On 17/08/13 07:21, Vidcapper wrote:
Just a thought - then we could include posts by those of us only
interested in talking about the weather, rather than allowing the trolls
free rein...


Another group I post too, uk.rec.cycling.moderated, was set up for the
same reason (the infestation of uk.rec.cycling by anti-cycling thugs was
way, way worse than anything that has happened on here though). The
moderated group is much quieter than the original group ever was,
sometimes there are issues with posts getting delayed or contentious
moderation decisions, and some refuse to post there because they feel
the moderators are too militant. On the plus side, it is possible to
have civilised, reasonable debates without the risk of threads
descending into chaos.

One of the main issues with moderation, as I see it, is you have to
decide who is going to do the job, and you have to hope that they will
not let their own cognitive biases get in the way of fair moderation. It
can be likened to being a local politician, it can be a time consuming
and thankless task and you need a thick skin to handle the inevitable
whinging when someone has their post deleted (especially if it a
marginal decision).