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Moderating and related topics
I've been reading Steve's comments re: moderating the list and banning
critical comments of companies and the responses to them with
interest for the last couple of days and have been thinking them over.
First, I am unwilling to moderate the APD. While I understand the
benefit of moderating some lists, I do not believe the APD is one of
those lists. The APD does not exist "as a safe forum for your
vindictive ravings because you think the cost/risk/responsability of such
behavior on the Internet is so small", it exists as an open forum for
aquatic gardeners to exchange information and pass on knowledge. If a
part of that information/knowledge includes telling others about
unsatisfactory (and satisfactory) experiences with vendors, so be it.
The Communications Decency Act offers list and forum managers quite a bit
of protection against the type of lawsuit that Bob Novak has filed; I
don't intend to give up any of that protection by putting myself in the
position of controlling what does and doesn't appear on the list.
Beside a general dislike of moderation and the the lack of time to
moderate, I am unwilling to assume the burden of trying to ascertain if
what is being posted is "the truth" and the liability that that might
incur.
Since we've all seen the possible results of criticizing a company, I
can't strongly enourage people to continue reporting negative experiences
with vendors. I won't, however, try to prevent anyone from doing so.
And I do believe that, if people are afraid to report their experiences
because of the fear of a lawsuit or some retaliation, we are truly lost.
Cynthia
APD ListMom