Moderatorial warning

Dear List Members,

There have been far too many off-topic postings recently. What's
particularly unpleasant is that some of them qualify as ad hominem
attacks. We, the moderators, are reluctant to do anything that might be
interpreted as censorship, but, to quote the list rules,

"Our primary duty as list managers is to maintain a decent level of
discussion and to make sure that out debates are conducted in a civil
manner. We reserve the right to judge whether your postings are
conducive to that purpose or not. If we find that a particular poster’s
behaviour is wilfully counterproductive, we shall react by issuing a
warning off-list."

This time, exceptionally, the warning is public because of the scale of
the breach and the concern it has caused among the list members.

Please remember that the list of things one musn't do on this forum (see
the folder "Administrative" in our Files area) includes the following:

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4. Flaming, trolling and ad hominem attacks

Please avoid deliberate rudeness, aggressive language, addressing the
personalities of other members rather than their arguments, and other
forms of disruptive behaviour. Posters who seem to enjoy irritating
other participants or provoking violent exchanges will be given time out
at short notice: their posting rights may be revoked for about two
weeks. If you feel provoked or insulted by somebody else, please don’t
hesitate to complain to the moderators (privately or on Cybalist_admin)
rather than repay insults in kind.

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I wish to ask Patrick, Glen and David (whatever their relative blame,
which I realise is very unequally divided) to refrain from any further
discussion of one another's characters. Each of you is allowed just ONE
"last word" posting on the matter (in as civil terms as possible) within
the next 24 hours, if you like. Then, please, forget about personal
attacks. Other comments or complaints should be addressed to the
moderators (off-list) or to Cybalist_admin, but not to Cybalist itself.
The moderators will keep an eye on you for two weeks' time and your
posting rights may be restricted if you don't observe the moratorium.

Piotr
(on behalf of all the moderators)