[Cryptography] ADMIN: traffic levels

[Perry E. Metzger]

List traffic levels are very high right now.

Although the current situation is worrisome to many of us, the list
becomes less useful to all when it becomes so clogged with posts that
it becomes impossible for any reasonable person to read it.

I and the co-moderators are probably going to start being much more
strict about content until things settle down. Do not be surprised or
offended when you get a rejection -- it is nothing personal.

Some rules of thumb:

SHORT BEATS LONG: Don't ramble, get to the point, avoid unnecessary
asides, trim back what you're quoting to the minimum. This is
especially important in replies on long threads.

IMPORTANT BEATS TRIVIAL: The more real, interesting, and new content,
the more likely we are to forward it.

DON'T BE REDUNDANT: If you already said something a couple of times in
a thread, don't repeat it endlessly. Fixing a clear misunderstanding
is okay, of course.

TECHNICAL BEATS POLITICAL: The list explicitly permits political
postings, but especially when the load is this high, they should
be informative and insightful. I'll almost always forward technical
cryptography and protocol discussion.

BARE LINKS ARE IRRITANTS: If you post a link to something, it should
explain clearly why someone might want to click. Even a sentence will
do.

TOP POSTING IS AN ABOMINATION BEFORE THE MODERATOR: ...and I am an
angry, old-testament sort of moderator, too.

Lastly:

I've had to ban two people in the last week for getting incredibly
insulting after I would not forward their postings. It should go
without saying that calling me a fascist, an NSA plant, etc. is
unlikely to alter my opinion of your posting in a positive way. There
are other, unmoderated forums (with even more volume) -- you know how
to find them if you like.

Perry
-- 
Perry E. Metzger		perry at piermont.com