IMPORTANT: How to prevent future newsgroup voting problems?!?

[Steven Roy Daviss]

One suggestion is to allow any individual to create a prototype 
group (listserv) to get it going (as I believe now occurs).  However, all 
groups would start this way.

Then, after a specified period of time (?4-6 months), those who are 
actually *subscribed* to the list can vote to turn it over to a USENET 
group, with some stipulations about number of people or number of 
postings.  Thus, to be turned *down* for newsgroup status, it would require:

	o people subscribed to the list voting it down (they'd have to be 
	  fairly unhappy for this to occur)
 	o too few people subscribed to the list (?50)
	o too few postings (?less than 5/month or less than 5 postings 
	  from *different* subscribers per month)
 	o some combination of the above

By doing it this way, it would encourage creation of highly focussed, 
special-interest groups, with the weaker ones falling by the way-side.  I 
see 2 downsides to this proposal:

	1-administrative hassles regarding maintaining lists
	2-newsgroup proliferation
	(and, perhaps, 3-Una Smith flames :)

Just some thoughts...

Steve Daviss
<sdaviss at cosy.ab.umd.edu>