Dear All,
I am writing to support David's attempt to make the list's ownership more
representative. In my opinion, diversity is key for this list's
continuation and I am going to try to explain why.
International/global councils of design (or at least Ico-D) have struggled
with diversity and representativeness in the past (and maybe in the
present). The histories of these NGOs show that this is not a simple thing
to achieve (sorry, this is my case-study). This list – for its
digital/online nature and for the diversity of members subscribed – has
great potential. A more culturally diverse representativeness would allow
more of us, list subscribers, to feel represented by the list's moderators.
I am sure there is a number of competent people for the moderator position
among the list's subscribers. Still, it would be interesting if most us –
list subscribers – could agree that diversity in power might be a good
thing. And yes, in the context of this list, moderation is equal to power
given that "List owners are specifically responsible for [...] monitoring
messages to ensure that they are appropriate and taking action if necessary."
(according to Nigel's e-mail) And a more diverse ownership would mean more
diversity of voices and points of view in power.
Gunnar's words might help us to untangle the issue at stake. Gunnar said: "I’m
not sure how [his lists' moderation] would have been different if they had
been run by [his] sister." The fact is that, for those of us that don't
understand the problem, there is no way to be sure until it happens. But
also, just a thought: possibly, if someone's sister was the moderator of
the list, she might have acted more strongly upon feeling personally
offended by some of the things said in this list in the past. I know I have
felt personally offended many times, but felt that my voice would not be
heard.
To me, what David seems to be trying to do, is to add someone to the
moderation of the list that would add credibility to the discussions;
someone that would be able to intervene more vehemently and promptly when a
list member says something that might be deemed offensive. Maybe Keith's
disposition could have changed if someone that understood how inappropriate
his comments were – someone that felt personally offended by them and had
the power to intervene – had intervened sooner.
I can say that I almost left the list in more than one occasion due to
Keith's (and other similar) e-mails. I stopped reading the e-mails but felt
sad to leave the list. I know I am not the only one. It was not until
recently that I saw the possibility of change, and joined in again.
I believe this list would greatly benefit of a more diverse moderation.
Unfortunately, for that, some parameters might be necessary. And,
sometimes, some of us still use binaries or opposition to talk about
diversity, because finding the right words is not always easy. Moreover,
modern constructs such as 'gender,' 'race' and 'nationality' are usually
built on such oppositions and, that said, we might need these same terms to
be able to dismantle the power imbalances brought by these constructs. These
terms are crutches we sometimes need to make ourselves clear. (I can
mention some books that might be a good read for those interested in the
topic: David Harvey's "The Condition of Postmodernity"; Nestor Garcia
Canclini, "Hybrid Cultures: strategies for entering and leaving modernity;"
and Arjun Appadurai's "Modernity at Large.")
Yet, there is a long distance between using a construct to make a point and
being offensive.
Also, I agree that core competency should be one of the criteria to choose
a moderator, but diversity is important too. I am sure both criteria –
core-competency and diversity – can be met. The way to do it might not be
simple, but I see the good in David's attempt.
I see this effort as a great step forward.
Best wishes to all,
Dora
Em ter, 5 de mar de 2019 às 15:32, Nigel Cross <[log in to unmask]>
escreveu:
> It might be relevant to clarify and consider what 'list owner' means and
> what criteria might apply from the list provider, JiscMail. List owners are
> not literally owners of the list. They are managers of the list. The actual
> owner is its provider - JiscMail. At the top of every JiscMail list page it
> states its purpose: to provide email discussion lists for the UK Education
> and Research communities.
>
> "Jisc (formerly the Joint Information Systems Committee) is a United
> Kingdom not-for-profit company whose role is to support post-16 and higher
> education, and research, by providing relevant and useful advice, digital
> resources and network and technology services, while researching and
> developing new technologies and ways of working. It is funded by a
> combination of the UK further and higher education funding bodies, and
> individual higher education institutions."
> (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jisc)
>
> About JiscMail, its policies and the role of list owner -
>
> 1. from JiscMail Home (
> https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/about/whatisjiscmail.html)
>
> What is JiscMail?
> JiscMail is the UK national academic mailing list service, provided by
> Jisc. Our service helps people working in education and research sectors to
> discuss, debate, collaborate and communicate with peers, experts and
> partners using mailing lists. Our mailing lists are themed around taught
> subjects, research areas, special interest groups and collaborative project
> activities.
> JiscMail only hosts mailing lists which support or enhance UK academic and
> research sectors.
>
> 2. from JiscMail Service Policies (
> https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/)
>
> Introduction
> JiscMail supports communication, collaboration and the free-flowing
> exchange of ideas through email lists primarily for the benefit of UK
> further and higher education and research communities.
>
> 3. from JiscMail Service Policies, (
> https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/)
>
> Role of list owners
> Each JiscMail list is managed by one or more individuals, referred to as
> list owners. List owners are volunteers working in UK academic and research
> communities. List owners are expected to manage their lists fairly and for
> the benefit of the majority of list subscribers.
> List owners are specifically responsible for:
> • Setting the configuration of the list appropriately, this
> includes: subscription settings, reply settings, privacy settings and
> communicating any alterations to subscribers.
> • Setting the topic for the list and monitoring messages to ensure
> that they are appropriate and taking action if necessary.
> • Supporting new or inexperienced subscribers.
> • Promoting their list and managing subscriptions: adding new
> subscribers (see Section 3: Ethics) or removing subscribers (on request)
> and removing invalid emails.
> • Cascading relevant OWNERS-ANNOUNCE messages from JiscMail to
> subscribers when needed.
> • Keeping the list active by regularly posting messages to encourage
> new discussions, or taking the decision to close the list if it is no
> longer required. New mailing lists are expected to be used within 6 months
> of creation.
> • Notifying JiscMail Helpline if they are no longer able to manage
> their list.
> • Responding promptly to requests from subscribers, potential
> subscribers or helpline using the [log in to unmask] to get
> in touch with list owners.
>
>
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