Cassie,
I'm a bit puzzled by the first part of your post - who mentioned rigorous
application processes? I don't think I did. Of course, they would be
impractical.
I'm not particularly in favour of a formalised Code of Practice. First, I
have to say that I think that the points in your proposed Code should be
obvious to everyone. It depresses me that they don't seem to be. As a recent
example, I certainly don't want to read references to thumping people in the
mouth - whatever the context or the intention. It is also depressing to me
to have to note that , whereas when I first became an internet user my
e-mail filters were set to exclude spam, they now are now increasingly set
to exclude messages from particular members of this and other lists. But
that of course is my choice and my response. Second, I can't obviously speak
for John Kinsella but a Code seems to me to go against the spirit of the
list as I have always understood it. Plus, John has always made it clear
what sorts of behaviours are unwelcome - sexism, racism, etc.
I actually think there is a real difficulty in trying to 'control' other
behaviours. For example, what A might find playful, B might find irritating
and childish. Similarly, X's life experiences, education or whatever might
have made her relish tough, combative debate; Y's might have made him a more
cautious participant in a public forum. Again, some people I know always
take offence at a direct question of any kind - that's just the way they're
made. To close, I think I would perhaps like John to moderate a little more
promptly when a member's postings are not 'on message' i.e. about poetry or
related matters or appear to be offending/irritating large numbers of
members. But, even this is difficult, what I think is irrelevant, others may
find pertinent. I think I need to hear John's comments on your suggestion.
But I also think that the 'best practice' is to move on by returning to a
focus on poetry - which incidentally, many members have been doing
throughout the recent 'identity crisis' and other ill-mannered exchanges. We
have to perform self-regulation to make it work.
cheers
David
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|