tjk@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Thomas Krueger) (01/03/90)
In article <2477@jato.Jpl.Nasa.Gov> reiher@onyx.Jpl.Nasa.Gov (Peter Reiher) writes: }In article <50239@bbn.COM> rshapiro@BBN.COM (Richard Shapiro) writes: }}Apparently there are some strong feelings that moderated groups are a }}bad idea unless the group is "technical" (I know of two people who }}will vote 'no' for that reason alone). Since I don't want 'no' votes, }}I'd like to address this issue up front. IF we want a group with a }}sophisticated level of discourse, a level which presupposes some }}expertise in the discipline in question (scientific or otherwise), why }}isn't a moderated group the way to go? Or, to put it another way, if }}the level of discussion is what distinguishes "technical" groups from }}other groups, why shouldn't this proposed group be regarded as }}"technical" in that limited sense, regardless of its place in the }}hierarchy? } }I'll probably vote for this newsgroup, no matter what form it takes. However, }I do have doubts about its viability. Is there some good reason not to try a }mailing list for a couple of months, to see whether there is enough interest }in serious discussions of film to warrant a newsgroup? } } Peter Reiher } reiher@onyx.jpl.nasa.gov } . . . cit-vax!elroy!jato!jade!reiher Both Richard and Peter bring up good points. The main reason I've proposed, and am holding a vote, on rec.audio.high-end is NOT because I think rec.audio is full of trash and moderation is necessary. I am trying to create rec.audio.high-end because the mailing list I moderate, Info-High-Audio, is large. Hmm, maybe that's not exactly true... it's HUGE! I have, right now, 350 addresses, and 25 of those are re-distributions. I have no idea how many people read it, but considering that some of those redistributions are into local bulletin-board systems, it's probably a lot. So why am I doing this? I can't give everyone on my mailing list a reliable enough feed. I must get twenty error messages on a bad day, and I always get a few. USENET transport mechanisms are stable, and for the most part, reliable. Sure, I could just post the list to rec.audio, but that kind of defeats the purpose of the separate forum. The only reason the newsgroup would be moderated is because the mailing list is moderated, and I've not yet received a complaint. In 1.5 years and over 100 issues, I've rejected ONE (yes, ONE) article, and when it was re-written and resubmitted, "published" it. Sure, the moderator can be a tyrant. To automatically vote "no" just because a proposed group is moderated seems a little condescending to me. - Tom -- "A Veteran of the Psychic Wars" Thomas Krueger UW-Milwaukee College of Engineering Electronics Shop tjk@csd4.csd.uwm.edu [moderator, info-high-audio] +1 414 229 5172