free speech online
carenkh
The blogger, Steve Pavlina posted an article today about online communities, that I thought had some well-stated points. It's VERY long - start with "You're an Invited Guest" for the parts I thought most relevant about these email lists.
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2009/09/free-speech-in-online-communities-the-delusion-of-entitlement/
I can say I get the most value from the moderated lists. Our local unschooling list barely discusses unschooling at all, because the owners have taken a "we're not here to judge what people call unschooling" attitude. It's nice for finding homeschoolers (who might call themselves unschoolers) who live close to me, but that's really about it.
There has to be a clear vision for the email group and some discernment about what gets discussed, for it to be very valuable *unschooling* discussion. I'm grateful this list is here.
Caren
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2009/09/free-speech-in-online-communities-the-delusion-of-entitlement/
I can say I get the most value from the moderated lists. Our local unschooling list barely discusses unschooling at all, because the owners have taken a "we're not here to judge what people call unschooling" attitude. It's nice for finding homeschoolers (who might call themselves unschoolers) who live close to me, but that's really about it.
There has to be a clear vision for the email group and some discernment about what gets discussed, for it to be very valuable *unschooling* discussion. I'm grateful this list is here.
Caren
Sandra Dodd
-=- If I catch you peeing in my yard, I will hose you.-=-
I liked that line.
He's wrong about the free speech, though. It's like freedom of the
press. I don't have the right to demand that Newsweek publishes my
article, or even my letter to the editor I do have as much right to
publish a magazine as the owners of Newsweek have.
What people don't want is to write their one little article and send
it to their friends and relatives. They want the entire readership of
Newsweek!
If someone wants to be in a big unschooling discussion but doesn't
want it to be mine, that's a problem. It belongs to somebody. They
can go along with the discussion as the owner prefers, or they can
start their own discussion. Their freedom of speech has to do with
them having the same right I had to start a yahoo list or to have a
webpage or a blogspot page or a Twitter account. But some don't want
their own small new list. They want my fat, ripe eight-year-old
vibrant list. Nope; they don't get that.
I've used the analogy he used to, about people being guests in my
home, when they're guests on my forum/message board/whatever. Some
people don't get it because they think "freedom of speech" means they
can say whatever they want to wherever they want to. It means they
can say what they want to at their own house (if it's not too loud for
the neighbors and not too threatening).
Here's the dark and shady part, though, and twice it happened this
weekend. Someone writes to me on the side and is really hateful or
threatening because of something that happened in a public discussion,
or because I returned a post on someone who was on moderation for
being new to the group. For someone to write me something mean on the
side, that's like following me home to my house, and in the dark on my
front porch, saying something really awful. In my real life if
someone did that I would turn on the porch light and if they didn't
scurry off like a cockroach, I would call 911. When it's e-mail, my
version of turning on the porchlight is to bring it to the list and
say "Look what someone just did out on the dark front porch."
I am under no obligation whatsoever to let people threaten or insult
me on my porch or in my e-mail. I have the right to open the trapdoor
under people on this list. It's right in the intro, "trapdoors for
the uncooperative." I'm also not under any obligation to trap-door
someone quickly. If they insist on staying and being tacky, it's not
illegal or immoral for me to give them another chance or three to see
the porchlight and do better.
When someone acts like a twerp or a twitchy-witchy woman, others will
see and learn how not to be on other lists. So there's a learning
aspect too. And if someone sees for the first time how terrible
someone can be, even when there are others trying sincerely and freely
to help them understand unschooling or parenting better, then many
people have learned something, even if the crazed front-porch speech
maker hasn't (yet).
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I liked that line.
He's wrong about the free speech, though. It's like freedom of the
press. I don't have the right to demand that Newsweek publishes my
article, or even my letter to the editor I do have as much right to
publish a magazine as the owners of Newsweek have.
What people don't want is to write their one little article and send
it to their friends and relatives. They want the entire readership of
Newsweek!
If someone wants to be in a big unschooling discussion but doesn't
want it to be mine, that's a problem. It belongs to somebody. They
can go along with the discussion as the owner prefers, or they can
start their own discussion. Their freedom of speech has to do with
them having the same right I had to start a yahoo list or to have a
webpage or a blogspot page or a Twitter account. But some don't want
their own small new list. They want my fat, ripe eight-year-old
vibrant list. Nope; they don't get that.
I've used the analogy he used to, about people being guests in my
home, when they're guests on my forum/message board/whatever. Some
people don't get it because they think "freedom of speech" means they
can say whatever they want to wherever they want to. It means they
can say what they want to at their own house (if it's not too loud for
the neighbors and not too threatening).
Here's the dark and shady part, though, and twice it happened this
weekend. Someone writes to me on the side and is really hateful or
threatening because of something that happened in a public discussion,
or because I returned a post on someone who was on moderation for
being new to the group. For someone to write me something mean on the
side, that's like following me home to my house, and in the dark on my
front porch, saying something really awful. In my real life if
someone did that I would turn on the porch light and if they didn't
scurry off like a cockroach, I would call 911. When it's e-mail, my
version of turning on the porchlight is to bring it to the list and
say "Look what someone just did out on the dark front porch."
I am under no obligation whatsoever to let people threaten or insult
me on my porch or in my e-mail. I have the right to open the trapdoor
under people on this list. It's right in the intro, "trapdoors for
the uncooperative." I'm also not under any obligation to trap-door
someone quickly. If they insist on staying and being tacky, it's not
illegal or immoral for me to give them another chance or three to see
the porchlight and do better.
When someone acts like a twerp or a twitchy-witchy woman, others will
see and learn how not to be on other lists. So there's a learning
aspect too. And if someone sees for the first time how terrible
someone can be, even when there are others trying sincerely and freely
to help them understand unschooling or parenting better, then many
people have learned something, even if the crazed front-porch speech
maker hasn't (yet).
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]