James Newtons Massmind wrote: > Do you have a suggestion? Other than "kick me off or a week or so"? That's one. I'm also starting to realize that a lot of the problem was due to "hidden" actions. I think you can understand that finding out accidentally that what you thought was a promise was broken a long time earlier would get you a lot more pissed off than someone saying "because of xxx we will no longer adhere to our previous deal". So yes, I guess my suggestions so far are: 1 - Kick someone off for a limited time. I still think this has merit although I can also understand your arguments against it. 2 - If you are going to moderate someone, you should at least tell them so. By the same token, it would probably be a nice touch if you told them when they were getting off moderation. 3 - If you reject a post, always let the poster know. The main argument is an ethical one, but it's also not nice leaving someone wondering whether their mail system has a problem. 4 - Keep in mind that presentation is important too. There is absolutely no upside to saying "Up yours, we're doing xxx" as apposed to "I'm sorry, but we've decided to do xxx". I mean the general "you", and am not picking on you personally. I appreciate the civil tone you've shown towards me in this discussion. 5 - I really really don't like moderation. I think it's morally evil, but I can also see I'm not going to convince you of that. I think someone deliberately trying to cause trouble is very rare. Most problems are short term flare ups of tempers due to some perceived insult, injustice, or whatever. This is human nature and isn't going to go away. Small flareups are going to happen, but that doesn't mean anyone set out to hurt the list deliberately. I understand you need to deal with these situations, but treating someone harshly can fan the flames more than put them out. In the long run you will get a lot more cooperation if you don't treat them like the enemy, because most likely they aren't. > Yes, yes... Ok... Let's concentrate on a solution rather than on > fanning the flames? We PIC Nazi SS officers would like to get back to > our evil plans to dominate hobby PIC use... Zehr gut. Zounds like fun. Vehr do I signen me up? Ze PIC today, ze virld tomorrow! ***************************************************************** Embed Inc, embedded system specialists in Littleton Massachusetts (978) 742-9014, http://www.embedinc.com -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist