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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!rutgers!aramis!mende
From: mende@aramis.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga,news.groups
Subject: Re: comp.sys.amiga moderation?
Message-ID: <247@aramis.RUTGERS.EDU>
Date: Mon, 26-Jan-87 00:40:36 EST
Article-I.D.: aramis.247
Posted: Mon Jan 26 00:40:36 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 27-Jan-87 01:43:04 EST
References: <2950@j.cc.purdue.edu> <3830@sdcrdcf.UUCP> <972@ulowell.cs.ulowell.edu> <1296@cbmvax.cbmvax.cbm.UUCP>
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
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Xref: watmath comp.sys.amiga:1685 news.groups:231

> [... lots of stuff about comp.sys.amiga being moderated deleted for
>      sake of the net and your eyes...]
> Subjects:
> 
> a) would you intend to be the moderator?

  At rutgers there are a few of us that have taken on the job of
running the  arpanet side of comp.sys.amiga, INFO-AMIGA.   The first
person to do this Eric Lavitsky.  Eric had to stop moderating
INFO-AMGIA do to his new job and other responsibility.  After a long
interium Eliot Lear took on this task.  Eliot gets very bogged down
with this work and has ask another person, me, to help him.  In other
words moderation (not just letting everything go through) takes more
than one person.
 
> b) how would you plan to handle the volume (this is several times that of
>    the highest-volume moderated groups most of which are just echo groups
>    for essentially unmoderated arpanet mailing lists).

   What we have been doing is re-formatting postings to 70 colums
(ARPA restrictions) and removing articles that are non benificial for
the general user.  Also we have not been passing source code (have
made some of it available via ftp) and doing just what the name
implys, moderation.

> c) what provison for alternate moderators or alternate sites in case the
>    moderator/site takes a powder for a time.

  We have none, I am sure I could do it if Eliot could not, but there
is nothing official arraged.

> d) what kind of turn-around would result for question / answer vollies?
 
  Expect at least one week from time of posting to time that it was
seen.  This is not too unrealistic considering the massive volume
that comes in every day.

> Now as a CBM person, with a massive conflict of interest in the whole thing,
> I'll shut up.  But as one of the (unofficial) shepherds of the group, I feel
> that the issue deserves discussion rather than just simple notification of
> some (possible) netocratic fiat.

  I have a few numbers on the time it takes to moderate this group.
We spend approximatly 8-10 man hours per 100 articles.  If anyone can
expect to keep comp.sys.amiga active and up to date, then they have a
truly full time job on their hands.  Eliot and I have been spending
more time that we should doing it.

> George Robbins 

				Bob Mende
-- 
      {Both Reality and this message are figments of my imagination}
ARPA: mende@rutgers.edu     	    BITNET: mende@zodiac.bitnet
UUCP: {anywhere}!rutgers!mende      Voice:  Yo Bob will do.