Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!ginosko!usc!snorkelwacker!bu-cs!xylogics!cloud9!jjmhome!cpoint!alien
From: alien@cpoint.UUCP (Alien Wells)
Newsgroups: news.groups
Subject: Re: Call of votes - sci.aquaria (sort of moderated)
Keywords: just say no
Message-ID: <2686@cpoint.UUCP>
Date: 17 Oct 89 19:59:31 GMT
References: <20986@gryphon.COM> <4775@internal.Apple.COM>
Reply-To: alien@cpoint.UUCP (Alien Wells)
Organization: Clearpoint Research Corp., Hopkinton Mass.
Lines: 52

In article <4775@internal.Apple.COM> cep@Apple.COM (Christopher Pettus) writes:
>Simply because European sites have not decided to receive entire
>rec.* feeds is not an appropriate reason to position the group in the
>sci.* hierarchy.  I, for one, miss European input in rec.aviation 
>(excluding _France_ from aviation discussions?  Makes no sense), but
>that's NOT an appropriate reason to move it to sci.aviation.  I'm sure
>that rec.av has just as many, if not more, technical articles than
>alt.aquaria; it is, however, a newsgroup by and for aviation amateurs,
>rather than aerospace researchers, and is therefore more appropriately
>in the rec space.

You miss the point.  We here in the US are bozos in comparison to the 
Europeans.  Imagine, if you would, if all of aviation was centered in Europe.
Americans had a few hand-gliders, but Europe had people way ahead who were
playing with propellors and jets.  You want to elevate the American scene to
the level of the European scene, so you want to communicate with these 
Europeans.  This would be a much more accurate parallel to the aquaria scene.

Besides, you have two advantages over aquaria.  First, there is a sci.
group for aeronautics if I recall correctly.  Second, aviation isn't likely
to attract an extremely low level of participation.  Imagine if you were 
subjected to:
	"Ah, hey, I just bought this Cessna at K-Mart last week, and I ran it 
through the power lines going into Boston ... and now they want to sue me ...
I mean, sure the power was out for a week and some people died in a hospital,
but they should have had backups, right?  Not my fault!"
	"I just bought a Gulfstream at a garage sale and there is lots of 
bubble-gum on the seats.  What's a good way to get it off?"
	"How long can you run your helicopter upside down?  I've done 21
seconds!"
	"I was up in the White Mountains last week, and boy was there a wind!
I was able to buzz some hikers within 10 feet, and just hang there!  You 
should have seen their faces!  One of them almost fell down a cliff!!"

If you think all of this sounds absurd (as I do), just go look at rec.autos.
Alt.aquaria does not have the natural protection of a steep barrier to entry
that the 'serious' rec groups, like aviation and ham radio, do.  I'm concerned
about what will happen to the character of the group if it goes into rec.  You
aren't.

>Also, isn't this call for votes more than a bit premature?  It definitely
>has NOT been a full length discussion as required by the guidelines.

Hardly, we should have started days ago.  There hasn't been a new point made
by anyone for quite a while.  Your mind isn't going to be changed by what I'm
saying here (all old arguments).  My mind isn't going to be changed by 
anything you say.  It's time to vote.
-- 
--------|	You've got the political savvy
Alien   |		of a hangnail.
--------|   					- John Meneghini
     decvax!frog!cpoint!alien      bu-cs!mirror!frog!cpoint!alien