Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!tektronix!uunet!kitrain!amgraf!huver
From: huver@amgraf.UUCP (Huver)
Newsgroups: news.admin
Subject: Let's think about moderation, news admins.
Keywords: better control on using news
Message-ID: <194@amgraf.UUCP>
Date: 24 Sep 88 07:44:04 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Amgraf Inc.,  Kansas City
Lines: 41


Most "problem" articles result from inadequate understanding on what the
newsgroups are about.  To remove this type of articles via moderation
would require lots of time, time that no one really has.

Aside from having all news administrators perform "good" work educating
their local users, the one thing we really need is:

	A better local newsgroup access control method.

Suppose we add to the article posting programs one more restriction of
who can post to what groups?  A file that lists top newsgroups followed by
user logins, for example:

	news	usenet, newsadmin, root	
	comp	newsadmin ellen, tomk, ... \
		(and more)
	gnu	...

can be set up easily.  This way, local filtering can be done with little
pain, and it is more effective than centralized moderation.  Optionally,
this may be extended to apply to reading newsgroups as well (see below).

And to William B. Thacker's posting on USENET "pandering obscenity or
contributing to the delinquency of minors" (by letting 12 year-olds read
alt.sex):

This is a responsibility of the local news administrator.  Currently, one
can set up the system NOT to accept certain groups; or write up a shell
script to remove articles from unwanted groups.  Either way, these groups
will be "empty" to all local users, 12 or 21 year-olds alike.

But if the above proposal gets implemented on reading newsgroups, then a
news admin can grant access to selected users.  If a news admin then lets
a 12 year-old read alt.sex, that news admin is liable, not USENET itself
(who really is just an entity like any public media; and in my opinion,
the best one).

-- 
"You laugh at FSF?  Just think: the Japanese give money, equipment, and loan
 personnel to FSF!"	-huver	{uunet!kitrain, plus5}!amgraf!huver