1. You submit your post to your USENET server. It could be Google.
2. The USENET server finds out who the moderator is and emails the
proposed posting.
3. In the case of misc.legal.moderated it arrives at a server that I
run. You should receive an email from my server saying the posting has
been received. If you are not receiving the acknowledgement email then
most likely your email address on your proposed posting is defective.
The other possibility is that the USENET server you are using does not
process postings to a moderated group.
4. At the same time you are sent the acknowledgement email, the server
sends me an email with the proposed posting.
5. Once I receive the email from my server, I reply with the approval
or rejection. This is a MANUAL process. I check my emails a few times
a day including when I am traveling.
6. My server receives my email and then sends you an email with the
approval or rejection information
7. If your posting has been approved, my server connects to a USENET
server that accepts the message and adds it to USENET.
All the steps excluding my manual email (step 5) are automatic and
usually occur withing a few minutes. It may take some time for your
posting to arrive at your USENET server
Hope this helps to explain the process. The charter page has a lot more
info on the process and possible email address problems. You can email
me questions. I didn't realize that I have been the moderator since 2017!