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Recently, it was suggested that I personally should "do something" about
members of this group who are behaving "badly". So that there is no further
misunderstanding, this group is not moderated, and I believe that it
functions best when people decide for themselves how to behave. Call it a
"laissez faire" approach. On the introductory web page for the group as well
as on the opening page on the Google groups web interface, I suggest using
"normal etiquette". I think that covers it.

I don't consider myself the owner of this group, just the current custodian.
The expression "list owner" is one of those misleading technical terms that
causes a bit of confusion (a phenomenon any navigation student should be
very well familiar with). A list "owner" owns nothing. The owner is simply
the person who first "turned on the lights" and the only power that the
"owner" has, beyond normal management tasks, is the capability to turn the
lights back off when we're finished with the service. Other than that, my
role is merely that of a technical manager. I help people when email
bounces. I help with spam issues. I transfer subscriptions from one email
address to another when people ask. Dan Allen is also a list manager.
Additionally, in an unrelated role, I maintain the list archive at fer3.com
 --on my own time, at my own expense.

Regarding rude posts and comments on members' character, from my own
personal point of view having spent years online, I can assure you that such
posts don't do any good simply because they muddy and sully whatever point
you're trying to make. That does not mean that you have to agree with other
people on content. We will of course continue to disagree with one another
on some matters of content, and those discussions often lead to the most
interesting threads. On a very general level, it's worth remembering that we
are all just "text" when we participate in these discussions. The text that
you see in a message is all that you have to go on, but sometimes people
look for underlying motivations. Imagined motives create all sorts of
misunderstandings. Read the words of these messages just as they are
written. Avoid the temptation to read between the lines.

One NavList member suggested that Dan Hogan (the previous manager for those
of you who joined within the past 16 months) would have done things
differently. This is simply untrue. Dan Hogan never intervened in any
discussions, and he treated the group with very much the same "laissez
faire" policy that I use. Why? Because if you've ever done this before (I
have several times) you discover that it's really the only way to go with an
unmoderated group. Oh, and like me, Dan Hogan was also aware that he was
"owner" in name only. In fact, that first sentence of the second paragraph
above: "I don't consider myself the owner... just the custodian"...  are his
words from a couple of years ago. In the common sense of the concept of
"ownership", this group is either owned by no one, or it is owned by its
membership.

SOME SPECIFIC COMMENTS ON POSTS FROM LAST WEEK:
It seems a shame that I have to say this, but it is necessary: no member of
this group should worry about threats of libel suits (with the usual obvious
exceptions... like attacking someone's money-making business or accusing
someone of criminal activity). I do suspect that when George wrote that post
he was simply venting frustration and would probably retract it if he could.
I understand your frustration, George.

In a couple of posts Peter said that George had no business criticizing
Bennett's book since George had never created anything in a similar
category. This is a fallacious argument. Proof? Look no further than the
nearest newspaper for the movie review column. It is quite possible to be a
talented reviewer and critic without ever making a single film. Likewise,
any of us can write a review of a navigation book even if we haven't written
one. That said, movie reviewers whose reviews are always negative quickly
become irrelevant an tiresome.

Peter, at one point in a message, you told George that he "should get a
life". I want to thank you for reminding me of the early days of the online
world. I haven't heard that "lame" expression in such a long time... But
really, Peter, the reason it's lame is because it's a case of the pot
calling the kettle black. Let's face it: we're all a bunch of navigation
geeks who spend way too much time playing with sight reduction tables and
then chatting about them online. So Peter, get a life! And if you find a
good one, let me know, so I can get one, too. :-)

In short, as a list member, I recommend using "normal etiquette" when
posting online. And don't read between the lines.

 -FER


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