[Paddlewise] PaddleWise list censorship

The subject of this post will be at least partially refuted if
PaddleWisers are are allowed to read it; otherwise, this email may wind
up in e-Limbo somewhere ..... but it's leaving my computer at 1055 EDT.

I became involved with PaddleWise about nine years ago -- just after
Jackie restarted the list following the great pontoon wars on the list's
predecessor.  As I recall, the server generated a built-in delay on new
members' posts while they were screened for appropriateness and value --
and that's totally appropriate, and was all the more appropriate under
the conditions at the time.  But, after a member had shown
himself/herself worthy and discreet, my recollection is that posts came
out almost immediately after being sent.

It appears that the list -- described as "semi-moderated" on the Web
site -- is being screened much more thoroughly now.  (Several years ago,
I dropped out of active participation on PaddleWise, and have returned
only recently -- and mostly as a lurker.)  My concern with the apparent
governance of the list is that my few posts may or may not appear on
PaddleWise, and, if they do appear, it's frequently many hours if not
days after they were sent.  My background and my primary interests
center on safety and on search and rescue issues -- from my history as a
Navy CSAR pilot and a Navy accident investigator -- so there's often
some time-sensitivity to my posts.

Like many organizations and communities, I realize that PaddleWise is
not a democracy: I don't understand nor need to understand how lists are
owned or used, and I recognize that they may -- and, to some degree --
probably should be monitored and controlled.  My concern is that a
healthy conversation within a community should be allowed to become as
free and as synchronous as possible -- tempered by the personal
credentials of the poster.  (In my current work in defense and
intelligence communications, I've grown to appreciate the value of
synchronous "chat", and the collaboration values that result from the
free, near-realtime interchange of data and information.  Even in areas
involving security, the onus is on the producer of data or information
to push this knowledge to all cleared participants in the network -- and
that clearance is often determined by the credentials -- we call them
"attributes" -- of the potential receiver of the information or that
receiver's right to respond to the information provided.)  Something of
the sort could be used by PaddleWise to offset the potential confusion
-- and the individual frustration -- caused by delays or deliberate
elimination of information posted to the list.

PaddleWise is an incredibly rich information environment, but the
spontaneous nature of the list in earlier days is now missing -- and
it's a serious detractor to the value of the collaborative functions of
the list in an international and multi-cultural environment -- where the
shared interest and the common denominator -- is sea kayaking.

Jack "Joq" Martin
Canoe Neck Creek
Abell, Maryland
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