From bailey@zion.consultix.com Mon Aug 21 17:05:08 1995 Path: uunet!bounce-back From: bailey@zion.consultix.com (Ed Bailey) Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,rec.pets,alt.pets.ferrets Subject: CFV: rec.pets.ferrets Followup-To: poster Date: 21 Aug 1995 21:05:01 -0000 Organization: Usenet Volunteer Votetakers Lines: 141 Sender: tale@uunet.uu.net Approved: tale@uunet.uu.net Expires: 12 Sep 1995 00:00:00 GMT Message-ID: Reply-To: bailey@physics.utexas.edu NNTP-Posting-Host: rodan.uu.net Archive-Name: rec.pets.ferrets Xref: uunet news.announce.newgroups:7387 news.groups:165347 rec.pets:50935 alt.pets.ferrets:1364 FIRST CALL FOR VOTES (1st of 2) unmoderated group rec.pets.ferrets Newsgroups line: rec.pets.ferrets Any and all subjects relating to ferrets as pets. Votes must be received by 23:59:59 UTC, 11 Sep 1995. This vote is being conducted by a neutral third party. Voting questions should be directed to Ed Bailey . For questions about the proposed group, contact Kathryn A. Smith . This CFV will be reposted to the following mailing lists: ferret-request@cunyvm.cuny.edu CHARTER: rec.pets.ferrets The proposed unmoderated newsgroup rec.pets.ferrets will be open to discussion on topics that involving the care and ownership of ferrets kept as pets. Allowed topics (not limited to these) Breeding/Breeders Equipment and supplies Toys Health/Veterinary Care/Medical Problems Behavior Research Training Exhibit/Show Announcements/Rules Clubs and Organizations Books and Magazines Federal & State Laws on Ownership Inappropriate Topics: Discussion of Wild Ferrets Animal Rights (see talk.politics.animals) Hunting (see rec.hunting) END CHARTER. HOW TO VOTE You must send MAIL to bailey@physics.utexas.edu. (Posting in a newsgroup does not constitute a vote.) Just replying to this article should work unless you are reading it on a mailing list, but please check the TO address. Please remove text before the marker line below. Voting mail is archived by the votetakers, and hundreds of copies of the entire CFV wastes space. Type your vote of YES or NO for each group on the line for that group. If you do not wish to vote for a group, simply leave that line alone. You need not worry about quoting characters which your mailer inserts. Please type YES or NO, not Y, N, or X. The votes are tabulated by a program, and a valid vote is defined as the word YES or NO on the same line as the name of the group. You may also ABSTAIN in place of YES/NO - this will not affect the outcome. Anything else may be rejected by the automatic vote counting program. The votetaker will respond to your received ballots with a personal acknowledge- ment by mail - if you do not receive one within several days, try again. It is your responsibility to make sure your vote is registered correctly. -=-=-=-=-=- Don't Delete Anything Between These Lines =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- rec.pets.ferrets Ballot (Don't remove this marker) Give your real name here: [Your Vote] Group ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [ YES ] sample.group.you.support [ NO ] sample.group.you.oppose [ ] rec.pets.ferrets -=-=-=-=-=- Don't Delete Anything Between These Lines =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Standard Guidelines for voting apply. You may only vote once, regardless of how many accounts you may have. Only one vote per account, regardless of how many people use that account. Later votes replace previous ones. Forwarded or proxy votes are invalid. 100 more YES votes than NO votes and 2/3 of all votes being YES are the requirements for group creation. IMPORTANT VOTING PROCEDURE NOTES Anything other than the official ballot may be rejected by the automatic vote-counting software. The votetaker will respond to your received vote with a semi-automated acknowledgement by e-mail - if you do not receive one within several days, try again. It's your responsibility to make sure your vote is registered correctly. Addresses and votes of all voters will be published in the final voting results list. Duplicate votes will be resolved in favor of the most recent valid vote. Anonymous votes will not be accepted. Votes mailed by WWW/HTML/CGI forms are considered anonymous votes. (The vote must be mailed directly from the voter to the votetaker.) In cases where voting fraud is determined to have occurred, it is standard operating procedure to delete ALL votes submitted by the violator. Anyone who distributes pre-filled ballots, shortcut instructions, or modified copies of this CFV commits voting fraud. If you give anyone copies of the CFV, the copies must be whole and unmodified. When in doubt, ask the votetaker. VOTETAKER'S NOTE The following related CFVs are also running in news.announce.newgroups: Unmoderated misc.wildlife.canines Unmoderated misc.wildlife.felines Unmoderated misc.wildlife.marine-mammals.dolphins Unmoderated misc.wildlife.marine-mammals.misc Unmoderated