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Re: [CQ-Contest] Is list moderation really necessary?

To: John Dorr <cqk1ar@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Is list moderation really necessary?
From: Barry <w2up@comcast.net>
Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2018 07:21:13 -0600
List-post: <mailto:cq-contest@contesting.com>
Thank you, boss, for your reply and your dedication to this thankless task  :-)

May I suggest a short trial (a few days) of no moderation and see how it goes?  Just think how much more time you'll have to work on your wire antenna farm!

73,
Barry W2UP

On 3/19/2018 6:53 AM, John Dorr wrote:
Hi Barry (and everyone)!

I'm happy to answer your questions about moderation of this list. It's probably time to do that anyway.

For the moment, I am the single moderator of CQ-Contest. In the past, K1KI has also assisted but he is taking a well-deserved break from the action.

This is not a real-time system. The moderator reviews a queue of posts and approves them when time is available to do so. Sometimes that happens in minutes; other times it can even take a day or so.

The reality is that very few posts are deleted as part of the moderating process. If they are, it's usually for the following reasons:

1) SPAM. We get dozens of SPAM messages each week that make it through the aggressive filtering system in place and moderation deletes those before they ever see the light of day.

2) Duplicate posts. Sometimes a person will ask a good question (e.g., Is the robot working?) and 10 people legitimately choose to answer the same question with the same answer. Often many of those posts will be deleted in deference to the "first guy."

3) Inappropriate posts. Personal attacks and foul language is not acceptable on CQ-Contest. Admittedly, this is a gray area but we try to do the right thing.

4) Repetitive thread responses. This may be shocking to some but we have a tendency on CQ-Contest to go "on and on and on and on." Sometimes we just have to close a thread down after it's run its course. This usually happens when someone jumps into the conversation and makes a point that was already made 47 posts earlier in the conversation.

5) For Sale. FS messages are not accepted on CQ-Contest. There are many other venues for that need and this has been the policy of this list since the beginning.

6) Unsigned messages. Usually a post that is unsigned without a callsign is rejected with a request to resend. If you're going to make a post, be sure to let us know who you are by callsign and your name.

7) I don't like you. Just kidding with this one. :-)

The combination of the above results in a much cleaner list with a little more focus. Could we run it open-ended? Probably. But, I don't think many of our users would like the result.

I hope this clears up some of the urban legend around moderation. Believe me when I say it's not an easy job. But hopefully it serves the community well. Keep in mind that when you post something, it's going to over 1000 other users around the world. That may be your best guideline in defining valuable content for others to read.

73, John, K1AR

On Sat, Mar 17, 2018 at 7:30 PM, Barry <w2up@comcast.net <mailto:w2up@comcast.net>> wrote:

    Sure, once or twice a year, things may get a little testy, but
    does that make approval of every post necessary, so we see 10-20
    similar replies to the same question or comment because replies
    are approved in batches once or twice per day?

    I'm not even sure who the moderators are - K1AR, K1KI, anyone else?

    Any stats on how often posts are nixed?  Is moderation of this
    list really necessary?

    Barry W2UP
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