big fat acknowledgement for a very, very tactful, insightful, and fair post
by David ..~!

and additional big points for fancy words  like flouting, dispassion, and
conflating. Heck, I almost have to look the last two up just to be sure.

but ...you want to see a brilliant example of tact, and addressing an issue
directly to someone, and not filling it with you messages....
this is about as good as it gets !

nice job David !

Scott
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Beierl" <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2010 8:09 AM
Subject: MOD Re: Plastic Ramps

> At 08:29 AM 6/3/2010, B Feddish wrote:
>>         I was going to remain silent on this one but since you have taken
>> it
>>upon yourself to call me a racist in a public forum which gets stored in
>>archived form indefinitely I feel the need to defend myself.  Using the
>>term
>
> Dear Volks,
>
> Gentlemen, please!  This is undignified.  Bryan, I'm disappointed.
>
> First of all, I'm quite sure you're aware that the policy here is for
> moderation issues to be discussed in private.  I'm sure you're also
> aware that the policy is widely observed in the breach.  Up until now
> Ben and I have not suspended anyone's privileges on the list for that
> or any other reason.  Perhaps that was a mistake, because it tends to
> suggest that we're not serious about the rule(s); but regardless,
> other people's flouting of the rule is no reason for you to, nor is
> the fact that you're angry an excuse.
>
> Second, I commend to your attention that saying that some [label,
> behavior, whatever] is racist is in no way the same as saying that
> some person is racist; and conflating the two is at the very least
> careless.
>
> Third, you are asking too much of your moderators.  If you want
> perfect dispassion then you should be prepared to pay the big
> bucks.  Someone suggested to me a while ago that the moderator job
> required a person to behave like a "Fair Witness" in Heinlein's book
> _Stranger in a Strange Land_, and in fact that's in general what we
> try to do.  But if you demand perfection of either of us we're sorry
> to be unable to oblige.  If you want a crack at the moderator job I'm
> imagine that could be arranged without much difficulty, but aside
> from that here we are, warts and all.
>
> You've successfully identified one of Ben's hot-buttons, and possibly
> one of your own as well.  Now what?  We still have to get along and
> treat each other with civility for the list to continue to succeed,
> and part of civility is not airing the dirty laundry in public, which
> is why our policy of private discussion of moderation issues exists.
>
> Fair enough?
>
> Yours,
> David