NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31/NN_1992_31.iso/spool/chi/general/1804

Text File | 1993-01-01 | 7.1 KB | 145 lines

Newsgroups: chi.general
Path: sparky!uunet!paladin.american.edu!darwin.sura.net!convex!linac!att!mcdchg!usenet
From: [e-mail] (Usenet Admin)
Subject: chi Newsgroups FAQ [last mod: 11/6/92]
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Organization: Motorola Computer Group, Schaumburg, IL
Date: Fri, 1 Jan 1993 06:00:08 GMT
Lines: 135

This posting describes the Chicagoland regional newsgroups (chi).  It is
meant to be an adjunct to the postings describing the net-wide newsgroups.
This posting also describes the procedure for creating and destroying
newsgroups in the chi hierarchy.

Please mail your suggestions for changes or enhancements to me.

To start, here are the brief descriptions of the newsgroups suitable for
framing or inclusion in your LIBDIR/newsgroups file.  This information
will be posted in a "chi" newsgroups checkgroups control message.  The
checkgroups control message will be sent out automatically, on a regular
basis and when the "chi" newsgroup name space changes.
-----
chi.eats    Group for discussion of Chicagoland restaurants.
chi.forsale    Chicago area for-sale notices.
chi.general    General discussions, Chicago area, not forsale/wanted.
chi.mail    Discussion of Chicago area email issues.
chi.news.stats    Group for automated site Netnews statistics postings.
chi.places    Group for announcements of Chicago area events.
chi.wanted    Chicago area wanted (not for-sale) notices.
chi.weather    Chicagoland weather reports.
-----

In addition, there seem to be two or three sites that think that a group
named "chi.ai" exists.  Our best guess is that this is a typo, and that
the intended group name is actually something like "uchi.ai".

Additional description:

chi.eats    This is a dandy newsgroup for finding good restaurants
        or sharing your finds with the rest of the community.
        Other appropriate postings might include information
        on unusual grocers or food preparation equipment stores.

chi.forsale    This is likely to be your first choice newsgroup for anything
        you want to sell.  It reaches a local audience, so people in
        New Jersey won't have to read about your car for sale.
        You should not cross-post a chi.forsale message to
        chi.general, or any other group than another *.wanted
        or *.forsale type group.

chi.general    This newsgroup is for miscellaneous local-interest postings
        that do not fit more appropriately into another group.
        It is not for postings looking to buy, sell, rent, or trade
        anything.  chi.forsale and chi.wanted are perfectly fine
        newsgroups for such postings.

chi.mail    This newsgroup is for discussions related to Electronic Mail
        into, out of, and within the Chicagoland area.  Issues related
        to the reliability of local mail, domains, etc. are welcome.

chi.news.stats    This newsgroup is a place for automated postings, summarizing
        a given site's netnews traffic and similar automated statistics
        postings.  Statistics for a specific site should have a Subject
        line of:
            Subject: Weekly USENET Report for SITE
        where SITE is the Usenet site name used in the Path header.

chi.places    This is a good place to announce meetings, Ham fests, concerts,
        etc.  Minutes or reviews might also be appropriate here.

chi.wanted    This is likely to be your first choice newsgroup for anything
        you want to buy.  It reaches a local audience, so people in
        New Jersey won't have to read about your wanting a new
        dinette set.  You should not cross-post a chi.wanted message
        to chi.general, or any other group than another *.wanted
        or *.forsale type group.

chi.weather    This group is fed weather reports, forecasts, and other
        items of meteorological interest from the National Weather
        Service through a bizarre collection of equipment.

It is believed that the Chicagoland news community is still small enough
(and rational enough) that elaborate voting schemes are not necessary
to control the newsgroup name space.  On the other hand, it is generally
felt that the total anarchy of the "alt" hierarchy leaves much to be
desired.  With that in mind, the following procedures are proposed.

Newsgroup Creation Procedure
----------------------------
The person wishing to create a new newsgroup should go through the
following steps.

1.  Think again.
2.  Propose the newsgroup in an article posted to the group "chi.general".
    (At this time, it is felt that there is insufficient volume to warrant
    any kind of "chi.news" group or hierarchy.)  The proposing article
    shall include:
        - The proposed name (or names) for the new group.
        - The proposed "one-liner" for for the LIB/newsgroups file.
        - A brief description of the purpose for the new group, intended
          audience, reason for local distribution, and reason no exising
          newsgroup is appropriate.
3.  Discussion should take place in chi.general, to reach consensus.
    (con-sen-sus n. general agreement in opinion)
4.  If agreement is reached on the desirability for the new group, and
    on its name after a discussion period of at least two weeks, the
    person who originally proposed the group shall send a message to
    [e-mail].  The message shall state that a discussion
    has been held in chi.general and that a new newsgroup is being
    created.  The message shall include the group name and brief
    description agreed upon for the LIB/newsgroups file, so that the
    automated "chi" checkgroups message can be updated.
5.  The person who proposed the new group shall issue the control
    message for new group creation.  If that person does not have the
    local authority to issue the control message, or does not have the
    knowledge of the correct way to do so, the message to
    [e-mail] can include a request that the control article
    be sent, as well.

Newsgroup Deletion Procedure
----------------------------
This procedure provides a "sunset" for newsgroups that are not as popular
as anticipated or which have out-lived their usefulness.  It is not intended
to be used for newsgroups in active use.  A person who believes he/she
has discovered a dormant "chi" newsgroup should go through the following
steps.

1.  Think again.  Has the group seen no traffic (perhaps other than
    "keep-alive" traffic) in the past few months?  Is the newsgroup
    of a seasonal nature?  Can the newsgroup reasonably be thought
    to be dead?
2.  Propose that the newsgroup is dead in an article posted to chi.general.
    In the article, describe why you think it's dead and not coming back
    in the near/foreseeable future.
3.  Discussion should take place in chi.general.
4.  If no one provides a reasonable argument that the group is still
    alive (or will be soon) within two weeks, the group can be declared dead.
5.  The newsgroup slayer shall send a message to [e-mail].
    The message shall state that the newsgroup has been declared dead,
    and that the automated "chi" checkgroups message should be updated.
6.  The newsgroup slayer shall issue the control message for group deletion.
    If that person does not have the knowledge of the correct way to do so,
    the message to [e-mail] can include a request that the
    control article be sent, as well.