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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