Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 12:46:33 +0000 (UTC)
From: Jennifer Gillis
Subject: request
Dear Gene
The chatlist is an invaluable service to the citizens of Chatham County, and I’m really grateful to you for providing this service. I have relied on it for years to get recommendations, local information, to let people know about upcoming events, and to advertise items to give away or for sale..Â
Through the years I’ve read a lot of local drama via this medium. However, it seems to me that mere controversy has blossomed into full-blown hate directed against specific individuals or groups. “Taylor Kish” vs. Bruce Davis yesterday and this morning is just one example.
Am I wrong in thinking that, a few years back, people who became too unruly and hateful were banned from the chat list? I belong to lots of other online forums where “playing well with others” is an accepted practice–people are admonished by the moderators when they are abusive, and if those folks persist in personal attacks, their posts are removed.
The chat list is still one of the most effective ways to find out what’s going on in the community. But it also makes me sick to fish through post after post filled with invective to get to the substantive information. I try not to read the rants and attacks, but frequently I make a mistake and end up getting an eyeful–and a stomach ache.Â
I freely admit that I don’t understand how the content of the chat list gets organized, or how much effort it would take to make a change, but would it be possible to organize the digest into two sections: one with purely informative content such as events, requests for recommendations, etc., and another for political remarks, literary submissions, random musings, and hate speech?
Again, thanks for your work and for considering this request.
Jennifer Gillis
 “A library is a good place to go when you feel unhappy, for there, in a book, you may find encouragement and comfort. A library is a good place to go when you feel bewildered or undecided, for there, in a book, you may have your question answered. Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people—people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.†–E.B. White