Declan, Cypherpunks does not seem to me to be anything like the well- regulated lists you ascribe to Prof Volokh. Could you, with Professor Volokh, expand on the application of "editorial control" on "unmoderated" lists? (See Netly below) As well as amplify "the power to kick folks off a list ... if conversation veers too far from the list's charter." (See your quote below) Isn't this power the black heart of free speech racketeering? And what makes the glands of secret authoritarians thrill with benevolent suppression of assent on behalf of the disorderly, fuzzy-minded citizenry? Media moguls and list runners share commonalities, to be sure, but I wonder if it's not cruel to compare John Gilmore to Professsor Volokh, and both to, say, Rupert Murdoch. -------- [Netly News] Eugene Volokh, a law professor at UCLA, runs a number of mailing lists and has kicked people off to maintain better editorial control. Volokh says that the most valuable publications are those that exercise the highest degree of editorial control. [Your post of 11-13] In my experience, and I've talked about this at some length with Prof. Volokh who runs a number of lists himself, the best and most valuable discussion lists are those that are unmoderated but have a list owner who has the power to kick folks off a list and can try to steer the direction of a conversation if it veers too far from the list's charter.