Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!munnari.oz.au!uhccux!ames!pacbell!well!fico2!everexn!karen
From: karen@everexn.uucp (Karen Valentino)
Newsgroups: news.groups
Subject: Re: A Hum Domain (also: how about a hum charter?)
Message-ID: <1990Feb12.205140.1250@everexn.uucp>
Date: 12 Feb 90 20:51:40 GMT
References: <3284@iitmax.IIT.EDU> <3285@iitmax.IIT.EDU> <1990Feb7.183055.25715@everexn.uucp> <10692@june.cs.washington.edu>
Organization: Everex Systems, Inc.
Lines: 40

ka@cs.washington.edu (Kenneth Almquist) writes:

>Subjects like anthropology are usually referred to as social sciences
>rather than as humanities.  So how about "hss", short for "humanities
>and social sciences"?

I like this idea.  A bunch.  However, will people call it "hiss" for 
short?  (And, if they do, is that a tragedy?)  

So far, I like hss and hum the best of the proposed domain names.  Any 
other ideas out there?  I'd also like to hear more from people about 
their concerns about the complexities of starting up another domain.  It 
may be that we should see if there's some kind of consensus for or against
the process.  

Also, I'm concerned about possible abuse or "pollution" or whatever
you want to call it in a hum or hss domain, similar to what goes on in
sci.  I'd be interested in hearing people's ideas/suggestions for how
this could be anticipated and thwarted.  One suggestion that I have is
to have a "charter" for the hum domain, similar to the charters that 
proposed newsgroups have.  It seems to me that something more than the
one-phrase description we have currently to describe the top-level
domains is very desirable.  The more carefully delineated a top-level 
domain is, the harder it would be to shove some newsgroup in there that 
would taint the domain.  

If someone were to try to propose a group inappropriate to the
hierarchy, s/he could then be referred to actual written documentation
that defined the qualities that a newsgroup must have to go in hum (or
hss).  That might not dissuade the group champion from having a go at
hum anyway.  But I think it would make it more likely that if someone
were to try to force a group into hum, consensus would vote him or her
down.  

Ideas?  Suggestions?  Criticisms?
-- 
   Karen Valentino  <>  Everex North (Everex Systems)  <>  Sebastopol, CA
       karen@everexn.uu.net      ..{apple, well}!fico2!everexn!karen
    "Clearly, the idea of human beings as units remains at war with the
     notion of the interdependence of all things." -- Salvador Minuchin