(no subject)

[elizabear]

I have heard many stories of people who leave the sca-east list or never want to join because of flame wars or rudeness or personality clashes. I find this really sad. I created the list all those years ago to be a way to connect people in the kingdom, to help share information relating to our hobby, to be a useful and interesting place to be. Sometimes the list does those things in a positive way and sometimes in a negative way. I propose to you: what can be done to make this list a more positive place to be, a more welcoming place, a place with less conflict and less clashing?

Comments

[artisticphoenix.livejournal.com]

I have over the past 10 years subscribed and unsubscribed to that list. The longest I have been able to stay on it was a week. The constant in jokes, the nasty fights, the incessant gossip, the few personalities talking and no one else, and the non-value of most of the posts made the signal to noise ratio very bad.

Since I am not one to complain without making suggestions for improvement.

Improvements -

Code of civility and bounce people (time out) who misbehave. Not bounce them forever, put them in time out and they can come back if they agree to the code of civility and they get a chance to improve. You bounce a few well known "characters" and they will begin to police the others. If someone gets bounced three times, they get evicted. I know this is hardline, but unfortunately the list has morfed from something that was a source of information to a gathering of gadflies.

Draft a core of people who will model the correct behavior - announcements, discussion of period research, sharing of knowledge - who will be your "plants" in the audience.

Discourage off topic posts.

I would be happy to talk with you more about this, and indeed, would assist in improvements that you would like to make.