rec.pets.marketplace Unmoderated rec.pets.rabbits Unmoderated rec.pets.rodents.chinchillas Unmoderated rec.pets.rodents.hamsters Unmoderated rec.pets.rodents.misc Unmoderated rec.pets.support Unmoderated sci.agriculture.livestock.birds.misc Unmoderated sci.agriculture.livestock.birds.ratites Unmoderated sci.agriculture.livestock.misc Rename rec.animals.wildlife to unmoderated misc.wildlife.misc Rename rec.birds to unmoderated misc.wildlife.birds Rename rec.pets to unmoderated rec.pets.misc Rename sci.agriculture to unmoderated sci.agriculture.misc If you are interested in voting on any of these proposals, please check news.announce.newgroups or send email to bailey@zion.consultix.com asking for a copy of the relevant CFV(s). Thank you for taking the time to vote, Ed Bailey -- Ed Bailey | Voice: (512) 471-4198 Fax: (512) 471-6715 Inst. for Fusion Studies | Internet: bailey@{hagar,ziggy}.ph.utexas.edu, Univ. of Texas at Austin | u70262@c.nersc.gov, or pnab643@chpc.utexas.edu Austin TX 78712 | "No pithy quotes. Just email addresses." From bailey@zion.consultix.com Tue Sep 5 15:36:33 1995 Path: uunet!bounce-back From: bailey@zion.consultix.com (Ed Bailey) Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,rec.pets,alt.pets.ferrets Subject: 2nd CFV: rec.pets.ferrets Followup-To: poster Date: 5 Sep 1995 19:36:31 -0000 Organization: Usenet Volunteer Votetakers Lines: 157 Sender: tale@uunet.uu.net Approved: tale@uunet.uu.net Message-ID: <42i8rv$sdm@rodan.UU.NET> Reply-To: bailey@physics.utexas.edu NNTP-Posting-Host: rodan.uu.net Archive-Name: rec.pets.ferrets Xref: uunet news.announce.newgroups:7457 news.groups:166859 rec.pets:51303 alt.pets.ferrets:1561 SECOND AND FINAL CALL FOR VOTES (2nd of 2) unmoderated group rec.pets.ferrets Newsgroups line: rec.pets.ferrets Any and all subjects relating to ferrets as pets. Votes must be recieved by 23:59 UTC, 11 September 1995. This vote is being conducted by a neutral third party. Voting questions should be directed to Ed Bailey . For questions about the proposed group, contact Kathryn A. Smith . This CFV will be reposted to the following mailing lists: ferret-request@cunyvm.cuny.edu CHARTERS rec.pets.ferrets The proposed unmoderated newsgroup rec.pets.ferrets will be open to discussion on topics that involving the care and ownership of ferrets kept as pets. Allowed topics (not limited to these) Breeding/Breeders Equipment and supplies Toys Health/Veterinary Care/Medical Problems Behavior Research Training Exhibit/Show Announcements/Rules Clubs and Organizations Books and Magazines Federal & State Laws on Ownership Inappropriate Topics: Discussion of Wild Ferrets Animal Rights (see talk.politics.animals) Hunting (see rec.hunting) HOW TO VOTE You must send MAIL to bailey@physics.utexas.edu. (Posting in a newsgroup does not constitute a vote.) Just replying to this article should work unless you are reading it on a mailing list, but please check the TO address. Please remove text before the marker line below. Voting mail is archived by the votetakers, and hundreds of copies of the entire CFV wastes space. Type your vote of YES or NO for each group on the line for that group. If you do not wish to vote for a group, simply leave that line alone. You need not worry about quoting characters which your mailer inserts. Please type YES or NO, not Y, N, or X. The votes are tabulated by a program, and a valid vote is defined as the word YES or NO on the same line as the name of the group. You may also ABSTAIN in place of YES/NO - this will not affect the outcome. Anything else may be rejected by the automatic vote counting program. The votetaker will respond to your received ballots with a personal acknowledge- ment by mail - if you do not receive one within several days, try again. It is your responsibility to make sure your vote is registered correctly. -=-=-=-=-=- Don't Delete Anything Between These Lines =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- rec.pets.ferrets Ballot (Don't remove this marker) Give your real name here: [Your Vote] Group ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [ YES ] sample.group.you.support [ NO ] sample.group.you.oppose [ ] rec.pets.ferrets -=-=-=-=-=- Don't Delete Anything Between These Lines =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Standard Guidelines for voting apply. You may only vote once, regardless of how many accounts you may have. Only one vote per account, regardless of how many people use that account. Later votes replace previous ones. Forwarded or proxy votes are invalid. 