We have now sent the following message to Marcus Bales and suspended his
membership of the list forthwith. This is for your information only.
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Marcus: you will appreciate that the task of list-management, whilst
thankless is complex, and the job entails to maintaining the list as
community. Since your arrival we have watched, in Trevor's case perforce
from a distance (although we are now acting in this matter together), as the
community of the British and Irish Poets list-serv has deteriorated.
Coincidence? We don't think so, and it's a question for both of us how to
deal with the situation.
To us, your posts of late last week containing equivocal apologies
concealing continuation of the same line of attacks and of today blatantly
re-opening the wounds of abusive discussion threads exemplifies much of the
problem your presence creates. You seemed to apologize twice last week, yet
the first of those is intertwined with continued evidence of 'personal
animosity' and continuing 'personal attacks'. All members have also been
asked not to pursue members who have left the list. You have let the list
down on both counts.
In his post some weeks back, Trevor asked list-members to consider whether
they were net contributors to this community or, effectively, parasites on
it. In our judgement you fall consistently in the latter category. It's a
judgement call, and we're not going to argue it with you, or with anyone
else. Your membership of this list is hereby suspended.
While the list rebuilds itself, we will be open to useful suggestions from
all members as to how best to restructure the protocols which guide
behaviour here. It shouldn't be necessary to tell adults not to
be boorish, but some apparently do need telling. Nor ought it be necessary
to repeatedly try to prevent harassment and abuse - however much from
your point of view you argue otherwise. We will consider also suggestions as
to whether and how members who have been bounced might be readmitted.
Trevor Joyce and cris cheek
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