Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site mcnc.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!mcnc!bch From: bch@mcnc.UUCP (Byron Howes) Newsgroups: net.flame,net.news.group Subject: Re: mod.all and net.fascism Message-ID: <2303@mcnc.UUCP> Date: Thu, 18-Oct-84 01:48:18 EDT Article-I.D.: mcnc.2303 Posted: Thu Oct 18 01:48:18 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 19-Oct-84 06:23:30 EDT References: <3886@decwrl.UUCP> <1574@nsc.UUCP> <200@bragvax.UUCP> <371@amdahl.UUCP>Reply-To: bch@mcnc.UUCP (Byron Howes) Organization: North Carolina Educational Computing Service Lines: 25 Summary: As another moderator (mod.movies) and a l o n g term news reader, I side with Chuq and Steve. Too many good newsgroups have been polluted with irrelevant, immature and self-indulgent postings. There was a time when net.movies was a fascinating newsgroup. We had substantial contributions from people in the profession, good reviews, and a minimum of gratuitous flaming. My sense, from corresponding with other 'old folks,' is that the deterioration in the signal to noise ratio has lost us not only readers, but our best contributors as well. A moderator can improve the organization of material in a newsgroup. We can collect related articles so that readers don't have to sort through the news. We can take over the drudgework of taking polls so that readers aren't subjected to millions of "My 10 most favorite...." articles. We can condense answers to simple requests for information. In the case of mod.movies we can make sure that readers are protected from unwanted spoilers. The issue of censorship is really minimal. What I think we're trying to do is turn news back into a lively and pleasant experience rather than a wearer down of index fingers. If it doesn't work, we'll give it up. Please don't judge the experiment before it gets started. -- Byron C. Howes {decvax|akgua}!mcnc!ecsvax!bch