Greetings List Members
A while back there were a couple of posts regarding structure, rules, chaos, anarchy and
other generally fun stuff.
This stuff about structure and chaos comes up occasionally so I think I should drop a few
words in about it.
This list (moq_discuss) has both a Charter and a set of Rules, both of which are on the
website and are reproduced below. I used to post them at the beginning of the month (more
or less) until it got to the point where I thought it superfluous. I can't currently see any reason
to be going back to that but I thought it might be useful to occasionally post the Charter and
Rules if for no other reason than to remind new members that they exist
I would appreciate it if all members (especially those that post) could take the time to read
through at least the Charter and Rules.
I have also attached a FAQ which covers some related relevant points.
PETER LENNOX (from a post on Fri, 20 Oct 2000 23:55:02)
"Most importantly, WHO would do the imposing that you suggest? - there is no
list-master as such, and so, like pedestrian traffic, (or indeed, road
traffic, for that matter), organisation comes about in the form of commonly
subscribed-to protocols, and without any central control; .....this being a
new medium, there are many misunderstandings."
HORSE:
There is no list moderator for moq_discuss but there IS a list-master - ME, and if necessary it
would be down to me to do any imposing. However contrary to what some may believe I'm
not a control freak - in fact, just the opposite as I believe in providing the maximum freedom
possible. There also exists a Steering Committee which can rule on more contentious
issues.
There is (are?) a Charter and Rules for this list which I would generally consider as
guidelines. Where the Rules are observed, as they generally are, they provide for a
reasonably ordered and relevant discussion group and members are free to participate as
they wish.
There is no list moderator because this is an unmoderated list and will remain so unless
some extreme (and I do mean EXTREME) situation necessitated otherwise. This list has
been operating for over 2 years now (and for about a year prior to that as Diana's Lilasquad
list) and intervention has only been necessary a couple of times (see archives). MD is
sufficiently stable and mature in Internet terms for there to be minimal intervention and to just
let it develop. As far as I'm concerned moq_discuss belongs to it's members and it is for the
members to decide, by their actions and interactions how it develops. If sufficient members
believe in Pirsig's view of reality and behave accordingly then all will be good.
If not .....??
Horse
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The faq, rules and charter for MOQ_DISCUSS are below.
Please have at least a cursory glance at them, if to do no more than
remind yourselves of which ones you regularly ignore.
*****************************************************
MOQ_DISCUSS CHARTER
The MOQ_DISCUSS mailing list exists to provide a general and free-
ranging forum for the discussion of Robert M. Pirsig's Metaphysics of
Quality.
The MOQ_DISCUSS mailing list is an unmoderated mailing list.
Members should observe the Rules of the list in order that
discussions can be conducted in in a civilized and reasonably
courteous manner. Members are encouraged to become involved in
dialogue and debate but are requested to refrain from flaming and
abusive behaviour of all kinds.
Members of MOQ_DISCUSS are free to initiate a new discussion or
topic by posting a message announcing the new topic or with a
Subject line identifying the new topic.
Members of MOQ_DISCUSS are not required to participate.
Members can be active, temporarily inactive or permanent lurkers.
If it becomes necessary to remove a member from the
MOQ_DISCUSS list for persistent disregard for the rules then this
will only be carried out after reminders and warnings have been
issued and reasons given. This will hopefully be an extremely rare
occurrence.
The Charter and Rules of MOQ_DISCUSS are subject to addition or
modification under the guidance of the list administrator. Any
additions or modifications will be posted to the list with reasons given.
*****************************************************
MOQ_DISCUSS RULES
1) As a minimum requirement for joining the MOQ_DISCUSS mailing
list members must have read Lila by Robert M. Pirsig.
2) All topics and discussions must be relevant to the Metaphysics of
Quality in general or some particular aspect of Zen and the Art of
Motorcycle Maintenance or Lila.
3) Each member should limit the number of posts they submit to a
maximum of four per day.
4) Members should reproduce only the relevant parts of any previous
message to which they are responding.
5) Contributors should reproduce the Subject line of the
thread/discussion to which they are replying.
6) Where possible, posts should be restricted to plain text - no HTML,
Rich Text (RTF) or other formats should be used.
7) Posts may not contain attachments, gifs or other documents
except by arrangement with the list administrator. MOQ_DISCUSS
should not be used as a file transfer or document exchange service.
