On Tue, 2010-02-23 at 13:10 -0700, Vitaliy wrote:
> Olin Lathrop wrote:
> > Let's get a grip on reality, folks.  Here's a heretical thought: How about
> > people are punished for crimes they *actually commit*, not what they are
> > believed to possibly cause others with their own free will to commit.
> 
> I can't help but agree with Olin. Ban*, don't moderate.

All this theoretical talk is interesting, but let's step back a sec and
consider a practical issue: how do you "ban" a person?

Anybody can join this list, under any email address, under any name. How
would a ban (or suspension as you are suggesting) work? How would YOU
implement a ban? The same can of course be said for moderation. The
difference is moderation hurts a persons ego far less then a ban,
meaning fewer "retribution" acts.

Sure, we could restrict list membership, but that increases the work
load on us admins. It also wouldn't really solve anything since how
would WE determine that a new arrival is a banned individual? The answer
is you can't.

The fact is moderation, as distasteful as it is, works. The list has run
FAR smoother in the "time of moderation" then it did before. People may
not prefer the solution, but I haven't heard of any other workable
solution that has the potential of being more effective.

TTYL





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