15134: Mason: Re: 15115: Haitian Times: Request for censorship (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: MariLinc@aol.com

As a person who has been a Corbetter from its very inception (and a
subscriber to Bob's Haiti-related magazine BEFORE the Corbett List was even
an idea), I'd like to say a word or two about Bob's censorship policy.

I've not only been a Corbett member for a long time, but I've been a frequent
poster.

Therefore, I have some perspective about what REALLY gets a Corbett post
rejected, outside of the official 3 reasons:

1. The note in not centrally or dominantly about the country of Haiti, of the
activity of Haitians or Haitian Americans;

2. I will not post personal attacks against LIST MEMBERS for what they have
posted on this list.  I do not censor personal attacks on public figures or
even list members when they are not attacked for what they post on this list,
but for other activities in the more public arena;

3. There is a vague subjective area of posts that are simply too offensive in
language or whatever.


- I personally have had many, many, many posts rejected for this reason:

The work I was doing during those years (entirely Haiti-related) was
commercially-based, THEREFORE Bob felt required to "hold the line" to protect
Corbetters from many of my posts announcing collaborations of MIT2 with
leading Creolists and leading technology service providers (in order to make
the technological support of Creole not only possible, but sociologically-
and linguistically-centered). Not looking to Corbetters for $$. Only wishing
to keep them in the loop of an honest initiative to support Creole. No need
to worry, Corbetters. With such limitations over the years to the posting of
such significant messages to one of the very few List Groups which could
possibly have understood or been interested in such advancements, the context
within which I was attempting to do what I was doing back then no longer
exists.

I don't know how many times Bob appended the rejection notices of my posts
with something like this: I get enough flack from other Corbetters about you;
I cannot risk posting this!


- I also have personally had many, many, many posts rejected for this reason:

I focussed upon a URL with content extremely relevant to us Haiti Lovers, in
order to not tie up band width by pasting into the message a load of content
we could just as well have accessed directly from the Internet, should we
have chosen to do so. But Bob says he gets so many recommendations of URLs
which are self-serving that he rejects them all, so as to not irritate
regular Corbetters.


The way I look at it is this: About 1/2 (long-term) of my posts to the
Corbett List have gotten accepted. And I'm a person who has reflected deeply
before ever hitting the Send button. Reflecting upon Bob's official reasons
for rejection of messages BEFORE ever deciding to Send.

Yet, all kinds of garbled junk DOES GET published, depending upon who sends
it or what context the diatribes are veiled within.

Bob says that because the names of posters are now listed in the Subject
Titles, we each can avoid the posters we don't want to learn from / be
bothered with.

Yet, he never used such rationale to accept my posts (which NEVER violated
the Big 3 of his listed rejection criteria) and then let Corbetters decide
for themselves which messages they'd rather open or dump before even reading.


The Corbett List is indeed Bob's to moderate. I wouldn't want all that work.
He revolves his life, energies and resources around it and I salute him for
so doing over so many years (even during Sabbaticals overseas and his recent
recovery from knee surgery).

I've visited in Bob's home, eaten at his table, and benefited from access to
his incredible library. He's a friend of mine; not an enemy.

It's just disquieting that the "Big 3" are NOT the ONLY reasons why posts get
bounced from ever being seen by Corbetters. And it's time we realize such a
fact.


My question: IF we can trust Corbetters with uncensored political messages
(no matter how outrageous), why not trust Corbetters with uncensored messages
such as the ones I have sent over the years which never once offended any of
the "Big 3" rules?

Marilyn

************************************************
Marilyn Mason
P.O. Box 181015
Boston, Massachusetts 02118 USA
Tel: (+1) 617-247-8885
Fax: (+1) 617-262-8923
Email: MariLinc@aol.com
Marilyn Mason Bio & Publication List:
http://hometown.aol.com/marilinc/Index3.html
Creole Links Page:
http://hometown.aol.com/mit2haiti/Index4.html
The Creole Clearinghouse:
http://hometown.aol.com/CreoleCH/Index6.html