RE: [ga] Proposal for mailing list policy

["John B. Reynolds" <john@reynolds.chicago.il.us>]

Karl Auerbach wrote:
>
> If you don't like somebody's postings then you can filter them yourself.
>
> What you are doing is imposing your censorship on others.
>
> You have the power to keep Jeff W. and Joe B. out of your mailbox.  If you
> need the procmail filters to do this, just ask, several of us have 'em.
>
> You fail to use the tools that have been provided and, instead, want to
> impose your choices on the rest of us.
>

After giving the matter some thought, I have to agree with Karl's position.
We may believe that censorship will only be used against kooks, but in
practice it rarely works that way.  I can't help recalling a debate on
another list last year in which its de facto chair and others argued for the
removal of subscribers who they deemed "disruptive" because they dared to
disagree with the majority opinion.  I opposed that effort in the IDNO, and
I must oppose censorship here as well.

The analogy to public meetings that has been used by some in this debate is
flawed.  Public meetings are time and space dependent.  In such a forum,
those who attempt to monopolize discussion or otherwise create disruption
are stealing time that could have been used by others who wish to
participate.  Mailing list messages (except in the rare case where their
volume is great enough to constitute a denial of service attack) do not have
the same effect.  The messages from the subscribers in question, as
nonproductive as they are, do not prevent others from expressing their
views.  Until and unless that ceases to be the case (as in the October
mail-bomb) no action against them is warranted.