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Re: How does "moderation" work with privacy in user Usenet posts?

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Thomas Hochstein wrote:
> Maria Sophia wrote:
> 
>> Presently are nntp-related threads in the Windows & (free) newserver
>> related newsgroups, along with separate software-related threads in the
>> Thunderbird & newsreader newsgroups, folks are discussing how the moderated
>> newsgroup process really works from both the user and nntp server
>> perspective.
> 
> If a newsgroup is marked as moderated, the newsserver will not post the
> article, but mail it to the moderator.
> 
> As it is not feasible to maintain a database of moderators on each and
> every server, most servers will sent these mails to newsgroup-name (with
> dashes instead of dots) @moderators.isc.org, and it will be forwarded from
> there to the real moderator account. (There is a central database of
> moderator addresses that is shared between the mail servers that accept
> and relay mail for moderators.isc.org.) Some local, regional or foreign
> language hierarchies will have their own "central database", but most (if
> not all) fall back to moderators.isc.org.
> 
> The moderator will (modify and) post the article to the moderated
> newsgroup, adding an Approved: header. Postings with such a header will
> not be mailed to the moderator, but posted.
> 
> You can mail your article to the moderator address (or the
> moderators.isc.org forwarder) instead of posting it, but then you'll have
> to add the necessary headers needed in postings, but not in mails, for
> example  Newsgroups: and Followup-To:. So it's easier to just post to the
> group as you would normally do.
> 
>> One specific question we have is whether a user can "email" directly to a
>> moderated newsgroup (when privacy is involved),
> 
> You can, but your mail must also be a valid posting, i.e. containing the
> relevant headers. You'll have to add them manually as a typical mail
> client won't set them.
> 
> Your mail will also contain more trace headers than a posting.
> 
> When you post to a moderated group, the newsserver won't add any more
> identifying information as it will do when posting to an unmoderated
> group. So if it won't add a "posting-host" item to Injection-Info: with
> your host name or IP address, it won't do so for the mailed posting
> etiher. The mail will identify the newsserver you used, but that is
> identified anyway.
> 
> Your mail to the moderation address will, on the other hand, contain
> information about the path the mail took from you to the recipient. That
> may include your hostname or IP address with a much higher probability;
> you'll have to check for the mail provider you are using.
> 
>> Q1: Can users email a post to a moderated newsgroup with email privacy?
> 
> They can, as privately as their other emails are.
> 
>> Q2: If using throwaway mail servers, what additional headers are required?
> 
> All headers necessary for a posting, i.e. Newsgroups, Followup-To: where
> appropriate.
> 
> Please keep in mind that due to the large number of unsolicited mail
> (spam, malware, ...), mail is more or less heavily filtered, so mail from
> "throwaway mail servers" may not reach their recipient.
> 
>> Q3: How does "typical" moderation work when the nntp header email is bogus?
> 
> It doesn't. The moderator can't contact the sender (and the sender won't
> know if there was a problem delivering the mail). Some mail servers won't
> accept non-existent sender addresses. Some mail servers will filter them
> as spam. (You'll have a slightly better chance when posting to a moderated
> group with an invalid address, as at least the envelope-from will be
> mostly be valid.) If the mail reaches a moderator, (s)he can't check back
> with the submitter and may or may not decide to post the article.

Wow. Thank you. That was so beautiful, I can't think of adding additional
palpable value. Since I delight in adding value, I can't, that was so good.

I wouldn't even respond given how complete your kind reply above was, but I
will try to add one tidbit is I found this FAQ which confirms what you
said, which is good because we had Adam deprecating the smtp method which
matters to anyone writing their own newsreader because the home-grown
newsreader needs to know how the smtp headers/body need to be arranged.

 *Usenet Big-8 Management Board - Moderated Newsgroups*
 <https://www.big-8.org/wiki/Moderated_Newsgroups>
-- 
Every Usenet post should strive to add palpable additional value
so that we can all delight in dissemination of useful knowledge.

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Thread

How does "moderation" work with privacy in user Usenet posts? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-01-31 12:51 -0500
  Re: How does "moderation" work with privacy in user Usenet posts? Marco Moock <mm@dorfdsl.de> - 2026-01-31 21:46 +0100
  Re: How does "moderation" work with privacy in user Usenet posts? "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> - 2026-01-31 21:15 +0000
    Re: How does "moderation" work with privacy in user Usenet posts? Thomas Hochstein <thh@thh.name> - 2026-02-01 15:22 +0100
      Re: How does "moderation" work with privacy in user Usenet posts? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-02-01 10:28 -0500
        Re: How does "moderation" work with privacy in user Usenet posts? "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> - 2026-02-01 16:48 +0000
        Re: How does "moderation" work with privacy in user Usenet posts? Thomas Hochstein <thh@thh.name> - 2026-02-01 22:44 +0100
        Re: How does "moderation" work with privacy in user Usenet posts? Thomas Hochstein <thh@thh.name> - 2026-02-01 22:47 +0100
        Re: How does "moderation" work with privacy in user Usenet posts? Julien ÉLIE <iulius@nom-de-mon-site.com.invalid> - 2026-02-04 00:13 +0100
      Re: How does "moderation" work with privacy in user Usenet posts? "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> - 2026-02-01 15:38 +0000
        Re: How does "moderation" work with privacy in user Usenet posts? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-02-01 12:22 -0500
          Re: How does "moderation" work with privacy in user Usenet posts? "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> - 2026-02-01 17:57 +0000
  Re: How does "moderation" work with privacy in user Usenet posts? Thomas Hochstein <thh@thh.name> - 2026-02-01 15:18 +0100
    Re: How does "moderation" work with privacy in user Usenet posts? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-02-01 10:38 -0500

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