Nan:2011-06-12-mvi-soc.history.war.vietnam
From Usenet Big-8 Management Board
From: Steve Bonine <spb@pobox.com> Subject: Moderator Vacancy Investigation: soc.history.war.vietnam Date: Sun, 12 Jun 2011 09:07:15 EDT Message-ID: <95jrroF3j1U4@mid.individual.net> MODERATOR VACANCY INVESTIGATION (MVI) moderated group soc.history.war.vietnam This is a formal Moderator Vacancy Investigation (MVI), begun because moderated newsgroup soc.history.war.vietnam is not functioning, and may have been abandoned by its moderator(s). This investigation will attempt to verify the reasons for non-function, and may result in the removal of the group or the selection and installation of a new moderator. In practice, the Big-8 Management Board considers the third alternative -- changing the status of the group from moderated to unmoderated -- as likely to cause more harm than good. NEWSGROUPS LINE: soc.history.war.vietnam The Vietnam War. (Moderated) RATIONALE: Probe posts to this group resulted in bounces. The last meaningful activity was in 2003. DISTRIBUTION: news.announce.newgroups news.groups.proposals soc.history.war.vietnam soc.history.war.misc CHARTER 1. Aim & Purpose of Soc.History.War.Vietnam This newsgroup will provide an open forum for the objective discussion of the Vietnam and Indochinese wars, their causes, aftermath, and effect on the people and societies which took part in them. The use of a moderator is intended to provide an environment that is conducive to this discussion, and open to all categories of potential readers/ contributors - academics, veterans, members of the anti-war movement, students, and anyone else with an interest - without regard to ideological or political positions. The wars in Vietnam and Indochina in the middle of the twentieth century not only bred armed conflict between combatants, but also divisiveness and social conflict within the societies of some of the participicants in the conflicts. In the United States, some believe that the war has transcended its historical moment to become a culture icon for the turbulence of the sixties. At any rate, there still exists a great desparity in the understandings of the social, political and historic circumstances of the war, and its continued influence on various societies. Soc.history.war.vietnam will seek to promote a discourse which will allow these positions to be explored. Perhaps, in this way, the newsgroup may be instrumental in achieving a better understanding of the events, and may even assist in the process of healing. 2. The Function of the Moderators This newsgroup shall have an active moderator, and at least two co-moderators. It shall be the responsibility of the active moderator to screen postings to the newsgroup, and elimante those which are: a. flames, insults and attacks directed at a person rather than a position; b. flames that use derogatory labels to depict whole categories of people, such as veterans or members of the anti-war movement, etc.; c. articles that have no connection to the Vietnam or Indochina wars, their causes, effects or aftermath; and d. any message of a commercial nature. The active moderator may not screen postings for merit of argument, nor for their political or ideological content. All articles that are rejected will be sent back to the contributor with a short message explaning the reason for rejection. Such rejections may be appealed as outlined below. The co-moderators serve in a back-up capacity, so as to insure continuity during either a temporary or permanent change in the status of the active moderator. In addition, the co-moderators will have the responsibility, along with the active moderator, for voting on appeals of rejected posts, the appointment of new moderators, and the possible removal of a current moderator as outlined below. 3. Appeal of Rejection of Posts If a contributor whose post has been rejected wishes to appeal this action, the current active moderator will forward this request and the post in question to all co-moderators for a vote. If the majority of all moderators votes to overrule the rejection, the article will be sent to the newsgroup. If the post is rejected, the person appealling the rejection will be sent a summary of the votes by the moderators. 4. Appointment of New Moderators New co-moderators will be appointed as necessary through the nomination of an individual by the other moderators. The appointment will require a unanimous vote of the current moderators to pass. The new co-moderator's name will then be submitted to the newsgroup for a five day discussion period. During these five days, any of the current moderators may change their vote in response to this discussion. At the end of the five days, if all the moderators are still in agreement, the nominee becomes a co-moderator. 5. Removal of a Moderator A moderator may be removed for the following causes: a. failure to perform the outlined duties of the position, 2. a pattern of biased or discriminatory rejections of postings. Such removal will be made by the formal vote of all current moderators. A 2/3rds vote in favor of such action will be required for removal. The reasons for, and results of, all such votes will be posted to the newsgroup. 6. FAQ The moderators, as a group, will be responsible for the development and posting of a frequently asked question (FAQ) file for this newsgroup. 7. Posting of Charter and Moderators List This charter will be reposted, along with the list of current moderators to the newsgroup every month. HISTORY OF THE GROUP: The group passed its vote on 1 May 1995, 190:35. It was active from 1996 through 1998 and again from mid-2001 until late 2003. PROPONENT: Steve Bonine <spb@pobox.com> PROCEDURE: Those who wish to comment on this moderator vacancy investigation should subscribe to news.groups.proposals and participate in the relevant threads in that newsgroup. To this end, the followup header of this MVI has been set to news.groups.proposals. For more information on the MVI process, please see http://www.big-8.org/wiki/Moderator_Vacancy_Investigations CHANGE HISTORY: 12 June 2011: Moderator Vacancy Investigation