Many systems allow a small minority to tyrannically control the group, applying censorship where nobody actually wants it. Many systems may allow this behavior

Many systems allow a small minority to tyrannically control the group, applying censorship where nobody actually wants it. Many systems may allow this behavior, but that doesn't mean it actually happens. At least I've never personally encountered it on a mailing list. Is it really that big a problem? On the other hand, maybe the current state of comp.lang.lisp is a good example of what a mailing list with no moderation might look like. There are still good conversations, but there is so much spam and trolling that I don't bother reading it anymore -- it took too much work to sift through all the junk. Even worse, the trolls create an environment that is not exactly inviting to new users.