[Chat] (no subject)

[Emil Volcheck]

Hello, Lauren,

On Wed, Feb 10, 2010 at 10:03, Lauren Redmond <laredmond at hotmail.com> wrote:
> What is supposed to be the distinction between Charles Village Discussion
> listserve and the Chat listserve?  I find that I post things I that I want ...
> ...

This is a good question.  There has been some cross-posting recently,
and once or twice I've mentioned this to people.  I think it's good to
review the list policies.  Hard to believe, but these lists are now
seven years old and are the longest-running mailing lists serving
Charles Village.  Here are the statements from the websites for the
list pages with some commentary:

Chat List (89 subscribers)

http://charlesvillage.info/mailman/listinfo/chat_charlesvillage.info

    The Charles Village Chat List provides a forum to share news and
    friendly conversation about Charles Village.

    List members are expected to exercise common courtesy. Vigorous debate
    should be conducted on the Discussion List.

The Chat List archives are public.  Occasionally I see something that
goes outside friendly conversation and I write to the poster.

Discussion List (69 subscribers)

http://charlesvillage.info/mailman/listinfo/discussion_charlesvillage.info

    This list is devoted to discussion of the affairs of Charles Village,
    a neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland.

    This list is a venue for free speech and vigorous debate. Postings are
    neither monitored nor reviewed by the list owner.

    For friendly conversation about Charles Village of a less serious
    nature, subscribe to the Chat List.

The Discussion List archives are restricted to subscribers.  When
I tell people about the Discussion List, I often say that it is an
unmonitored, unmoderated, civility-optional free speech forum.  I will
intervene only if someone shows me that there is something illegal
happening, e.g., criminal conduct or hate speech.  This has been an
issue only once in the history of the list.  Note: I am not a lawyer,
but this is a protection and a responsbility I have under the federal
DMCA Safe Harbor provision as an information service provider.


Some examples of what I think is appropriate for each list:

Send to the Chat List:
announcements of neighborhood events, recommendations for contractors,
safety announcements, limited commercial announcements, fun and
interesting things about Charles Village or the people who live there
that you want to share with the world or anybody thinking about coming
to live here.

Send to the Discussion List:
Anything.  Well, anything legal and preferably not cross-posted to the
Chat List.  In particular, anything involving politics (CVCBDMA bylaw
revisions or reauthorization, zoning, comments about public officials
or legislation) or religion (like announcing a sermon, but a pancake
breakfast could go on the Chat List) or anything you don't want the
whole world to read about Charles Village.  Any topic that you want
to debate with other members of the Discussion List.


Thanks for your attention.  Feel free to contact me with any questions
or comments.

--Emil



-- 
Emil Volcheck
volcheck at acm.org
http://EmilVolcheck.com/