Re: Best Journal Hosting Sites Follow up / SERIALST Scope Birdie MacLennan 03 Mar 2006 22:35 UTC
Greetings all, Jeanette Skwor <skworj@UWGB.EDU> wrote: > Public discussion on the merits of various commercial services is > absolutely within the scope of this list (isn't it?); it was certainly > helpful and oh-so-interesting to me. Speaking about the scope of the list, here is a reminder that the SERIALST Scope and Purpose statement can still be found on the web: http://www.uvm.edu/~bmaclenn/serialst.html Section 2.0 includes a disclaimer: *** Disclaimer: The University of Vermont offers SERIALST as a public service. It does not verify the accuracy of submitted messages, nor does it endorse opinions expressed by contributors to the SERIALST forum. Authors of messages to SERIALST are solely responsible for their content. The moderators reserve the right to reject postings that do not fall within the scope and purpose of the list. *** At different times throughout SERIALST's 15+ years of service, the moderators have come under fire sometimes for allowing certain messages to go through and, at times, for withholding certain messages or asking users to (re)consider their wording. I think my co-moderators would agree with me, that we withhold very few messages that are related to the topic of "serials in libraries," messages that raise true issues about broad perspectives on serials in relation to libraries. We do block a lot of spam and the moderators debate sometimes amongst themselves about interpreting grey areas of commercial content in some of the messages we receive. Above all, we try to maintain a level playing field among all SERIALST subscribers. We generally assume that contributors to the SERIALST forum have carefully considered the message(s) they submit for posting and accept full responsibility for their content. As moderators, we also trust and hope that there will be a reasonable amount of courtesy and consideration of others in any exchanges that take place -- that contributors to SERIALST keep the tone of the discussions on-scope, civilized, and information-oriented so that we can all gather useful and meaningful perspectives on the issues affecting our workplace and the serials environment. SERIALST is currently busier and more active than it has been at any other time in its 15 year history. There are around 3,100 subscribers in 46 countries. There are many different constituents from the serials community (librarians, publishers, vendors, aggregators, agents, etc.) who read SERIALST messages carefully, and on a daily basis. We realize now, as always, that there is a need for an open forum for discussing important, timely, and sometimes controversial issues. The SERIALST moderators are committed to providing and maintaining that forum. At the same time, with so much information surrounding us, I think we need to choose our words wisely and weigh the consequences of what we transmit to the world. Above all, we should be respectful and civil in our ongoing discourse. Sincerely, Birdie MacLennan SERIALST Listowner/Moderator Coordinator, Serials & Cataloging University of Vermont birdie.maclennan@uvm.edu