Comments

2003-8-16 04:21:00

My Friends,

It's 2 AM here and I have just spent about four hours catching up on my mail from the Keys and other sources - including John C's story.

There is enough material here for a book. Instead of doing a lot of specific commenting, I will just reflect on the essence of what had been said about the gay relationship and comment.

First, let me comment on the posts themselves. We have done very little rejection of posts through moderation during this period, even though some think we should have.

The reason is this. Any post giving a philosophical point of view is fair game (with rare exceptions). We realize that some views are offensive to the other side of the spectrum, but to have a full discussion here it is good that all ideas and feelings come out in the open so we can speak honestly about them.

The purpose of moderation on this list is not to suppress a point of view (even if it is objectionable to some) but to prevent abusive personal insults and abuse of the off topic privilege. Even here we usually do not act unless a number of people complain about a certain individual or the post is so abusive that we know a number will complain.

New members are placed on moderated status until they demonstrate over a period of time that they are fairly civil in their posting. Many of the old timers are not moderated.

Sometimes we get requests from some offended person to place a certain person back on moderated status. One person offended is not enough for us to make this move. For us to place an unmoderated person back on moderated status this person would have to break the rules to the extent that several complain.

The bottom line is that this list is composed of quite a variety of philosophies and there will always be a few posts that are diametrically opposed to what the individual believes. This is just something we will have to put up with if we want lively discussions to surface now and then. And keep in mind that lively discussions, if done civilly, will often lead to greater light and understanding.

Speaking of lively discussions, Larry and Glenys certainly had one. I would have commented earlier, but had business that made it impossible. I was glad to see that they came to understanding in the end.

This was a case where both seemed irritated at each other and both wound up throwing a few barbs. Both are long term members, loved by many, and are not moderated. One incident like this does not deserve any action and Keys members not involved in the exchange have requested none.

When Rick established this list he did so with the idea of allowing all views and feelings to be heard. We thus had a completely unmoderated list for about three years. It wasn't until a person or two generated so many complaints that we were forced in this direction. Even so, we only intend to use this action when absolutely necessary for the health of the list.

To be continued...

You can't make one thin dime giving people what they need. You've got to give 'em what they want. Angel Martin, "The Rockford Files"