Kieren McCarthy wrote:
Judging from the past 100 emails, I would say the most effective thing that ALAC could do is set up a publicly visible mailing list that only Committee members could post to. And then shut down all the others.
There is an unpleasant irony in the observation that the first action _ever_ advanced here by ICANN's "general manager of public participation" is to shut down public forums. ALAC exist to serve, seek and advance the causes of the general public, and the general public doesn't always speak in soothing tones. Our challenge is to extract the often-reasonable points sometimes buried in personal posts, and to debate those on merit. Perhaps those who are bothered by the tone of some messages should discover the "Delete" button. People's right to speak does not require you to listen, and those whose words seek only to incite negativity can be stopped by ignoring them. On the other hand.... Censorship is a last, cowardly, resort, here as it is anywhere. We are nowhere near that level of desperation. - Evan