Re: [GBlist] Keep politics out of it (not!)

[Ethan Goldman <ethan@buildinggreen.com>]

Racheli-

I'm sorry that you feel I am trying to silence you; as it happens, I 
am strongly opposed to the actions our government is taking in 
response to terrorism.

However, as a moderator I am trying to encourage the discussions that 
take place on the GreenBuilding list to stay focused on the core 
topics of that list. Quoting from the sign-up page 
http://www.buildinggreen.com/elists/gb_signup.html


>Green Building is a discussion forum for anyone interested in green 
>building issues. The intent of this forum is to discuss and promote 
>green building principles and practices on all types of projects.
...
>This discussion group exists to promote communication between people 
>interested in environmentally responsible design and construction. 
>Please be sure to keep the discussion within the bounds of that 
>topic. If a thread of discussion strays off topic, you may be asked 
>to move the discussion to private e-mail or to a more appropriate 
>forum.


At 12:51 PM -0700 1/26/02, Racheli&John wrote:
>One could see a listing as being, in a (limited) sense, a support group, and
>as also functioning in a limited mode as a community.

I realize that there is a sense of community on this list, and 
therefore members feel comfortable discussing related topics within 
this group. However it is not fair to say that people who signed up 
'only for the green building discussion' should go elsewhere. Perhaps 
it makes more sense for the general 'green lifestyle' and political 
discussions to take place in forums more focused on those issues.

>Of course, when one joins a *green* listing of any kind, some of the
>ideology is explicit (otherwise we would go to a listing which discusses
building methods period).

I'm sure that you would not feel the same way if the argument were 
reversed: any sort of building list is suitable for discussions of 
all building practices, green or not.

>In my experience, complaints regarding the alleged "off topic" nature
>of certain posts are almost invariably by people who would like the opinions
>expressed not to be heard, because they strongly disagree with them.
>In this discussion of the war, it's the first time that I got a personal note
>from one of the moderators (Ethan) asking me to refrain from "off
>topic" discussions.  When I posted again, not a commentary - but
>simply pointing out an URL where interested people could find
>a totally relevant article by Vandana Shiva, I got another note,
>asking again to refrain from "off topic commentary".
>It's hard for me not to see this as a part of the general and concerted effort
>taking place all over the country to silence the voices of those of us who are
opposed to the violent response taken by our govt. in the aftermath of 9-11.

I'm sorry you feel that my request to keep your posts on-topic 
indicates that I am supporting this ghastly war through censorship. 
The article that you posted a link to was a rambling rant against the 
meat industry (btw, I am a vegetarian, for exactly those reasons) 
globalization (again, I'm not a fan) and any number of other targets. 
Even within a discussion about the conflict in Afghanistan, that 
article is barely on-topic.

>Talking about whether we should shade or not, or
>use these screws or other screws is simply useless (and perhaps grotesque)
>unless it's in the framework of addressing the larger issues.

Discussions of green building can occur within the framework of the 
larger issue of sustainability without *having* every discussion 
related to sustainability.

>ALLOWING DISAGREEMENTS AND CONFLICTS ON
>THE LIST, WHILE *INSISTING THAT THEY ARE RESOLVED IN A
>COURTEOUS AND NON-VIOLENT MANNER* is an important process
>tool which people can then take and apply elsewhere - this is what I think the
>serious job of moderating should consist of.
>

We do not protest disagreements and conflict resolution on the list; 
that is a necessary part of the discussion. It is even understandable 
that tangential threads will spring out of relevant discussions. 
However, when we start to receive complaints from list members about 
the volume of heated political posts, it is our responsibility to try 
to defuse the situation before the non-green building traffic on the 
list makes it unusable for its stated purpose.

I'm not posting this response to the list because I don't want to 
stir up the "Afgreenistan" thread again now that it is starting to 
settle down. I hope that you will continue to participate in this 
list and not feel singled out or censored.

Thank you for your contributions,
Ethan


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