create digitalmars.D.moderated ??

[Sean Kelly]

Robert Fraser wrote:
> Walter Bright wrote:
>> It's been proposed that a new newsgroup be created, 
>> digitalmars.D.moderated. It would work like moderated newsgroups on 
>> usenet do, such as comp.lang.c++.moderated. There would be 3 or 4 
>> volunteer moderators (not me), who would disallow posts that were 
>> off-topic, me too, spam, lacked content, or contained personal 
>> attacks. Ideally, the moderated group would set the bar for the 
>> quality of the messages.
>>
>> The original newsgroups will remain as the free-for-all wild west that 
>> makes them both fun and perhaps a little intimidating for some. While 
>> I like the wild west approach, many others clearly find it uncomfortable.
> 
> Hmmm... honestly, I'm against the idea. If there was a lot of spam, I 
> can see the value; however I believe it will simply serve to reduce 
> discussion throughput and split discussions, as well as force users to 
> check two different groups. Plus, it gets down to the question of what's 
> really "on topic," and could easily cause more animosity than it 
> prevents (and as mentioned in the digitalmars.D.tango discussion, create 
> an "us vs. them" mentality).

It's not this way at all with comp.lang.c++.  Generally, the moderated 
forum serves both as a both a place to ask questions of and to discuss 
language issues and more complex theoretical topics while the 
un-moderated forum is for newbie type questions and more general 
discussion.  In your support however, since D already has a 'learn' 
newsgroup, it may be that the un-moderated forum would really turn into 
more of an advocacy group.  That said, I like moderated forums because 
the signal to noise ratio is typically much higher, and thus helps 
pre-filter discussion for those with little free time (such as myself).

As for issues regarding what is "on topic," the rules used by other 
moderated forums would be a useful and simple guide to follow.  In my 
mind, the real issue is whether this community has people with the 
dedication to actually do the moderation.


Sean