[Sigia-l] Moderator Speaking

[Boniface Lau]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: sigia-l-admin at asis.org [mailto:sigia-l-admin at asis.org]On
> Behalf Of Livia Labate
>  
[...]
> 
> As for CHI-WEB, it is currently co-moderated by a group of VOLUNTEER
> moderators (I am one of them), with a duty moderator each week.

For the record, at the time the discrimination was taken place at
CHIWEB, there were only two moderators. The so called "duty moderator"
for each week did not exist.


> All the moderators are aware of any disaprovals, suggestions or
> acceptances by the duty moderator making biased moderating
> impossible.

The sheer number of moderators won't assure that because of
'Group-Think'.

But transparency will help a lot. For example, publish guidelines that
moderators have to adhere to when deciding whether to reject a
message. Have a place where list members can go to see what messages
have been rejected by the moderators.

Better yet, CHIWEB can quietly drop message screening altogether and
switch over to the "reminder message" mechanism mentioned by Jim under
the "List Management" thread.

While a reminder message is not an absolute force in stopping any
messages right at the moment, it is process intervention altering the
process dynamic of what is going on.

Who knows, may be what appears like a heated exchange is just an early
stage of issue formation? After all, a moderator is not a know-it-all
on the subject. What he/she failed to see does not mean there is
nothing there. Thus, an open-minded moderator tends to use reminder
messages as a tap on the shoulder and let the participants decide how
best to proceed from that point on.

I don't think people on a discussion list come for a fight. They just
have different perspectives. Thus, a tap on the shoulder is a mature
way of managing the list without imposing absolute power.


> If you feel you were discriminated in the past, I'm sorry to hear,
> but be sure this is not a reality.

I hope you are right that CHIWEB has learned from its mistakes. The
discrimination incident is a good reminder of the downfall of message
screening, i.e. big brothering.

    "Power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely"
                                                     -Lord Acton


Boniface