[Discuss] time to scrap the moderated list

[psymann]

Robert Croson, Jr wrote:
> If you know of better mod-list software that does what you are suggesting, and 
> works with Tom's mail server, then please suggest it. Otherwise, there's nothing 
> we can do to change the way it works.

Well, much of it can be done on a forum... problem is, without knowing 
*why* Tom dislikes forums, it's hard to say whether it's worth 
suggesting a change.  When I was a kid, I hated mushrooms and swore I'd 
never eat them.  Now I like them.  Just because at one point in time you 
say you'll never do something doesn't mean you won't change your mind.

For what it's worth, a forum would mean:
- you can moderate bad posts out rather than having to moderate good 
posts in (given that the community in Battlemaster is pretty literate 
and able to talk nicely most of the time, the majority of posts are fine 
and therefore modding out bad takes less time than modding in the good).
- if you edit a post on a forum, you can leave a note saying what you've 
taken out, and why you've done it.
- if you use a forum, you can pin a topic at the top of the page with 
rules and FAQ (like you've got to have a damn good reason for suggesting 
non-human races, and you shouldn't just post "me too" spam or it'll get 
deleted, and don't top-post etc - easier to find than on a wiki page you 
don't know exists).

Thing is, that sounds quite reasonable to me, but I don't know what 
Tom's objections are, so it's hard to say whether any of the above is a 
good idea.

 >* Tom hates forums.
Why?  I'm not offering, since I haven't the ability to do so, but if I 
created one from scratch now, missing out all the things he hates, but 
still called it a forum, would he hate that too just because I call it a 
forum?

 >* Tom will not host a forum.
He doesn't have to - you can get free ones hosted elsewhere.

 >* Tom will not participate in forums.
Of course not, because he hates them.  If he learned to like them, he 
might participate.  I used to hate forums too.  Then I found one for 
another game which was run well, and now I see some of the benefits.
And if you use the ability of a forum to split things into different 
areas, you can have one area for serious and good discussion that Tom 
reads, and another section for the round-in-circles discussion, and yet 
another for all the crap that no-one needs to read unless they're bored.

psymann