Future of EdStat List

[E. Jacquelin Dietz]

Dear EdStat readers,

I have been given a final ultimatum by the NC State postmaster regarding the EdStat list. By Friday, I must make changes to the list that will completely eliminate complaints about spam. The university is in danger of being blacklisted by SpamCop because of complaints about EdStat; the university cannot allow this to happen, and they will shut down the list by the end of the week unless I take drastic action.

I can think of only two options to pursue. First, I can restrict EdStat postings to subscribers. We tried this once before and decided it was unacceptable because approximately 2/3 of legitimate postings come from the sci.stat.edu newsgroup, and the people who post to the newsgroup are not EdStat subscribers. The second option, and the one I lean toward at the moment, is to moderate the list. This would mean that every message would come to me for approval before being posted to the list. Aside from the obvious burden on me, the disadvantage of this is that messages will only be posted when I am available. That means that when I go out of town, or go to class, or sleep, etc., no messages will be posted to EdStat. The newsgroup will continue to function as it does now. (A third option, of course, is to just abandon the list in favor of the newsgroup.)

I would appreciate any feedback you may have about these options (or others). It is possible to have a group of moderators; if anyone is willing to share the job with me, or to cover for me occasionally when I need to travel, please let me know.

I would like to convey my extreme frustration with those of you who have complained to SpamCop and to the NC State postmaster, despite my continued pleas that you not do so. I have worked very hard to keep spam out of the list. Every message is checked against a long list of key words and phrases before being posted, and I screen out numerous (maybe 10 to 30) scams and commercial messages every day. The final straw with the NC State postmaster was a nasty complaint about the recent message with subject "I provide help for students on very many subjects." That was a silly and offensive message, but I don't think it was worth jeopardizing the future of the list.

Jackie Dietz
Listowner
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E. Jacquelin Dietz (919) 515-1929 (phone)
Department of Statistics, Box 8203 (919) 515-1169 (FAX)
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-8203 USA [EMAIL PROTECTED]

Street address for FedEx:
Room 210E Patterson Hall, 2501 Founders Drive
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