[diversity-talk] moderation committee

[Alan McConchie]

Hi all,

I think there is more to be said over in the "recent unpleasantness" thread, and I don't want to derail that discussion. So I thought we could start a parallel thread to talk about one of Darrell's concrete proposals for moving forward: a "moderation committee".

I don't know how complicated we want to make this. On the one hand, it's important to have moderators who have a mandate from the community and have the authority to act assertively when necessary, without the list second guessing them. On the other hand, how do we grant this authority without overcomplicating the situation with elections and whatnot? How do other mailing lists deal with this problem? Does anyone have any good examples to point to?

I definitely think Darrell needs help making these difficult and thankless moderator decisions, and I hope we get enough volunteers to help him out. I hope we can establish this committee quickly so we have a chance to appeal or review Darrell's decision sooner rather than later. As things stand, there is enough dissent on the list that the current moderator's authority has been undermined. 

For the record, I support Darrell's decision, and I would have voted the same way if I had also been a moderator.


Alan