The Radical Statistics Group troika has asked the list-owner of its discussion list to remove John Barker and Martin Sewell from the list, with immediate effect. 

When anyone first joined the list, they will have received our policy statement about contributing to it.  That statement explained both the aims of RadStats and (in the section reproduced below) the limits that list members should respect, in line with jisc mail policy. 

We want discussion to be as open as possible, but recent emails from these two contributors have gone way beyond what is acceptable.  Their tone has become increasingly offensive and aggressive, and their content inconsistent with RadStats’ aims to promote equality and social justice.

These concerns don’t come just from the troika.  Many contributors have complained to us, and several have left the list altogether, a trend that looks likely to continue unless we take this action. 

Finally, the troika would like to express complete confidence in Alison Macfarlane as our list owner.  We deplore the derogatory language which some other contributors have used about her personally. 

Geoffrey Rendle

after discussion with Shailen Nandy and others

1 August 2007

------------------------------------------------------------

Radstats e-mail discussion list policy, 

(reproduced from introduction.txt at http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=RADSTATS )

“The purpose of the e-mail list is to stimulate open, lively and 

wide-ranging debate on issues of concern to listmembers. We hope 

that contributions will be polite, addressing issues and ideas 

rather than commenting on individuals. Contributors should conform 

to JANET acceptable use policy. Defamatory messages are 

unacceptable, as is material likely to cause annoyance, 

inconvenience or needless anxiety. 

“In particular, Radical Statistics is actively opposed to 

discrimination in all its forms. We believe that the licence of 

one to make discriminatory assertions restricts the freedom of 

others. Therefore emails including racist, sexist, anti-semitic or 

homophobic material are unacceptable. The listowner will remove a 

member who unreasonably persists in posting such messages and will 

report the removal to the JISCmail team who may exercise a range 

of powers including permanent exclusion from the JISCmail system 

and contacting the institution or service provider of the 

offender.”