[Foundation-l] Use of moderation

[Tim Starling]

Erik Moeller wrote:
> 2009/9/8 Gregory Maxwell <gmaxwell at gmail.com>:
>> As such, it's time to try something different.
> 
> What do you suggest? Are there models from other mailing list
> communities that we should experiment with to create a healthier, more
> productive discussion culture? What, based on your own experience of
> this list, would you like to see change?

I think we should stop using this outdated technology altogether and
instead switch to a web-based forum, where comments can be
postmoderated (i.e. removed after posting), and unproductive threads
can be moved or locked.

Mailing lists, by their nature, have a large potential for abuse by
trolls and spammers. It's trivial to impersonate another user, or to
continue posting indefinitely despite being blocked. We're lucky that
the behaviour we've seen here has been merely inconsiderate, rather
than malicious.

Discussion on the English Wikipedia continues to function despite
hateful users who try every dirty trick they can think of to disrupt
the community. We're lucky that foundation-l has only seen the merest
hint of a reflection of that turmoil, because the tools we have to
deal with abusive behaviour on mailing lists are far less capable than
those that have been developed for Wikipedia.

-- Tim Starling