100 more YES votes than NO votes and 2/3 of all votes being YES are the requirements for group creation. IMPORTANT VOTING PROCEDURE NOTES Anything other than the official ballot may be rejected by the automatic vote-counting software. The votetaker will respond to your received vote with a semi-automated acknowledgement by e-mail - if you do not receive one within several days, try again. It's your responsibility to make sure your vote is registered correctly. Addresses and votes of all voters will be published in the final voting results list. Duplicate votes will be resolved in favor of the most recent valid vote. Anonymous votes will not be accepted. Votes mailed by WWW/HTML/CGI forms are considered anonymous votes. (The vote must be mailed directly from the voter to the votetaker.) In cases where voting fraud is determined to have occurred, it is standard operating procedure to delete ALL votes submitted by the violator. Anyone who distributes pre-filled ballots, shortcut instructions, or modified copies of this CFV commits voting fraud. If you give anyone copies of the CFV, the copies must be whole and unmodified. When in doubt, ask the votetaker. VOTETAKER'S NOTE The following related CFVs are also running in news.announce.newgroups: Unmoderated misc.wildlife.canines Unmoderated misc.wildlife.felines Unmoderated misc.wildlife.marine-mammals.dolphins Unmoderated misc.wildlife.marine-mammals.misc Unmoderated rec.pets.marketplace Unmoderated rec.pets.rabbits Unmoderated rec.pets.rodents.chinchillas Unmoderated rec.pets.rodents.hamsters Unmoderated rec.pets.rodents.misc Unmoderated rec.pets.support Unmoderated sci.agriculture.livestock.birds.misc Unmoderated sci.agriculture.livestock.birds.ratites Unmoderated sci.agriculture.livestock.misc Rename rec.animals.wildlife to unmoderated misc.wildlife.misc Rename rec.birds to unmoderated misc.wildlife.birds Rename rec.pets to unmoderated rec.pets.misc Rename sci.agriculture to unmoderated sci.agriculture.misc If you are interested in voting on any of these proposals, please check news.announce.newgroups or send email to bailey@zion.consultix.com asking for a copy of the relevant CFV(s). BOUNCED VOTE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS All votes received by August 31st, 23:59 UTC have been counted and ACKed. Vote acknowledgements sent to the following addresses have bounced. These votes *have* been counted, but I have been unable to reply to their mail. If you voted, but you have NOT received an ACK *and* your name is NOT listed below, then your vote was probably lost somewhere in the ether. Please send another vote to bailey@physics.utexas.edu. None. The following people have sent malformed ballots which have not been superceded by a Yes, No, or Abstain vote. These people should revote. donald@noc.digex.net Donald DiPaula ! No vote statement in message liza@altagroup.com Liza Estrada ! No vote statement in message Thank you for taking the time to vote, Ed Bailey From bailey@zion.consultix.com Tue Sep 19 16:37:40 1995 Path: uunet!bounce-back From: bailey@zion.consultix.com (Ed Bailey) Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,rec.pets,alt.pets.ferrets Subject: RESULT: rec.pets.ferrets fails 114:17 Followup-To: news.groups Date: 19 Sep 1995 20:37:36 -0000 Organization: Usenet Volunteer Votetakers Lines: 201 Sender: tale@uunet.uu.net Approved: newgroups-request@uunet.uu.net Message-ID: Reply-To: bailey@physics.utexas.edu NNTP-Posting-Host: rodan.uu.net Archive-Name: rec.pets.ferrets Xref: uunet news.announce.newgroups:7560 news.groups:167751 rec.pets:51688 alt.pets.ferrets:1697 RESULT unmoderated group rec.pets.ferrets fails 114:17 Newsgroups line: rec.pets.ferrets Any and all subjects relating to ferrets as pets. Voting for rec.pets.ferrets closed 23:59 UTC, 11 September 1995. There were 114 YES votes and 17 NO votes, for a total of 131 valid votes. There were 2 abstains and 1 invalid ballot. 6 ballots were rejected as duplicates or superceded. For group passage, YES votes must be at least 2/3 of all valid (YES and NO) votes. There also must be at least 100 more YES votes than NO votes. There is a five day discussion period after these results are posted. Unless serious allegations of voting irregularities are raised, the group may not be voted on again for six months. This vote was conducted by a neutral third party. Voting questions should be directed to Ed Bailey . For questions about the proposed group, contact Kathryn A. Smith . This RESULT will be reposted to the following mailing lists: ferret-request@cunyvm.cuny.edu CHARTER rec.pets.ferrets The proposed unmoderated newsgroup rec.pets.ferrets will be open to discussion on topics that involving the care and ownership of ferrets kept as pets. Allowed topics (not limited to these) Breeding/Breeders Equipment and supplies Toys Health/Veterinary Care/Medical Problems Behavior Research Training Exhibit/Show Announcements/Rules Clubs and Organizations Books and Magazines Federal & State Laws on Ownership Inappropriate Topics: Discussion of Wild Ferrets Animal Rights (see talk.politics.animals) Hunting (see rec.hunting) rec.pets.ferrets Final Vote Ack Voted Yes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ aahz@netcom.com Aahz afabbro@us.itd.umich.edu Andrew Fabbro alyssa@athens.emi.net Alyssa Umsawasdi angelique_di_schino@genmagic.com