GENMTD-L Archives

From: Margaret Olson <>
Subject: Re: Removal procedure.
Date: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 16:48:29 -0800

> Is there a procedure for requesting someone to be removed, or
> banned, from a list?


This question did specify "list" and the reply answers for mailing
lists. Since GENMTD is the mirror of the Usenet newsgroup,
soc.genealogy.methods, I thought I'd comment on the newsgroup/list
gateway. For newsgroup gateway lists, one need not be subscribed to
be a participant in the newsgroup AND mailing list. A list manager
cannot remove someone who is not subscribed.

[ It may be possible for a gatewayed list admin at least to prevent a
newsgroup reader's posts from propagating into across the gateway
into the list, although I don't know if any of us have ever tried
that. - Mod ]

A list manager can control the mailing list he/she manages and no
more. In the case of GENMTD and GEN-AFRICAN, which are moderated
newsgroups, the newsgroup moderator has control of what is seen on
the list. The moderators are (at the moment - and I see no change
in the works) the list managers of those two RootsWeb lists. They
wouldn't have to be, though. The moderators control what the
newsgroups gets. The RootsWeb list manager of each controls only
what the RootsWeb list sees.

[ I'm not sure who the GEN-AFRICAN-L list admin is, but Karen
Isaacson (better known as the ROOTS-L list admin) has been the
very much the unsung hero/list admin of GENMTD-L since the
beginning. -Mod ]

For the unmoderated newsgroups, the RootsWeb list manager can
control who subscribes to the RootsWeb list, but that person has
little or no clout or control over people who participate via the
newsgroup or who might be participating via a BBS or some other
mailing list. Peer pressure is about the only control - and it
works fairly well for genealogy lists - most of the time.

[ Note that all this applies only to the dozen or two mailing lists
gatewayed to Usenet newsgroups, and is irrelevant to the other
18,000 lists at RootsWeb, 4,000 lists at eGroups, and the various
and sundry lists hosted elsewhere. -Mod

Margaret

Margaret Olson <>

This thread:

• Removal procedure. by <>

  • Re: Removal procedure. by Margaret Olson <>