LIST SERVE COMMITTEE REPORT

 

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ADOPTION OCTOBER 5, 2006

 

There have been ongoing problems with the discussion list so at the June board meeting,   the board asked Tyler to develop guidelines for its use, to moderate the group and subsequently, some members were removed.   There were continued issues with the membership, their discussion of problems with the listserve and ongoing discussion at board meetings.  By August there were no guidelines, and with a moderator in place, the process failed. At the September general meeting Don Mertes, the acting GNCA president appointed a committee made up of volunteers. The committee met, gathered information from various sources, and presented their findings and recommendations to the Board and general subscriber list serve on September 26, 2006.

The committee requested the opportunity to present its findings at the October board meeting and was originally denied that opportunity by the board president.  We were told that the proposal would have to wait until the November meeting to be presented.  The committee felt that the board had been given ample time to review the guidelines and asked that we be allowed to present at tonight’s meeting.   As a result, we will have the opportunity to vote on this proposal.

 

It is the committee’s recommendation that we adopt the listserve guidelines as presented,   thereby providing an opportunity for the guidelines to solve the past problems we have experienced.  

 

There is general acceptance of the guidelines but the committee disagrees with the board members suggestions to limit subscribers to the GCNA membership only.  We believe that ALL Coronado residents should have access to the listserve and the important information that is provided on it.

 

We also take issue with the idea of limiting topics exclusively to the Coronado Neighborhood.  We believe that we should share information about anything that anyone in the neighborhood thinks might be interesting to the others on the listserve.  There are so many things going on that we can and should be sharing with one another that could impact us from any number areas, it should not be limited.

 

Much of the controversy surrounding the listserve guidelines center around the issue of the use of an outside moderator and a system of enforcement as remedies to “control” what is said on the listserve. We are advocating for a self-monitored system. 

 

The whole point of this exercise was to provide neighbors with a set of guidelines that they would agree to if they chose to participate on the listserve.  We believe that people
will accept the guidelines, understand them and act accordingly.

Setting forth these guidelines sets a standard and gives participants an understanding of their personal responsibility when posting without squelching the free flow of good ideas, important information, and the opportunity to get to know one another without a third party watching, controlling and dictating how we communicate.  The purpose behind the creation of the guidelines was to set some broad parameters, giving people a wide berth
to express themselves in a positive, neighborly manner.

 

We believe that we, as neighbors in a community do not have to be punitive to get people to adhere to the guidelines, so providing for some sort of enforcement automatically sets a negative tone.  We wanted to create guidelines that would give people the responsibility to police themselves and each other, take ownership and create buy in.  We feel that is the way to encourage good behavior, not through threats and punishment.

Monitoring by “another or others” is based on a colossal presumption.  It presumes that we are able to judge in every individual instance, the motives and intentions of others, and how those motives and intentions will be perceived by others.  The committee specifically rejects idea.  A list serve in which the position and statements of individuals is made to correspond to someone else’s ideas, is the opposite of a free discussion.

 

We look forward to bringing this proposal to a vote tonight.  We ask that the board permit the vote to move forward and that they support our proposal. We ask for your support and ask you to vote yes to adopt these guidelines that will protect the rights and freedoms of all of us who participate on our neighborhood listserve.

 

Keeping these ideas in mind, please read the attached guidelines and see how and why we reached the conclusions we did and the various tools we provide to empower the most effective authority, ourselves.