Re: [ga] Message from the Chair

[Joe Kelsey <joe@zircon.seattle.wa.us>]

Ellen Rony writes: 
 > One of the freedoms of the Internet is the removal of gatekeepers to
 > information and communication.  Now here is a group inserting a new
 > set of gatekeepers.

These sentences make no sense.  No one has proposed placing any sort of
"gatekeeper" in front of anyone wishing to distribute any information on
the Internet.  We are talking about a mailing list--the last time I
looked there was an enormous difference between a mailing list an "the
Internet".  All of the disruptive personalities are free to distribute
whatever they want in any form that they want to on "the Internet", we
cannot stop them from doing that.

On the other hand, mailing lists have always had moderators and always
will have moderators in order to provide for reasonable flow of
discussion in an electronic medium.  Moderation serves one of the same
purposes that Roberts Rules of Order serves in a normal business
context--it allows people to interact civily and fairly.

There are many fora out there in which all of these disruptive personas
are perfectly welcome to spew their messages.  They can create web pages
and contact the various media representatives and generally diseminate
whatever information they choose to spew.  People who want to accomplish
real work will participate in a moderated forum which enforces rules of
civility and fairness.

Since you seem so enamored of chaotic discussion groups, please point
out a single example of what you propose here that actually accomplishes
real work.  I can think of no example of a newsgroup or mailing list
which has managed to accomplish real meaningful work in the face of
chaotic and anarchic forces such as we have seen on this list.

I eagerly await your example(s).

/Joe