I have gone around and around on this and then finally it struck me why I could not write the FAQ on Moderation.
Under the roughly Anarcho-syndicalist community consensus system I have envisioned, it is not mine to write!
I see this place as somewhere where we all have a voice in what happens, where we all decide where we are going. Decide TOGETHER….as much as is humanly possible….a government by consensus. It might work, it might be chaos, but I think it is worth a try.
So the decision on how to moderate the site is not mine. It is all of ours. I have to set the structure….but the details are up to all of us! So consider this the beginning of the Moderation Wiki, which just like the rest of the blog is an ongoing experiment is community and consensus.
Here is my proposal for the structure.
I am the final arbiter, the court of last appeal, the breaker of ties. The top of the Pyramid. The buck stops…after a no doubt long and arduous and much debated journey….here. The community is ‘The Decider’ not me.
If the community is divided I will step in and make a decision…and take full responsibility for it.
So….that is one part of the structure. But we can discuss that too! It is MY (How Conveeenient!) opinion and observation that there needs to be someone who utters the final word when all other conversation has broken down. So proceeding from there….
Here is what I can see working.
A dreaded Hierarchical System.
The other end of the structure is ALL USERS.
‘Above’ that is Trusted Users.
‘Above’ that I propose a case by case Committee of Trusted Users, selecting ….if possible….folks who seem to be neutral on the current controversy and thus the most objective.
If consensus can still not be reached and the situation calls for resolution, I step in as Zen Dictator ( I like nifty titles, sue me) and render a verdict.
And that is how I PROPOSE we deal with stuff like trolls, banning or any other issues that divide or inflame the community. Polls and vigorous debate in essays and Open Threads, finally leading to enough of a consensus to be clear.
OK……it feels lame…but that is the best I can come up with besides stuff like…
Be Excellent To Each Other. Don’t Start No Shit, And There Won’t Be No Shit. Live And Let Live. There Is no Crying In CalvinBall.
The floor is now open for discussion!