Use FTP or the Web (put your file/document on the Web and mail
the list its URL).
8) Members should refrain from swearing, using offensive language
and personal attacks on other members. Abuse, in any form, will not
be tolerated.
***************************************************************
MOQ_DISCUSS FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
[Created by Diana McPartlin - modified by Horse]
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How does this mailing list work?
It's an email-based discussion group. When you email the list your
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own. If you've never been a member of a mailing list before we
suggest you check out this page on netiquette (ie Net-etiquette):
<http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html>
which tells you the commonly accepted standards of behaviour on
mailing lists.
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Our computer will automatically add the prefix MD to your post, you
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Why do you have three mailing lists on MOQ.org?
The MOQ.org mailing lists - MOQ_discuss (MD), MOQ_focus (MF)
and the Lila Squad (LS) - serve different purposes.
The MD is a straightforward discussion group. It is unmoderated and you
are free to raise and discuss any topic related to the MOQ. The MF is run
as a series of workshops. Each month we take a single question and
investigate it to the exclusion of all else. The MF is moderated so if you send a
post that is not directly related to the monthly PROGRAM then it will
not be allowed into the discussion. The LS is for discussion, chapter by
chapter, of Lila and is also moderated.
Think of MOQ.org as a giant online conference - in one room we have
lectures, in another we have workshops and in another we have open
dialog. By offering a variety of methods of communication we create a
richer and more productive experience for all participants: you can
send essays to the Forum, you can join the MD open area or the LS and MF
workshops, you can enjoy private converstions with other members
or you can just sit at the back and lurk if you want. We don't ask you
to participate in everything, but we do ask that you respect the
distinctions between the different areas of MOQ.org and help us
make them all good in their own ways.
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I have something to say that is relevant to both MD and MF, can I post
it to both?
Posting the same mail to two lists is known as cross-posting and is
generally considered bad netiquette because it defeats the purpose of
having two lists. If your post is relevant to the MF topic then post it
there only and pursue that topic in that forum for the rest of the
month, after that you should continue the dialog on MD.
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Can I talk about this month's MF topic on the MD?
Discussing the same topic in the open forum and the focus group at
the same time can be disruptive and confusing as posts go back and
forth between the two lists. In the interests of maintaining a high
quality dialog in the MF focus group we ask that you refrain from
discussing the MF topic of the month on the MD for the duration of
that month.
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I've posted to the mailing lists several times and nobody has
responded, why not and what should I do?
The lack of face-to-face interaction on the Internet means that it can
be difficult to gauge other people's reactions to your posts. There
may well be people reading and learning from your posts -- you just
can't tell. Don't take it personally and keep on posting. Keep your
posts relevant, well-informed and courteous and you'll soon win the
respect of the group.
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Somebody has made a nasty, sarcastic reply to one of my posts,
what should I do?
This is a philosophy discussion group and there's really no need for
this kind of behaviour, but still, it happens. Don't waste your energy
on it. Either reply calmly asking for clarification, or ignore it and
devote your time to something more constructive instead.
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How can I send an essay for the Forum on the MOQ.org website?
Send it to the webmaster, ie Diana:
diana@hongkong.com <mailto:diana@hongkong.com>
preferably in plain text in the body of an email. Please don't use any
fancy formatting unless essential because we'll just have to undo it
all to convert it to HTML for publishing on the web.
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How can I send a bio for the Members page on the website?
Send it to Diana, as above.
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What is the copyright situation regarding posts and essays?
MOQ.org retains the right to publish all posts submitted to our mailing
lists in our archives only and the right to publish essays submitted to
our Forum on our website only. We will not use your contributions in
any other publication or media without your written consent. All
contributors will retain copyright over their own work. That means you
are free to sell it to other publishers if you wish, and if anyone
plagiarises your work or reproduces it without your permission it will
constitute a breach of copyright.
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How can I help you develop MOQ.org?
If you've only just joined we suggest you hang around for a few weeks
and get to know us. If you understand what we've done in the past
and what we're doing now you'll be able to contribute more effectively.
If, after the honeymoon period is over, you're still interested, think of
what you can do constructively to develop MOQ.org. If you can't think
of anything specific but you still want to help, email us because we
have a long list of things that we would like to do but never get round
to.
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