sa1z+@andrew.cmu.edu (Sudheer Apte) (02/20/90)
It's the political (as opposed to cultural) postings on s.c.indian that usually get flamed, IMHO. If it's just a question of someone taking the initiative for starting a discussion on talk.politics.south-asia, I am willing to start one. Is there any interest? Sudheer. ------------------ ...{harvard, uunet}!andrew.cmu.edu!sa1z sa1z%andrew@CMCCVB.BITNET
sa1z+@andrew.cmu.edu (Sudheer Apte) (02/20/90)
Thanks, there does seem to be some support for the basic idea. I drew up the following draft for a charter for talk.politics.south-asia. It's open for modification as well as discussion. Once a charter crystallizes, I will post it on soc.culture.indian as well. Also, does this language and format seem OK? Sudheer. -------------------- ...{harvard, uunet}!andrew.cmu.edu!sa1z sa1z%andrew@CMCCVB.BITNET --- What is talk.politics.south-asia? Talk.politics.south-asia is a proposed newsgroup. There is a need to discuss political history and events in the south asian region, primarily in the Indian sub-continent. This newsgroup, talk.politics.south-asia, will be for articles concerning political developments and views concerning countries in the region. Note: The term Sub-continent is used below to refer to the Indian sub-continent. Also, "s.c.i." means soc.culture.indian. Why a Separate Newsgroup? Part of the idea is to reduce political postings on s.c.i., which generate much of the heat on that group, The other is to create a suitable forum for open discussions on sensitive but important topics. The talk groups are conventionally unmoderated and of a free nature, so unpopular postings are less likely to be flamed there just because they are unpopular (I wish!). That is, nobody will be able to say, "that's a sensitive topic, so it's best to avoid it" on talk.politics.south-asia (unless it falls outside the charter---see below). Also, the word "indian" in s.c.i.'s name is sometimes used to suppress postings by other nationals than Indian. This cannot happen with the neutral name "south-asia." What Kinds of Articles? The following are expected to be posted on talk.politics.south-asia. 1) News of recent developments which may lead to political discussion. (News items are still welcome on s.c.i., too, if not commented). 2) Discussions of ancient, medieval, and especially modern history of events in the Sub-continent having political ramifications or motives. 3) Discussions of ancient, medieval, and especially modern history of events outside the Sub-continent having political ramifications in the Sub-continent. 4) Commentary on international affairs, where at least one of the nations is in the Sub-continent. What Should Not Be Posted? These kinds of postings are discouraged on talk.politics.south-asia: 1) Personal flames, as usual. These should be done by e-mail, if at all. 2) Religion-bashing (political criticism of religious groups excluded).