Angelique Di Schino birchall@pilot.njin.net Dan Birchall bjv@herbison.com B.J. Herbison brabec@pysgjb.physics.ncsu.edu Charles J. Brabec breazeal@lclark.edu Wes Breazeale bruizem@mtu.edu Jeffrey Bruizeman brus@netcom.com Brus Wasson buckley@mulberry.com Richard Buckley buglady@bronze.lcs.mit.edu Aliza R. Panitz busch@lagrange.math.colostate.edu Yuki S. Busch cadesjar@calum.csclub.uwaterloo.ca Curtis Desjardins centaur@usa.nai.net Dave Wright christin@cae.wisc.edu Christine Haas (email: christin@cae.wisc.edu) cjb@brushtail.hna.com.au Chris Jerboa Baird clstampe@mailbox.syr.edu Chris Stamper cmduran@whale.st.usm.edu mike duran cprivitt@tamu.edu Carl Privitt craigt@gears.efn.org Craig Thornberg DEMCHAK%PA881A@Inland.com John Demchak Dennis_Gentry@NeXT.COM Dennis Gentry DHerold@delrina.com Dan Herold donald@philogic.com Donald DiPaula drs@cs.purdue.edu Dan Schikore dschen@cs.Buffalo.EDU Daniel S Chen dugal@techg.com David G. Dugal dxl@hpesdxl.fc.hp.com David Ljung ecrocke@phoenix.Princeton.EDU Emily Rocke eda@dl.tc.faa.gov Ed Atlee eeyore@WPI.EDU Melissa J. Towler emi@shrine.cyber.ad.jp Emi K. Asada ferret@tamu.edu Henry Chosta III garyh@indirect.com Gary Holowicki gibbsm@ll.mit.edu Margaret Gibbs groo@netcom.com Kiran Wagle gugge@netg.se Gugge T=F6rnquist gwilkins@unl.edu Gerald W. Wilkins haremski@mich.com Jeffery A. Haremski Harkur@megaweb.com Harrison B. Lansing IV hayden@krypton.mankato.msus.edu Robert A. Hayden hennessy@student.umass.edu Shannon C. Hennessy hodapp@ecn.purdue.edu Susan Benysh igold@pasteur.fr Iain G. Old jchokey@leland.Stanford.EDU James Alexander Chokey jhfenton@one.net John H. Fenton jjstrick@ix.netcom.com Jim Strickland jmcgarry@uoguelph.ca James McGarry jonboy@io.org Trevor Tymchuk jonny@IKP.LiU.SE Jonas Nygaards JOVIGAL@aol.com Debra Roon jschafer@holly.ColoState.EDU Jeff Schafer jwright@blarg1.blarg.com Jon Wright karlm@rci.ripco.com Karl Meyer katsmith@vt.edu Kathryn A. Smith kboaz@mlb.sticomet.com Kathleen Boaz killian@gcr.com WIlliam Killian kknudson@gladstone.uoregon.edu Karl David Knudson lhorton@athena.cs.uga.edu Leila Wood *grin* list-votes@Dream.HB.North.DE Martin Schr"oder LMCKEE@delphi.com Lee McKee lockhart@omni.voicenet.com Andrea Lockhart mcrafts@ddi.digital.net Mark Crafts measeng@mtu.edu Marianne E. Aseng meckler@druggist.gg.caltech.edu Mike Meckler medved@netcom.com Mike Medved mikeq@primenet.com Michael Quinlan mnementh@netcom.com David Villegas mrtribe@chat.carleton.ca Michelle Tribe mschafer@inetnebr.com Mark Schafer mycrump@cris.com Cindy Dacko naguiar@moose.uvm.edu Neil W. Aguiar ndallen@io.org Nigel Allen Nigel@libparty.demon.co.uk Nigel Ashton noop@ophelia.waterloo.net Cathy Ruetten North_TJ@cc.curtin.edu.au Tim North parrot@pipeline.com SUSAN HARMON pauls@ssec.wisc.edu Paul Schnettler peter@bonkers.taronga.com Peter da Silva pgreene@optics.rochester.edu Pamela Greene PLONG@VMPROFS.ESOC.ESA.DE Peter Long POOLEMH@VAX1.ACS.JMU.EDU Mark Poole radrayer@panix.com Rebecca Drayer redadept@cris.com Red Adept rick@bcm.tmc.edu Richard Miller rmalick@umiacs.UMD.EDU Robert M. Mlacik rmarvin@osf1.gmu.edu Robert K Marvin rmm7e@maxwell.acc.virginia.edu Regina M. Seaner robertsl@ono.lincoln.ac.nz Lawrence Roberts robj@suvangi.com Robert Jenkins ROCHELLE%ART@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu Rochelle Newman rodn@morgan.ucs.mun.ca Rod Nolan russ@pluto.njcc.com Russ S. Hazzon scheidell@fdma.fdma.com Michael S. Scheidell sekullbe@delphi.com Scott E Kullberg shiell@rpi.edu Larry Shields sjl7@po.cwru.edu Shawna Jennifer Lerch slutmonger@yomama.com Bill Young SLWVL@cc.usu.edu Gregory Mortensen sulik@conch.aa.msen.com Lori M. Sulik Swampp@aol.com Rick Lemker swhatley@blkbox.COM Steven Whatley tc@mcs.com Thomas Cuny teaforone@aol.com tgears@dca.net Deborah Fletcher tittle@netcom.com Cindy Tittle Moore Urban_Fredriksson@icl.se Urban Fredriksson us000124@interramp.com Ivan R. Nausley uskes@mcl.ucsb.edu Shannon Smith vavroch@utdallas.edu Larry Vavroch wcrawfor@express.tiac.net Will Crawford wls@astro.umd.edu William L. Sebok YDBX75A@prodigy.com Irene Plitz Voted No ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ahm@sashimi.wwa.com Andrew H. Marrinson balaji@nexus.yorku.ca Balaji croyle@fwi.com Don Croyle csaamw@urc.tue.nl Michiel Wijers ghasting@halcyon.com Greg Hastings hh@hhdo.do.home.venture.net Henning Holtschneider jdcook@mv.MV.COM John D. Cook (jdcook@mv.mv.com) jrm@globalvillag.com John R. MacWilliamson patl@skyclad.lcs.mit.edu Patrick J. LoPresti peterb@ivory.lm.com Peter Berger rossix!davidmo@openlink.openlink.com Dave Moore RRaymond@aol.com Robert B. Raymond stainles@bga.com Dwight Brown tbas@sybase.com Tony Basoglu TJASKIEW@us.oracle.com Tom Jaskiewicz tlawson@email.develop.american.edu Todd C. Lawson widenius@cc.helsinki.fi Risto Widenius Abstained ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ crouchkp@flidh103.delcoelect.com K. Crouch pimentel@roots.ultranet.com John Pimentel Votes in error ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ liza@altagroup.com Liza Estrada ! No vote statement in message From ferret@ripco.com Fri May 30 03:15:08 1997 Path: news.isc.org!bounce-back From: Roger McMillian Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,rec.pets,alt.pets.ferrets Subject: RFD: rec.pets.ferrets moderated Followup-To: news.groups Message-ID: <864987007.12288@isc.org> Approved: newgroups-request@isc.org Archive-Name: rec.pets.ferrets Date: Fri, 30 May 1997 10:10:08 GMT Lines: 187 Xref: news.isc.org news.announce.newgroups:469 REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD) moderated group rec.pets.ferrets This is a formal Request for Discussion (RFD) for the creation of world-wide moderated Usenet newsgroups in the rec.pets hierarchy. This is not a call for votes; you cannot vote at this time. Procedural details are below. Newsgroups line: rec.pets.ferrets Discussion about domestic ferrets. (Moderated) RATIONALE: rec.pets.ferrets Most ferret-related issues are currently discussed in alt.pets.ferrets (apf). The statistics compiled by one of the proponents indicate that this group regularly receives more than one thousand articles from approximately 500 posters each week. However, a disturbing percentage of the traffic on apf consists of off-topic articles, cross-posted through the alt hierarchy (spamming), and above all, a regular flow of articles unrelated to the subject matter, ferrets. This rec.pets group is therefore proposed as a moderated newsgroup where readers are not subjected to the types of articles described above. The intention is both to provide a useful resource for inexperienced ferret owners, and to attract and retain experienced owners and specialists who can make a substantial contribution to the group. The current intention is to "robo-moderate" the group using a script, which shall be overseen by a moderation panel. The moderation panel may, at its discretion, implement any technical or logistical solutions it considers necessary to enforce the provisions of this charter. Further, should it be deemed necessary, the panel may disable or limit the robo-moderation script and begin moderating the newsgroup entirely by hand.Moderation is by no means intended to impede freedom of speech, but rather to help readers make the most of their time by ensuring conformity to the objectives outlined in the charter. In the light of experience with the unmoderated apf, moderation is considered essential to ensure a sufficiently high signal-to-noise ratio and ensure the usefullness of the proposed group. Replacing the alt group with a moderated group in the usenet heirarchy, will give it a wider distribution and allow the newsgroup to reach more people to whom it would be interesting. CHARTER: rec.pets.ferrets The group shall be used to discuss various aspects of care for domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo). Original postings must contain certain keywords in their subject header or body. The group shall be robo-moderated using a "mod-bot" script, which shall be overseen by a moderation panel. The moderation panel may, at its discretion, implement any technical solutions it considers necessary to enforce the provisions of this charter, including disabling all or part of the moderation script and moderating the group by hand. The moderation script shall be configured to reject any article: + which is cross-posted to more than six newsgroups; + which does not contain one of the required keywords; + which is cross-posted to unrelated newsgroups; + which is deemed to contain a binary file. Insofar as it is practical, the moderation script shall be configured so as to pass PGP signatures and similar authentication schemes, while rejecting articles containing binary files; + which is deemed to be encoded primarily using a markup scheme, with the exception of Plain Old Documentation (POD). In so far as it is practicable, the moderation script shall be configured so as to pass articles containing short fragments of markup embedded within them; + which is deemed to be encoded in any MIME type considered inappropriate by the moderation panel. Initially, only articles of text/plain MIME type will be accepted by the moderation script; + which is deemed to contain more quoted than unquoted text. This condition will not be applied to articles containing fewer than 40 lines of body text, excluding the signature if one is found. Articles without any unquoted text, not taking into account the signature if one is present, will be rejected; In the context of this charter, a signature is defined as everything found after the last cut line, i.e. /^-- $/, found in the article. Posters are requested to make use of such cut lines to delimit their signature from the article body. Any article whose primary purpose is the advertisement of a commercial property, good or service, including job offers and demands, MLMs and MMFs, shall