Viswa,
Nobody actually *controls* the list. And none of the present moderators have any real need to do that.
To answer your other questions:
I'm the one who got this list started almost a decade back, so I've been a moderator since. Some prolific contributors namely Anirudh S B, Prashanth N S and Srikanth L were later added up as volunteers and have been helping out.
No mails are going selectively passed or selectively discarded. The moderation flag has been activated for all newly subscribed email addresses. And going by the frequency at which sock puppet accounts seemed to be getting created on this list, I guess the moderation bit was enabled. Knowing how different the India list is, I have no qualms about that.
It has truly been mundane everyday work for some active moderators who help clear the mess and they have done so all these years. It really hasn't been *control* or anything that they can gain from.
And we all can get busy. I can vouch for the fact that none have been intentionally held back.
Srikanth L wrote internally earlier today requesting a review of this setting, and while I'm inclined to saying 'yes' to that, with so much happening here - not allowing sock puppets may also seem a good option to keep sanity at check.