Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Kirk Lowery <KirkLowery AT xc.org>]

John Barach <johnbarach AT juno.com> wrote:

> I've been noticing over the past months that the list rules on B-Hebrew
> are very different from those on B-Greek.  Honestly, I prefer the B-Greek
> system, where the discussion is focused on the text and grammar, where
> people give their real names, etc.  -- and where there are chairmen who
> monitor the discussion and keep it on target.
> 
> Who determines the rules for B-Hebrew?  How did we get the current set of
> guidelines for discussion and how can they be changed (if at all)?

The list owner of b-hebrew is Jonathan Robie <jonathan AT texcel.no>. 
Technically,
he is charge of it all. Last summer he chose three chairmen to assist him in 
the
administration of B-Hebrew. They are:

Kirk Lowery <KirkLowery AT xc.org>
Lewis Riech <lbr AT sprynet.com>
Bryan Rocine <brocine AT earthlink.net>

Most of us have been members of this list since the beginning when our list 
was
on the old University of Virginia server. The question of the purpose of this
list has been discussed extensively over the years, and last fall the four of 
us
put together a draft of a charter. The charter represents our collective best
judgment as to the consensus of the list on the subject and the precedents set
in the past. You may read that charter by clicking on the Hebrew scroll icon 
at
the top of the main B-Hebrew web page or by pointing your browser to the URL
<http://metalab.unc.edu/bhebrew/>. You will also find there a listing of the
principles of "netiquette" that we ask members to abide by.

There you will see that B-Hebrew is indeed quite different from B-Greek. I 
think
you will find that a majority the 461 members of our forum (last time I 
checked)
would find the focus upon simply the text and grammar, without reference to 
the
theology, historical context and it's literary characteristics far too
restrictive. At least, that is our present belief.

We four have discussed the matter of how "pro-active" moderators we wished to
be. It is our desire to promote polite, civil, and constructive dialogue by 
folk
of many different faith commitments. Such diversity invariably presses the
limits of everyone's ability to be tolerant, especially when our most 
treasured
ideas are challenged. Nevertheless, we co-chairs will tend to err on the side 
of
liberality when faced with a "gray area." The moderators do not desire to
approve ahead of time every posting, and controlling the discussion's 
direction,
as long as the content is within the boundaries and netiquette is observed.

All four of us have "day" jobs, and our work for b-hebrew is strictly 
voluntary.
We rotate the administrative responsibility monthly of carefully monitoring 
all
postings and responding as necessary. Sometimes, however, exchanges on the 
list
can go through two and three cycles before one of us sits down to read 
b-hebrew.
There is simply no way to provide 24 hr/day moderation of the list.

We've not discussed the question of sender ID before. It's never come up. Most
have used their real names, or not signed their postings at all. Usually the 
ID
of the "From:" line is sufficient. I'll certainly raise the question with the
other moderators. It would help if members of this list would share their
opinions pro and con on the matter. In any event, no matter how a person signs
their name, inappropriate postings are rejected, and unresponsive offenders 
can
be blocked completely from posting.

How can the rules be changed? Well, you can appeal to the moderators, and we
could also ask for a polling of the membership. Ultimately, it is the list
owner's, Jonathan's, decision. And he has said that he wants the list to serve
the members' needs and perfers to work by consensus. You're free to approach 
him
directly.

Hope this answers your questions. If not, don't hesitate to write again, on- 
or
off-list.

Blessings,

Kirk
_____________________________________________________________________________
Kirk E. Lowery, Ph.D.                              voice: (215) 572-3845
Associate Director of Academic Computing             fax: (215) 887-5404
Adjunct Professor of Old Testament                 email: <KirkLowery AT xc.org>
Westminster Theological Seminary              
Philadelphia, PA 19118