by Peggy Robin
Here's my resolution for a better, brighter Cleveland Park Listserv for 2024: More light and less heat!
When it comes to certain "hot-button" issues (like, um, say, bike lanes), we've often had the same old arguments from the same handful of posters -- and while it's become quite heated at times, more than a few readers have complained that it hasn't shed much light on the complexities at issue. I have therefore resolved that this year will be better....or at least different.
Here's what I've come up with.
1. You can't re-introduce a topic that has already been debated at great length on the Listserv, unless there is something new to report: a new plan announced or some other sort of change in the status quo. Please don't bring up a frequently-discussed subject as a passing aside on some tangentially-related issue.
2. If there is a change in the status quo (e.g., DDOT issues a new plan with a different bike lane configuration, or new parking meter settings, or new lane dividers, posters should focus their comments on the substance of the changes and an assessment of their impact. In other words, they should debate the pros and cons of the plan that's on the table now, and not keep lobbying for any previous plan, or brings in plans in use in other cities, or fantasy plans of their own imagination.
3. There will be absolutely NO messages posted that comment on the feelings, motives, or character of the people who disagree with you. Even if you think someone on the other side is misreading studies, or even distorting the data, or putting forth a plan that will be terrible for the _______ (fill in the blank with "planet" or "elderly and disabled" or "safety of pedestrians" or "safety of cyclists," you must keep your arguments limited to your own interpretation of the data, or produce the evidence to make the points you want to make in opposition. DO NOT argue that the other side is deliberately lying, or doesn't care about any of the fill-in-the-blank nouns listed above. DO NOT WRITE ABOUT WHAT YOU THINK THEY THINK. You are not a mind reader. (And BTW, you should limit the use of ALL CAPs to just a few words and phrases that you most want to emphasize.)
4. Do cite credible sources for your assertions. Just because you may have heard a business owner say they could lose their businesses if they lose parking, or just because you think lots of people would bike to work downtown if they had a protected bike lane doesn't mean either of these things would come to pass. If you have evidence for what you believe, present it. If not, don't send in your best guess, or state what you assume to be the case as if it's self-evident. This just leads to a "yes, it will / no, it won't" kind of exchange between the two sides....and it's a waste of readers' time.
5. Do NOT challenge a previous poster to answer a question that you pose, or say they need to prove an assertion you think is incorrect. If that's what you think, it's up to you to provide the countervailing evidence. Be sure your message is addressed to the whole group, not to one previous poster. If you ask a question, you must ask it in a way that would allow any knowledgeable peron to answer it. This rule prevents the development of a circular two-person exchange that generally boils down to "You're wong!" "No, you're wrong!" "NO, but you're wrong to say I'm wrong!" This is makes for tedious reading, no matter which of you is wrong. (It's even more tedious if you're both wrong.)
6. No more over-posting. What's "over-posting," you may ask? It's more than one message a day from the same poster on the same subject. We'll make exceptions for posts from public officials, corrections of phone numbers or dates or other facts in previous messages, sightings of lost pets, and maybe some other cases in which the need to override this rule will be apparent. But in most cases, if you send in a substantive comment on a subject under discussion on the Listserv, and you think of something more to say after you've read the responses to your first message, don't just fire off another email. Wait till tomorrow before you send in your next post. Or better still, don't send in that first post right away; wait until the end of the day, when you've read all the comments made on that subject, and then compose ONE MESSAGE with your responses to multiple posters. Your email can be structured like this, "In response to the comment that...[quote a snippet of the previous message that prompted your reply]: Your comment in response comes next. Then, in a new paragraph, quote a snippet from another message, followed by your response to that poster's idea. You can even reply to posters on different topics in a single message, separating the topics with a dashed line or a line of asterisks. (Recommendations sent in response to queries are not subject to the one-reply-a-day rule.)
7. Do not start a message with "As I've said many times before on the Listserv...." If you've said it many times before, and you don't think people got the message, it's time you stopped saying it. It's not working!
8. If you think a thread has gone on too long and should be cut off, or you think someone's message contained a personal attack and should not have been allowed on-list, or you think these rules are being unevenly enforced, please tell me! I value your opinion! But at the same time, I don't want an on-list debate about the debate -- that's just too "meta" for me. Please tell me off-list, rather than attempt to lecture me in public about how the list should be run. Also, if you are arguing in favor of cutting off a discussion because you think it's too long and boring, it's not terribly effective to send me a long, tedious argument that says all those other people should just shut up. I would also like to be told if someone whose messages have been deleted for name-calling or some other offense is sending you offensive messages off-list. On or off-list, no trolls allowed.
9. Please refrain from calling me a censor. I'm not the government, I'm the owner/editor of a privately-held online publication with over 12,600 subscribers, and as I pay Groups.io for the control of this space, I make no apology for running it the way I like. You can call me a dictator if you like (although name-calling is never very persuasive!), but please keep in mind that if I let everyone post whatever they liked, this listserv could easily have 150 messages a day. I think most of you would much rather have me pick and choose. Very few people want to read everything that everyone thinks on every subject. (OK, maybe some people do, but for those people, there's Reddit.) My target number of posts per day is between 20 - 50. In an election year, it could easily be more, if there are some tight local races in the summer primaries or the general election, leading to some very high-volume posting days.
10. This is an advertiser and donor supported listserv. You are welcome to pay for space on the Listserv to address subjects that have been ruled off-topic, or to promote your own opinions, interests, social causes, or philosophy -- or post material from your own blog. The noncommercial/nonprofit discount applies -- available here: http://www.cleveland-park.com/nonprofit-organization-ads.html. A few rules still apply -- e., g., no personal attacks or offensive language, even in paid ads.
------------------------------
Still Life with Robin is published on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.
No comments:
Post a Comment