Listowners-L Archives

Archiver > Listowners > 2004-03 > 1080121252


From: "Andrew Billinghurst" <>
Subject: [LO] [Info] The (over)use of the list moderation tool
Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 20:40:52 +1100


Hi list administrators,

It come to my attention that there are a number of mailing lists that
have been set to moderated, in that they are set to not allow posts
through to the list from all subscribers.

I am not sure whether the use of the moderation is list
administrators --
* not understanding the function of the moderation tool,
* not understanding that spam does not reach their list, or
* simply over-controlling of lists.

The moderation setting is basically provided for
* control of a list that has gone feral,
* control of a list where someone is a persistent nuisance and serial
subscriber under multiple email addresses, or
* an announcement type mailing list (function agreed by RootsWeb)
* special project type list (function agreed by RootsWeb)

In the control scenarios, it would be expected that the control is
for a limited period and used sparingly. Remember that the REJECT
list can be used to control individuals (bad) posting habits.

To help to clarify the function of the moderation tool, I have
modified the text on the "Customization" page .../custom/listname and
rolled this text change out.

List administrators who continue to moderate lists for reasons that
seem the antithesis of the reason for the existence of a mailing list
can expect an email at some stage. Beat me to the punch and remove
the unnecessary moderation.

I would hope that all list administrators remember the purpose for
the mailing lists, and the reasons that they exist. Surname,
locality and topic-based mailing lists are NOT the personal
possessions of administrators, they are provided by RootsWeb for the
specific purpose of genealogical research.

Many thanks for your assistance with this matter.

Please address general and technical questions to LISTOWNERS. For
unique concerns please feel free to contact the HelpDesk
http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/help.cgi, or me directly. NOTE that
direct email may be answered and cc'd to LISTOWNERS if I feel the
answer has relevance to all administrators.

Regards, Andrew
RootsWeb staff - mailing lists and mail
--
Andrew Billinghurst <>
Adopt-a-mailing list -> http://resources.rootsweb.com/adopt/
Ancestry.com--Your #1 Source for Family History Online
http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237

This thread: