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From: spaf@gatech.UUCP (Gene Spafford)
Newsgroups: net.singles
Subject: RE:mod.singles censorship
Message-ID: <10466@gatech.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 16-Oct-84 11:09:07 EDT
Article-I.D.: gatech.10466
Posted: Tue Oct 16 11:09:07 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 17-Oct-84 06:55:45 EDT
References: <899@ihuxe.UUCP>
Followup-To: net.news
Organization: The Clouds Project, School of ICS, Georgia Tech
Lines: 57

> 
> >Unless someone can come up with a good reason for it, I have no intention
> >of posting to mod.singles.  I think Mark Horton and Chuq have overstepped
> >their domain in its creation.
> 
> I agree. I refuse to read anything censored. Then we tend to only see that
> which the moderator wants us to hear. I would always be wondering about 
> what has been deemed inappropriate for me to read.
> 
Now wait just a minute!  "Censorship" and "moderation" are two very
different things! I don't think you're being very fair to Chuq if
you imply that he is going to censor submissions.

Right now you can post anything to net.singles -- be it garbage,
slander, postings about teaching children, flames about Trish, or
anything else that doesn't pertain to singles.  Due to the high noise
factor in the group, even I unsubscribed for a while.

If I read anything in mod.singles which has been passed on by Chuq,
I have some confidence in the fact that it is appropriate to the group
and it isn't a lot of childish drivel like what Mark Shaney and
John Williams have been posting.  I also know that if I submit
something to the group and Chuq feels it isn't appropriate, I can
always submit it here to net.singles for everyone to see and judge.
Censorship implies denying the right to be heard (or altering what
is said).  Being a moderator of a parallel group implies neither of
those.

I also think you misperceive the genesis of the moderated groups.
There were a lot more people that just Mark and Chuq involved
in the decision.  I had a hand in it, as did many other people.
There are about 12 moderated groups now, as an experiment.  As
time goes on, I expect there to be more.  If the net every gets
broadcast over something other than phone lines we'll have to
have moderated newsgroups for legal reasons.  I have a feeling
that we're almost at the breaking point now for phone traffic,
and if we don't reduce the load somehow, the net may collapse 
under its own weight. Moderated newsgroups provide one mechanism
to reduce the load.

In the end analysis, this is an experiment in keeping the net but
reducing the noise.  If you don't like the way it is being done,
come up with another suggestion.  In the meantime,  you can
continue to use the net as you wish and decline to use any of
the mod groups, as you wish.  Just don't go picking on the
people who are spending a lot of their free time trying to
improve the net.

My apologies for doing exactly what I get upset about when others
do it -- discuss something in net.singles which really doesn't
have anything to do with singles.  Further discussion should be
in net.news.
-- 
Off the Wall of Gene Spafford
The Clouds Project, School of ICS, Georgia Tech, Atlanta GA 30332
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