Hat:  Undress civilian casual, on-call administrator's for the use of.
 Steel lined.

> Lovely to see that you guys are conspiring against me.
>
> Just so you know, I am not your underling, your student or pupil or anyon=
e
> you might think you can control/discipline/teach or take responsibility o=
f.
>
> I find it disgusting.

This overly long response is for anyone who feels solidarity with that
viewpoint :-).

I'm afraid you don't get conspiracy on the money they pay us.
Nowhere near.

What you see is a glimpse of people with different ideas and different
approaches and no vested or pecuniary interest, and not enough time
already when things they'd rather not deal with are dumped in their
laps, trying to be fair and balanced and dispassionate and attempting
to maximise the utility and enjoyability of the list for all.

And all means ALL.
Not 'all except the guys who refuse to play well with others'.
Not just 'all except the ones who are excessively sensitive to
suggestion or criticism'.
Not even all except those who share both the preceding.
Not even ALL except .... ?

The temptation is to take short cuts when things need doing. One at
least of us (the noisy one) tries to ensure that all i's and j's are
dotted and hoops jumped through.
Nobody ends up too pleased with this including, now, you. If people
insist long and hard enough they can probably provoke admins into
summary action. Why anyone would want to do this is a mystery to me.

There is no ideal path. No way that will keep everyone maximally
happy. And (genuinely general statement) those who complain most
noisily about admin excesses are in many cases the same ones who make
the most work for admins and who seem to want to practise their own
versions of excess. Human perceptions and human nature mean that what
is fine or logical for one is utter anathema for another. A trivial
comment by one is a mortal insult to another. A moral and desirable
political or philosophical or economic system for one is clearly
anything but that for another. Very literally.

If we were talking only electronics then these differences would still
surface - witness the current ripple which was essentially but not
ultimately technically related. But when we allow, as we do, a vastly
greater subject set then we create a rod for the admins backs. One
"solution"  is to far more thoroughly
..
So

> Lovely to see that you guys are conspiring against me.

'Fraid not.
Just trying to walk the impossible line.

> Just so you know, I am not your underling, your student or pupil or anyon=
e
> you might think you can control/discipline/teach or take responsibility o=
f.

Agree with most of those to variable extents.
You are student and pupil as much as you wish to be.
As am I

Control or discipline extends only to list related matters.
ie admins can moderate or delist.  They have no other "powers."

We cannot "take responsibility for" anyone.
EXCEPT those who assign us that right "over" them.
Nobody seems to have given the admins that right in the last decade or so :=
-).

> I find it disgusting.

I'm genuinely sorry about that.
I can only speak for myself with certitude.
My aim was and is to do the best by everyone as much as I can achieve.
Hopefully no disgust would attach if you or anyone else saw the sum
total of my efforts.
These are largely not discloseable - you have to trust me on that. Or
not. Your choice.
And, anyone else's choice as well.

Shorter:

It would be great if we could all do our utmost to get on with each other.


               Russell
--=20
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