richard@gryphon.COM (Richard Sexton) (10/05/89)
[As everyone undoubtedly knows, this discussion is already going on in news.groups with the major point being whether the group should be in "sci" or "rec" --moderator] Over the past two years there has existed in the alt.hierarchy a news- group called alt.aquaria that is concerned with maintenance of marine and freshwater aquarium fishes. Many of us feel the time has come to incorporate alt.aquaria into mainstream USENET. To this end, I would like to start a discussion into the possibility of creating sci.aquaria. In an attempt to head off certain questions that are bound to come up, I have included the following dialogue: Q: What's wrong with alt ? A: Well, nothing, really, it just doesn't have the circulation that mainstream USENET has. After two years of hearing: "We don't get alt.aquaria, why don't you move it into regular USENET" and reply- ing with "Get an alt feed," perhaps it is time to concede the point that not everybody is willing or able to get the alt.groups. Some of the reasons for this are political while others simply reflect pockets of poor connectivity. Q: Can't people just mail their articles to a site that can post them to the group ? A: Yes, and people do. Every now and then someone posts an article to rec.pets reminding netters that this works and for a few weeks we get a bunch of articles dispatched from, say, ucbvax. These are dutifully posted and the posters no doubt receives some email in re- ply but of course they never get to see the discussion that ensues. After awhile these kinds of postings disappear, no doubt due to lack of feedback. Q: Why sci.aquaria and not rec.aquaria or rec.pets.aquaria ? A: Rec.pets.aquaria is not appropriate because the discussion in rec. pets centers around the pet per se, and the activities one pursues with pets such as cats or dogs or small rodents. Fish are not real- ly pets in that sense of the word. What the owner of an aquarium is trying to do is maintain an environment that represents a micro- cosm of a very complex habitat. Rec.aquaria is inappropriate because keeping fish is not really a recreational activity -- and this is the reason that I believe it belongs in the sci.hierarchy. The questions of ichthyological taxonomy, water chemistry, the characteristics of artificial light are subjects that are constantly under discussion. Simulating the aquarium environment is a science, not an art. The great strides that have been made in aquarium science over the past 20 years were entirely the result of scientific investigation and to a great ex- tent using this knowledge requires a detailed understanding of the science involved. Q: Just one group and not one each for freshwater and marine ? A: Right. So many of the topics cross over that a separate group for each is unwise. And has been demonstrated, many posters use key- words and subject lines quite effectively in order to differentiate between articles about freshwater fish exclusively from those about marine fish. Q: What is the current volume of alt.aquaria and how do you expect it to change if the group is moved to the mainstream USENET? A: Traffic averages about 10 articles a day. At most volume might double although I think a 50% increase in volume would be closer to the mark. No doubt there will be the initial leap in volume charac- teristic of "new newsgroup syndrome." Q: Is there any coffee left ? A: No, I just drank the last cup. -- Live free or drive richard@gryphon.COM decwrl!gryphon!richard gryphon!richard@elroy.jpl.NASA.GOV -- Live free or drive richard@gryphon.COM decwrl!gryphon!richard gryphon!richard@elroy.jpl.NASA.GOV
richard@gryphon.COM (Richard Sexton) (11/18/89)
[As everyone undoubtedly knows, this discussion is already going on in news.groups with the major point being whether the group should be in "sci" or "rec" --moderator] Over the past two years there has existed in the alt.hierarchy a news- group called alt.aquaria that is concerned with maintenance of marine and freshwater aquarium fishes. Many of us feel the time has come to incorporate alt.aquaria into mainstream USENET. To this end, I would like to start a discussion into the possibility of creating sci.aquaria. In an attempt to head off certain questions that are bound to come up, I have included the following dialogue: Q: What's wrong with alt ? A: Well, nothing, really, it just doesn't have the circulation that mainstream USENET has. After two years of hearing: "We don't get alt.aquaria, why don't you move it into regular USENET" and reply- ing with "Get an alt feed," perhaps it is time to concede the point that not everybody is willing or able to get the alt.groups. Some of the reasons for this are political while others simply reflect pockets of poor connectivity. Q: Can't people just mail their articles to a site that can post them to the group ? A: Yes, and people do. Every now and then someone posts an article to rec.pets reminding netters that this works and for a few weeks we get a bunch of articles dispatched from, say, ucbvax. These are dutifully posted and the posters no doubt receives some email in re- ply but of course they never get to see the discussion that ensues. After awhile these kinds of postings disappear, no doubt due to lack of feedback. Q: Why sci.aquaria and not rec.aquaria or rec.pets.aquaria ? A: Rec.pets.aquaria is not appropriate because the discussion in rec. pets centers around the pet per se, and the activities one pursues with pets such as cats or dogs or small rodents. Fish are not real- ly pets in that sense of the word. What the owner of an aquarium is trying to do is maintain an environment that represents a micro- cosm of a very complex habitat. Rec.aquaria is inappropriate because keeping fish is not really a recreational activity -- and this is the reason that I believe it belongs in the sci.hierarchy. The questions of ichthyological taxonomy, water chemistry, the characteristics of artificial light are subjects that are constantly under discussion. Simulating the aquarium environment is a science, not an art. The great strides that have been made in aquarium science over the past 20 years were entirely the result of scientific investigation and to a great ex- tent using this knowledge requires a detailed understanding of the science involved. Q: Just one group and not one each for freshwater and marine ? A: Right. So many of the topics cross over that a separate group for each is unwise. And has been demonstrated, many posters use key- words and subject lines quite effectively in order to differentiate between articles about freshwater fish exclusively from those about marine fish. Q: What is the current volume of alt.aquaria and how do you expect it to change if the group is moved to the mainstream USENET? A: Traffic averages about 10 articles a day. At most volume might double although I think a 50% increase in volume would be closer to the mark. No doubt there will be the initial leap in volume charac- teristic of "new newsgroup syndrome." Q: Is there any coffee left ? A: No, I just drank the last cup. -- Live free or drive richard@gryphon.COM decwrl!gryphon!richard gryphon!richard@elroy.jpl.NASA.GOV -- Live free or drive richard@gryphon.COM decwrl!gryphon!richard gryphon!richard@elroy.jpl.NASA.GOV -- --russ (nelson@clutx [.bitnet | .clarkson.edu]) Live up to the light thou hast, and more will be granted thee. A recession now appears more than 2 years away -- John D. Mathon, 4 Oct 1989. I think killing is value-neutral in and of itself. -- Gary Strand, 8 Nov 1989.