1122 Is it Censorship? (non-Tango)
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 09:46:25 -0600
From: Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Is it Censorship? (non-Tango)
Barbara <Varvara Kountouzi <varvarak@POBOX.UPENN.EDU>> wrote:
>You can come up with all sorts of excuses, about 'rules' and
>'escape' and 'appropriateness', but deep down, under all the
>covers, that's all there really is: CENSORSHIP!
The idea that it is censorship for Tango-L to exclude messages that are
not about tango is a red herring argument. Upon joining an internet
discussion group, one agrees to adhere to the rules for the discussion
group--including what topics are to be discussed. That is a a matter of
internet etiquette and common courtesy. Such rules do nothing to abridge
one's freedom to speak or write, but they do protect the freedom to not
listen or read. People who have joined Tango-L have agreed to read
discussion about Argentine tango. They have not agreed to read about war,
geopolitics, medicine, automobiles, careers, personal development, stereo
equipment, etc.
Yes, the readership of Tango-L can delete messages that are not about
tango, but in joining a discussion group about tango, they are not
expecting to have to delete either SPAM or messages that are not about
tango. And in fact, the presence of a significant number of non-tango
messages is likely to decrease interest in the list and reduce the number
of subscribers.
For its first 4-5 years, Tango-L was unmoderated. A few individuals were
so egregious in their violation of internet etiquette that the list went
through several years of moderation. At first the moderation was
haphazard and absentee. Gradually, the moderation became repressive.
People were put on review for slight infractions. The idea behind the
tight moderation was to maintain a high content-to-noise ratio. The last
moderator quit sometime last year, and now the list is no longer
moderated. That leaves it up to the group as whole to indicate what they
find worth reading. The rules of the list should serve as the guideline.
>So, Rick's posting is not related to tango, whereas Andrew's is.
>Interesting...
Neither Rick's nor Andrew Allison's most recent postings are about tango.
Under any type of moderation from light to repressive, both Rick and
Andrew are likely to have been told that their postings were
inappropriate, as have the public comments.
With best regards,
Steve
Stephen Brown
Tango Argentino de Tejas
https://www.tejastango.com/
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 10:31:07 -0600
From: Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Is it Censorship? (non-Tango)
Barbara wrote:
>You can come up with all sorts of excuses, about 'rules' and
>'escape' and 'appropriateness', but deep down, under all the
>covers, that's all there really is: CENSORSHIP!
The idea that it is censorship for Tango-L to exclude messages that are
not about tango is a red herring argument. Upon joining an internet
discussion group, one agrees to adhere to the rules for the discussion
group--including what topics are to be discussed. That is a a matter of
internet etiquette and common courtesy. Such rules do nothing to abridge
one's freedom to speak or write, but they do protect the freedom to not
listen or read. People who have joined Tango-L have agreed to read
discussion about Argentine tango. They have not agreed to read about war,
geopolitics, medicine, automobiles, careers, personal development, stereo
equipment, etc.
Yes, the readership of Tango-L can delete messages that are not about
tango, but in joining a discussion group about tango, they are not
expecting to have to delete either SPAM or messages that are not about
tango. And in fact, the presence of a significant number of non-tango
messages is likely to decrease interest in the list and reduce the number
of subscribers.
For its first 4-5 years, Tango-L was unmoderated. A few individuals were
so egregious in their violation of internet etiquette that the list went
through several years of moderation. At first the moderation was
haphazard and absentee. Gradually, the moderation became repressive.
People were put on review for slight infractions. The idea behind the
tight moderation was to maintain a high content-to-noise ratio. The last
moderator quit sometime last year, and now the list is no longer
moderated. That leaves it up to the group as whole to indicate what they
find worth reading. The rules of the list should serve as the guideline.
>So, Rick's posting is not related to tango, whereas Andrew's is.
>Interesting...
Neither Rick's nor Andrew Allison's most recent postings are about tango.
Under any type of moderation from light to repressive, both Rick and
Andrew are likely to have been told that their postings were
inappropriate, as have the public comments.
With best regards,
Steve
Stephen Brown
Tango Argentino de Tejas
https://www.tejastango.com/
