BOARD-L Archives

Archiver > BOARD > 2007-08 > 1186969066


From: "Mike Peterson" <>
Subject: Re: [BOARD] Motion 07-18
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2007 18:37:46 -0700
References: <46BF6D4C.14538.534469F@George.Waller.Org>
In-Reply-To: <46BF6D4C.14538.534469F@George.Waller.Org>


It's totally absurd one could define the proposal as an abomination and a
violation of Bill of Rights. Apparently the proposal nor the BOR was
studied. To say this was knee-jerk when the abomination of discussion on
DISCUSS has been going on for weeks is not reality and also that the
outbreak was stopped after new rules were posted is also not reality. The
reality was it was stopped when the administrator enforced the rules. I
would say that when a small number of people (less than 1% of the total
membership) can control a mailing list dialogue, then that is ultra-control
freaking assisted by those in charge. What people in 'power' (that is also
an absurd statement in this organization) will be protected and what is the
protection? It's an abomination that the greater portion of the discussion
on DISCUSS the last few months is defined as honest - although, I agree,
with no administration it certainly has been open.
Mike
----- Original Message -----
From: "George Waller" <>
To: <>
Sent: Sunday, August 12, 2007 5:27 PM
Subject: Re: [BOARD] Motion 07-18


> My discussion:
>
> I am unsure whether I want to belong to an organization which has
> such draconian and arbitrary rules. Rule 4.d is an abomination and
> is a contradiction to the U.S. Bill of Rights.
>
> This motion is a knee-jerk 9-11 type reaction to an admittedly vile
> outbreak of politics on -DISCUSS. That outbreak was stopped after a
> reasonable set of rules was installed by the NC.
>
> A set of rules including *years* of banning is ridiculous and
> indicative of a mentality of ultra-control-freaking.
>
> These rules will result in the protection of those in power and
> prevent honest and open discussion of USGenWeb policies.
>
> I hereby resign as co-moderator of USGenWeb-DISCUSS
>
> George
> NENC SC Rep
>
>
> On 11 Aug 2007 at 11:43, wrote:
>
>> It has been moved by Greta Thompson and seconded by Linda Blum-Barton
>> that:
>>
>> the USGenWeb Standard Rules be amended to include
>> a section on "Mailing Lists Managed by the Advisory Board." This
>> section would include the following:
>>
>> 1. The RootsWeb lists managed by the AB are All, Board, Board-Exec,
>> Discuss, NENC, NWPL, SEMA, SWSC, and State Coordinators.
>>
>> 2. Administration of the lists
>> a. The National Coordinator will personally administer All, Board,
>> Board-Exec, and State Coordinators. In the absence of the NC the
>> person acting for the NC will administer these lists. [USGenWeb
>> Standard Rules, Section VIII]. b. The Representative-at-Large will
>> ordinarily administer Discuss. c. At the beginning of his/her term of
>> office the National Coordinator will appoint AB representatives from
>> the regions to administer the regional lists (NENC, NWPL, SEMA, and
>> SWSC). d. For good cause the NC with the advice and assistance of the
>> AB may delegate the administration of a list to another member of the
>> project. e. A list may be moderated for due cause for a period not to
>> exceed two weeks.
>>
>> 3. Membership
>> a. Board, All, and Discuss are open to every member in good standing
>> of USGenWeb. Board and All are read-only lists for everyone but the
>> elected representatives of the AB. At the discretion of the list
>> owner, a member not in good standing may be subscribed as a read-only
>> member of a non-archived list. b. The members of Board-Exec will be
>> limited to the elected representatives
>>
>> of the Advisory Board.
>> c. The members of the State Coordinators list will be limited to
>> State Coordinators, Assistant State Coordinators, and the
>> Representative-at-Large.
>>
>> 4. Management of the lists
>> a. The discussion on all of these lists will focus on project issues
>> and will be civil in tone and content. The definition of what is
>> "civil in tone and content" will be determined by the administrator.
>> b. Under no circumstances will a list member be permitted to make
>> derogatory or
>>
>> offensive remarks, whether open or veiled, about individuals. The
>> first violation of this rule will result in being moderated for one
>> month. The second violation will result in being banned from the list
>> for a period of twelve months, The third violation will result in beng
>> banned from the list for a period of five years. If he or she is
>> required by USGenWebWeb to be subscribed to the list, s/he will have
>> read-only status for a period of twelve months for the second
>> violation and for a period of five years for the third violation. c.
>> The decision of the list administrator may be appealed by the member
>> affected on the grounds, and only on the grounds, that the established
>> rules were not followed. The appeal must be made within one week of
>> the decision. The Advisory Board will review the appeal on Board-Exec
>> and issue a decision within one week of receiving it. The AB's
>> decision will be final, that is, no other appeals regarding that
>> decision, either from the affected member or any another individual,
>> will be heard by the AB or the USGenWeb Grievance Committee. d.
>> Repeated instances of personal attacks on members of USGenWeb in any
>> public forum will result in the person making the attack being banned
>> from USGenWeb mailing lists for a period of one to five years.
>>
>>
>> This motion is numbered 07-18 and is now open for discussion.
>>
>> Larry Flesher
>> Acting chair
>>
>> ___________________________________________________________
>> Fidelity Communications Webmail - http://webmail.fidnet.com
>>
>>
>> USGenWeb Project information can be found at: http://www.usgenweb.com
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>>
>
>
> USGenWeb Project information can be found at: http://www.usgenweb.com
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