Moderator Vacancy Investigation: soc.history.war.vietnam
Steve Bonine
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 <s...@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