Very well.  I wanted to respect Gary's request but I can not let this pass.
 
> One final comment: I feel strongly that Rakesh was unfairly suspended
> in the recent episode, in which he was the victim, not the instigator,
> and yet he was the only one punished.
 
As Fred KNOWS, the question of whether to also suspend Ajit was
on the table for discussion.  When he resigned from the list it
became a moot point.
 
As Fred also KNOWS, there was an understanding - a clear
consensus - by all that Rakesh would be expected to adhere
TO THE LETTER of the January 24 Agreement.  His narrative
of events given the other day is not accurate. We had
consensus (actual consensus, not agreement by majority vote)
about that policy and that it would be enforced to the letter.
That consensus was re-affirmed on more than none occasion. 
 
The Agreement was a compromise - not exactly what Fred
wanted or what I wanted.  But, we all agreed to it (including
Rakesh) and having agreed to it, it became list policy and I
expected that other AC members including Fred would live up
to what we all agreed to.
 
 
>  Therefore, I am resigning from
> OPE-L in protest,
> until Rakesh is reinstated. So, Jerry, please unsub me, and tell us all
> how long Rakesh will be suspended for.

 
The length of his suspension has yet to be determined, although
it will be for a substantial period of time. In our discussions only
Fred offered (on more than one occasion) an actual amount of
time for what he considered to be substantial. Fred's idea of
substantial (most recently, stated again in September) was
six months and proposed that as the length of suspension should
Rakesh be suspended again.
 
Also, as Fred knows, I was initially inclined  to support a
suspension of just a few days. Things have changed
since. To begin with, Rakesh violated the Agreement repeatedly
after that time even though he continued to receive on- and
off-list warnings not to.  Then, there is the matter of what
Rakesh has done since being suspended ....
 
Fred has offered to resign knowing full well what I will do
if Rakesh is re-instated by the list before he has served a
suspension for a substantial period of time.  
 
In solidarity, Jerry