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[Ian A. York]

In article <Pine.SUN.3.91.951215152022.27434A-100000 at ava.bcc.orst.edu>,
Steven_H Harwood <harwoods at AVA.BCC.ORST.EDU> wrote:
>> 
>This newsgroup needs moderation.  I would volunteer but have no idea 
>about how to go about it.  Do any other virology people feel the same 
>way?  Does anyone want to volunteer to be moderator?  Does anyone know 
>how to set it up?

Can't be done, practically.  Turning an unmoderated into a moderated 
newsgroup is almost impossible; it's far easier to abondon the old group 
and create a new moderated group.

One option is moderation by cancellation.  Although third-party cancels 
are generally considered a bad thing by usenet, the non-big-8/alt* 
hierarchies may set their own rules; as such, bionet.* could impose a 
rule that off-topic posts could be cancelled.  I believe (from discussion 
in new.admin.net-abuse.misc) that, for example, christnet.* might have 
such a policy, and perhaps fidonet.* as well.  

However, I think this is a very bad idea, and is too susceptible to abuse 
(no matter how well-intentioned the cancellers).  

I don't think things are that bad in bionet.virology yet.  There are 
waves of off-topicality, but in the long run the signal/noise ratio is 
pretty good.  We're in the middle of a bad stretch now, but hunker down 
and wait it out; it will go away.  

Ian
-- 
Ian York   (iayork at panix.com)
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 44 Binney St., Boston MA 02115
Phone (617)-632-3921     Fax  (617)-632-2627