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From: karl@osu-eddie.UUCP (Karl Kleinpaste)
Newsgroups: net.news.group,net.politics,net.rec
Subject: Re: Anyone interested in a firearms enthusiasts' mailing list?
Message-ID: <72@osu-eddie.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 26-Jan-85 15:05:20 EST
Article-I.D.: osu-eddi.72
Posted: Sat Jan 26 15:05:20 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 28-Jan-85 04:26:14 EST
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Will Martin makes some very good points about the soon-to-be-created mailing
list for those interested and involved with firearms in a sporting manner.

----------
> I've mailed my vote already, but I do want to post a strong concern
> regarding this: If such a list is established, it should operate under
> the same restrictions that many other special-interest groups have --
> that is, there should be NO debate about the basic subject.
>
> Just as it is flat WRONG to use "net.women.only" to post anti-feminist
> or anti-women messages, or to use "net.motss" to post anti-homosexual
> statements, or to use "net.rec.nude" to claim that public nudity is
> a terrible thing, etc., it should be wrong to post anti-gun (or pro-
> gun-control) statements in "net.rec.guns", if one is so established.
>
> Will Martin
----------
I take all his comments very seriously and agree with him entirely. Allow me
to clarify things a bit with respect to what I have proposed.

I have proposed the creation of a  mailing list for the purpose of providing
a  place  where people interested in firearms can go to "talk shop,"  as  it
were. That is, there's a  bunch  of  folk  out  there  who are interested in
firearms for the sake of their sporting value, myself included, and it would
be worthwhile  to  us  to  have  a  way  to know  each  other  and  exchange
information. Hence, I have proposed such a mailing list.

Second, it is (thus far)  envisioned  as  a  *mailing list only*. If at some
future  time,  there are too many people getting involved with  the  mailing
list, then perhaps we will decide  to propose the creation of a more typical
Usenet  newsgroup. Such a group might or might not end up  being  moderated.
But for now, there's about a dozen  people who have mailed me requests to be
added to the list. That seems mailing-list-sized to me.

As regards the problem of discussing issues like gun control, I do not think
that such will even be suggested by any of those becoming involved with  the
list. Nonetheless,  I  am  preparing  an initial  statement  of  our *raison
d'etre*  for use by Chuq Von Rospach in his monthly "list of mailing  lists"
in mod.newslists, and it already includes the comment that we do not wish to
discuss gun control. (That statement will be submitted to the list next week
for requests for revisions.) That  is not  the reason for creating the list;
that sort of thing can still be hashed out in net.{politics,flame}.

As the original  proposer  of  the  list, I  suppose  that  I  am *a priori*
offering  to be the list's moderator. That suits me fine. But the amount  of
moderation I will do is slight;  little more than collecting a bunch of mail
in  one  place,  stripping excess headers, and mailing it back  out  to  the
group. If someone posts something  to the list which is about gun control, I
expect  to  mail it back to the person with comments about it  probably  not
being appropriate.

The definition of  "appropriate"  for  this  list  may change over time. Not
much, though, I suspect. At least initially, one may safely assume that  the
general question of gun control  in  mail.{firearms,guns,whatever-we-decide}
will not present itself.

This is the last time  I'll  mention  this  on  the  net. We are, after all,
creating a private mailing list (to which anyone is welcome to subscribe, of
course), and further discussion on  the net itself should be unnecessary. We
will work all this out in early discussions about our makeup within the list
itself.

Anyone wishing to be added to the list, please drop me a note.
-- 
Karl Kleinpaste @ Bell Labs, Columbus    614/860-5107  +==-> cbrma!kk
                @ Ohio State University  614/422-0915  osu-eddie!karl