Nan:2025-02-02-rfd-mass-deletion-nomod-2025
From Usenet Big-8 Management Board
From: Big-8 Management Board <board@big-8.org>
Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups.proposals,news.groups
Subject: 2nd RfD: Mass-deletion of moderated groups without a moderator
Followup-To: news.groups.proposals
Date: Sun, 2 Feb 2025 10:09:38 EST
Message-ID: <vno1pu$k94$1@reader2.panix.com>
Archive-Name: mass-deletion-nomod-2025
REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD)
This is a formal Request for Discussion (RFD) to remove the following
99 moderated newsgroups.
RATIONALE:
Currently, those groups cannot be used for discussion because of the
lack of a moderator. Most of those groups haven't had a moderator for
a long time and have been unused for years. We consider it unlikely
that they will ever be revived with a new moderator. Nonetheless,
anyone interested in becoming a moderator for a group listed in this
RFD is invited to contact the Big-8 Management Board.
DISCUSSION SO FAR:
noel and Christian Schumacher argued for having the groups' moderation
flag unset rather than deleting the groups. Ivo Gandolfo countered
that many servers would not properly apply the change in moderation
flag.
Marco Moock said that cleaning up unused groups will make it easier
for users to find active groups; he acknowledged that some servers
don't process control articles but wondered why he should care about
these servers. Julien ÉLIE said that people will appreciate a
cleaned-up newsgroups list and that it doesn't matter if some servers
don't process the control articles. Julius Bernotas said that groups
should be deleted when they no longer fulfill their purpose.
Jean-Paul agreed with Marco that cleaning up unused groups will make
it easier for users to find active groups. Christian Schumacher said
that he looks for newsgroups by name, not by traffic.
noel argued that deleting a few hundred groups will not make it
significantly easier to find active groups. Julien ÉLIE agreed and
said that unmoderated groups should also be cleaned up.
In a separate discussion on news.groups, Adam H. Kerman said that the
RFD was not being distributed widely enough, including to potential
moderators of the specific groups in the RFD. To the argument that
removing unused groups makes active groups easier to find, he
responded that users can find these via keyword search and by
attempting to post to them. D expressed "no objections your honour"
to the RFD, later noting that 10% of currently active newsgroups are
moderated, but that the remaining 90% unmoderated active newsgroups
are overrun by trolls and spam.
Also on news.groups, Steve Bonine warned that when groups are removed,
the history associated with the contents of the group will disappear,
which could hinder people doing (historical) research. He agreed that
removing the unused groups in the RFD would prevent users from wasting
their time posting into the void, but said that at this time it's not
worth the effort to delete them. Winston shared Steve Bonine's
concern about the contents of deleted groups disappearing. Computer
Nerd Kev said that converting the groups to unmoderated ones may work
around this problem.
Computer Nerd Kev pointed out that rec.arts.movies.reviews has seen
recent activity and sees a chance to revive it. (The Board
subsequently investigated this and confirmed that the group has no
moderation address registered; the sole active poster, who they were
unable to reach for comment, seems to be circumventing this by posting
articles with an Approved header to a lenient server.) The Board also
received an e-mail from someone volunteering to moderate
soc.genealogy.surnames.britain and is currently in correspondence with
them. In light of these developments, rec.arts.movies.reviews and
soc.genealogy.surnames.britain have been excluded from this 2nd RFD.
DISTRIBUTION:
news.announce.newgroups
news.groups.proposals
news.groups
Because of the magnitude of the group list, this proposal is not
cross-posted to target groups. In the course of these proceedings the
Board will post pointers to this announcement to appropriate
groups. Readers are encouraged to take the initiative and spread the
message.
PROCEDURE:
The procedure shall take at least 8 weeks, with announcements posted
every 4 weeks: 1st RFD, 2nd RFD, and Last Call for Comments (LCC). The
group lists may be revised during this stage and additional RFDs
posted as necessary. Discussion about candidate groups should take
place in the moderated group news.groups.proposals. After publication
of the LCC, the Board will vote. If there are specific reasons to vote
individually for some groups, the Board will do, but the default will
be a ballot covering all groups.
