This week the RAW list reached its breaking point with extremely high
volume stemming from list abuse. On Sunday night [5.2.99], RAW was switched to
moderated mode for the first time ever. Some changes were made, and RAW
is now back in unmoderated mode, although perhaps not yet back to
normal. Here's an account of what happened, beginning with Mark Tribe's
initial statement…
+ + +
Dear RHIZOMErs:
When RHIZOME RAW started to overheat over the past couple of weeks (the
number of posts climing up to 170 in one day last week), Alex, Rachel
and I were faced with a difficult decision.
On the one hand, we want to remain true to the original concept behind
RAW: an unmoderated, unfiltered space for discussion and announcements
related to new media art.
On the other hand, we realized that RAW was being hijacked by flamers
and mail bombers who were rendering the list useless for those who are
still interested in the discussions, announcements and text art that
make RAW a unique and valuable resource for the new media art community.
In the face of this dilemma, we decided to put RAW in moderated mode for
a few days to let things cool down while we worked through the options.
Unfortunately, we ran into technical problems with the list software,
and as a consequence we haven't been able to keep up with the
moderation. That's why so few messages have gone through these last few
days.
Our apologies.
We regretted having to put RAW in moderated mode (it was the first time
in three years we felt it necessary to do so), and are now going to put
it back in unmoderated mode.
Communities cease to function when their members cease to treat each
other with respect. Please try to show respect by considering the
following guidelines when posting to RAW:
+ No off-topic posts. If it's not related to new media art, post it
somewhere else.
+ No flame wars. If you want to flame somebody, do so off the list.
+ No mail bombs. Don't send the same message again and again.
We're not interested in censorship, but we are *committed* to preserving
RAW as a place where people can discuss new media art without wading
through endless flames and off-topic posts. If you're not adhering to
the guidelines, we'll let you know privately. If you persist, we'll
remove you from the list. We sincerely hope this won't ever be
necessary.
+ + +
Nickolas Herman wrote:
The only kind of limits I think are legitimate are those on the quantity
of posts per day. What if some homeless person–a former PhD no
less–spent her begging money on a terminal at a cafe, and loved to post
to RHIZOME about how terrible all the art we discussed was. Would we
kick her off, or let her speak her five or ten posts a day? Would we
wait until she started making sense, and then kick her off?
The on-topic/off-topic criterion is very tricky. A homeless person
posting ANYTHING to RHIZOME is very on topic, in my opinion, even if all
she talked about were her bowel movements. Imagine telling her, "unless
you have some actual insight into the New York web art scene, please
post somewhere else. We can't have our subscribers deleting your five
messages per day for all eternity. Unless we see you at one of our
events, behaving yourself and making friends, you're done."
If the decision about what is on and what is off topic becomes merely
the preference of the list owners, RHIZOME is a dead potato. At the
very least it should require a collective element, a consistent
community standard.
Several statements of the past week make me think RHIZOME is more of a
localized mutual admiration society than a meaningfully open and dynamic
realm of exchange in these volatile times. My statements may be harsh
and unpleasant, but I think it's my job to be honest.
I'm also asking for a strict definition of spam, (over ten posts in 24
hours? five?), and a clearly stated due process for list removal.
Mark Tribe replied:
RHIZOME's topic is not the new york web art scene. RHIZOME has always
been very international. i think we're pretty aware that there's a lot
more interesting stuff going on elsewhere, especially in europe. that's
one of the most interesting things about this community–it's not
defined by geograpy.
we're not talking about censoring the ideas of people we don't like or
don't agree with. i think you're being unreasonable. the biggest threat
to RHIZOME as an open forum is people who abuse the openness by engaging
in flame wars and spamming.
i'd like to see you restrict yourself to one or two posts a day, but i'm
reluctant to set a hard limit. as for removal, our current plan is to
contact people privately first and ask them to stop posting off-topic,
or mail bombing, or whatever. and then remove them if they disregard our
requests.
Colin Keefe also replied:
Do you really think discourse on this list isn't open? I think we've
all been pretty damn free to say what we want, praising or cutting,
about whatever work we choose to talk about. I've bitched a good deal
about jodi, and nobody slapped my hand.
Is it possible to have an open forum of ideas in an anarchic state?
Is it truly open if the response to discourse is verbal assault or
(mail)bombing?
There's a reason we as human beings have decided to belong to societies:
the many drawbacks of subjecting ourselves to the laws, taxations and
regulations of our governments is balanced by the mutual protection of
life, limb and speech that these governments provide. Presumably you
have a passport - there are some obligations that come with the
citizenship that it documents.
Free speech is not something that just happens. It has to be encouraged
and, most especially, protected. Offline life parallels online life
here.
+ + +
mark tribe:
new media art is a vague term, of course. i would define it as the
intersection of contemporary art and emerging technologies. so new media
art would include contemporary art practices that somehow engage
technologies like genetic engineering, data networks, web software, etc.
there are lots of places on the web (like The Thing) where you can talk
about other forms of contemporary art. if something is connected or
related in some way to new media art, it contributes to what RHIZOME is
about. if not, it dilutes the discussion, in my opinion.
take the war in kosovo, for example. i am very interested in information
and opinion about the war. but i have other sources for that–i don't
want to read about kosovo on RHIZOME, unless it's an aspect of the
conflict that relates somehow to new media art practice. in that regard,
b92 is kind of a gray area on the margins of the RHIZOME discussion, but
entirely relevant to discussions of tactical media that took place at
next 5 minutes. so, while i support b92, i would rather read about it on
nettime.
138 INFOSLUT replied:
I'm pretty upset about this. RHIZOME is starting to get posts that
resemble the ones from, say, e-music l or the max list that m9ndfukc
forwards, where the intolerance is so obvious its disturbing.
As far as the anti-kosovo information movement, I think that is
absolutely absurd. As a "new media artist" (if I have to be) I find it
very disturbing that we think we should be able to discuss relevant,
important "art" without the discussion of political events…not
neccesarily "as they relate to new media art" but because they have the
potential to, because every artist is–and should be–political.
Otherwise we begine to define the "furniture art" of the world wide web.
As a revolutionary media, we should be able to discuss revolution, no?
Furthermore, I don't want to get my information from nettime, as seen
through the looking glass of the notorious nettime censors. I'd hate to
have to think that would come to happen on RHIZOME. Perhaps we need to
look at the definition of a RHIZOME again?
Meiko AndRyu had the last laugh:
Mark Tribe, you have send too many email to RHIZOME!!!
Meiko and Ryu tire for delete key! We waste time for download your mail.
Please keep your post to least two for day, like considerate moderator
have ask!
We appreciate that noise on list very superb concern, and hope noone
overcome silence with stupid post about people who die for stupid
america overreaction!!! Death is not important! Newmedia is!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! ESPECIALLY
ON LIST RUN BY AMERICAN!!! HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!
(^o^)/
