Re: Moderation

[Roy and/or Janet Miller <millers@inetnebr.com>]

Rubywand wrote:

>
>      True, however, a couple of old A2 forums on Delphi are good examples of
> what happens when moderation runs amok-- i.e. you get a dead zone.

Like II Computing, which only has three posts in the month of July, or GS World
which seems to have had four. On the other hand, the Delphi forum that most think
of: "A2 - The Apple II Forum on Delphi" has hundreds of messages each month, and
sometimes in the thousands. That sounds like a real dead zone to me.

>      When nearly all but a handful of users agree that old software should be
> openly and freely available, one hardly has a "schism".

Once again, Rubywand presents opinion/hope as fact. I've never seen a survey of
everyone who reads this newsgroup, but I do know that I've received many emails
supportive of my more restrained posts against piracy, from people who NEVER post
here.

>
>      What you have is a collapsing clique of self-proclaimed "elite users".

No "collapsing" that I've seen. How does one have a clique online? I've never
seen anyone even hint that they think they are an "elite user", except for the
one person who seems to think that he knows numbers that one knows.

>
> It was their choice to invent phony "law",

Oh, so copyright law is phony law. But then, you contend that copyright isn't
"anti-piracy", when "piracy" is defined as copyright violations. Love the twist
to your logic.

> call users "pirates", and oppose
> the will of the vast majority

One person, with right on his/her side, is a majority. Besides, majorities in the
wrong, are still wrong. Assuming, of course, your baseless contention that the
majority are on your side.

> on an issue critical to the continued growth of
> II computing.
>
>      Despite this, these persons need a place to present and argue their
> position just as much as any other Apple II user. (For sure, thanks to
> heavy-handed moderation, they cannot have such debates on their own Delphi
> forums!)

As a matter of fact, there is a spirited debate on this very issue on Delphi,
right now. Of course, most there are against piracy, but not all are in lock
step, and one issue that is of great concern is the preservation of the huge
Apple II library, for the day when/if copyrights will be waived.

> All I can see that csa2 would lose in

> > the conversion would be the 25-level deep threads about piracy and the
> > general flames.
>
>      This completely misses the whole point of having an open newsgroup.
> Users ask and answer questions. They also discuss and debate what they wish
> to (as you are doing now).

I get a trifled worried when Ruby and I agree on something. :-)

Roy