Moderated lists

Anyone know of a good moderated list for astronomy where I won't have to
waste bandwidth on the rantings of lunatics like Daniel Joseph Min?

Thanks in advance.

"mauerson" wrote in news:TAj5d.267$6b6.210
@fe61.usenetserver.com:

Anyone know of a good moderated list for astronomy where I won't have to
waste bandwidth on the rantings of lunatics like Daniel Joseph Min?

Thanks in advance.

Killfiles are your friend.

Be sure to answer the return message. It keeps SPAMMERS from getting on.

--


"And for the second time in four million years, the monolith awoke."
Arthur C.Clarke 2062dyssey three

SIAR
www.starlords.org
Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord
Bishop's Car Fund
http://www.bishopcarfund.netfirms.com/

"mauerson" wrote in message
...
Anyone know of a good moderated list for astronomy where I won't have to
waste bandwidth on the rantings of lunatics like Daniel Joseph Min?

Thanks in advance.





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I don't mind Daniel's rantings. Every one means a few more
votes for John Kerry.

Rick

"starlord" wrote in message ...


Be sure to answer the return message. It keeps SPAMMERS from getting on.

--


"And for the second time in four million years, the monolith awoke."
Arthur C.Clarke 2062dyssey three

SIAR
www.starlords.org
Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord
Bishop's Car Fund
http://www.bishopcarfund.netfirms.com/

"mauerson" wrote in message
...
Anyone know of a good moderated list for astronomy where I won't have to
waste bandwidth on the rantings of lunatics like Daniel Joseph Min?

Thanks in advance.





---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.762 / Virus Database: 510 - Release Date: 9/13/04

"mauerson" wrote in message ...

Anyone know of a good moderated list for astronomy where I won't have to
waste bandwidth on the rantings of lunatics like Daniel Joseph Min?

Thanks in advance.


Count your blessings.

At least we don't have H. E. Retic here!

Double-A

"Double-A" wrote in message
m...
"mauerson" wrote in message
...

Anyone know of a good moderated list for astronomy where I won't have
to
waste bandwidth on the rantings of lunatics like Daniel Joseph Min?

Thanks in advance.


Count your blessings.

At least we don't have H. E. Retic here!

Double-A
It is important to understand that there are really three types of 'list'.
The first is the standard 'usenet' group (like this one), where there is
no moderation at all on what is posted, with the group being distributed
around the various servers in the world, and not held in a central
location at all. On these groups, you have to be your own 'moderator', and
there are a number of packages to make this possible, ranging from the
basic filters in Outlook, through more sophisticated filter programs. Any
of these will allow postings from particular authors to be blocked, as
well as a variety of 'keywords'. I happened to look at this group without
my normal filterign the other day, and over 40% of the posts were being
removed for me, with quite a low 'dross' level remaining..
Then there are the 'partially moderated' groups, such as most of those on
Yahoo. These have a group 'owner', who can remove posts, and could
potentially scan all posts before acceptance. However on any reasonably
busy group, the posts from 90% of users will be unchecked, since otherwise
the delays lead to the group becoming too slow to use. Even on these, a
dross percentage will appear, with users who have previously been 'well
behaved', posting something well off topic, or people deliberately getting
themselves a good reputation with postings for a while, then switching to
their 'real' identity...
Finally there are the fully moderated groups, where everything is checked
before posting. These are common for some scientific subjects, with a
group of moderators spread round the world, allowing posts to be
relatively rapidly checked. The downside is that it requires several
people who can all be trusted to have similar criteria for their
acceptance/rejection of posts, and acceptance by the users of their
decisions. A number of such groups have decayed into worse bickering than
is seen on the unmoderated groups, following decisions to accept or ban
particular posts. Generally the ones that 'work', are for small groups of
people who all accept the creators 'criteria' for posts, and are working
in a similar field.
Most of the moderated, or 'part moderated' groups, are slower, and have
less of the spontaneity, seen on this group.
I'd suggest learning how to use newsgroup filters, and possibly investing
in a different newsreader with more sophisticated filtering, or a 'filter'
package to use with your existing newsreader. Though you will have a
little work to do getting the rules to suit you, and will need to add
names to the list, as posters appearin different 'aliases', the results
can be impressive, and change the overall 'feeling' of the group entirely.
The most 'annoying' thing generally, is where otherwise 'sane' posters
will reply to threads started by some of the more annoying posters.
Fortunately, the better filtering packages, have a 'block thread' option,
which allow you to not see subsequent posts. :-)

Best Wishes

"Roger Hamlett" wrote in message ...
"Double-A" wrote in message
m...
"mauerson" wrote in message
...

