Mary Schweitzer <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>  the only way I knew how to get to USENET with a
> moderated list was ... via The Gate At American University.
>
> Which appears to have died.  Or if not dead, then terminally ill.

I operate several lists gated to Usenet and I'm concerned about this as
well.  I've had a discussion with an official at American U. and I've
contacted listserv managers who have 10 or more lists gated to Usenet to
promote a joint solution to the problem.  American does seem interested in
continuing to maintain a global mail-2-news gateway.  Part of the current
problem, as has been mentioned here, is outdated software, and hopefully
the working group will find a way to overcome that.

>  the most EFFECTIVE way to operate an informational USENET
> site and keep the spammers and jerks off of it is to run it from a
> moderated discussion list.

Yes, I know those concerns well.


Listserv Manager <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>   The good news however is
> that I've heard (unconfirmed hearsay follows) that most standard INN
> newsservers have the ability to do the gatewaying.  It's included as a
> function of the software.

Are you saying that all INN newsservers may have the capability of
becoming GLOBAL mail2news gateways?


Dan Lester <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> From private conversations with Mary, I don't think she'll be able to do
> that.  Partly because of the medical problems she and her listmembers have.
>  Partly for a bigger reason....politics.  There already ARE five newsgroups
> (or more) on the topic.  But politics has gotten involved, and
> personalities.  So "Mary's group" is not allowed to post to the existing
> five moderated groups.

I'm afraid you have been misinformed.  I am the founder and manager of the
five gated groups that you refer to, and I'd hate to think that anyone
would give an impression that ill patients are not welcome in their own
on-line support group.  In the groups that I manage, only flamers and
spammers are barred from posting.  People from Mary's group are by no
means barred from the other groups, except for individuals who may attack
fellow participants publicly in the groups or who post commercial
advertisements, per the groups' rules.  One of the gated groups that I
manage on this topic is virtually unmoderated, at
[log in to unmask] / alt.med.cfs-open which anyone can post to
(even flamers and advertisers) as long as the postings are on the topic
of the illness.  No one has ever been barred from that group.

Unfortunately, illness does not automatically confer a saintly character
on all of its victims, and so the spirit of "competition" can, sadly,
prompt some people to seriously mischaracterize other groups that they are
not the managers of.

I trust that Mary's group, whatever its purpose may be, will eventually
find its own working gateway to Usenet, if that is what she is seeking.

On a more positive note, some readers here may find my Moderators web page
of interest.  It's at http://www.cais.net/cfs-news/moderators.html .  Much
of the material on this page may be old hat to most readers of this group,
however it may serve as a concise resource that you might recommend to new
list-owners who are running moderated groups.  This page emphasizes
moderation *policy*, not technical issues, which are already covered in
the Listowners Manual.

-- Roger Burns    [log in to unmask]