Hi Jesse
Crazed hogs? Heaven forbid!
I don't remember the IQ guy. I asked Joe Deumer a few months back if he'd
like to rejoin, to which he responded cordially; but I think he's busy with
his blog.
I do think that lists have in general evolved etiquettes over the past few
years to cope with anti-social cyberbehaviour. There is a depressingly
familiar pattern to trolling, which I've seen destroy or almost destroy more
than one list. But it is a tricky balance - as far as petc is concerned, I
don't want people to be zipper mouthed either; frank and free - even
passionate - exchange of views seems to me a desirable thing. For me,
rightly or wrongly, the best way to be inclusive - an aim of this list - is
to ensure that a basic civility exists in conversation. Hence the few but
simple rules - and where necessary, enforcing those rules - on no personal
abuse, or racism, or homophobic bashings, etc.
It's true though that mailing lists have changed over the years, from their
brash infancy to now. It's been interesting to watch. And the rise of
blogs has some people saying that there's little need for them. I don't see
why they can't be complementary - a lot of listmembers are active bloggers.
All the best
A
Alison Croggon
Blog: http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com
Editor, Masthead: http://masthead.net.au
Home page: http://alisoncroggon.com
|