Posted by so on May 23, 2005, at 21:20:58
In reply to Re: Ok, » so, posted by Dinah on May 23, 2005, at 20:42:03
I snipped the first part, for the sake of tidyness -- I agree codification has had its merits and deficits and indeed it has destroyed the spirit of the law in some cultures. The worlds best selling book seems to tell such a story. But then a system of codification let a nation of white male landholding citizens mature into a nation of multicultural, multiethnic, multigender, sometimes landless citizens who elect a congress largely made up of white male landholders.
Wait. that was supposed to go somehwere else.
Anyway.
Well, that would tend to address some of your concerns, though. More inclusion of other people wouldn't necessarily mean the end of Hsiung's unique methods -- such as public sanctions for the "good" of the group, or an obligation to own ones own emotions and those of others. It just might require that he better explain why he prefers those methods.
>
> Dr. Bob has proposed a system that I believe was intended in part to lessen his administrative burden. It would allow posters to have a system of reporting posts to him, so that he didn't have to review all posts. Wouldn't that achieve the same end, but retain the greater consistency that comes from having a single moderator?
It could resolve one concern of mine, which is his unprovoked defense of the theoretical feelings of hypothetical people. Of course, concerned citizens interested in consistency could still bring matters to him that could potentially offend hypothetical people.For the most part, I don't see that as a system I would immediately find faulty. It is a standard feature of many bulliten board softwares, and many administrators choose to enable the feature.
i can't really say where my "set-point" would be for accepting his administrative style modified to resolve my concerns. That might make it difficult to use my concerns as part of a guide for what to improve if I don't present a stationary target, but it would be reasonable to seek to resolve concerns I present without seeking my ultimate approval. After all, support in the group is provided by members for members, not by members for the administration. If I represent members who are particularly hard to please, vote for me, I'll represent you well, maybe.
We might agree, you and I, on part of the "more involvement" thing. I would rather see less administrative smileys, and more suggestions on how to comply with his personal preference short of sanctions for people who don't meet his standard. That could be where other administrators expand the overall administrative capacity, if they were hands on admins, and not just aides in developing policy. I think you might try as member who happens to be a deputy, but your suggestions sometimes have just not been consistent with his requirements, no matter how you try. i think it might have more to do with what side of the bed he gets up on, how generally bothersome a particular poster is, and a posters reputation or group standing, no matter how he tries in his own mind to be consistent.
Eliza has proven it possible to develop strict algorithms for dealing with some kinds of language. he or his peers could pay a bit more attention to conjugating what people write -- not to reopen the case, but the one that I got hung on was his assertion that "To me" does not preface an "i-statement." I felt he was generally tired of my tone and found a flimsy peg on which to hang an inevitable PBC -- maybe because he just didn't have the time to give it any more effort. And I just don't grasp the implicity requirement that I statements can only embody feelings but not perceptions, whether he as acknowledged that requirement or not. Anyway, lets not go further into that if I'm not prone to better understand even after all this effort.
What I mean to say, of substance, is that even if he were training professional subordinates to do his job, the questions that come up of how to deal with particular statements could lead to better understanding on his part of the limits some members encounter understanding his perspective -- maybe it would make him a bit less trustworthy to embody those less desirable traits you said you trust him to demonstrate. He might be more flexible in resolving questions with peers in the privacy of his office than he is on line in a durable database. Maybe.
poster:so
thread:491889
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20050517/msgs/501999.html