Dear all,

in response to a public complaint, we wish to reiterate that individual postings are not moderated beforehand, nor do we wish them to be. Postings assume goodwill. Moderators work on a voluntary basis in order to facilitate the collegiate sharing of notices and messages relevant to German Studies. This approach enables the conversational threads that happen spontaneously from time to time - including the one ongoing here, which we welcome, and which is an appropriate reminder of the context in which colleagues who are professional translators work. (For that reason, we are not replying in-thread). The approach of posting without prior approval also allows the kinds of notices that are often useful to colleagues, because they don't fit the rubrics of more formalised advertisement boards, though they can spark debate. 

We want all messages to be inclusive and not a closed shop, even though searches for help or irregular work are often informal; we believe that to have been the case in today's message under discussion. We do not, and cannot, adopt policy on specific contractual arrangements for different kinds of work across different contexts that may apply to list members. We will pass on feedback about a JiscMail-wide policy for job information: H-Net has one. We do regularly take action around overly commercial postings. There is an advisory code of best practice for temporary appointments at UK universities, which was developed by the AGS, and there's also a code of conduct regarding language use from the AGS, WIGS, and the two listserv owners that is circulated once per calendar year.

Translators are valued members of our list, and should anyone wish to circulate information about current payment or other contractual norms, that would be relevant material for the listserv.

In all cases, the moderators reserve the right to take action off-list, and can be contacted off-list with feedback, too.

Best wishes,