself fully in including opinionated commentary on each 
submission too, just for fun.  You can read it, laugh at it, ignore it, 
whichever you like. But the files will be there.  As for the "passing 
the torch" game, I will probably not run it this basho.  Too much to do.

Barbara Murasakihana