be off-topic and therefore forbidden in the group. An exception will be made for any article which is an offer for sale or barter any item related to the newsgroup (e.g. breeder notices, shelter notices, ferret food or equipment manufacturers, etc) The moderation panel may at its discretion implement appropriate technical solutions to ensure that off-topic articles are not published in the group. Posters are requested to use informative subject lines, to be concise and to the point, and to include in their posts any relevant information. The moderation panel may, at its discretion implement technical measures to enforce all or part of this provision. A single copy of any article rejected by the moderation process will be returned to its author together with a copy of the reason for the rejection. The moderation panel will consist of no fewer than 2 and no more than 10 members. In the case of a temporary abscence by a member of the moderation panel, he or she may nominate a replacement for the duration of said abscence to be approved by the other moderators. If the absence of a moderator would leave fewer than three remaining members of the panel, the absent moderator shall make every effort to to nominate such a replacement. New members may be appointed upon the permanent departure of an existing member, or as the moderation panel deems appropriate. With the exception noted in the next paragraph, the moderation panel shall take all its decisions on the basis of a simple majority vote among its current members, and formulate and publish additional terms of reference, including rules of procedure, in accordance with the provisions of this charter, at its earliest convenience. The moderation panel may depose one of its members if a motion to this effect is approved by no fewer than 2/3 of existing members. The moderation script will be distributed to persons approved by the moderation panel, solely for the purpose of installing it at the former's site and injecting articles into their local news server in accordance with the provisions of this charter. The moderation panel may gate aproved articles to mailing lists. All members of the moderation panel shall be authorized to cancel any article that has not passed through an authorized moderation site. Any article submitted by a member of the moderation panel outside the exercise of his or her administrative role will be subject to the full moderation procedure described herein. END CHARTER. MODERATOR INFO: rec.pets.ferrets Moderator: David Caudill Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,rec.pets,alt.pets.ferrets Subject: 2nd RFD: rec.pets.ferrets moderated Followup-To: news.groups Message-ID: <868423674.18091@isc.org> Approved: newgroups-request@isc.org Archive-Name: rec.pets.ferrets Date: Wed, 09 Jul 1997 04:47:54 GMT Lines: 165 Xref: news.isc.org news.announce.newgroups:574 REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD) moderated group rec.pets.ferrets This is a Request for Discussion (RFD) for the creation of world-wide moderated Usenet newsgroup in the rec.pets hierarchy. This is not a call for votes; you cannot vote at this time. Procedural details are below. Newsgroups line: rec.pets.ferrets Discussion about domestic ferrets. (Moderated) CHANGES from previous RFD: 1. Clearer, more concise language. 2. Correction to number of messages per week. 3. Better definition of means of moderation and role of moderation panel. 4. Concise listing of exclusionary criteria. a. Dropping references to POD, PGP and MIME text. b. Dropping signature line definition. c. Dropping paragraph on advertisements. d. Dropping paragraph on subject lines and content. e. Inclusion of paragraph defining disposition and reporting of off-topic postings. f. Redefinition of moderator replacement procedures. g. Redefinition of gating provision. RATIONALE: rec.pets.ferrets Most ferret-related issues are currently discussed in alt.pets.ferrets (apf). The statistics compiled by one of the proponents indicate that this group regularly receives more than 180 messages per week. However, a disturbing percentage of the traffic on apf consists of off-topic articles, including articles cross-posted excessively (spam) and binaries. This rec.pets group is therefore proposed as a moderated newsgroup with a higher "signal-to-noise" ratio, where readers will not encounter the types of articles described above. The intention is both to provide a useful resource for inexperienced ferret owners, and to attract and retain experienced owners and specialists who can make a substantial contribution to the group. The creation of a group in the usenet hierarchy will allow more interested people to participate, compared to the limited distribution of the existing apf. The current intention is to "robo-moderate" the group, using a script overseen by a moderation panel. The moderation panel may, at its discretion, implement other technical solutions