Dear friends, Recently there has been some fiery discussion in this group related to the events in response to the shooting of Michael Brown. Some of the posts have made the Society leadership ask serious questions about how to manage comments in this group page, and more broadly what the role of the Society should be in the community. The broader question of the role of the Society in our community will take some time - and lots of deliberation and conversation with members and visitors - to work out. The narrower question - managing this group - is easier to solve: we need some guidelines so that moderation, when required, is fair, consistent, and in line with the values of the organization. Over the next week I am going to be drafting such guidelines in consultation with you, the group members. I would like you to send me your thoughts, ideas, requirements, pleas, entreaties, and demands regarding how we should manage this page. I have a set of broad principles I think should be represented in these guidelines: That we respect the free exchange of ideas, with space for strong disagreement and genuine responses to current issues (including emotional responses). That we respect the dignity of every participant in the discussions so that people who come here with good intentions to discuss ethical issues feel that they can participate without fear of personal attack. That we ACTUALLY DO discuss the pressing social issues of our time in this space as a way to clarify our ethical responsibilities, and as a way to helping us take more effective action in the world. On a personal note, I regret that we did not have an explicit set of guidelines in place before taking action to remove a post. We should have had guidelines in place to begin with so that we do not seem capricious and censorious. I hope that the people who feel the strongest about this issue will contact me with suggestions regarding the guidelines - and, if you wish, the bigger questions about the role of the Society in the world. Contact me on facebook or through my email: [email protected]
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 00:28:48 +0000
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