List moderation

[Greg Montalbano]

Random musings on the "moderator" question...

Just wanted to register my support for the folks who've suggested THINKING
before hitting the "send" button.  Yes, it's always fun to be the first to
hit the screen with the witty bon mot or the outraged rejoinder;  but (as
I've found) it's better to let the thing sit there in your out box, come
back to it later, read it again (& again if necessary), and if you STILL
think it's appropriate, then send it.
A corollary to the "think before posting" (or TBP, as it shall henceforth
be known) is TAKE IT OFF LIST.  Some of the better exchanges I've had have
been one-to-one with some of the better-known posters, many of whom have
off-list personalities that differ wildly from their on-list personas.

I'm not pointing any finger (please read the next part carefully), but I've
noticed that the noise REALLY hit its maximum level just prior to the
publishing of M&D, when the list membership surged due to the promotional
efforts of Holt.  Perhaps some of the newbies were more used to the
newsgroups & associated behavior;  maybe they just happened to walk in on
one of the hairier "Jules/anti-Jules" foofooraws, and took their cue from
that.  Whatever the reason, it'll take a while for some of the newer folks
to adjust to the way some of the older listers like things -- but it will
NEVER go back to the way things used to be.  Like it or not, folks, our
little community (where we never locked our doors & we all knew each other)
has grown, and we have to start thinking about installing traffic lights,
installing deadbolts, and keeping an eye out for trouble.

It doesn't have to be bad;  new blood can have an exhilarating effect
(especially on fossils like me).  Maybe self-moderation will catch on;
people (for the most part) DO tend to look for behavioral cues  from those
around them.  If we don't act too much like sphincters, maybe the new kids
won't, either.

~G~
"When I was a kid, they called me a liar;   now that I'm an adult, they
call me a writer".  -- I. B. Singer