[Foundation-l] should not web server logs (of requests) be published?

Tue Nov 30 18:15:33 UTC 2010

J Alexandr Ledbury-Romanov wrote:
> I can guarantee that I myself, one of the three foundation-l list
> moderators, am not an absent landlord. I read every post with care and
> attention. Whilst there have been some posts on various threads of late than
> have been to my mind sub-optimal, there have not, in my opinion, been any
> egrarious personal attacks or trolling.
> 
> Moderation is not something we take lightly. Indeed, when we recently
> reluctantly took the decision to ban one member, there were cries of
> censorship.
> 
> That said, if you feel that there are any posts which overstepped the mark,
> please let me or one of the more experienced list moderators know privately.

It's not really about technical moderation. The answer is usually not to set
the moderation filter in mailman. (And, yes, I'll agree that the few times
software moderation has been used on this list, it's been done poorly.) It's
also not really about reading every post, though as a moderator, at least
skimming them is always a good idea.

The answer is usually for a moderator to try to steer the thread in the
right direction. They may not always be successful, but it's worth a shot
(or two) in any case. It's difficult to explain, but if you've ever been on
a forum or mailing list with a good moderator, I think you'll know what I'm
talking about.

MZMcBride