Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Moderated C group ? (was Re: Postin
Message-ID: <1989May30.154533.10982@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <934@maestro.htsa.aha.nl> <225800171@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu>
Date: Tue, 30 May 89 15:45:33 GMT

In article <225800171@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu> mcdonald@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu writes:
>If comp.lang.c is made moderated, there really SHOULD be a parallel
>unmoderated group. Moderated groups are NEVER as successful as unmoderated ones
>At least I've never seen one. 

Obviously you haven't looked at comp.risks lately.  Or, for that
matter, rec.humor.funny (does *anyone* read rec.humor itself any
more? :-)).  There are successful moderated groups.  Much depends on the
level of effort the moderator can put into it.

>What might be better is a moderated comp.lang.c.excerpts, where a moderator
>censors the regular comp.lang.c, so persons who are sufficiently
>lazy to run through it all can look at the summary, a week or a month or 
>a year late!!!

This sort of thing has been tried once or twice.  It doesn't work too well.
Being moderator is a thankless job at best, and doing it this way it's worse.
Most people prefer interactive discussions, not summaries of long-dead ones.
-- 
Van Allen, adj: pertaining to  |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
deadly hazards to spaceflight. | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu