[Reader-list] a letter to Sarai admin

[Yousuf]

Dear Rakesh
No one is talking about muzzling your voice. I never blamed you directly nor am I talking about any "high" or intellectual conversation. My problem is not the quality but the quantity of posts. (even the deletion and filtering takes up some energy and time). And if one were follow the "back-door" technique to muzzle you (as you mention), one won't have posted the message to all. Instead one would call Monica and say "psst... can you block that guy".

You know, when someone says "you have the right to unsubscribe if you don't like my posts but I will continue to post", it sounds like my nasty neighbour who built yet another illegal floor on top of his house last month and blocked all of the sunshine coming into my courtyard. When I complaint, he shrugged "I haven't stopped you from building another floor on your house and go further up to catch your sunshine if you want..."

cheers

Yousuf


--- On Mon, 8/17/09, Rakesh Iyer <rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Rakesh Iyer <rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] a letter to Sarai admin
> To: "Rajendra Bhat Uppinangadi" <rajen786uppinangady at gmail.com>
> Cc: reader-list at sarai.net, pkray11 at gmail.com
> Date: Monday, August 17, 2009, 6:49 PM
> Dear all
> 
> Thinking for the past 3 hours, I have come to the
> conclusion that it's
> strange enough that the very idea of muzzling of freedom of
> speech is now
> being suggested, which is highly atrocious. I can
> understand the
> frustrations of some who feel the forum has now become one
> for personal
> attacks, and to the extent I have been responsible I feel
> sad and determined
> not to repeat it again.
> 
> But the freedom to read a mail or not rests with the person
> himself.
> Similarly, the freedom to be subscribed to a forum or not
> also lies with the
> individual concerned. I don't have the right to take that
> freedom from an
> individual. But then I too do have the right to enjoy those
> freedoms (so
> also the freedom to post and discuss issues).
> 
> This exercise seems to be an imposition of the will of the
> forum members
> (because they don't see serious discussions and want them,
> though when given
> the right to participate, they prefer to just listen,
> through a back-door
> method (from the moderator), to restrict the posts
> concerned. While I agree
> that some amount of moderation is essential and personal
> attacks shouldn't
> take place (hence my conduct has been wrong to some
> extent), I don't agree
> with this imposition of will to restrict freedoms,
> specifically when those
> are important for discussion in a better way.
> 
> There happens a lot of useless talk in the country using
> the very same
> freedom of speech, in our day to day lives, but I have
> never seen or heard
> anyone ask for imposition of restrictions on the freedom of
> speech on our
> politicians, our bureaucrats, our media and others to
> ensure that 'serious
> discussions' take place. It's the right of the public to
> hear what they want
> to hear, debate upon what they wish to debate, and they
> have the right to
> choose what they wish. And there are innumerable news
> channels shouting
> various things, but we have the right to choose what we
> wish to see and
> hear, and what we don't wish to.
> 
> Just because the administration doesn't hear us doesn't
> mean we do things to
> impose our will upon them. That's equivalent to what the
> Naxalites do,
> except that they indulge in violence while members of the
> forum may not.
> 
> The idea of highlighting the responsibilities inherent in a
> freedom, is very
> different from imposing restriction. I would have been very
> happy if someone
> had highlighted the former (and some of you have). But to
> advocate the
> latter is wrong.
> 
> *Therefore, I have a simple request from the administrator
> of the
> list/moderator of the list. While I still agree with the
> self-imposition of
> 3 articles per day (excluding RTF) from my side, in the
> event of the
> moderator imposing this regulation on the forum I request
> the moderator to
> kindly unsubscribe me from this list, because I can't be a
> party to a
> decision which I feel is unjust, and wrong. I have no
> issues otherwise.*
> 
> This is not a threat, nor is this a fight. It's a request,
> and my protest
> against those who feel restriction is important to ensure
> 'non-monopolization' (I never stopped anyone from posting,
> nor did anybody)
> and 'serious discussions' (as if anybody stopped that from
> happening as
> well).
> 
> And by the way, for this 'high level of discussion', how
> many actually came
> forward and put their views? Or do they think intellectuals
> would come from
> outside, and then put forward their views to have these
> 'brilliant
> discussions'?
> 
> Regards
> 
> Rakesh
> 
> P.S: I remember having read that the Left and the Right
> (read BJP) came
> together to support the V.P.Singh Govt. I now have the
> privilege of seeing a
> similar kind of thing (read those who wish to have serious
> discussions with
> those who like to muzzle their opponent's voice without
> listening to any
> argument or analyzing it) combine together to restrict
> mails. Great indeed.
> What next is the Sarai reader-list planning?
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