PG> would also like to encourage you to relax your rule regarding the need
 PG> for an internet email address.  I think that you have done an excellent
 PG> job as temporary moderator.  However, if you will forgive my saying it,
 PG> I think that adding new rules as to who may become moderator is rather
 PG> bad form.  I think your point was valid and that you have every right
Peter,
Bob has moderated both C_ECHO and C_PLUSPLUS, and, along with other 
moderators, have found, through experience, internet email access is of 
immeasurable importance in carrying out punish- er, fulfilling one's duty as 
moderator.  I, for one, as co-moderator of C_ECHO (even though I haven't been 
called on to do anything, thankfully) can see the near-necessity of internet 
email access.  Netmail, besides being partially unreliable, is particularily 
slow (or fast and expensive)... taking three to seven days to cross zones, 
when it does actually make it across the zones.  Email can cross the globe in 
under 15 minutes (I've received replies from Australia in under 10 minutes).
At a bare minimum, though, all that is really required is a mostly-reliable 
internet gateway which will convert your email to netmail for you.  Netmail: 
a week; gateway email: an hour (maybe up to three or four)... at least here 
anyway.  (Nevermind that I've now been connected the gateway twice in the 
last two nets... in N342, I was the gateway's hub, and in N250, I am the link 
between the gateway in N2424 and our net...:->)  Nevermind its reliability.
Last, some users (such as on my BBS) don't have netmail access.  If they were 
to wish to communicate with the moderator privately, they couldn't.  And THAT 
could kill off the echoes faster than the internet, IMNSHO.
However, the effectiveness of the above arguments may change - the next 
moderator may find that s/he never uses the email for echo-related things and 
decide that since it isn't really required for the job anymore, future 
moderators will no longer need it.  Until, of course, a future moderator 
finds that email would have made his/her job easier - or if s/he has email, 
finds that it practically saved the day in helping moderate the echo.
I find this unlikely as we may head the direction of C_ECHO in adopting 
co-moderators - communication between the primary moderator and his/her 
co-moderators must be faster than netmail to effectively moderate as if there 
were only one moderator.
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