As Doc-talk moderators, we will not arbitrarily alter, delete, or delay contributions from subscribers for the reason that we don't agree with what's said or don't like the contributor. We view the list as a platform for discussion and ideas, and are as interested in controversy as in agreement. Contributions from readers often contain some text that is irrelevant to the point being made. The moderators will occasionally leave such extraneous material out of a message when it's being posted back to the list. Such omissions, though, will never be made in such a way as to change the meaning of the writer.
Moderation is a responsibility.
Because we, as moderators of Doc-talk, ask members to have faith in our judgement concerning what's appropriate for the list, we feel it's our responsibility to ensure that everything that appears in postings is timely, intelligent, understandable, and valuable to our readers. We feel we cannot respond to the preferences of a vocal minority in ways that, in our opinion, appear detrimental to the majority of Doc-talk readers. Moderation is a service. These strings are posted to the list in files that, in our judgment, are neither too large to be received by anyone's email reader, or so frequent that they become an annoyance. Another service of the moderator is to post articles, reviews, and notices culled from academic journals, email or Usenet lists, newsletters, newspapers, etc.