Max, Pene Azul, and I are responsible for thread editing done at Mudcat. Pene and I consult with each other, and we answer to Max. We try to do as little editing as possible, because we want this to be an open, free discussion. Nonetheless, we have to do some editing to attempt to keep the place from being taken over by flamers and Spam. If you want flames and Spam, take a look at what rec.music.folk has become.

If we see something that looks like it's going to be a problem, we think about it and we may consult among the three of us, and then we take action. We make a guess about what may be the best way to head off the problem, and we give it our best shot. Sometimes we take action right away, and sometimes we wait until things quiet down and we can do something quietly. If Max doesn't like what we did, he'll tell us. He trusts us, so he'll usually back us up. We may handle a situation one way today, and differently tomorrow. We can't follow set rules and we can't be predictable, because that would take away what little advantage we have over Spammers/flamers. We certainly aren't going to discuss our tactics publicly, although we will usually respond to e-mail or personal messages.

So, that's what we do with Spam and flames. We take it seriously, and we try our best to deal with it - quietly. What we do doesn't always work, and may not always be the best thing to do. I'm sorry about that, but that's the way it is. We're trying to second-guess assholes, and that can be a very difficult task.

There are other matters like prayer/healing threads and assorted other bullshit that I may personally consider obnoxious. It's generally not a threat to anyone - it's just something that I consider obnoxious. I'm one who tends to have a dislike of a move away from folk music, and I think I have a right to express my opinion as strongly as I wish. I suppose I could express my displeasure anonymously as a guest or assume a second identity like a number of people have chosen to do, but that's not my style. You may not like my opinion, but you sure as heck know where it comes from.

I generally think that the best response to Spam and flames is silence, so that's how I usually respond. I think the best response to the antisemitic remarks would have been silence, but apparently a number of Mudcatters didn't agree. There are times when I think it will be effective to post a response to a flame or to Spam - but that's only on rare occasions. So, no, I generally do not speak out against flamers or Spam - I think it doesn't do any good. I sometimes delete Spam or flames, but not always - it depends if I think it will do any good. Sometimes, I take more moderate action like consolidating threads - but not always. Sometimes, I do nothing, and hope the problem goes away [I tried doing that with my car, and found out the hard way that it doesn't work].

When it's just something that I dislike, that's another matter. I present my objections publicly, strongly, and (I hope) logically. I try to be polite, but it's not always easy to convey politeness when you're expressing an opinion on the internet. Many people seem to call any sort of disagreement "flaming" or trolling," and I think that's unfair. If you post something here at Mudcat, you take the risk of having somebody disagree with you. That's life.

As far as how we deal with our editing responsibilities, I guess we have to ask you to trust us. If you question something we do, I'd like to suggest that you discuss it with us directly before you go starting a thread or running to Max to complain. I'm sorry, but we may not be able to give you a complete explanation. Pene and I have both had bad experiences with that in the last month. We each gave an explanation in a personal message, and the other persons posted what we said in the Forum. I don't think it's unreasonable for us to ask you trust us. We may have made some questionable judgment calls, but we've always done our honest best.

Thanks.

-Joe Offer-