IESG guidance on the moderation of IETF Working Group Mailing Lists


In some cases, it is necessary and appropriate to moderate IETF
mailing lists. For example, moderation might be needed to control
excessive spam, persistent off-topic postings, persistent personal
attacks, etc. on mailing lists.  The IESG has devised the following
set of guidelines for the moderation of mailing lists.

1) The appropriate AD(s) must approve of a list being moderated.

2) The WG should be kept informed of a mailing list's moderation
   policy. For example, a message could be posted to the mailing list
   on a regular basis, or new members could be sent the policy as part
   of the welcome message when subscribing.

3) Messages should be accepted or rejected in whole; selective editing
   of messages to remove off-topic content is not permitted.

4) When rejecting a note, a note must be returned to the author with
   a short explanation.

5) Rejected notes should be saved for a reasonable period of time, so
   that there is a record in the event a dispute arises.

6) Items 3-5 apply to all manually rejected messages that require some
   thinking on the part of the moderator. They do not apply to obvious
   off-topic "make money fast" messages, or messages rejected through
   generic automated means (i.e., automated spam-filters on mailing
   list software).