Nan:2011-02-26-rfd-news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting

From Usenet Big-8 Management Board
From: Jim Seymour <jseymour+usenet@LinxNet.com>
Subject: RFD: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting moderated (remove)
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2011 12:55:32 EST
Message-ID: <8ssskgF75nU2@mid.individual.net>

                          REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD)
                   moderated news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting

This is a formal Request for Discussion (RFD) to remove the moderated
newsgroup news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting.

Newsgroups Line: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting         Discussion of 
ip-based blocklisting. (Moderated)

Distribution:
    news.announce.newgroups
    news.groups.proposals
    news.admin.net-abuse.email
    news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting (posted separately)

Proponent: Jim Seymour <jseymour+usenet@LinxNet.com>

Charter:

    news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting is a newsgroup devoted to
    discussion of subjects related to the use, administration, and
    effects of blocklists in ameliorating the problem of unsolicited
    bulk email and other unwanted or abusive network traffic. Any
    topic which is especially of interest to those maintaining,
    using, or affected by blocklists is welcome in this group.

    The nature of the topic is such that expressions of anger and
    frustration are expected, but vulgarity, ad hominem attacks,
    unwarranted generalisations and non-productive displays of pique
    (however elegantly worded,) will be rejected at the discretion
    of the moderators. Rejected articles will be returned to the
    author. Where practicable, the moderator may include advice
    on how to revise the article to better meet the criteria for
    acceptance.

    In general, the moderators will not reject articles based on
    content, but only on tone and language. However, some content may
    be deemed unsuitable. Examples of content-related criteria for
    rejection may include ad hominem attacks, repetitive expositions
    of largely identical arguments, and non- informative expressions
    of opinion on the viability of one or another list, method,
    provider, or listed entity. The focus will be on information.

    Although discussions in the group may focus on one or another
    listing in a specific blocklist, the advice and opinions
    expressed in the group should not be taken as authoritative for
    any listing or list. Maintainers of various lists use their own
    various criteria, and may or may not be influenced by postings
    in the group, however well-informed or accurate.

    All messages removed by unauthorized cancels will be
    automatically reposted by Dave the Resurrector or a similar
    program, or at the discretion of a group moderator. Spams,
    gateway spews, and other attacks on the system itself will be
    removed as appropriate, following standard Usenet guidelines.

    Binary files will not be approved for posting in
    news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting.

    The following are sample topics which will be addressed in
    news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting:

        Blocklist creation and maintenance Nomination and delisting
        procedures Criteria used in listings Pros and cons of
        DNSBL usage Reduction of "false positives" Discussions of
        blocklist listings Effects of blocklist use on spam volume
        Other technologies for propagation and querying of a list
        New uses for blocklists

    Cross-posting articles to news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting is
    not allowed; exceptions may be made at the discretion of the
    moderators, as for example in the case of FAQ's.

    Moderation will be performed using the Secure Team-based Usenet
    Moderation Program (STUMP) or similar technology, which will
    be supplied by Scott Hazen Mueller. Where practicable, the
    following procedures will be followed by the moderation team:

        - The moderators will maintain the tone of discourse so
          as to minimize the heated discussions to which the subject
          often leads.

        - Although moderators themselves may have strong opinions
          on the efficacy, application, or side-effects of one
          or another blocklist or other method of reducing spam,
          they are expected to refrain from allowing such opinions
          to influence their approval or rejection of articles.

        - The moderators may use the tools provided (now or in
          the future) to aid in moderation of the group. These
          may include "white lists," "black lists," keywording of
          headers, and word-filtering.

        - Moderators will be added to or removed from the team by
          a 2/3 majority vote. In the case of a vote for removal,
          the moderator under review will not be permitted to vote.

Rationale for removal:

    Interest in the group has declined to the point where it is felt
    by the moderation team the newsgroup no longer serves a purpose.

History of the Group:

    The moderated news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting (hereinafter
    referred-to as "NANABl) was approved for creation by the Usenet
    community in mid-2003, by a vote of 200:14.

    For the next five years or so it filled its intended role quite
    well, and was fairly active.

    Starting sometime in early 2008, however, participation in
    the discussion of blocklisting issues began to decline--being
    replaced with nothing more than complaints and delisting requests
    for two or three particular blocklists that (purposefully, one
    presumes) do not provide for a method to contact them directly.

    Repeated moderation team attempts to re-focus the newsgroup on
    *discussion*, rather than serving as a mere complaint department
    and delisting queue for certain blocklists, were, ultimately,
    unsuccessful.  After the moderation team eventually put their
    collective foot down in early 2010 and refused to approve any
    further blocklist complaints, delisting requests or repetitive
    discussion (particularly as those related to the operation
    and methodology of one particular blocklist), the newsgroup's
    traffic dropped to nearly nothing.

   The moderation team voted unanimously to shut the group down in
   May of 2010.

   Other than just recently, when one (1) submission was approved by
   a moderator, the last approved submissions (3) to the newsgroup
   were in May, 2010.

   A February 24, 2011 announcement of the impending shutdown of
   the group to NANABl, itself, and news.admin.net-abuse.email
   garnered very little response, which tends to confirm there is
   no significant remaining interest in the group.

Procedure:

    Those who wish to comment on this request to remove this
    newsgroup should subscribe to news:news.groups.proposals and
    participate in the relevant threads in that newsgroup.

    To this end, the followup header of this RFD has been set to
    news.groups.proposals.

    All discussion of active proposals should be posted to
    news.groups.proposals.

    No discussion of this proposal will take place in
    news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting, itself.

    For more information on the newsgroup removal process, please see

    http://www.big-8.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=policies:rmgroup

History of this RFD:

    2011-02-26 - Original Created and Posted


Regards,
Jim
-- 
Jim Seymour - jseymour+usenet@LinxNet.com
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