Jay:
I vote for the selective moderation idea. A monthly FAQ is also a good idea.
There are three things that need to be corrected on this list:
- off topic volume is way too high
- we need to eliminate insults, personal attacks, and language that is
obviously intended to offend
- subject lines need to correctly identify the content of the message when
the topic has drifted
Perhaps a warning to offenders, and the knowledge that you *could* put them
on the moderated senders list, might be enough to correct the majority of
the problem posts.
I don't know why, but the other classic computer related lists I am
subscribed to have almost none of these problems. On the others, I at least
glance at each message. On this list, I have been forced to scan for
messages that seem to have relevant subject lines, and delete 97% of the
rest without even looking at them. Effectively, the garbage-senders have
crowded me out of full participation in the list.
On the other hand, I remain subscribed because it is the most active, and
has the highest likelihood of being helpful in a short time when someone
comes up with a question.
--
Jonathan Engdahl???????????????? Rockwell Automation
Principal Research Engineer????? 24800 Tungsten Road
Advanced Technology????????????? Euclid, OH 44117, USA
Euclid Labs????????????????????? engdahl(a)cle.ab.com 216-266-6409