On HOCKEY-L's "structure"...

I view my list-administrator role as one of trying to maintain HOCKEY-L as a
place where collegiate hockey can be discussed in a friendly and hopefully
informative way.  I'd like HOCKEY-L to be a place where a relative newcomer to
the sport can post a question like "what is icing" and get back some responses
(public or private) that discuss the rule, maybe even quoting from the NCAA
rulebook chapter and verse (I know there are some of you out there who can do
that.  From memory :-)  I'd like it also to be a place where opinions on
games, players, teams, coaches, refs, the NCAA, and whatever else I've
forgotten that's related to the sport of college hockey can be shared,
discussed, and even disagreed with.

What I don't want HOCKEY-L to be is a place where a post of "what is
icing?" is met with a response such as "what kind of %&*#@%$ loser-moron are
you?" or where a discussion heats up to the point of personal attacks flying
back and forth.  Things like that haven't happened all that often on this list
(for which I am grateful to the posters we've had over the years), but if
things start getting nasty, I'll feel compelled to step in.  If I'm in the
minority about what the HOCKEY-L environment should be, I'll certainly
reconsider the way I moderate the list... but I think I'm not.

I'm not saying we all have to be new-age PC creampuffs here -- frankly, I
would hate that.  If you're emotional about a game, player, coach, ref, etc.
then by all means post something emotional, 'cause that's definitely part of
this great sport we all love.  But keep the flaming and personal attacks off
the list.  If you feel you must flame and are looking for a place to let it
all hang out, well, there's plenty of that going on over on the USCHO boards.
(Which is not to say there isn't a great deal of information on USCHO's
message boards -- there is quite a lot, but as somebody already mentioned, you
have to wade through a fair bit of noise and senseless name-calling to find
it.  The noise is what I think doesn't belong here on HOCKEY-L)

Thank you all, and thanks especially to those who have gotten some hockey
discussions going...
--
Bill Fenwick
HOCKEY-L Administrator
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