Discussion groups are often described as unmoderated, moderated, or digest. In an unmoderated group, everyone receives a copy of every message sent to the group. In a moderated group, a designated moderator filters out duplicate or irrelevant comments. The other subscribers only receive messages which were approved by the moderator. A digest group is also moderated but the messages are not passed on as they are approved.
Unmoderated groups are the most common.
Most of us are busy enough without offering to moderate a discussion group comprised of hundreds of people. As we'll discuss in a later lesson, there is no person or organization that manages the Internet. When you join a discussion group you may want to take a few days to read the discussions and get a sense of the group before you participate. Good Internet manners also dictates that you don't send messages to the group that are completely unrelated to the topic. For instance, if you are a member of a discussion group related to anthropology it would be inappropriate for you to send a message to the group to advertise a camp on the lake you are trying to sell.