Another title for this post might be "How to avoid learning about Rome".
We have chronicled here the shady dealings of the Nova Roma "senate", the expulsion of many leading pagans and the sharp decline in membership. Now let's take a look at one reason that membership has taken a sudden dive.
The new year brings new "magistrates", and two of those magistrates ("praetors") are charged with oversight of the Nova Roma discussion groups. This means managing the hand-full of Yahoo groups that Nova Roma uses as the base of their virtual "country". Whereas most normal people would say that forum moderators set forum guidelines, in Nova Roma the "praetors" "promulgate" an "Edict of Moderation".
Before we go on, it is important to understand that there are two Yahoo groups that are used for general discussion. The "Main List" (ML) that is open to "citizens" only and the "Forum Hospitum" (FH) which is open to anyone. Message archives of both these Yahoo groups are closed to non-subscribers, and the "Forum Hospitum" rules include this not very hospitable note:
WARNING: Discussion of any matters internal to Nova Roma, such as Nova Roman politics and issues, is not permitted. Failure to abide by this prohibition could result in warnings or moderation or revocation of membership of this list.
In other words, criticism of the "government" is not allowed.
