Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!tikal!slovax!flak From: flak@slovax.UUCP Newsgroups: soc.women,news.misc Subject: Re: Moderation Message-ID: <483@slovax.UUCP> Date: Sun, 28-Jun-87 09:25:26 EDT Article-I.D.: slovax.483 Posted: Sun Jun 28 09:25:26 1987 Date-Received: Tue, 30-Jun-87 01:22:26 EDT References: <699@hjuxa.UUCP> <4009@sri-unix.ARPA> <4117@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> Distribution: world Organization: R & D Associates., Tacoma, WA Lines: 87 Xref: utgpu soc.women:5132 news.misc:519 I am using this article as an example only. I don't intend this to be a flame against a specific poster. The attitude is prevailent in many other postings. > The simple fact is that all usenet sites are either privately owned by ^^^ > or under the de facto control of males, and except for sexualizing, > trivializing, or harassing women, they have no use for women at all. > They either don't notice, or don't care about the hostile, intimidating > atmosphere that keeps most women from participating. ... > group. Had the moderator of comp.risks, Peter Newman, taken his > responsibilities seriously, he'd have written to Alan's SA, requesting > that Alan's access be removed. But as a male, Peter is well aware that > the site adminstrator will also be male, and will simply laugh off all > breaches of netiquette by males, while severely punishing women who > "might," but actually haven't committed any breach of netiquette. > > There is nothing to be done. We are in a patriarchy, and if soc.women > were moderated, Alan and her friends, with the permission and consent > of her SA, would continue to post whatever she wished directly to the > moderated group without authorization and without penalty. ... > > There MIGHT be some possibility of attacking the problem from the area > of the use of federal funds and common carriers to perpetuate discrimination, > but with the Reagan Administration still in power, and males in control > of the courts and regulatory agencies, there's not really much hope there > either. > > The boys are running the show, and as Randy Seuss said in another posting, > "That's the biz, sweetheart." > Seems to be a rather pessimistic and defeatist outlook. Several points: (1) The perception is that men are the root of *all* problems. That is, if there's a problem, the first place some people go to is their favorite scapegoat. As Jean P. Satre wrote in his book, "Jew and Anti-semite", "If the Jew didn't exist, the anti-semite would invent him". For a particular problem, in a particular situation, a man, or all men may be responsible. But then again, there may be some other cause. (The most likely cause is the person her/him self - but how many people are willing to admit that *they* may be the source of their own problems?) If you are convinced of your answer before checking the facts, you will find what you are looking for. One could say that all women (Jews, Blacks, ) are intellectually (physically, racially) inferior to . And one could find the "facts" to back it up. (2) This particular posting doesn't even cite specific "facts". It posts a general perception. There's nothing wrong with that. The net exists, in part to air opinions. However, that's exactly what I consider it - opinion, and not necessarily fact. (Nazis had the opinion that Jews were the root of all evil - they did a pretty good job "selling" it, too! :-( ) (3) Make a postive recommendation. For the most part, we're all aware of the problem. As was said in "Fiddler on the Roof", "Send us the cure, the disease we've already got". (4) Before shooting off your flame thrower, make sure you have the correct target. Who knows what a particular SA will do? I don't know for a fact that most system administrators are male. I suspect that they are. I won't even suspect that most of them will discriminate against users solely on the basis of sex. That would take an extreme jump in the logical process, and make some very tenuous assumptions. (I am not a system administrator - I don't like to see them discriminated against either :-). (5) There are, and will always be some system administrators who will abuse their postion. (This is human nature, and not limited by gender). If the day came where almost all of the system administrators were female, the problem would still persist. On whom, then, will our poster place the blame? But then again, this is just my opinion. P.S. I've leaned heavily on examples of anti-semitism. I am not Jewish, therefore, it doesn't affect me "personally". (Which doesn't mean that I don't take offense to discrimination against a group simply because I'm not a member). -- {psivax,ism780}!logico!slovax!flak : {hplsla,uw-beaver}!tikal!slovax!flak Dan Flak-R & D Associates,3625 Perkins Lane SW,Tacoma,Wa 98499,206-581-1322