gnu (04/29/83)
I would like to suggest that any moderated newsgroup be moderated in a public newsgroup rather than by private mail. This preserves the public access aspect I find so encouraging in netnews. Those who want the gory details and all the rubbish, and have the time to read it (or have their computer scan it for them), are welcome to see everything that goes on. Those short on time or patience can read what someone judges as worth their time. Netnews can be smart enough to redirect followups in moderated groups back to the original group, thus keeping the existing followup user interface. I further suggest that the "someone" who moderates a group be named explicitly in the group name, as in net.general.Mark. This provides the opportunity for several moderators with different tastes. After comparing net.general and net.general.Mark, I might want to start my own, or find another editor. Diversity is the key to the Usenet. John Gilmore, Sun Microsystems