[HANASHIR:6306] Frivolity-Long Post, But Please Read

[Adrian Durlester <durleste...>]

Chaverim:

We must be careful how we toss around ambiguous terms like "frivolous."

This is an unmoderated list. No one's postings are censored or kept from
being posted. It is the community's responsibility to be "self-policing."

There is great latitude in what is discussed on this list. It is a large and
diverse group of people, some of whom have attended a Hava Nashira workshop,
and many who have not. We are an online community with responsibilities to
each other. We will not all always agree on things.

It is difficult for any one person to judge what may or may not be relevant
for discussion. Questions like "what is a good translation of the Tanakh,"
while not immediately and directly related to the primary topic of the list,
are not questions I consider, in my humble opinion, frivolous. Some may
disagree and say they are. It may depend how heavy the list traffic has been
lately, or how bad the topic drift is getting, or how relevant the message
is for a reasonable number of people on the list.

Frivolous, in my opinion, and perhaps somewhat disrespectful to the
subscribers of this list who already have much more email traffic than they
can deal with, are little one line "I agree" or "right on" type messages,
better sent privately, that don't relate contribute to a substantive
discussion. Not that such messages are always inappropriate or frivolous.
Sometimes they too are a necessary component of the dialog. And where would
we be without the occasional bit of wit [insert snappy wry response by Rick
Lupert here.]

Or those (usually unintentional) responses to the list that should best be
sent in private email.

Just as Ellen suggests we make each "day" count, on this list, we should
make "each message count." Not every message can or will serve or meet the
needs or interests of every subscriber, but I think it wise that we all
consider what our messages contribute to the list when we post them.

To those of you who are troubled by the high list traffic and what are, in
your opinion, frivolous messages, I would ask you to do the same as I am
asking those whom you feel have posted frivolously, or those who don't want
to be censored or restricted: let's be a community. Let's recognize that
balance is achieved not only by staying on a  narrow straight course, but
sometimes more like a sine wave - with ups and downs from the mean. All in
all, over the 4 or so years this list has been in operation, it has been a
fairly well-balanced sine wave.  Sometimes more off-topic, sometimes too
narrowly focused. Let's all try and look and think long term, like a mutual
fund investment, or, better yet, like the story of those who plant trees
they will never see bloom.

In the early days, this list was moderated. I had to approve every posting.
I also do so on some other lists. Aside from the huge workload and time
commitment that took, I always felt uncomfortable censoring. On some other
lists I help moderate, the scope of discussion is a little more clearly
defined, and it's easier to guide discussion. But this list has a wider
mandate. So for some time now, the list has been unmoderated. I do, on
occasion, make private email contact with people when I sense the list is
drifting a bit too far off topic, or when there have been some concerns
raised about particular postings or what some call frivolous postings. But I
do not "control" this list. Subscriptions are open. The list is unmoderated.
I have no investment in it, other than my love for Hava Nashira, for Jewish
music, and for all of you.

Next time you see a message you think is frivolous, stop and think. Why
might this person have posted that message. They are a part of this
community. And next time you are about to post a message, stop and think:
might someone on the list find this frivolous, might it be exclusionary or
too narrow in focus, does it contribute to the discussion.

The message that started this all, from Ros, was appropriately put. She had
an idea, and wanted to sound out the community. And she appropriately asked
for private feedback. I accidentally erred by replying to the list and not
directly to Ros. When I make such mistakes, it helps me to be more accepting
when others do the same.

There is nothing that prevents us from writing privately to each other
regarding postings to the list. And I am also happy to act, as I often have,
as an intermediary for those who have concerns about messages posted to the
list.

Here is a quote from the list's welcome message:

"Welcome to the Hava Nashira-Jewish Songleaders (hanashir) discussion list.
It is an open, un-moderated list, relying on subscriber discretion to keep
discussions germane and appropriate. The list does limit the total number of
messages that can be posted on a daily basis.

WHAT THIS LIST IS ABOUT

This open, un-moderated list is for discussion of issues related to Jewish
songleading and Jewish music education. The primary purpose is to serve as
an
online resource for all people involved in teaching and leading Jewish
music, whether at camps, congregations, or community centers. It is
associated with the Hava Nashira/Jewish Songleaders web site located on
Shamash at

http://uahc.org/hanashir/

The list is for discussion and information sharing. We ask that you please
keep the focus on our subject topic, and the message content relevant and
useful to list members.

This list is open to all persons interested in Jewish Music songleading, in
a variety of settings from camps to cantorial, and in and Jewish music
education. There are no denominational boundaries here. We ask that all list
members be respectful towards the beliefs and practices of all other list
members.

When using transliterated Hebrew or Yiddish words on this list, please
provide an English translation or approximation so that all readers will be
able to understand your message."

End of quote.

This is what we are. A community. We have a purpose and some guidelines.
They can evolve and change, be adapted, questioned, etc. But without them we
cannot function, cannot be a community.

Email tools are vastly improved. Managing your email is far easier than it
ever was. Quickly discriminating between and sorting email messages is
possible in most email software. While we must all strive to limit our
postings to the list to keep the volume reasonable for all, I must also
remind us that, as subscribers, we do have tools at our own disposal that
enable us to control what we read without having to impose undue control
over others. The initial time and effort in setting up your software to do
this is well worth it.

Let us follow the words of wise Hillel: B'makom sh'ein anashim hishtadel
l'hiyot ish. In a place where no one is human, strive to be human. Let us
all be human. And Let us all sing unto Gd.

Adrian

------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Atheism is a non-prophet organization."
                          -George Carlin
Adrian A. Durlester. M.T.S.  -  durleste (at) home(dot)com
http://members.home.net/durleste/
Music Director, Congregation Micah, Nashville, TN http://www.micahnash.org/
Home phone (615) 646-9788 Nextel cel-phone (615) 207-2661
You can page me from http://www.nextel.com
List-Owner for hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org; Co-Owner for L-Torah (at) 
shamash(dot)org
http://uahc.org/hanashir
Editor, Bim Bam (for Torah Aura Productions) http://www.torahaura.com/
Alternate Email: aad (at) iname(dot)com  adriand (at) aol(dot)com

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