Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!hoptoad!amdcad!decwrl!labrea!rutgers!seismo!uunet!hnsurg3!ncoast!allbery From: allbery@ncoast.UUCP Newsgroups: alt.config Subject: Re: Moderation time? (Was: What belongs here - angry response ahead!) Message-ID: <4314@ncoast.UUCP> Date: Thu, 3-Sep-87 22:41:04 EDT Article-I.D.: ncoast.4314 Posted: Thu Sep 3 22:41:04 1987 Date-Received: Mon, 7-Sep-87 04:35:33 EDT References: <1987Aug24.140756.8062@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu> Reply-To: allbery@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon Allbery) Followup-To: alt.config Organization: Cleveland Public Access UN*X, Cleveland, Oh Lines: 80 As quoted from <177@hal.UUCP> by ane@hal.UUCP (Aydin "Bif" Edguer): +--------------- | In article <4303@ncoast.UUCP> allbery@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon Allbery) writes: | >As quoted from <1691@rti.UUCP> by wfi@rti.UUCP (William Ingogly): | >+--------------- | >| I don't feel many of the posters out there share any of my interests ... | >+--------------- | > | >Of couse, some of these people (Brust) are no longer on the net, as far as I | >know. | | As far as I know SKZB is still out there on the net. He is just | being very quiet, maybe something to do with holding down a "real" job and | writing at the same time or maybe he just thinks alot of us (Sorry, make | that read "alot of OTHERS who act like jerks") are not worth his patience. | My info may be out of date but I have his E-mail address as starfire!brust. +--------------- I seem to remember a message on the net from him saying that he was quitting his job to write full-time, and as a result would no longer have net access. +--------------- | >Maybe it's time to set up a moderated alt.sf-lovers newsgroup for the *real* | >SF-Lovers (define "real"/my SF is better than yours!/nyaah nyahh/etc. to | >/dev/null). Any volunteers for moderator? (DON'T ask me! I'll do it as | >a last resort, but I'd like to see someone else (Laura Creighton?) try it | >first.) | | Hmm. I like the idea of a more moderated group than the current chaos | of sf-lovers but what do you (everyone) want to see in it? What would | you not want to see in it? In other words, what should the moderator | be returning to sender (or posting to sf-lovers)? +--------------- (a) Redistribute startrek & drwho stuff (I read both, our rn mishandles crosspostings for an unknown reason, and reading stuff twice is boring). Possibly to include a mailing list for the people who can't receive drwho and startrek stuff. (b) Flame wars to /dev/null. (PLEASE!!!) (c) Filter out the sagans (e.g. `billyuns and billyuns') of responses to title requests. Post exactly ONE response, junk the rest. Perhaps summarize after receiving a number of them, so as to include maximum information with minimum noise. (d) A system of classifications would be nice, and could perhaps replace (a) above. I envision something like rec.humor.funny, involving the Keywords: field; keywords would be chosen by the moderator. The idea is to produce a list of keywords which may then be selected/junked via kill files, so that people see what they're interested in without having to wade through what they don't care about. (e) The moderator should encourage rational postings. Perhaps s/he could accept a submission but send the poster a set of guidelines (form letter? I use them in sources.misc) for postings. They should probably include such things as: no flames or personal attacks, don't combine dissimilar subjects (necessary for the keyword system to work properly), don't post things in the "Ten Most Asked..." list for the group, etc. (f) A "Ten Most Asked..." list should be maintained, and postings on subjects included therein shouldn't be accepted unless they shed new light on the subject. (#1 on the list should be Heinlein Bashing. What's left to be said that wasn't said a few months ago, or a few months before that, or a few months before that, or.... I'm sure we can come up with a list of subjects suitable for inclusion here.) It should be posted by the moderator every so often, to answer the questions before they're asked. (Keyword="most asked" for those who don't want to see it again?) These guidelines would (hopefully) keep the noise at a very low level without stifling interesting postings. I have tried to keep the number of value judgements to a minimum, to reduce the possibility of censorship on unpopular opinions. -- Brandon S. Allbery, moderator of comp.sources.misc {{harvard,mit-eddie}!necntc,well!hoptoad,sun!mandrill!hal}!ncoast!allbery ARPA: necntc!ncoast!allbery@harvard.harvard.edu Fido: 157/502 MCI: BALLBERY <> ** Site "cwruecmp" has changed its name to "mandrill". Please re-address ** *** all mail to ncoast to pass through "mandrill" instead of "cwruecmp". ***