In moderation

[S L Forsburg]

If the group decides to moderate, it will be essential to
have clear standards on what is to be removed.  I'm
wary of this because it's too easy to drift into 
removing posts that are misplaced, rather than 
spam, or even into censorship. This is especially true
on a free forum like this one where we can discuss pretty much
anything.

For example, will the moderaters remove:
A post from a woman seeking advice about yeast infections?

A post from a high school student asking questions about
his/her labproject?

A post from a University student that contains a survey
on internet usage?

A post advertising a commercial product?  a scientific product?
What if the post is signed?  or unsigned?

If a man replies to a post on this newsgroup in an argumentative
fashion, does that get removed?  What if his post is 
insulting?  What if it isn't signed?

What's offensive to one might not be for another.  I would
only consider moderation if we agree that the ONLY messages
to be removed are the anonymous cybersmut and make money fast 
messages. I  oppose moderation if any other decisions about 
"appropriateness" are going to be made.

I also worry about the time delay involved in getting messages
to the group.

-- 
-susan
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S L Forsburg, PhD  forsburg at salk.edu
Molecular Biology and Virology Lab          
The Salk Institute, La Jolla CA 
http://flosun.salk.edu/~forsburg/lab.html
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"These are my opinions.  I don't have  
time to speak for anyone else."
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