Ditto, this is a fabulous list, thank you, Linda. I've gained a great deal from the open discussions here, and don't want them to fall by the wayside. Often times topics come through that are not related to something I'm working on at the time, but I save it and have gone back many times to use an idea or code or a link or something that leads to the solution. Sometimes the solution involves a fresh new way of thinking or looking at something, which is one of the great things about the diversity and skills of everyone here - fresh ideas. I have seen people share humor, hope, help, skills, frustrations and victories. And even if someone doesn't have the answer for a particular problem, I feel comfortable enough that I can still jump in with a new problem and that at least there is empathy and understanding somewhere out there in the ethernet cosmos. :) Thanks for listening, Cathy Wilson Baptista Junior To: mso@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <wilson@xxxxxxxxxx> Sent by: cc: mso-bounce@freelist s.org Subject: [mso] Re: Moderation...or Censorship? 06/09/2004 12:36 PM Please respond to ..... mso Hi Jim, and Linda, and All, I whole heartedly agree with Jim. It was interesting, to me, watching the various opinions (mostly well thought out) by people who use both programs. Two or three members complained, sure, but out of how many? IMHO, the problem isn't the end of the thread "per se", because in one or two days more, at most, the thread would have died a natural death, but I fear that Linda's decision will encourage members to think that just because one or two are bothered they will be able to expect measures like the one Linda took. And this will lead, as Jim says, to cutting down the openess and usefulness of the list Linda has worked so much, up to now, to mantain as one of the best MSO lists around. Best, Wilson At 12:16 9/6/2004, Jim Pettit wrote: >Linda/All-- > >I've always found this newsgroup to be a good source of Office-related >info because it comes from real end users, not from some Redmond-based >spokesperson paid to peddle The Company line. To me, it's that >separation that has given the group freedom, and it's that freedom >that's given the group its usefulness. But now, over the past 24 hours >or so I've watched what I consider a good and useful thread vanish >without a trace because it bothered a few folks. > >That's not moderation, Linda; that's censorship. > >You wrote, "...it's not worth it if it makes members uncomfortable." If >open, honest, wholly on-topic discussion makes some members >uncomfortable, perhaps they can hang out in any of the myriad of >Micro$oft's Official Newsgroups, where they're guaranteed to never hear >a dissenting opinion. Yes, it's your group, and yes, you've done a >better job than most at moderating what could have easily become a >confusing, hand-waving, free-for-all. But still, if this group is going >to avoid on-topic discussions because a few right-hearted but >wrong-headed folks complain, I suppose I'm the one who needs to look >elsewhere. > >--Jim ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are hereby notified that any use, review, retransmission, dissemination, distribution, reproduction or any action taken in reliance upon this message is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of the company. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ************************************************************* You are receiving this mail because you subscribed to mso@xxxxxxxxxxxxx or MicrosoftOffice@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To send mail to the group, simply address it to mso@xxxxxxxxxxxxx To Unsubscribe from this group, send an email to mso-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" (without the quotes) in the subject line. Or, visit the group's homepage and use the dropdown menu. This will also allow you to change your email settings to digest or vacation (no mail). //www.freelists.org/webpage/mso To be able to use the files section for sharing files with the group, send a request to mso-moderators@xxxxxxxxxxxxx and you will be sent an invitation with instructions. Once you are a member of the files group, you can go here to upload/download files: http://www.smartgroups.com/vault/msofiles *************************************************************