I have been guilty of flaming in several message posts lately. The feeling of superiority I get over my opponent is a quick high, but it fades rapidly. Even if I win the duel, my actions disgust friends and allies who witness the events. And it hurts the cause.

I pledge to remain calm when confronted in the future. For the good of the cause, I will stop writing protesting questions and remarks on fora outside of the Zaphodista pages. The rest of the community is sick of the moderation debate, and protest only serves to anger or bore them further. There is definitely no need for more "consciousness-raising" in the Community Soapbox, or the fora for moderation questions, or on any pages not written by a Zaphodista.

I would also like to personally apologize to the Italics. I have sometimes targeted them unfairly, when the problems actually come from BBC, or when the Italics felt they had no alternatives but to make controversial decisions. I believe they want what is best for h2g2, even if we disagree on methods to get there. Anyone who wants the Zaphodista Army to have a positive effect, please don't follow the bad example I have set in the past. We must keep in mind that even over bitter disagreements, it is best to respectfully disagree.

I have been giving the Zaphodistas a bad image by attacking opponents and by posting protests everywhere on h2g2. Even though I think the protests were fair, I can see that they do not help the cause. They are now seen as preaching to the choir, and I don't mean our choir, I mean preaching to the choir from the competing church across the street.

I ask that everyone who wants this group to have a positive effect on h2g2, please consider ceasing protests or debates of moderation outside of Zaphodista fora, or outside of pages written by Zaphodistas. Someone told me that making this kind of request could be seen as a conspiracy, as if I'm being manipulated by the dark forces of the BBC. (Actually, I don't know if they're dark or beige or freckled like me. I don't think they're sinister forces. We just disagree on how h2g2 ought to work.)

But I see this in a different light. I'm not asking you to stop preaching because it will get you in trouble, or because it's somehow no longer allowed. I'm asking you to stop because we are big enough now that we no longer need to preach. Converts see the advertisements in our nicknames (join the Zaphodistas A520769), and they come here on their own. Researchers see us occasionally on the front page of h2g2 when the Zaphodistas page shows up on the list of the Five Busiest Conversations. We have more people interested in us from word-of-mouth than we could get by protesting all around h2g2. Our best bet right now is to leave everybody else alone and ask Zaphodistas to please put some kind of message or at least the page number in their nicknames. It draws the attention we want without offending people the way protests and preaching can.

You can still safely recruit people if they seem sympathetic to our cause, if you're not dumping an off-topic spam on somebody's guide entry about "Pig's Knuckle Pub, Glastershiretonwich, Dunderby, Wootland." I don't mean for people to stop posting their legitimate questions on moderation helpdesk. You can even keep up the protests or guerrilla warfare or the rational debates on moderation, if you think you're such a masterful wordsmith that you won't offend anybody. But keep in mind that it may hurt the cause more than helping it, even if it gives you a fleeting pleasure to respond viciously to detractors. (And anyhow, we don't have any rules for membership in the Zaphodistas, so you can't be kicked out for violating a non-existent rule!)

With any luck, if we make it an internal policy to frown on preaching and disruptive behavior among Zaphodistas, the people who oppose us will see that those behaviors will be anomalies, and they will not hold our entire group responsible.

This movement is moving, but it's in danger of lacking your input if you don't check out the rough draft Petition for Greater Freedom on H2G2. Please make your voice heard by reading the petition and telling everyone how it could be improved, whether you would sign it, what we would need to change in order for you to sign it.

Focusing our efforts on this petition will have more positive results than protests and flame wars at this point.

Why should I have all the fun writing propaganda for the Zaphodistas? Haven't you been itching to write your own "communiqué" about how the rebellion goes in your neck of the woods? Write a guide entry about why you feel a change is necessary at h2g2, why you feel the petition is worth signing, what experiences have led you to oppose moderation. Write a poem or a children's story featuring a subversive slug wearing a Goo beret. Anything you want, we'll mention it in a page of links, and maybe vote on the best examples to link directly from the petition.

So far I've monopolized the Zaphodista Communiqués, but this has the potential to be a minor periodical somewhat like the h2g2 Post (though never as wonderful as what Ormy and Fraggy and shazz accomplish on the Post, pucker smooch smooch disinfect smooch love smother yum). Anybody interested in contributing a column, or a few articles? Here's my idea for the most asinine possible section of a revolutionary newsletter: "Zaphodista Life" <stereotypicalsmiley>. A carefree listing of wonderful places to visit on h2g2 when you're not chanting "FIGHT THE POWER," maybe some unedited guide entries that you've found interesting. Zaphodista gardening tips, make yours the most Revolting flowerbed in the neighborhood! "Dear Generalisimo," advice for the lovelorn?