[R] Newsgroup - another try?

[Duncan Murdoch]

On Tue, 4 Sep 2001 10:44:05 +0200 , you wrote in message
<D16B18FFF743D311A9CA0090275F3CB004384841 at arcss07.arcs.ac.at>:

>As nobody seems to answer my request, I simply post it again.
>Is there any reason why the r-help-mailinglist should not be converted to a
>newsgroup?

I agree that a moderated newsgroup would be preferable to the current
mailing list.  The main benefit I see is that the mailing list tends
to fill up my inbox, while a newsgroup is held on the server.  This
isn't a problem when I'm at home (I have a fast connection and my mail
reader can sort things reasonably well), but when I'm travelling I
have to use what's available, and often have substantial delays while
it downloads dozens or hundreds of messages.

The obstacles I see are mainly in terms of time:

 - To be useful, the mailing list should be in the main hierarchy.  It
takes  a fair bit of time and effort to create a newsgroup there.
Here is a description of the process:
<http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/creating-newsgroups/part1/>.  Other
FAQs describe various aspects of the process.

 - Because of spam, it would need a moderator.  There is
robo-moderation software, but someone needs to know how to use it and
be willing to commit the time to make sure it runs smoothly.

 - The knowledgeable and helpful participants in the mailing list are
all very busy, and have well established routines that work with the
mailing list.  They're likely to be unwilling to change their routines
for no perceived gain, so you may have trouble finding knowledgeable
participants for the newsgroup.

It's also possible to set up a local mail to news gateway, so that the
mailing list appears to local users at your site as a newsgroup; if
you do that, please make sure that posting is only allowed from local
users (or your site will become a source of spam on the mailing list).

Duncan Murdoch
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