BS: Forum for Mail List or Forum Moderators?

Subject: BS: Forum for Mail List or Forum Moderators?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 04:34 PM

Does anyone know of a discussion forum for forum/newsgroup moderators? I belong to a newish mail list, and they are really struggling to establish practices and guidelines among members.... no one in the organization appears to have much Net experience, either.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Forum for Mail List or Forum Moderators?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 05:06 PM

Perhaps you should contact whoever deletes threads around here. I notice another one disappeared to-day.
Failte....Giok

Subject: RE: BS: Forum for Mail List or Forum Moderators?
From: GUEST
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 06:00 PM

I've given this information out in this very forum, in hopes that the management might catch on and buy a clue. That's certainly been a wasted effort, as anyone who reads the FAQ can tell in an instant.

Subject: RE: BS: Forum for Mail List or Forum Moderators?
From: SeanM
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 06:34 PM

Well, I don't really see many "how to's" on the web, and I don't feel like mindlessly attacking the Mudcat forum for no other reason than sheer bloodymindedness, so I'll attempt to provide basic advice about the *gasp* actual question asked.

First, the moderators of the list should sit down (figuratively or literally) and determine what their rules will be. Will posts be limited to a certain amount per poster per day? Will they be available on a website, sent out instantly, screened through a moderator, sent out in daily/weekly/monthly digests?

Other questions to consider:
How will you handle "off topic"? Assuming a moderated mail list, someone's going to need to have some sort of guideline about what to allow and what to disallow. Some lists allow for pure free expression, regardless of appropriateness. Some only allow very rigidly defined posts that are strictly monitored to verify their "correct" posting.

Also, how will you handle transgressions? Are you going to put teeth in the policies you create? How are you tracking members? Is it going to be a fully public list, with no restriction on membership? A members only forum? Will you give warnings for excessive OT posting, or just not allow any to begin with? What will your banning policy be?

You have seen a lot of the "evolution" of the forum/board concept here - the 'cat's actually a good example, as despite the drooling trolls and spats the site is still going strong. Take what you've seen here, and apply it. Don't be afraid to lift ideas and managerial styles from other sites and lists - if it works, why reinvent it?

Anyway, hope this is something you can use.

M

Subject: RE: BS: Forum for Mail List or Forum Moderators?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 06:56 PM

Thanks-- I know there are a lot of us around here who can offer guidance-- I'm specifically looking for an existing site where they can learn it for themselves in communication with peers.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Forum for Mail List or Forum Moderators?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 10:31 PM

Susan,

Setting up a new list is analagous to making sausage--it isn't pretty to look at. I've been on several lists that started based on membership in this or that academic setting, and it usually just took patience and suggestions as things occurred so the list could be tweaked. One that now runs pretty smoothly is set up specifically for subscribers to an academic journal. The journal is quarterly and these folks sometimes don't see each other for several years between conferences. They were all patient with the process, which now has the setup that messages are posted immediately upon being sent, unless you are subscribed via a digest (something they added because it was requested). A digest comes out usually once a day or when a certain volume of messages (200K, for example) is reached.

Another very useful feature of this and several other lists is an archive. Listserv and Listproc and Majordomo software all can set up quite good archives, if someone in the techie end is patient enough to do it. I like it set week by week, but montly is also pretty good, if a bit drawn out at times. Many of them are searchable by thread, author, or date. This means you can dump email after you read it unless it's a real keeper, because you can (in theory) visit the archive and find all of it later.

Moderated lists are good for keeping to the topic or keeping the volume down, but there is a fair amount of resentment toward the moderator who must choose what to post and what to delete.

I run a couple of lists, but they're not meant for discussion, they're really a one-way messaging service. I post a list of new databases in the university library, or information about programs or classes, etc. Every so often a subscriber will write with a question, which I receive, and can answer, or forward, but the whole list doesn't see it unless I send it back. And sometimes advertisers will subscribe to lists to try to push their products, so I just delete those, and often send a boilerplate response about the nature of the list.

PM me off list if you have specific questions. I wish I could send you to read the early archives of the first list I discussed--you could have read through the messages that sorted out the inner workings of the list--except that they weren't keeping an archive yet. That was one of my suggestions. . .

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Forum for Mail List or Forum Moderators?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 11:40 PM

Thanks... I have already suggested they look around at Listserv...

I'm looking for an existing discussion forum or newsgroup of list/forum moderators, listmoms, etc.... so the list owner of this list I am a member of can join THAT, themselves, and direct their own learning.

~Susan