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From: bph@buengc.BU.EDU (Blair P. Houghton)
Newsgroups: news.groups
Subject: Re: rec.arts.cinema: moderated or not?
Summary: Unexplained numbers are not statistics.
Message-ID: <5279@buengc.BU.EDU>
Date: 15 Jan 90 05:34:28 GMT
References: <10954@attctc.Dallas.TX.US> <3364@cbnewsj.ATT.COM>
Reply-To: bph@buengc.bu.edu (Blair P. Houghton)
Followup-To: news.groups
Organization: Boston Univ. Col. of Eng.
Lines: 77

In article <3364@cbnewsj.ATT.COM> ecl@cbnewsj.ATT.COM (Evelyn C. Leeper) writes:
>In article <10954@attctc.Dallas.TX.US> rissa@attctc.Dallas.TX.US (Patricia O Tuama) writes:
>> In article <5246@buengc.BU.EDU> bph@buengc.bu.edu (Blair P. Houghton) writes:
>> >I would be much more comfortable with something that resembles
>> >comp.unix.wizards, where the sheer inapproachability of the
>> >discussions keep the neophytes and lurkers out of print
>> 
>> I agree.  This newsgroup is supposed to include indepth discussion
>> on a variety of historical, artistic and technical subjects.  That
>> alone should be enough to make it self-moderating.  
>
>As of today, 40 out of 176 articles in comp.unix.wizards are cross-posted from
>comp.unix.questions (out of 311 articles there).  *My* feeling is that
>self-moderation is not working in this instance, but others may disagree.

And you'd be right on that latter point.  But not the feeling.

Most of the crossposting in those groups is perpetrated by utter
neophytes who have problems on which their lives (even slightly)
depend.  A mixture of panic and uncertainty leads them to the
economically rational choice of erring in their plea for help
on the side of excess.

Meanwhile, almost all of the traffic in rec.arts.movies consists
of discussions of leisurely matters by the regulars, and only
occasionally do newbies appear.  A cogent effort to make it known
periodically that rec.arts.cinema is not rec.arts.movies will keep
the regulars from making more than the most obnoxious transgressions
and may with luck catch the neophytes before they mistakenly crosspost.

Further, a little conspicuous noblesse oblige by the
rec.arts.cinema regulars will maintain the utility of
rec.arts.movies, so that questions of r.a.m merit about
films more naturally suited to r.a.c can still be expected
to be answered entirely in the movies group.

Also, by not raising an enormous fuss about the crossposting,
and by not in many cases even noticing it, comp.unix.wizards
regulars do not exacerbate the problem with unnecessary flames.

Finally, a great portion of those crosspostings are, as I expect
any in rec.arts.cinema will be, justified by some ambiguity or
universality.

Clearly, if the effects of self-moderation, and of active
ad hoc moderation, which I practice by email to blatant
offenders, even to acknowledged unix gurus who lose their
composure, were not felt in comp.unix.wizards, then much
more than a mere 14% of the postings to comp.unix.questions
would be arrogantly copied to the elevated group.

Reevaluating my position in light of this analysis, and
considering the tack that recent discussion of the
moderator's duties has taken[*], makes me realize that any
sympathy I may previously have expressed for the moderation
of rec.arts.cinema was entirely underthought.

    [*](e.g., whether the moderator should actually
    do something so obnoxious as to impose his own
    uncertain grammatical and lexicographical know-
    ledge on postings; would you bounce a message
    posted by Milos Forman simply because he can't
    keep straight "their", "there", and "their"!?
    and who is Milos Forman compared to any of us,
    anyway?  Only the french think Jerry Lewis is
    a genius!)

Rec.arts.cinema must not be a moderated group.

				--Blair
				  "Moderation is anathema to the
				   expansive, free exchange of ideas
				   facilitated by the excess capacity of
				   the internet, and as long as these
				   leased lines pass over american soil
				   this net will remain free...
				   ...but I digress..."