the thing is that on Usenet there isn't a mechanism for stopping spam - once it's sent to the group then it's sent.

I think the thing there is there isn't a consistant mechanism for stopping spam. With the service I use, I see less spam than I do at Mudcat (where I'm also more aware of spam I haven't seen).

Don't get me wrong, I'm very pleased that spam is deleted here, just stating honestly that it doesn't affect me in the ways it does you on usenet. I do wonder how big a problem spamming forums is going to become though - I don't think it has really hit yet - and whether manaul moderation will suffice (as far as I understand it MC does at times automaticaly block posts containing certain words, eg pok er). I'm starting to get a couple daily at folkinfo - still not sure how it will pan out and whether I'll end up doing more than manual deletion and perhaps an IP block...