More details can be found here:
https://www.big-8.org/wiki/Mass_removal_of_groups
NEWSGROUP LINES:
comp.binaries.cbm For the transfer of 8bit Commodore binaries.
(Moderated)
comp.doc.techreports Lists of technical reports. (Moderated)
comp.internet.library Discussing electronic libraries. (Moderated)
comp.lang.c.moderated The C programming language. (Moderated)
comp.newprod Announcements of new products of interest.
(Moderated)
comp.org.cauce The Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial
E-Mail. (Moderated)
comp.robotics.research Academic, government & industry research in
robotics. (Moderated)
comp.simulation Simulation methods, problems, uses. (Moderated)
comp.soft-sys.math.mathematica Mathematica discussion group. (Moderated)
comp.sources.games Postings of recreational software. (Moderated)
comp.std.announce Announcements about standards activities.
(Moderated)
comp.sys.amiga.announce Announcements about the Amiga. (Moderated)
comp.sys.sun.announce Sun announcements and Sunergy mailings. (Moderated)
humanities.philosophy.objectivism The ideas of Ayn Rand. (Moderated)
misc.activism.progressive Information for Progressive activists.
(Moderated)
misc.business.consulting The business of consulting. (Moderated)
misc.business.marketing.moderated Roundtable for marketing topics.
(Moderated)
misc.business.moderated Roundtable for general business topics. (Moderated)
misc.entrepreneurs.moderated Entrepreneur/business topics. (Moderated)
misc.invest.financial-plan Financial planning in general. (Moderated)
misc.transport.air-industry Airlines, airports, commercial aircraft.
(Moderated)
misc.writing.screenplays.moderated Craft/business of screenwriting.
(Moderated)
news.admin.net-abuse.policy Discussion of net abuse policy. (Moderated)
news.announce.conferences Calls for papers and conferences.
(Moderated)
rec.arts.anime.creative Original works by fans, related to anime/manga.
(Moderated)
rec.arts.anime.info Announcements about Japanese animation. (Moderated)
rec.arts.ascii ASCII art, info on archives, art, & artists.
(Moderated)
rec.arts.drwho.moderated Discussion of "Doctor Who". (Moderated)
rec.arts.erotica Erotic fiction and verse. (Moderated)
rec.arts.movies.erotica Aspects of erotic films and videos. (Moderated)
rec.arts.sf.announce Major announcements of the SF world. (Moderated)
rec.arts.sf.starwars.info General information pertaining to Star
Wars. (Moderated)
rec.autos.sport.f1.moderated Discussion of Formula One racing.
(Moderated)
rec.autos.sport.nascar.moderated NASCAR and Stockcar Racing.
(Moderated)
rec.boats.marketplace Boating products for sale and wanted. (Moderated)
rec.crafts.jewelry Jewelry making and gemology. (Moderated)
rec.drugs.announce Announcements about drugs and related issues.
(Moderated)
rec.food.cuisine.jewish All matters concerning Jewish cuisine. (Moderated)
rec.food.recipes Recipes for interesting food and drink. (Moderated)
rec.gardens.ecosystems Ecosystems and organic gardening. (Moderated)
rec.humor.funny Jokes that are funny (in the moderator's
opinion). (Moderated)
rec.humor.funny.reruns Reposts of rec.humor.funny archive material.
(Moderated)
rec.martial-arts.moderated Martial-arts in general. (Moderated)
rec.music.beatles.info Latest press notes about the Beatles. (Moderated)
rec.music.beatles.moderated Fab Four analytical & investigative
articles. (Moderated)
rec.music.gaffa Discussion of Kate Bush & other alternative
music. (Moderated)
rec.music.info News and announcements on musical topics.
(Moderated)
rec.music.makers.guitar.tablature Guitar tablature and
performance. (Moderated)
rec.music.promotional Information and promo materials from record
companies. (Moderated)
rec.music.reviews Reviews of music of all genres and mediums.
(Moderated)
rec.pets.dogs.info General information and FAQs posted here.
