URCM - Precursor to vote on its future.

There has been a Request For Discussion regarding the moderated group
uk.rec.cycling moderated in the newsgroup uk.net.news.config (which is
the place for such formal discussions); with the possibility of a
following vote which will be open to everyone. I have posted this here
as there has recently been discussion here of such matters - follow-ups
are set to UNNC. Below is the gist of what is proposed : please make
any comments you may have - for or against the proposal in unnc.


RATIONAL: uk.rec.cycling.moderated


Over the period since uk.rec.cycling.moderated (URCM) was formed in 2009
there have been a number of occasions where people have expressed
disquiet over the way that the moderation has been carried out. It is
appreciated that not all of the people can be pleased all of the time;
however, it is the proposer’s view that whilst comments and suggestions
have already been made to the moderators over their processes, there has
been a reluctance to take on board what has been suggested – even when
there has been a consensus in discussion that change was required. This
RFD contains a proposal to a change of the charter of URCM so that
specific reservations may be addressed by incorporating clear
requirements of what is expected of the moderators. The areas of
concern which have been raised previously which are to be addressed by
this RFD are as follows:


1) Individual posters have been singled out for “special
attention”, which has included a deliberate delay of the processing of
their posts.

2) Individual posters have been allocated to a single moderator for
processing of their posts.

3) A number of posters have been banned from the group with no
clear explanation of the procedure that has been followed in the banning
decision.

4) A number of posters have been banned from the group indefinitely.

5) Posts have been rejected based on the style of the poster or on
an assumption of the poster’s identity rather than on the content of the
post.

6) Specific requests for information and clarification of rejected
posts have been made by email to the moderators: these requests have
been totally ignored.

7) Subsequent to (6) above, specific requests have been made in the
appropriate newsgroup for information and clarification of their actions
from the moderators; these requests have been totally ignored.

8) The moderation software for URCM does not deal with any emails
sent to or from the moderators in a consistent fashion which is
independent of the domain of the poster’s email address. This means
that some posters are not informed that their post has been received,
accepted or rejected. Similarly some emails to the official moderators’
email address are not accepted by the moderation system.



CHARTER CHANGE PROPOSAL

It is proposed that the Charter of the group uk.rec.cycling.moderated is
changed in the following fashion:

1) Replace the sentence: “The moderators may use whatever tools and
processes they collectively feel appropriate to ensure the smooth
running of the group.”

with the following sentence:

“The moderators may use whatever tools and processes they collectively
feel appropriate to ensure the smooth running of the group; as long as
the specific requirements of this charter are adhered to.”

2) Replace the sentence: “Decisions by individual moderators to
approve or reject a posting, or to close a thread, may be appealed by
private email to the whole moderation panel.”

with the following sentence:

“Decisions by individual moderators to approve or reject a posting, or
to close a thread, may be appealed by private email to the whole
moderation panel, or by a posting in the newsgroup
uk.net.news.moderation. In this case any ensuing discussion will take
place in public in the stated newsgroup.

3) Add the following text to the charter, in a new section entitled
Moderation Policy.

The moderators have a responsibility to ensure that all moderation
actions and decisions are carried out fairly and in a timely manner. In
particular, the following principles will be adhered to:

a) All posters are treated equally and fairly.

b) No poster’s submissions will be intentionally delayed.

c) Posts will only be rejected on the content of the post and not
on the identity, or presumed identity of the poster.

d) In the case where a poster has a submission rejected, he may
raise a query in the newsgroup uk.net.news.moderation where a member of
the moderation team will respond to the query in a reasonable time.

e) Queries regarding moderation policy may be raised in the
newsgroup uk.net.news.moderation. A member of the moderation team will
respond to “valid” queries on behalf of the moderators in a reasonable
time. “Valid” queries will be those determined to be so by the
moderators; the moderators will explain why, if they deem a query to not
be “valid”.

f) An individual who has seriously or consistently violated the
group's charter may, for a fixed stated period, be banned from using the
group. These are the only circumstances under which an individual may
be banned from posting to the group. In such a case, the moderator must
immediately inform the offender by email outlining the reason for this
action and its duration; the reason will also be posted in the newsgroup
uk.net.news.moderation.

g) All emails to and from the moderators will be treated in a
consistent fashion which will be totally independent of the email domain
which is used by the poster.



END CHARTER CHANGE