Re: [CH] This is the CHILE-PEPPER news right ?
Art Pierce (pierces@cruzio.com)
Wed, 24 Feb 1999 11:29:36 -0800
OFF-TOPIC
Re:
> Just a thought ...
> Why are there so many "off topic" discussions here?
> It's for PEPPERS, not what to do with spices, coffee grinding,
> bug infused ice cream, bird jerky, locating car parts in Australia,
> mixing capsicum with paint, eating cabbage (and the list goes on).
> Someone needs to moderate this group and weed out the "off topic"
posting.
> What about the people that have limitations (or metered) use of mail?
> Is it necessary to have all of this included in our newsgroup?
> It would also help to not "reply" to postings and include the
replication
> of the message body.
Ohmigod, I've replied and included the replication of the message body.
The purpose is to let any new list subscribers know what this reply is
about. (And, unlike this reply, your original message body is short.)
In regards to: "What about the people that have limitations (or metered)
use of mail?", as just one example of free email, the most-used one
offers 10+ megabytes of space, surely enough for anyone not on extended
vacation.
When one of the contributors to CH gets too far off-topic, most
especially when the posting is an ad, however well-disguised, Mike
Bowers sends them a personal email requesting they not do this.
The CH list is pretty active and has a tradition of off-topic subjects
which surface, get discussed and disappear. Sometimes they reappear and
the same old ground gets replowed with little or no new info on that
particular off-topic subject.
For example, I really enjoy cooking, but I also assume there are some
list subscribers who don't know 'how to boil water' and don't want to
know how, so the posting of any recipe is of no interest to them.
Even an outright spam (very rarely) gets by Mike Bowers, the list
moderator.
This so-called "off-topic-ness" has always been the nature of this
particular beastie called CH.
MB, the following IS NOT an ad. For an overview, one might try
subscribing for a while to the discussion mailing list about how varied
list moderation "should" be and how list moderators themselves look at
things: "List-Moderators is an open, unmoderated discussion list for the
benefit of list-moderators. It is a gathering place for list-moderators
to share their experiences and wisdom, and for newly appointed
list-moderators to learn the trade. Discussions which would be on topic
include techniques and tools to assist moderation, how to deal with
troublesome posters, encouraging a particular list culture without
appearing too authoritarian, how to spot posters attempting to use and
abuse the system, text-layout styles for newsletters, etc." at:
http://www.ironclad.net.au/lists/list-moderators/
Keep on postin',
Art