(Moderated)
rec.pets.ferrets Forum on ferret care and husbandry. (Moderated)
rec.photo.moderated The art and science of photography. (Moderated)
rec.skiing.alpine.moderated Alpine (downhill) skiing. (Moderated)
rec.skiing.announce FAQ, competition results, automated snow
reports. (Moderated)
sci.aeronautics The science of aeronautics & related technology.
(Moderated)
sci.archaeology.moderated All aspects of archaeology. (Moderated)
sci.bio.evolution Discussions of evolutionary biology. (Moderated)
sci.bio.phytopathology All aspects of plant diseases and pests. (Moderated)
sci.chem.organic.synthesis Synthetic organic chemistry related
topics. (Moderated)
sci.econ.research Research in all fields of economics. (Moderated)
sci.med.orthopedics Orthopedic Surgery, related issues and
management. (Moderated)
sci.military.moderated Military technology. (Moderated)
sci.nanotech Self-reproducing molecular-scale machines.
(Moderated)
sci.physics.foundations Fundamental and philosophical physics. (Moderated)
sci.physics.strings String theory and related fields. (Moderated)
sci.space.moderated Discussions about space related topics. (Moderated)
sci.space.news Announcements of space-related news items.
(Moderated)
soc.adoption.adoptees Discussion of adoption by adoptees. (Moderated)
soc.atheism Living as an atheist and atheism in society.
(Moderated)
soc.culture.african.american.moderated African-American perspectives.
(Moderated)
soc.culture.basque Basque culture and related issues. (Moderated)
soc.culture.belarus All things about Belarus. (Moderated)
soc.culture.hawaii Aloha kakou, E KOMO MAI! Eh, no forget hemo da
shoes. (Moderated)
soc.culture.indian.goa About Goa, India's smallest state. (Moderated)
soc.culture.jewish.parenting Issues about raising Jewish children.
(Moderated)
soc.culture.kuwait.moderated Kuwaiti culture, society, and history.
(Moderated)
soc.culture.turkish.moderated Issues related to Turks/Turkey. (Moderated)
soc.feminism Discussion of feminism & feminist issues.
(Moderated)
soc.genealogy.african Genealogy of Africa and the African Diaspora.
(Moderated)
soc.genealogy.surnames.canada Surnames queries - Canada. (Moderated)
soc.genealogy.surnames.german Surnames queries - German speaking
countries. (Moderated)
soc.genealogy.surnames.global Surnames queries central database.
(Moderated)
soc.genealogy.surnames.misc Surnames - regions not covered
elsewhere. (Moderated)
soc.genealogy.surnames.usa Surnames queries - USA. (Moderated)
soc.history.moderated All aspects of history. (Moderated)
soc.personals Personal ads -- people in search of (ISO)
others. (Moderated)
soc.politics Political problems, systems, solutions. (Moderated)
soc.politics.marxism Karl Marx and his legacy in theory and practice.
(Moderated)
soc.religion.asatru Following the Gods and Goddesses of Northern
Europe. (Moderated)
soc.religion.bahai Discussion of the Baha'i Faith. (Moderated)
soc.religion.hindu Discussion about the Hindu dharma, philosophy,
culture. (Moderated)
soc.religion.mormon The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
(Moderated)
soc.religion.paganism Networking for Pagans. (Moderated)
soc.religion.unitarian-univ Unitarian-Universalism & non-creedal
religions. (Moderated)
soc.sexuality.spanking Adult sexual spanking. (Moderated)
soc.support.fat-acceptance.moderated Self-acceptance for fat people.
(Moderated)
soc.support.loneliness Mutual help and chat for those of us who feel
alone. (Moderated)
soc.support.youth.gay-lesbian-bi Gay youths helping each other.
(Moderated)
If you have any objections, please make them heard in moderated group
news.groups.proposals. The "Followup-To:" header is set on this message,
so simply replying to this post should do the right thing.
HISTORY OF THIS RFD:
2025-01-03: 1st RFD (remove)
2025-02-02: 2nd RFD (remove)
rec.arts.movies.reviews excluded
soc.genealogy.surnames.britain excluded
--
Usenet Big-8 Management Board
https://www.big-8.org/
board@big-8.org
