ANST - Administrata...
Pug Bainter
pug at pug.net
Tue May 26 07:34:17 PDT 1998
Good Morning one and all,
The list has been removed from moderation status. Every post that
was made over the weekend was approved. (This including a full digest
being sent out before all of them were even approved.)
This message is written in haste since I need to get mundane work done,
so please forgive any mistakes or confusing areas.
I am working up full guidelines regarding the actions that have
happened over the last week and in the past. As some easy guidelines,
here is what I would say:
----
If you are unwilling to stand up in court at Coronation to make the
"warning", don't do it here.
If you are unwilling to pay to have your "warning" published in the
BlackStar or you know they are unwilling to publish it, don't do it
here.
If you are unwilling to pay to have your "warning" published in the
TI or you know they are unwilling to publish it, don't do it here.
If a person has not been found guilty of a mundane law, do not mention
the accusation on this list until the facts are known and decided upon.
----
Btw, if you would like to know what the guidelines are for SCA or
Kingdom publications (which this list is not, but contain some of
the materials I try to use as guidance) they can be found at
http://www.ansteorra.org/law. For those who don't know already,
statements such as were made should not be publishable from my reading
of the guidelines. (I.B.16 from the Society Chronicler Handbook covers
it nicely, as does the Kingdom Chronicler Handbook.)
We still live in America, where people are innocent until *proven*
guilty. If someone is under investigation, it does not mean that they
did it, or even that there is a good reason for the courts to think
they did it.
There are certain taboos/laws in this country that if a person
is accused of, they are guilty to the public at large if the information
is known. It doesn't matter if they actually commited the act or not. A
few of these that *I* feel the public is this way about are rape,
child abuse, child endangerment and child molestation. Truly think
about what you and/or the public think when you/they here that someone
is under investigation for one of these acts. A lot of the time it is
not *if* they did it, but how terrible it is that they did it.
Regarding Litch and this list, there are a few statements that I would
like to make for those who have been around long enough to remember
all of it. He may have been rude, obnoxious and boorish, but he never
accused anyone of illegal activities. If he was accused of illegal
activities himself, they were either misinterpretations of the law that
were quickly corrected or of a nature that people do not automatically
assume guilt, such as libel or virtual threats. As well, he tried to
keep his comments private as they should be until someone else brought
them to the list. Not to mention the fact that all the parties involved
were present and able to defend themselves immediately.
Maybe I've grown personally to the point that I do not wish for people
to behave like children in something that I am responsible for and
am trying to maintain. Just as your fighting, service or artistic
abilities improve over time, so does my conscious and feelings of duty
to better our Society in the ways that I can.
Since the concern has been raised, if there are enough people who are
truly concerned that I can no longer be a reasonable and unbiased list
maintainer, please find someone who can and we will transition the list
to them as soon as possible. I try to make sure that my personal
opinion and friendships do not come into my decisions on this list.
This is a difficult thing to do and I may not be successful. I have
been the list maintainer for ~5 years and maybe I shouldn't any longer.
(The list archives only go back a little over 3 years unfortunately so I
don't know exactly how long.)
Btw Gunnora, I'd already planned on doing the warning system and not
keeping the list moderated. The moderation was only a temporary
measure to keep things calm over the weekend since I was unable to see
what was happening while at Steppes Warlord.
I would like to thank those who have given me words of support.
I would like to especially thank those who have questioned what I have
done and taken me to task for it. Without those individuals, I would
not have alternate viewpoints from which to question my actions.
I do not take censorship, especially by myself, at all lightly.
Freedom of speech or action does not give you the freedom to do as you
wish at all times.
In Service to My Dream,
--
Phelim "Pug" Gervase | "We have a constitutional right to make
Barony of Bryn Gwlad | fools of ourself."
House Flaming Dog | --Lawyer on NPR regarding
pug at pug.net | the Unabomber self-defense
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