[ExI] Moderation on the ExiCh list

[BillK]

On 12/5/09, spike wrote:
>
> I too am a freedom of speech advocate, when it comes to governments.  We
> promise to not arrest you.  That is what the US government is granting us
> with that amendment, a promise to not arrest us for what we say or write.
> But on the other hand circumspection is always wise, and in some cases
> actual decorum.  Freedom of speech is about what governments can do to its
> citizens.  I don't see how it applies in this case.
>
> The ExI moderators are not governors, but rather more like advisors, with
> passwords.
>
>

It is not possible to specify an exact list of what subjects should
not be discussed on the Exi-chat list.  Who knows what some new
visitor might want to write about?

There are dark places on the internet where literally anything can be
discussed or images exchanged, some of which are against the law in
some countries. If cannibalism rocks your boat then you can find a
place to discuss it with fellow deviants.

But Exi-chat does not have the primary objective of being a
free-for-all anything-goes dungeon.  The main objective of the public
Exi-chat is to discuss transhumanism of the extropian variety.
The test of a discussion is --
1) - Does it involve transhumanism at all?
2) - Does it help the transhumanism movement to make progress either
by interesting discussion of technology, etc. or by spreading
knowledge and becoming more well-known and accepted by the general
public.
3) - Does it help bonding within the tranhumanist group?


As Spike says, you can't have a 99 bullet point list of forbidden
subjects. You have to look at the intent and whether it is helpful to
transhumanism as the case arises. Some trolls enjoy raising problems
just to disrupt the list and when they appear, then they have to be
dealt with.   As Spike said, some people complained that his
moderation was too light.
(There were no public hangings or floggings, even).

BillK