This posting will be left - because it begins as a report of something; but not of the area we try to describe in our "Editorial Guidelines" so please in future post accordingly to the Newswire; or else you are of course welcome to contribute to the debates on the "Debate" page.

Thank you

Richard
(of IMC UK collective)

Frankly, im getting a bit fed up with your sanctimonious attitude to what people write, and, even worse, who they are. It's also a bit contradictory: strange how supposed anarchists seem to come up with the toughest of rules and laws (beg pardon, 'guidelines', you euphemists) when it suits them.

(repeat reply)
odd how supposed anarchists come out with the toughest of rules and laws (sorry, 'guidelines', you euphemists !) when it suits them.
Prejudging everyone's pieces, both in content and the groups themselves. Treating people as if you were running a kindergarten ! Did I forget my school uniform ? Perhaps you were perfects in your own school days ? No wonder you dont get many items !
Yes, truly, Harry Potter is a book for the zeitgeist !

Your replies serve to confirm that my original suggestion to (re)post this to the Debate area - in the "Censorship" discussion was a fitting one. I am not being sanctimonious: just matter-of-fact. If this posting disappears it is because it has been moved to the Debate page.

But please contribute there if you wish to.

Regards

Richard
(of IMC UK collective)

Naughty little boys get sent to the debate corner, clearly ! And they dont get their articles published, if they dont obey the rules... if they do, they will get a little mark of approval, or if they're "trots", they're admonished. weird, weird.. Well, it has obviously escaped your attention that much of the radical world is logging on here and watching in astonishment at the plain eccentricity of this site. So, let me say:
he who makes the rules usually does so with his own benefit in mind! Rules, rules, rules, call them what you will. But as we know, while rules are rules, they can be exempt for the right kind of people, and this is how the colonial clubs work, its how the so called Gentlemens' clubs work, it how the police work, its how the landlords of Westminister and the brokers of the City work, and its how you seem to work too. Dont fool yourselves. He who reaches for the rules has something to keep hold of, and can never be an egalitarian !

What would be your answer to the question: should everything remain on this open-posting facility?

Richard
(as an individual but also of IMC UK collective)

???what's this all about then???

?????not really news is it??????

more like opinion about the political and social nature of children targetted products... fine - a good debate to have - let's include chemical sugar products like sunny d lite and while we're at it let's swipe past at nestle babymilk - action men with guns vs barbie with glitter ballgowns - scooby doo launches a new range of children's food at motorway stop chain the little chef - appropriation of 'classic' childrens stars as new corporate puppets, an increasing trend.

Would be good if you could provide some contact info for the anti harry potter brigade or whatever... is there anything like this? Where can people direct their anger or creative energy here?

Have to make comment on the discussion here re rules - forgive me if some of this is a bit ragged but I haven't sat down and worked it all out.

The net is bounded by rules that are hard coded into the electronic infrastructure (roughly). You can sometimes break these rules if you have the knowledge and expertise.

And yet beyond the core infrastructure structure there is what you might call a form of anarchy, where anyone with access to the net can publish whatever they like. The whole medium if free, it's form is free, you can do, say, write, publish whatever you like (people may take retrospective action against your content afterwards, but it has to be afterwards). Also there are many many unwritten codes of conduct, modes of co-operation and expected community behaviours.

The net is often said to be a microcosm of life.

I think this is true.

It mirrors in the way that all is possible, in the way compromise is inherent in communities, and where rules tend to arise to create order.

But is rule based order good? I say yes in the protocol infrastructure level of the net (this allows us to find each other and information), but no in the general content level (people should be able to publish freely their own content - where this is all being currently increasingly encroached upon is where they battle is by the way). Below that come the communities of interest, dictatorships, art collaborations, autonomous zones etc etc - these are the sites and networks that exist within the net, but which define themselves as entities in their own right. Here rules are often essential in making that definition - unless the area of the net you're talking about explicitly seeks to deny rules and hierarchy - of which there are many examples.

This site here is part of a network of sites that have different ways of operating. There is an inherent tension between the mechanism which allows anyone to publish anything and the written aims of the network of sites which is indymedia and which aims to provide 'news' or 'coverage of protests' etc. The question is... is this site supposed to be a micro-microcosm of the web itself where anything goes and anything from adverts to musings from poetry to rantings should be published, or is it supposed to be something different with a more restricted purpose - I think the latter is actualy the answer.

Just a quick thought / suggestion to the people who do the (no doubt thankless and hard) work maintaining the code for this site:

would be good to have a section where you could view stories according to the number of replies they have - like a box showing the top 20 commented postings with an option to view all stories by the same criteria - you could still have your debate area flagging up topics, and it'd be a nice way of showing viewers where the debates were occuring - just a thought.

...and if you could come up with a way of allowing people to categorise their postings, and even split the database into several different 'newswires' - say one for 'news', one for 'events', one for 'debate' - I imagine you would stop getting people complaining about the rules based system you're trying to run at the moment.

That's really my conclusion on this matter - I understand what you're trying to do here and I'm sympathetic - but I think you need to add a few more facilities to your code in order to make it work fully and cater for the differeing demands so many people obviously have for this site.

are those made by those who designed it. they're not immortals are they ?
well, Im puzzled. When i wrote my first piece, I got a commendation from the site moderator, but then I'm suddenly harangued with threats to be removed from the newswire. anyway, there is no "brigade". I just want to draw attention to what is going on. I say to Richard and others, YES, allow any item with an anarchist or socialist content that is relevant, true and enlightening. For example, Los Angeles IMC has an excellent "coupwatch" series, which does not deal with direct protest reports, but with observations and opinions about the mainstream political machinations going on. Allow anything relevant, just cut out the stuff that's untrue, fascist, or repugnant in other ways.

returning to Harry Potter, the blurb on the back cover of one of the volumes says HARRY HAS PERMEATED THE NATIONAL CHILD CONSCIOUSNESS. Now to me, that sounds terifying, something appropriate to another book from another era. I just want to draw attention to what goes on under our noses, while we were sleeping, perhaps...

I would perfer it to be Harry Potter. There has never been a book that got kids thinking about life the way the Potter books have. They are a refreshing break from the always politically correct childrens books that always take place in a top-down world such as the somewhat stifaling Narnia series. I do worry when any institution, political figure, or pop culture entity becomes too big, but the success of Harry Potter is not from mass marketing, it is from a truly clever idea, fun writing style, exiting plots and sub plots, and most of all a firm grasp of the real world we live in. I would recomend them to everyone.
John
PS I am not employed by the publisher, I am just a fan of the books, and so is my eight year old boy.

Just a comment about Vince's pieces about freedom of info. If there wasn't some sort of editorial control, every crackpot idea could be published, then it might as well be any other site. The IM network surely works becasue it has like minded people doing the work and contributing to a broad based debate.
Seize the time
Dazza

Yes keep it open. I don't understand the debate. News goes in news.
Threads go in threads.
Etc.
BTW the most open site I've come across is
fuckedcompany.com

Seems to work for them...

me again ! it was reported recently that sweet innocent Harry P will be appearing like magic on bottles of Cocacola. How noble is the business of cadging money from kids !

I REST MY CASE, M'LUD...

author of Harry ter, taking tea with Elizabeth Windsor (AKA "The Queen") a few days ago ? The government and aristocracy LOVES the worthy, and money grubbing, ential of Harry.
Boycott it !