Hi all,
Normally, I would like for a "so long former JCM team member" thread like this one to just be focused on us all thanking those who have contributed and have chosen to leave. But there has been a lot of attention given to a number of issues that tie into Herman's article not being published, both here on this public email list as well as elsewhere. And so because of that I want to share some of my thoughts in this thread, at least to get it added to the public record for those who are watching this thread.
The JCM has never been a "free speech" website, at least not in the sense that a country might convey it as a legal right. The JCM is an "on property" website that falls under the oversight of the Joomla! project for everything, including deciding what is and is not accepted to be published That oversight is shared by OSM from a legal standpoint, and CLT from an operational standpoint. I understand that some wish that the JCM was a fully independent website with no oversight, but that has never been the case.
As a JCM lead editor, I believe it has always been part of my role to respect the structure that that JCM operates within. Part of that means is that when content is submitted that I feel CLT may have concerns about, I want to proactively ask for their review of that content. I do not want to see something published that CLT might come back and insist that it be unpublished. If that happened it might cause some unnecessary drama and embarrassment. Rather, I want there to be a spirit of trust between the JCM and the CLT.
So that is why I asked CLT to review Herman's article, as well as Babs' before it, and also the Jane Beyond cartoon that was submitted for the June JCM. In each of those cases I didn't have to do it, I chose to do it, and those choices were done out of an understanding that there are some delicate realities that currently exist within our project and our broader community. There is no defined role saying that JCM editors have the final say on JCM content and CLT only has some other oversight role. Because of that, as far as I am concerned CLT has final authority over all aspects of the JCM except for legal matters where OSM is the final authority.
I know some feel that not publishing Herman's article is an example of censorship, but I don't agree with that. CLT came up with an alternate suggestion for what Herman originally submitted, with the sincere hope that the revised article would be published and be better received by all JCM readers. I have never worked for a conventional magazine, but I can envision many cases where an author submits an article (or an idea for one) and editors and managers discuss it and sometimes ask the author for a different approach. I don't think what happened in this case is any different from that, and I don't think that alternate suggestion was inappropriate. In the end, Herman and Andrew were not able to come together on a shared vision for the revised article. It was Herman's right as the original author to not agree to those proposed changes. I don't think anyone was happy that a revised version of Herman's article was not published, including CLT.
So while I am disappointed that Herman's article was not published (as well as Babs' previously submitted article), I accept that the JCM is subject to CLT's oversight and I live within those boundaries for my work on the JCM. I am extremely saddened to see my friends and fellow JCM team members Herman, Nelleke, Cristina, and Robert choose to leave our team due to how this situation ended up, but as I have stated earlier in this thread, I respect their feelings in these matters. We all get to choose when and why we join, as well as when and why we leave.
We are not perfect, and so things aren't perfect with the JCM. But we are doing good, and and I hope that we will focus on the good that we are able to do, instead of the fact that we aren't perfect and can't do everything that everyone would like for us to do.
Thanks,
paul