it considers necessary to enforce the provisions of the charter. Moderation is by no means intended to impede freedom of speech, but rather to help readers make the most of their time by ensuring conformity to the objectives outlined in the charter. Like the "cancel-bots" currently in use in many hierarchies, robo-moderation is intended mainly to remove spam and binary articles from the newsgroup; but unlike the cancel-bots, a moderation script will be able to eliminate many of these articles before they reach any readers. Furthermore, it is anticipated that spammers will become increasingly sophisticated in their attempts to evade existing Usenet-wide cancellation mechanisms. The presence of a moderation panel with specific knowledge of and concern for this newsgroup will allow it to react more quickly and perhaps more effectively to reject spam articles which would not otherwise trigger the cancel-bots. CHARTER: rec.pets.ferrets The group is for discussion of domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo). Examples of appropriate topics include, but are not limited to, ferret care, behavior, history, and legal status, as well as fictional works involving ferrets, announcements of ferret-related events or resources, and peripherally related discussions between members of the "ferret community". The group is moderated, with the intention of ensuring that its contents meet the provisions of this charter. As much as possible, the moderation panel uses a robo-moderation script, with any questionable articles reviewed by one or more members of the panel. As best as it can be arranged, articles which meet any of the following criteria are rejected: + articles which are cross-posted excessively; + binary files and other non-text articles; + articles which contain only text quoted from previous articles, not including the poster's signature, if present; + articles which substantively duplicate known forms of spam; + off-topic commercial advertising. A monthly report listing all articles rejected by the robo-moderation script during the previous month is posted to the group. The moderation panel consists of no fewer than 2 and no more than 10 members. In the case of a temporary abscence by a member of the moderation panel, he or she may nominate a replacement for the duration of said abscence, to be approved by the other moderators. If the absence of a moderator would leave fewer than three remaining members of the panel, the absent moderator shall make every effort to nominate such a replacement. New members may be appointed upon the permanent departure of an existing member, or as the moderation panel deems appropriate. Any member of the moderation panel may cancel any article found in the group which has not been approved by an authorized moderation site, or which is deemed to have been approved by the robo-moderation script in error (i.e., which does not meet this charter but was approved by the script). Similarly, any member of the moderation panel may approve any article which is deemed to have been erroneously rejected by the robo-moderator. The moderation panel may depose one of its members if a motion to this effect is approved by no fewer than 2/3 of existing permanent members. All other decisions made by the moderation panel are taken on the basis of a simple majority vote among its current members (not including temporary replacements). The panel shall formulate and publish additional terms of reference, including rules of procedure, in accordance with the provisions of this charter, at its earliest convenience following the adoption of this charter. The moderation panel may gate aproved articles to mailing lists with the permission of the lists' owners and with warning given to the lists' subscribers. They do not expect to gate the group to any mailing lists existing at the time of adoption of this charter. END CHARTER. MODERATOR INFO: rec.pets.ferrets Moderator: Roger McMillian Moderator: Kevin Kadow Moderator: Pamela Greene Moderator: David Caudill Submission address: rpf@ferret.chi.il.us Administrative address: rpf-owner@ferret.chi.il.us END MODERATOR INFO. PROCEDURE: This is a request for discussion, not a call for votes. In this phase, potential problems with the proposal should be raised. The discussion will continue for a minimum of 14 days, starting from the time this RFD is posted to news.announce.newgroups. After that, a Call For Votes (CFV) may be posted by a neutral vote taker, if the discussion warrants it. Please do not attempt to vote until this happens. DISTRIBUTION: This RFD has been posted to the following groups: rec.pets alt.pets.ferrets news.groups news.announce.newgroups as well as the following mailing lists Ferret Mailing List Ferret Forum Mailing List Proponent: Roger McMillian Proponent: Kevin Kadow Proponent: David Richards Proponent: Pamela Greene Proponent: David Caudill From ferret@ripco.com Mon Sep 15 21:30:04 1997 