[Newspoetry] netiquette

[david moses fruchter]

a localized phenomenon known as joe may have inscribed:

> Rick wrote:
> >>Also, it is considered a breach of netiquette to quote personal email
> >>in a public forum without first asking the writer's permission.
> 
> >It's only fair for me to publicly state that I won't abide by that rule.
> 
> Yes you will, or you're not welcome on this list.

joe,

i'm not sure what you meant here, and am concerned about some possible
implications.

if you meant that you as an individual would not experience
welcoming feelings toward rick's postings if he re-posts email that
was sent to him directly to the newspoetry list, i can
understand that, and i would share that lack of welcoming feelings,
despite rick's fair warning -- netiquette as a social convention has been
ingrained in me that much.

if, however, you are attempting to speak for the list as a whole and say
that none of us would experience welcoming feelings toward any further
postings by rick if he violates that social convention again, i would
exempt myself from that whole -- i don't believe that my feelings
toward future posts from rick will be that affected by another breach of
netiquette.

and if, most alarmingly to me, you meant that in your capacity of
technical control as list administrator, you would prevent future postings
from rick from going through the list and/or remove him from the
distribution list if he violates netiquette again, i would ask you not
to use that control in that manner.  censorship, to me, is a deeper wrong
than violation of netiquette or even betrayal of assumed privacy.

<some qualification here about being a relatively recent and infrequent
contributor to newspoetry myself, and therefore insecure about whether my
opinions will or should be valued.>

yr. obt. svt.,

david