[HAM] Getting Booted

[Phil Glatz]

Michael Downes wrote:
> Perhaps if someone is being an idiot, the best thing to do would be to simply ignore them? You can always delete posts by the offender so you don't have to deal with them. 

That's my policy, and I always just ignore the vitriol. That's part of list
culture; you don't have to read *all* the posts.

> Where does it state that this list is a democracy? I for one agree with
> Don Erickson's decision.

I'm not in disagreement. Running a list is a difficult and thankless job, and
I greatly appreciate Don's fine work. I'm sure his decision was made after
careful consideration, and is one that he feels best serves the interest of
the majority of the subscribers. I'm guessing he received a great deal of
emails of complaint, and lost a lot of subscribers.

There are two problems; a couple of posters who exhibited a low degree of
respect for others, and an ongoing shouting match that roped a lot of other
folks in. In cases where distasteful posts are happening, the worst thing you
can do is to fan the flames by continuing the public argument. I would simply
fire off a polite private email to the parties involved and point out the
damage they are doing. This usually doesn't do a great deal of good, but it's
much better than adding to the problem by giving legitimacy to the posters.

I will miss hearing from Steve. He has a tremendous amount of experience in
the world of professional music and sound, and I have learned a great deal
from him. I'm not sure what his personal issues are, but it is most
unfortunate he can't control his temper or have more patience.

Contrast him with the postings of Harvey Olsen, which I read on some of the
other Hammond lists. Harvey has a great deal of experience with all things
Leslie and is very generous in sharing it and helping others. His posts are
always filled with patience and understanding of those who aren't at his level
of expertise. He treats everyone with the grace of a true gentleman. And I've
never heard anyone have an unkind word towards him.

I try to keep these differing styles in mind when posting on any list; it
boils down to treating others the way you would like to be treated yourself.
Mailing lists are a difficult beast, since it is often difficult to tell when
somebody is being sarcastic or ironic, which often leads to hurt feelings. It
is also easy to press "send" a little to early, before you've reviewed how
your post will appear to others.

As it has been pointed out, much of the knowledge required to keep Hammonds
running is passed along from folks who have been at it a long while and are
reaching the end of their careers. We all can benefit greatly from this shared
experience, and I hate it when somebody decides to leave the list because the
tone isn't civil enough. This is everybody's loss.

Think before you post, and treat others with respect. That's all we need to do.