Hi folks,

Lately, there's been a lot of postings about Yusupha Jow's subscription to Gambia-L,
and specifically, about the removal of his posting privileges by the list managers.
A lot of the postings on the subject have also called for the reinstatement of Mr.
Jow's full rights, especially given that he has been a valuable and active member of
this list.

There is no doubt that Mr. Jow has frequently sent very informative articles and Web
links to the list, and shared his expertise, opinions, and ideas with the community
of this list.  This fact, however, should not distract us from the reality that Mr.
Jow violated a rule that was put in place by Gambia-L managers barely a week or so
ago.  Specifically, an Oct. 5, posting by Mr. Momodou Camara on behalf of Gambia-L
Management said that "members engaged in personal attacks and insults will be removed
without warning."

It is rather unfortunate that Mr. Jow made references to, and made very distasteful
remarks about Mrs. Jahumpa-Ceesay's husband after the new Gambia-L rules came into
effect.  Please remember that it was a few weeks ago, that Mr. Jow apologized to the
list for using some very offensive language.  At that time, the current rules were
not in effect, and Mr. Jow was not removed from the list.  Indeed, many people
congratulated him for having the good character to apologize for his mistake.

In light of our previous experience with Mr. Jow, I think it will be foolish to again
forgive him for his personal attacks on Mrs. Jahumpa-Ceesay's husband.  Mr. Jow
should have confined his reply to the substance of Mr. Jahumpa-Ceesay's postings, and
not mention anything about her husband.  This is especially so given how upset he
was, and the foul language he used a few weeks ago when he claimed (wrongly) that
someone had dragged his father's name into a Gambia-L posting.

As far as I'm concerned, the suspension of Mr. Jow's posting privileges should
stand.  Although the new rule does not mention the possibility of re-instating people
who have been removed from the list, I think it will be a bad idea to pardon Mr. Jow
simply because so many people have written calling for his pardon.  Such a pardon
will send a wrong message that one can use Gambia-L to hurl insults at people, and
all you have to do is to apologize, and have people rally on your behalf for you to
stay on the list.  This would not only be wrong, it will also be very distracting.

Speaking of which, I would like to conclude that given that we have less than a week
to the elections, we should move on from this debate about Mr. Jow's subscription.
The fact of the matter is that we have more important things to discuss than his
subscription to Gambia-L.  The list management can perhaps, later on, review their
new policy to allow for re-instating people after been banished for a while, but  for
now, I say let the ban on Mr. Jow stay put.

By the way, I should mention that I am no longer part of Gambia-L management.  For
this reason, my opinion is purely personal, and in no way do I speak for Gambia-L
managment.

Have a great weekend, and best wishes.

Katim

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