Re: <nettime> silence on Palestine?

[Ted Byfield via nettime-l <nettime-l@lists.nettime.org>]

A historical note: discussions of Israel/Palestine have always been as rare as hen's teeth on nettime — so, in that limited sense, the silence is nothing new.

When the list was actively moderated (i.e., every message was manually approved), there were a very few instances when we rejected messages on the subject. By "very few" I mean that, over a few *decades*, you could probably count them on your two hands.

Our rationale was a mix, basically: (1) there were plenty of other contexts for debate, (2) there was little or no chance that discussion would change deeply entrenched views, and (3) the list was oriented more toward issues and ideas that people could affect.

I suspect the list's publicly accessible archives may have discouraged some people from weighing in on the subject.

But this speaks only of the past, not of what should or shouldn't happen now.

Ted

On 8 Oct 2023, at 11:35, Andrew Ross wrote:

> At this moment, as on many past occasions, I have been struck by the
> silence, on this list, about the topic of Palestine. I expect there are
> quite a few nettimers who fit the profile of "progressive except on
> Palestine," but there are surely many others who do not observe that
> exception and who are otherwise outspoken on the topic. So why the silence?
> I ask, not to provoke, but because, at the very least, it is a question
> about the behavior of online communities--a topic about which
> nettimers have often been very eloquent.
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