[OT] Moderators (was Revolution Freezing or Quitting Unexpectedly)

[Scott Kane]

From: "Shari" <shari at gypsyware.com>

Hi Shari,

> I've never seen you yell at anybody unless they were awful bad kiddies. 
> Rotten little buggers who deserved to be yelled at :-)  If you've ever 
> read the message boards for various stocks, now THEY could use a heavy 
> hand!

LOL!  It was very different in years gone by on comp.software.shareware.*. 
We were exposed to some very nasty and disruptive elements.  I ended up 
putting them in a blacklist so I never saw their posts and didn't have to 
consider posting them or rejecting them.  However two years ago we declared 
an amnesty and so far there have been no real problems.  Technically I'm the 
FAQ maintainer for alt.comp.shareware.* but I pretty much leave that group 
alone unless "Stephen Super Genious From Outer Space" shows up and then I 
can't help myself - though I ignored his post from last week. <g>

> Speaking of newsgroups, it's a sad day when one disappears. 
> comp.sys.mac.games.announce apparently has been dissolved :-(

Yes.  Usenet is slowly dieing.  Most new web users only know how to use 
web-boards or email lists.  So many don't even know what a newsreader client 
is anymore.  It's a shame as it's one of the internets oldest communication 
forms (before email and the WEB) and it really is a convenient and flexible 
way to communicate.  More groups will die off in time.  It's just taken 
longer for the programming ones to die.

> As for this list, I think it does a pretty good job self-moderating. If 
> someone goes astray, others will usually tap them on the shoulder. Even 
> though I'm new to this list, I feel at home because I already know several 
> of the regulars from other lists :-)

This is actually one of the best programming mailing lists I've joined. 
Mostly it is helpful.  There is some politics but it's the exception and not 
the rule.  I honestly suspect some of thist is tied to the nature of 
transcript (it's history) and to some extent the high number of Apple Mac 
users who seem to have a friendlier approach to folks than a lot of Windows 
users and programmers I know....  ;-)

Scott
(who still does his development on Windows)