Folks, a few of you posted a
suggestion that this list be moderated.
The suggestion has come up a number of
times over the years. This list was founded by the Harlans with the spirit
of community participation without any censorship, and they specifically
intended this list to be unmoderated to prevent any such editorial control over
content.
When SAA took over the maintenance of the
list, many list members were concerned that SAA would moderate the list.
SAA has attempted to respect the character of A&A as founded by the Harlans,
and that includes the lack of editorial control.
Enough theory; there's a very practical
reason why this list is not moderated.
Having managed a number of list in the
past, I can tell you that moderating a list is an enormous amount of
work.
It's very nice of you to volunteer Peter Kurilecz' time for
him. I'm sure he (and his employer) won't mind spending a couple of
hours a day reading the list, and then taking flack for what he did or did not
post. When he goes on vacation or gets tired of moderating the list, I'll
look to you to step up to the plate and take on that work.
Ultimately, email lists -- as opposed to
edited journals and newsletters -- are anarchistic by nature. One chooses
to accept the chaos and noise in exchange for any benefit of the valuable
communication and community. However, one can signficantly increase the
signal to noise ratio by ensuring that one's own postings are relevant and
moderating one's own response to inflammatory messages.
-- Richard Pearce-Moses
Director of Digital Government
Information, Arizona State Library and
Archives
Member of the SAA Council
Listserv Committee
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