Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site gatech.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!gatech!spaf 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 CSNet: Spaf @ GATech ARPA: Spaf%GATech.CSNet @ CSNet-Relay.ARPA uucp: ...!{akgua,allegra,amd,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo,ut-sally}!gatech!spaf