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From: tneff@well.UUCP (Tom Neff)
Newsgroups: news.admin
Subject: Newsgroup guidelines etc
Summary: more anarchy, more interesting traffic, less bureaucracy & fiddling
Message-ID: <11241@well.UUCP>
Date: 5 Apr 89 22:45:52 GMT
References: <3010@looking.UUCP> <63@norsat.UUCP> <288@ubbs-nh.MV.COM> <3031@looking.UUCP> <290@ubbs-nh.MV.COM> <291@ubbs-nh.MV.COM> <3230@ddsw1.MCS.COM> <14681@rpp386.Dallas.TX.US> <466@flatline.UUCP>
Reply-To: tneff@well.UUCP (Tom Neff)
Organization: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, Sausalito, CA
Lines: 37

I really think this whole issue of newsgroup creation has gotten out of
hand.  Usenet seems to work best as a participatory anarchy.  Votes,
advisory boards, cabals (Qabbalahim?  <grin>) are all steps in the
wrong direction.  Let the marketplace of ideas (and the individual
willingness of site admins to carry things) decide which groups
deserve to exist.

I would abolish the current voting system entirely and let any site
admin issue a newgroup any time they feel like it.  In addition I
would add just two things:

	* Moderate news.groups.  Restrict its content to newgroup
	  and rmgroup proposals, and serious followup discussions.
	  The moderator should reject flames.

	* Solicit volunteer help every so often to go out and prune
	  dead limbs from the Usenet tree based on Arbitron 
	  propagation and readership information.

The "guidelines" would consist of a gentle request to do the following:

	* Post a proposal in news.groups before issuing a newgroup.
	  Invite feedback via mail or (if mail bounces) posting.
	  This should give the proposer and other interested netters
	  a chance to see how popular the idea is.

	* Include a copy of the proposal in the newgroup message
	  when and if you send it.  This lets admins who missed
	  the proposal in news.groups make an informed decision
	  before turning on the faucet.

	* Site admins - read all these control messages carefully and
	  exercise your own judgment before enaabling a group.
	  Leave rmgroup'ing to the periodic volunteer pruning squad.
-- 
Tom Neff                  tneff@well.UUCP
                       or tneff@dasys1.UUCP