From: utzoo!decvax!minow
Newsgroups: net.news.group
Title: Cleaning up the mess
Article-I.D.: decvax.502
Posted: Sun Apr 24 12:03:49 1983
Received: Mon Apr 25 21:13:15 1983

Mark's recent suggestion to do something about the clutter on the
net prompts me to drag up some suggestions that have been running
through my mind while mindlessly typing the 'n' key as I schlepp
throught the hugh amount of junk that passes for "news" these days.

I would like to propose that each site originating news appoint a
"net administrator" who bears two responsibilities:

1.	Responsible to local users for managing connections, and
	deciding which groups are available locally.

2.	Responsible to the global community for articles posted
	from the administrator's machine.

To prevent local users from abusing the net, the administrator
will have to setup access lists, allowing certain people to submit
directly, certain people to submit indirectly, and others to
have only read-news priviliges.  Of course, access lists could
permit unrestricted submission to certain news groups, while
restricting submission to other.

Direct submission would work as before.  Indirect submission would
transmit the article to the administrator (could be a committee,
of course), who would then release the article, or return it to
the submittor.

Something similar has been in place for a number of years in the
"COM" telecommunications system.  Articles on that system have
appeared in Decus symposia.  A similar "submission->administrator->net"
system has been used in Dec to interface local Dec users to Arpa
lists such as Human-Nets and Telecom.

Suggestions are welcome.

Martin Minow
decvax!minow