Anyone know of a good moderated list for astronomy where I won't have
to
waste bandwidth on the rantings of lunatics like Daniel Joseph Min?

Thanks in advance.


Count your blessings.

At least we don't have H. E. Retic here!

Double-A
It is important to understand that there are really three types of 'list'.
The first is the standard 'usenet' group (like this one), where there is
no moderation at all on what is posted, with the group being distributed
around the various servers in the world, and not held in a central
location at all. On these groups, you have to be your own 'moderator', and
there are a number of packages to make this possible, ranging from the
basic filters in Outlook, through more sophisticated filter programs. Any
of these will allow postings from particular authors to be blocked, as
well as a variety of 'keywords'. I happened to look at this group without
my normal filterign the other day, and over 40% of the posts were being
removed for me, with quite a low 'dross' level remaining..
Then there are the 'partially moderated' groups, such as most of those on
Yahoo. These have a group 'owner', who can remove posts, and could
potentially scan all posts before acceptance. However on any reasonably
busy group, the posts from 90% of users will be unchecked, since otherwise
the delays lead to the group becoming too slow to use. Even on these, a
dross percentage will appear, with users who have previously been 'well
behaved', posting something well off topic, or people deliberately getting
themselves a good reputation with postings for a while, then switching to
their 'real' identity...
Finally there are the fully moderated groups, where everything is checked
before posting. These are common for some scientific subjects, with a
group of moderators spread round the world, allowing posts to be
relatively rapidly checked. The downside is that it requires several
people who can all be trusted to have similar criteria for their
acceptance/rejection of posts, and acceptance by the users of their
decisions. A number of such groups have decayed into worse bickering than
is seen on the unmoderated groups, following decisions to accept or ban
particular posts. Generally the ones that 'work', are for small groups of
people who all accept the creators 'criteria' for posts, and are working
in a similar field.
Most of the moderated, or 'part moderated' groups, are slower, and have
less of the spontaneity, seen on this group.
I'd suggest learning how to use newsgroup filters, and possibly investing
in a different newsreader with more sophisticated filtering, or a 'filter'
package to use with your existing newsreader. Though you will have a
little work to do getting the rules to suit you, and will need to add
names to the list, as posters appearin different 'aliases', the results
can be impressive, and change the overall 'feeling' of the group entirely.
The most 'annoying' thing generally, is where otherwise 'sane' posters
will reply to threads started by some of the more annoying posters.
Fortunately, the better filtering packages, have a 'block thread' option,
which allow you to not see subsequent posts. :-)

Best Wishes


What's so great about killfiling posters?

You don't have to read a post by someone you're not interested in just
because you see the post on the list. I certainly don't waste my time
reading every post I see. And the amount of posts in this group is so
sparse, it's not like you have to eliminate anybody to reduce the
number of posts to a manageable number.

The only good I can see in killfiling is the satisfaction of telling
someone that they're plonked. And usually those who say that are
lying anyway, because they continue responding to the same poster
later.

H. E. Retic (Ernest Wittke) changes his nom de plume everyday! How
are you going to killfile someone like that?

Double-A

hahaha, i notice nobody seems to reply to his (Min's), crazed messages of
hate and intolerance, presumably cos they can't see them as they've already
blocked him.
i am about to do so also

if you use Outlook Express, you can highlight one of his subject-lines, then
go to top of screen and go to : Message, click on it, then, in the
pop-down menu, select :
Block sender.
you will be prompted as to whether you really want to do this :
click yes, and then, hey presto, you will never see any of his thoroughly
demented posts ever again
unless he changes monicker
(God forbid !!)

i don't know whether it's funny or scary that he presumably regards us both
as terrorists (despite the fact he doesn't even know us), simply because we
don't agree with him !
what a crazy ******* !

i will go and look for other astronomy groups for you, but of course, i have
no way of knowing whether your ISP carries same groups.
this is my first look at this group, i think it's quite interesting apart
from the OT ****.
don't let crazy people put you off, mate, just block the crazies, and then
you won't have to see their crap again

enjoy yer surfin', dood

spanky out


"mauerson" wrote in message
...
Anyone know of a good moderated list for astronomy where I won't have to
waste bandwidth on the rantings of lunatics like Daniel Joseph Min?

Thanks in advance.

oh, btw, it might be a good idea if you put in a fake email addy when using
newsgroups...
too many malicious hackers out there

"mauerson" wrote in message
...
Anyone know of a good moderated list for astronomy where I won't have to
waste bandwidth on the rantings of lunatics like Daniel Joseph Min?

Thanks in advance.

Waah !
I said i would look for other astronomy groups for you, but there are lots !
too many !
just type, "astronomy" as the keyword in your newsgroup client, and you will
see as money as your particular ISP happens to carry.