On 5/10/09 8:23 PM, "Nicole Ellison" <nellison@msu.edu> wrote:
PS FWIW, the social scientist in me thinks we should try it out and see what results, if anything.
I'm strongly in agreement with Nicole Ellison on this point - but let me also try to address the multiple concerns that the recent change has rightly evoked ... 1) Process - including an apparent failure to communicate ... A very large number of people have - quite reasonably - asked about the process by which the decision was made to change the default setting of the mailing list. A) Briefly, a member of the Executive Committee suggested we make the change based on the following considerations: This will eliminate emails, intended to be sent privately to another member of the list in response to a list post, being accidentally broadcast instead to ca. 2,000 list members. - and thereby entering our uneditable archives on Dreamhost. We've seen a fair number of these - I'm guilty of more than my share, and so perhaps I'm more sympathetic to this consideration. Very, very fortunately, so far at least, most of the emails have _not_ passed on comments or otherwise revealed information in more than mildly embarrassing embarrassing fashion. For that, we've had more than one request from respected - and certainly competent - list members to eliminate such emails from the archive record. Given our arrangements with Dreamhost, this is more or less just not possible. All of this raises the central worry that there exists a good possibility in the long run of the list that someone will indeed post to the list a note intended for a particular individual, but one containing very sensitive / confidential information, the publication of which on list could easily have disastrous consequences for the individuals involved, and perhaps others. Worst-case, some of us are concerned that this might make AoIR legally liable / open to suit. B) To be sure, other points of view - very much along the lines that have now been extensively (and, thank you, very cordially) expressed by several list members - were in play in our discussion as well. And: what was under discussion was a _trial_ run of the change, to see how far the concerns that such a change would dampen community conversation, etc., turned out to be true. (Hence my echoing the empirical sensibility of Nicole Ellison, above.) C) There was, however - and believe me, the irony is not lost on me - some miscommunication across the course of our email exchanges, such that our stalwart System Officer Holly Kruse understood the decision to have been made and one to be implemented. 2) So, while the change was made prematurely - the upside is that it has evoked just the sort of discussion that will be helpful to the Executive Committee in making any long-term decision on this matter. (As someone deeply committed to Habermasian and feminist understandings of democracy, it is clear to me that potential norms must be openly discussed and considered by those who will be affected by their possible adoption.) In light of all of this, I propose the following: a) now that the change has been made, and that voices both pro and con are being raised - rather than switch back without further ado, I suggest we keep it in place for the time-being. This will have the further advantage of giving us some empirically-based sense of what effects will really follow from the change. b) by all means, let's keep discussion regarding this change going on the air list for another few days - believe me, your emails are being closely attended to! c) the Executive Committee will continue to investigate and discuss our possible options. d) once the Executive Committee has both a better sense of our options and possibilities, and a more complete sense of the preferences of the membership, we will decide which way to go - whether to continue with the current setting, or to return to the previous default, and/or take some third option that may emerge in the course of our exploration and discussions. In all events, the Executive Committee will give the membership and participants on the air-list plenty of notice and careful explanation of how we have arrived at whatever decision we reach. I hope all of this will be received as helpful and acceptable. Many thanks, all, for your careful and cordial comments! cheers, - c.