My apologies for responding so late. I was traveling the past week and a
half, so this spam-alleviating discussion rings close to my heart after
filtering through hundreds of emails.

From Rastislav Kralovic:

I have found the list directly (i.e. not via the newsgroup). I
don't know how
typical is my case, but I personally would vote for a moderated list not
connected to RAB.

I have to agree with this. I found the list by means of a simple web
search, without even directly searching for it. It was also cited on many
web search returns, and IBC was linked on a few sites. I do not yet see the
benefit of RAB, mostly because I lack evidence. According to Jim the admins
may know how many posters are not subscribed.

To understand the benefit, let me pose a question to the past and present
administrators and long-time posters. If this list was not linked to IBC,
and people were searching for bonsai discussion, would they likely still
find and join the list? If so, why remain linked?

Still, some of the argumentative posts we've seen recently have not come in
as the spam at the heart of this discussion. Many of our delete buttons got
a workout regarding Marco Invernizzi's heritage and the expansion of bonsai
as art. Dumping RAB will do nothing to solve this aspect of the problem.

It costs nothing to join the list, yet the benefits can be immense. I can't
tell you how much I continue to learn from this resource (even if not all of
it is applicable to my region). I'm happy with any direction this list
takes, as long as the resource doesn't go away.

Best regards,

-Wendy

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