BBIF Discuss Moderated FAQ

What is it?

If you choose to participate in this new version of BBIF-Discuss, you will only see posts from BBIF-Discuss that have been approved by a human moderator. All messages will still be submitted through BBIF-Discuss, so you can think of the moderated version as a filter on the regular list. It is likely that some messages in a thread will be approved by the moderator and others will not.

Why BBIF-Discuss-Moderated?

I have watched as some of my favorite contributors have dropped off the list. I've followed up with a great many of them and they indicate that the volume, quality, and tone of the discussion doesn't meet their needs. I'm hoping that this will help serve the needs of two camps: one that wants an active, chatty list and the other that wants a lower-volume, more on-topic list that a busy person can follow.

What is the moderation policy?

This is still at the experimental stage, so you can expect the policy to be somewhat arbitrary. I imagine we won't settle on anything solid for some time, and it may vary based on list traffic. (i.e. It could be entirely possible that the moderator only chooses the best 10 posts of the day.)

Who is the moderator?

The current moderator wishes to remain anonoymous until s/he can acquaint themselves with the moderation system we built and get some practical experience. There is currently a single moderator who is a long time active participant of the list.

How can I contact the moderator?

Still working on this.

Is anything happening to regular BBIF-Discuss?

Nope. Regular ol' BBIF-Discuss will still be around for everyone to enjoy as always. My hope is to encourage wider participation from folks out there who have unsubscribed because they found the list to be too busy, argumentative, or noisy.

Can I subscribe to both BBIF-Discuss and BBIF-Discuss-Moderated?

It is certainly possible, but it may not be exactly what you expect. All messages are posted through BBIF-Discuss, and the moderator uses that as a pool to forward on to BBIF-Discuss-Moderated. If you were subscribed to both, you'd see many messages twice. If you were subscribed to just BBIF-Discuss, you'd see everything. If you were subscribed to BBIF-Discuss-Moderated, you would see only those BBIF-Discuss messages that the moderator approved.

Is there a digest version?

Not at present. I'm looking at alternate software to produce the digests.

What improvements do you see in the future?

Digests, perhaps some auto-moderation features, and maybe even password protected archives on the web.

How do I sign up?

You can take care of all of your subscribe/unsubscribe needs by sending a message to bbif-request@bbif.org. This hasn't changed.

How do I send messages to BBIF-Discuss-Moderated?

Just post them to bbif-discuss. If the moderator deems them appropriate for BBIF-Discuss-Moderated, s/he will forward the message.

Who do I complain to if my message didn't make it to bbif-discuss-moderated?

Complaining isn't likely to improve the chances of having something approved. I would suggest reexamining the message for form, content, and tone. Perhaps a simple improvement would increase the chances of approval. I'm still working on a moderator contact system, so s/he isn't overwhelmed.