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In <2jnbcp$a30@vixen.cso.uiuc.edu>, bdienes@s.psych.uiuc.edu (Bruce Dienes) writes:
>Can somebody tell me how the moderated NetNews groups work.
>Specifically:
>
>Can there be more than one moderator?

Only one address can be set as the moderator's address. This could be
the address of a very short mailing list, or a forwarding site which
would forward the mail to two or more moderators. Any moderator can
approve the post merely by reposting it with the proper headers.

>If so, is there a simple command to select which moderator the mail goes
> to at any given time? (so we can "take shifts")

The software to do this would have to be set up at your site. There is
no facility in Usenet, except to mail all posts made to a moderated
newsgroup to a single e-mail address.

>If I change my account is it easy to change the moderation address?

Not really. Monthly posts are sent out to the news.* newsgroups showing
the current moderator addresses. These are processed at various sites
but you'll never get 100% (at least right away).

For this reason you should have the moderator address be a dummy address
from where the mail is forwarded to the real moderator(s).  If the
moderators change, only the mailing forwarding has to be changed -- not
all the various sites on Usenet.

>Can a moderated group be changed to unmoderated in the future, if
>moderation turns out to be unneccessary?

To change the status from moderated to unmoderated a new control message
is sent out. These travel through Usenet and 95% or so are delivered
within a day or two. Some longer period of time elapses while the news
admins get around to processing the control message. Figure most of the
sites on Usenet will make your change within a week or so. Some never
will.

Going from moderated to unmoderated is easier than the other way around
because you don't have to worry about the sites not knowing where the
moderator is located. When you go from unmoderated to moderated you
really should send out the moderator address a month or two before you
make the actual change from unmoderated to moderated.

Jim McIntosh (jim@american.edu)
The American University
Washington, DC USA 20016-8019

bdienes@s.psych.uiuc.edu (Bruce Dienes):

>>If I change my account is it easy to change the moderation address?

Jim McIntosh <jim@american.edu>:

>Not really. Monthly posts are sent out to the news.* newsgroups showing
>the current moderator addresses. These are processed at various sites
>but you'll never get 100% (at least right away).

If only the mailing list is to be moderated, changes are much simpler,
since all mail sent to the newsgroup or mailing list will go to the
moderator before distribution to the list subscribers.


-- 
	Una Smith			smith-una@yale.edu

Department of Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT  06520-8104  USA