Re: [ga] Final draft of proposed mailing list rules

[Kent Crispin <kent@songbird.com>]

On Tue, Jan 18, 2000 at 03:15:15PM -0800, Ellen Rony wrote:
> >Sorry, you misunderstand the intent.  The unfiltered list is not the
> >"true record".
> 
> A true record of a mailing list is everything submitted to it--warts and
> all.

Fine.  The "true record" of the ga-unfiltered list is the archive of the
ga-unfiltered list; the "true record" of the ga list is the archive of
the ga list.  They overlap some -- that's fine -- cross-posting gives
all kinds of overlap, as well.  The way this is configured is precisely
the same, from the point of view of distribution, as if every post to
the ga list was cross posted to the ga-unfiltered list, but not 
vice-versa. 

> A subset of that true record is any version that is monitored,
> summarized or limited in some manner.
> 
> The historical archive (i.e., true record) would include all messages, not
> just those that some gatekeeper(s) felt were relevant.  All
> discussion--even that which is self-serving, uninformative, misleading,
> misguided, inaccurate, repetitive, off-topic, outrageous, banal, and/or
> boring--is part of the mailing list process and the true record.

You are simply making up definitions.

> People who have time constraints may prefer to use one of the subsets of
> the true record, e.g., a moderated list, list digest, filtered recipient
> list, or cherry-picked reading list.  None of these approaches represent
> the true record.
> 
> Thus, the true record, or *untouched* mailing list, should be the one that
> appears at ga@dnso.org.

Your semi-religious concept of the "true record" of an email list as
immutable artifact does not comport with the reality.  Many if not most
lists have a background of bounced messages that never appear.  There is
no guarantee that any particular message will be seen by some, or indeed
any of the subscribers; there is no guarantee that a message sent to a
list will make it.  What appears in an archive is *always* a selection. 

This metaphysical position of yours is the best argument yet I have 
seen for not archiving the ga-unfiltered list -- there would be no 
confusion about what is the "true record" if there was only one.

-- 
Kent Crispin                               "Do good, and you'll be
kent@songbird.com                           lonesome." -- Mark Twain