Some comments, answers, and questions (was Re: Indology constraints (contd.))

[Dominik Wujastyk]

On Mon, 12 Jul 1999, Sudalaimuthu Palaniappan wrote:

> Also, am I correct to understand that there will be no warnings to a
> person as long as the limits - 2k typed-in characters per message and
> 15 messages per month are not exceeded? It is only when these are
> exceeded, the relative ranking will be used to issue warnings. Right?

No, I sort the month's postings by size and then again by frequency.  In
each category I pick the top ten people, and they get a warning.

Logically, this could mean that INDOLOGY would eventually disappear
altogether (if people never heeded the warnings). Because this is silly, I
exercise some common sense about the warnings, and sometimes break my own
rules.

Last month, for example, three people got suspended even though they had
not received three warnings.  This was because they showed no evidence of
moderating the size or frequency of their postings after some warnings and
personal exchanges with me, and in fact increased them.

So: I have laid down general guidelines, but I reserve the right as list
manager to manage the list as I see fit, within these general parameters,
but with exceptions in exceptional cases.

> Messages could be kept off the list by appropriately using of the
> command "review indology" to contact specific members if only the
> command would work as described in the Indology web site. It does not
> seem to work now. One gets the message, "You are not authorized to
> review the INDOLOGY list." Any idea when it will be fixed? -------

Ah, I must update the web page. [... done]

That Hungarian website which started posting email to us all, based on the
membership list, showed up a vulnerability in the INDOLOGY list.  I
thought members should be protected from having their addresses used by
unscrupulous members of the public.  So the "review indology" command has
regrettably been withdrawn.

You suggest that I should write to individual members and remonstrate with
them about their postings.  This breaks the rule I keep mentioning, which
is that I can't devote my whole working day to running INDOLOGY.  I have
to find efficient ways of coping with the list, which do not involve the
kind of labour-intensive interaction you suggest.  Having said that, I do
in fact sometimes correspond off-list with members on various topics.  It
has been my experience that asking people to change their posting habits
is singularly useless.  They simply don't.  And for every message I send
to an individual member I get a reply or two or three which it is a burden
to deal with. (Even when it is courteous.)

Yours,
--
Dominik Wujastyk
Founder, INDOLOGY list