[EM] problematic participants

[Andrew Myers]

Abd ulRahman Lomax <abd at lomaxdesign.com> writes:
> Having been the moderator of a highly contentious newsgroup, where 
> arguments were rooted in differences which have stood for centuries and 
> where, offline, they can and do lead to serious and major violence, I have 
> a suggestion. ...

Larry Lessig's book "Code" has a nice discussion of how online communities
can self-destruct with the addition of only one or two participants who
refuse to follow communities norms. It seems that there is another such case
underway here.

I have another suggestion: ostracism.

This being an election methods mailing list, I'm sure that someone can design
an appropriate mechanism for the community to decide whether and to whom ostracism
should be applied.

Cheers,

-- Andrew