Va-Hist is a free online electronic forum that the Library of Virginia, a public agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia, provides for discussion of Virginia history and of the sources and research strategies that people employ to interpret and understand that history. Brent Tarter of the Library of Virginia staff serves as moderator of the list but does not view or screen messages. The computers automatically distribute all submissions directly to all subscribers. Private messages or comments that are not intended for the entire list should be sent directly to the intended recipient, not to Va-Hist. We encourage wide-ranging discussions and believe in freedom of speech. We also believe, and have had it demonstrated by experience, that dispassionate discussion and respect for differences of opinion and for the people who hold them promote thoughtful analysis and learning, and that angry words and personal attacks on other participants in the discussion do not promote the objectives for which Va-Hist exists and tend to alienate people rather than to persuade them. We do not and will not censor messages or subscribers for what they believe and write about Virginia history. We do not and cannot require that people always be accurate or wise or even knowledgeable. We should all be ready to learn and willing to share. We will repeat some of the standards of decorum by which civilized disagreements of opinion and intellectual inquiry should be carried on because they promote honest discussion: Be courteous and avoid personal references. Be concise. Avoid unnecessary allusions to contemporary political and social concerns when discussing the past because that may attract attention away from the point under discussion and may promote arguments rather than temperate discussion. Do not overfill daily digests by replying to long messages or to digests without deleting unessential text. That creates problems in other people's e-mail accounts and makes it difficult to find new messages interspersed in long old ones. Refrain from posting messages that contain little or nothing that contributes to the discussion. Remember that several hundred other people are reading your messages. Think before you write. When the moderator or other members of the Va-Hist community complain that some subscribers are abusing the canons of civility and when subscribers become disgusted with the behavior of other Va-Hist subscribers, it is incumbent on all people involved to refrain from antagonizing one another. It may be wise for people who wish to continue a discussion that has provoked such reactions to collect the e-mail addresses of the other participants and continue the discussion among themselves and not out in the public venue where they may antagonize other people. The computer software that supports Va-Hist allows the moderator the option of intercepting and screening any or all messages before they are distributed. I do not wish to do that, both because I do not want to be perceived as a censor and also because I do not have time to serve as a hall monitor during our heated discussions. Please remember that my occasional requests for civility and conciseness are for the benefit of free discussion within the Va-Hist community as a whole and therefore for honest intellectual discussion in an atmosphere of free speech and respectful disagreement. Brent Tarter The Library of Virginia [log in to unmask] Please visit the Library of Virginia's Web site at http://www.lva.virginia.gov ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html