Changing the Moderation Status of Existing Groups

== Newsgroups may be changed: ==
;From moderated to unmoderated.
:This change may be initiated by members of the group or by the B8MB when a moderated group has been abandoned.
;From unmoderated to moderated.
:Changing a group from unmoderated to moderated is "strongly discouraged" - which, in practice, means "practically impossible."
** There are many News Service Providers who would not make the change. Some people would see a moderated group, others with different NSPs would see the unmoderated version.
** Such changes in the past have cultivated massive resentments. Leaving the original group intact and creating a companion moderated group allows group members to have a choice between the two different kinds of newsgroups on the same topic.
** In all likelihood, the board won't even publish an RFD to change a group from unmoderated to moderated. A proposal for such a change should not be submitted unless the group finds a way to demonstrate virtual unanimity. We strongly recommend that you instead spend your effort on learning how to use filters or how to create a moderated companion to the original group.
** Examples of change from unmoderated to moderated:
I think the RFD's for most are here. In many cases, there is the
original RFD for the unmoderated group, and the RFD for the switch to
a moderation a year or two later.
	
ftp:ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/news.announce.newgroups
	
	comp.ai (cross-posting, spam, noise)
	comp.compression.research ("research" not magic token)
	comp.infosystems.www.authoring.cgi (robomoderated)
	comp.lang.asm.x86 (flame wars - 68000 is too better)
	comp.lang.visual (confusion - MS Visual Basic)
	comp.programming.literate (confusion - programming literacy)
	comp.protocols.dns.ops (renamed comp.protocols.tcp-ip.domains)
	comp.std.c++ (confusion - c++ rather than standardization)
	comp.windows.news (confusion - news about MS-Windows)
	misc.business.facilitators (confusion - Ponzi scheme business)
	news.newusers.questions	(disorganized)
	rec.arts.comics.creative (off-topic swamps low volume)
	rec.crafts.jewelry (off topic/commercial)
	rec.games.mecha (flame-wars)
	rec.music.makers.guitar.tablature (noise, non-tabs)
	sci.aeronautics	(noise)
	soc.culture.indian.telugu (robo-moderate cross-posts)
	soc.genealogy.african (offensive, racist trolling)
	soc.support.pregnancy.loss (inflamatory/trolling)
	talk.origins (excessive cross-posting)
== The B8MB may also in rare and unusual circumstances change the moderator(s) of a newsgroup. ==
* The easy case is when the group has been abandoned. See the page on Moderator Vacancy Investigations.
* The hard cases are, at present, undefined.
== How Moderation Is Supposed to Work ==
* A new post is sent via the News Net Transfer Protocol (NNTP) to a news server.
* IF it is correctly configured, the news server sees the group is moderated, and relays the post via e-mail to ISC.org via the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).
* ISC.org sends the message via SMTP to the email (SMTP) address used by the moderator(s).
* The email server passes the post to the moderator(s) or the moderation software.
* If the post is approved, either automatically by software or by a human decision, the "approved" header is added to the post.
* The post is then injected via NNTP into a news server, which then shares it with its peers.
Category:Big-8 Management
Category:Moderation