[MacPerl] Mailing List vs. Newsgroup summary

[Matthias Ulrich Neeracher <neeri@iis.ee.ethz.ch>]

[With this article, I would like to close the discussion again. Even the
 best mailing lists are doomed if there is too much meta-discussion. Further
 thought on this issue please to me and not to the list]

Like the last time we had the discussion, a considerable segment of readers
likes the mailing list just fine, especially with the forthcoming digest
option. On the other hand, the ranks of the newsgroup advocates have grown
considerably since last time. One immediate conclusion from this is:

1) The mailing list is here to stay in some form

Even if we decide to create a newsgroup, there will be a bidirectional
gateway. Thus, Sandra will (hopefully) be able to continue the archiving.

However, this has the consequence that the mailing list will become as 
noisy as the newsgroup. Thus:

2) It would be preferrable to have the newsgroup moderated in some form

The problem with this is that while most people like the results of moderating
technical groups, few like doing the actual moderation work, and I'm 
certainly not one of them. We therefore have to arrange a scheme that does
not burden me with too much extra work:

2a) Someone else takes over moderation.

I doubt that there would be any volunteers.

2b) A team takes over moderation.

Apart from the technical setup, this solution might work quite well. Each 
message is sent to one moderator at random. Given the nature of the newsgroup,
policy disputes among moderators would probably be extremely rare.

2c) Robot moderation.

This approach is based on the fact that noise generated from stupidity is far
more frequent than noise generated from malice. A typical robot moderator has
a whitelist and a blacklist. A post from a member of the whitelist gets 
automatically approved, a post from a member of the blacklist goes to the
human moderator. A post from an unknown party has the effect of:

 - Adding the poster to the whitelist.
 - Sending the poster a copy of the group FAQ.
 - Returning the article to the poster with a notice to resubmit it if after
   having read he still thinks it's appropriate.

The human moderator in this scenario has the not overly time consuming task 
of cancelling inappropriate articles and adding their posters to the blacklist.

HOW DO WE PROCEED?

In a month or so, we will have digests, easing the immediate traffic pressure.
I will start reviewing software for 1), 2b) and 2c), and once I have clarity on
it will present a proposal to the list. I will also take applications from
potential moderators. Then we will decide whether to go ahead with an RFD.

Matthias

-----
Matthias Neeracher <neeri@iis.ee.ethz.ch> http://err.ethz.ch/members/neeri.html
  "If you meet the Buddha in the Net, put his address in your Kill file."
                            -- Don Hutton, hutton@promis.com