Blocking participants forever, or for a time and then reinstate.

[Don Saklad]

A web4lib forum participant mentioned via the forum alaoif
[http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/news_inf.html#list]

about being blocked from participating in web4lib
[http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Web4Lib/archive.html]]


I think a list server forum owner has the right to even be arbitrary
and block people, but that does not mean it is fair and done with
anything resembling due process.

1. For how long are you blocked from the public forum in which you
were participating?

2. Will it be forever?

3. How can you ever be reinstated as a participant?

4. Would another participant post your writing for you?

How ironic for librarians to be so narrowminded about ad hominem
argument. There are ways to reply to ad hominem arguments. People who
contrive complaints are not necessarily on a higher road to in
attempting to squelch another participant.

People who contrive complaints are not necessarily on any higher road
in attempting to squelch another participant. It could be argued that
squelching drives eager participants underground and removes them from
a socialization process through which their disagreeable point of view
might be modified. Squelching does no good when all people who are
offended ever have to do is go on to other more interesting
participants. Unless, it is being offended that is your priority.


Moderators have blocked me on libref-l and bit.listserv.libref-l
[http://listserv.kent.edu/archives/libref-l.html]

Attempts to obtain reasonable replies about the circumstances have not
been answered substantively.

Complaints about what I wrote were contrived at least to the extent
that had they contacted me personally, I could have answered and
modified the perceived infraction.

Consider that in the case of libref-l, its list server is from a
public university and the particular forum is represented to be
public.

I think included in the notions about library philosophy are ideas of
being relatively open. Look at the library bill of rights.

I am interested in under what conditions I could be reinstated and
your thoughts on whether the other Web4Lib participant could ever be
reinstated after a time of expulsion?

In the case of any misunderstanding, expulsion for a time and later
reinstatement would rectify things after the time period elapsed and
still provide the sweet revenge some who were offended desired.


Would any of you folks consider forwarding along this send to alaoif ?