[comp.cog-eng] LAST CALL: sci.commtech, sci.infotech, sci.informatics

klopfens@bgsuvax.UUCP (Bruce Klopfenstein) (05/20/89)

I am about to issue the call to vote for a new newsgroup on communication/
information technologies and their impacts on society, media industries,
organizations and individuals.  The vast majority of responses have been
favorable, with some discussion needed to resolve a name for the group.

To summarize, sci.commtech is favored over sci.comm.tech because of the
additional level of heirarchy implied in sci.comm.tech.

sci.commtech may better reflect the emphasis on communication-related
technologies and issue than sci.infotech, but this is not clear

sci.informatics may be an excellent name from a European perspective as 
the word does seem to reflect our intentions, but it may be less familiar
to U.S. users

One posting suggested that the topics proposed are already covered in
other newsgroups, but responses noted that having to wade through all
the other newsgroups for these topics of interest is a key reason for  
establishing sci.commtech.

No strong feelings have been expressed about a moderator, so the leaning
right now would be to NOT have a moderator.

I wish to issue a call to vote possibly within the week.  (If anyone can
advise me as to how to set up my mailbox to automatically route YES and
NO votes to files, please let me know--I'm no unix programmer, but I know
this is possible and probably not difficult).

Thanks for the support so far, and please watch for the call to vote (no
votes have yet been tallied).

-- 
Dr. Bruce C. Klopfenstein      |  klopfens@andy.bgsu.edu
Radio-TV-Film Department       |  klopfenstein@bgsuopie.bitnet
Bowling Green $tate University |  klopfens@bgsuvax.UUCP
Bowling Green, OH  43403       |  (419) 372-2138; 352-4818

lambert@cwi.nl (Lambert Meertens) (05/20/89)

In article <4158@bgsuvax.UUCP> klopfens@bgsuvax.UUCP (Bruce Klopfenstein)
writes:

) sci.informatics may be an excellent name from a European perspective as 
) the word does seem to reflect our intentions, but it may be less familiar
) to U.S. users

"Informatics" is commonly used in the European academic community as
entirely synonymous to "Computer Science" (which does not translate well:
"Rechenanlagewissenschaft"? "la science des ordinateurs"?), and thus covers
the whole field including subjects like compiler construction, computer
architecture, etc.  It would be horribly confusing if the same term would
be coined in the U.S. with a different scope.
-- 

--Lambert Meertens, CWI, Amsterdam; lambert@cwi.nl

cam@edai.ed.ac.uk (Chris Malcolm cam@uk.ac.ed.edai 031 667 1011 x2550) (05/31/89)

In article <4158@bgsuvax.UUCP> klopfens@bgsuvax.UUCP (Bruce Klopfenstein) writes:
>
>I am about to issue the call to vote for a new newsgroup on communication/
>information technologies and their impacts on society, media industries,
>organizations and individuals.  The vast majority of responses have been
>favorable, with some discussion needed to resolve a name for the group.
> ....
>sci.informatics may be an excellent name from a European perspective as 
>the word does seem to reflect our intentions, but it may be less familiar
>to U.S. users

In Europe informatics = computer science (Fr informatique).
-- 
Chris Malcolm    cam@uk.ac.ed.edai   031 667 1011 x2550
Department of Artificial Intelligence, Edinburgh University
5 Forrest Hill, Edinburgh, EH1 2QL, UK