[Asterisk-Dev] RFC: Moderating the Asterisk Mailing Lists

[Leif Madsen]

I know the first thing you are thinking, "why are you posting this to
the development list?".  Basically the reason is that the signal to
noise ratio is lower here, what I propose to implement may require
some development, and if you are subscribed to this list, you are
probably smarter than the average newbie :)

There has been discussion on and off regarding moderating the Asterisk
mailing lists as the number of junk posts continues to climb at a
steady rate.  While it is impossible to have a perfect ratio between
good and bad emails, I believe a moderated list can significantly
improve it.

The first problem is that the Asterisk Users list is obviously
mammoth.  It would probably be nearly impossible to moderate every
single user on the list without a large support staff dedicated to
moderating the list.  That just isn't going to happen.

So immediately you must come up with a group of volunteers to manage
the lists.  OK, so lets assume you get 5-10 individuals to moderate
the list.  Great, but you have the burden of managing the hundreds of
posts a day to the list, plus the load placed upon the other
moderators if (and when) someone goes on vacation.

Here is my proposition.  It may require some modification of the
mailman software (as I'm sure no one is going to be in favour of
switching it), and I don't believe this functionality exists in it.

All new users who join the mailing list are sent a list of guidelines
which must be followed for their post to be accepted to the mailing
list.  This includes not sending test messages, properly formatting
their subject line, not using HTML or Rich Text (plain text only),
posting to the appropriate lists, proper formatting of replies and
just general list etiquette.  They must agree to these terms when they
verify their email address (this wouldn't create any extra steps in
the email verification process, just a simple change of the message
body that is sent to the user).

These new users are then placed in a "group" of new users.  When they
send their first message, it must be approved by a moderator before
being posted to the mailing list.  All the moderator would have to do
is make sure it follows the guidelines of the message and not deal too
much with the actual content of the message (we are not trying to
steer the content in any direction, it is simply to filter out content
which is not appropriate).  After this first message has been
approved, the "timer" is started.  After a specified period of time (3
days, 1 week, 2 weeks?), then that user is automatically moved to a
non-moderated group where they will be free to post messages to the
mailing list *without* moderator approval.  This would keep the group
of moderated people manageable (only a fraction of the full mailing
list).  The number of people who are actively signing up over a period
of time is probably, for the most part, constant.  The number of
messages requiring moderation would probably be fairly constant as
well.

What this will effectively do is force users to follow the rules for
their "initiation" period, and basically "train" users how to use the
mailing list correctly.  Posts which are rejected should have a reason
sent back as to why it was rejected (such as, "Your post was rejected
for not conforming to rule number 7 of the mailing list guidelines"). 
The only problem would be deciding what to do with users already
currently subscribed to the mailing list.  By default they would
probably just have to be placed in the non-moderated group, with the
moderators having the ability to temporarily suspend accounts for
failing to follow the guidelines.  Such as in the case of a user going
out of the office, turning on the "Out of office" reply, but not
temporarily suspending their subscription.

While the purpose of moderating the list is to make sure posts conform
to guidelines, it is NOT meant as a way to silence people.  I know
people are probably looking to jump all over the idea because of free
speech issues, but that is not (and should not) be the intension at
all.

I'd be interested in hearing if anyone else feels the same.  I realize
this would have to be a decision by Digium to allow this to happen,
but if a plan was created, guidelines established and a majority of
support for it, I believe it could happen.

Perhaps I'm the only one who feels this way, but I know at least 1 or
2 other people who would be in favour of such a plan.  And yes, I
realize by proposing this I am volunteering as a moderator :)

Thanks,
Leif Madsen.
http://www.leifmadsen.com