Path: news.isc.org!bounce-back From: ferret@ripco.com Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,rec.pets,alt.pets.ferrets Subject: 3rd RFD: rec.pets.ferrets moderated Followup-To: news.groups Message-ID: <874383330.11361@isc.org> Approved: newgroups-request@isc.org Archive-Name: rec.pets.ferrets Date: Tue, 16 Sep 1997 04:15:30 GMT Lines: 158 Xref: news.isc.org news.announce.newgroups:761 REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD) moderated group rec.pets.ferrets This is a Request for Discussion (RFD) for the creation of world-wide moderated Usenet newsgroup in the rec.pets hierarchy. This is not a call for votes; you cannot vote at this time. Procedural details are below. Newsgroups line: rec.pets.ferrets Domestic Ferrets. (Moderated) CHANGES from previous RFD: Further clarification on moderation practices RATIONALE: rec.pets.ferrets Most ferret-related issues are currently discussed in alt.pets.ferrets (apf). The statistics compiled by one of the proponents indicate that this group regularly receives more than 180 messages per week. However, a disturbing percentage of the traffic on apf consists of off-topic articles, including articles cross-posted excessively (spam) and binaries. This rec.pets group is therefore proposed as a moderated newsgroup with a higher "signal-to-noise" ratio, where readers will not encounter the types of articles described above. The intention is both to provide a useful resource for inexperienced ferret owners, and to attract and retain experienced owners and specialists who can make a substantial contribution to the group. The creation of a group in the usenet hierarchy will allow more interested people to participate, compared to the limited distribution of the existing apf. The current intention is to "robo-moderate" the group, using a script overseen by a moderation panel. The moderation panel may, at its discretion, implement other technical solutions it considers necessary to enforce the provisions of the charter. Moderation is by no means intended to impede freedom of speech, but rather to help readers make the most of their time by ensuring conformity to the objectives outlined in the charter. Like the "cancel-bots" currently in use in many hierarchies, robo-moderation is intended mainly to remove spam and binary articles from the newsgroup; but unlike the cancel-bots, a moderation script will be able to eliminate many of these articles before they reach any readers. Furthermore, it is anticipated that spammers will become increasingly sophisticated in their attempts to evade existing Usenet-wide cancellation mechanisms. The presence of a moderation panel with specific knowledge of and concern for this newsgroup will allow it to react more quickly and perhaps more effectively to reject spam articles which would not otherwise trigger the cancel-bots. CHARTER: rec.pets.ferrets The group is for discussion of domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo). Examples of appropriate topics include, but are not limited to, ferret care, behavior, history, and legal status, as well as fictional works involving ferrets, announcements of ferret-related events or resources, and peripherally related discussions between members of the "ferret community". The group is moderated, with the intention of ensuring that its contents meet the provisions of this charter. As much as possible, the moderation panel uses a robo-moderation script, with any questionable articles reviewed by one or more members of the panel. As best as it can be arranged, articles which meet any of the following criteria are rejected: + articles which are cross-posted excessively; + binary files and other non-text articles; + articles which contain only text quoted from previous articles, not including the poster's signature, if present; + articles which substantively duplicate known forms of spam; + off-topic commercial advertising. A monthly report listing all articles rejected by the robo-moderation script during the previous month is posted to the group. The moderation panel consists of no fewer than 2 and no more than 10 members. In the case of a temporary abscence by a member of the moderation panel, he or she may nominate a replacement for the duration of said abscence, to be approved by the other moderators. If the absence of a moderator would leave fewer than three remaining members of the panel, the absent moderator shall make every effort to nominate such a replacement. New members may be appointed upon the permanent departure of an existing member, or as the moderation panel deems appropriate. Any member of the moderation panel may approve any article which is deemed to have been erroneously rejected by the robo-moderator. Similarly, any member of the moderation panel may cancel any article found in the group which has not been approved by an authorized moderation site, or which is deemed to have been approved by the robo-moderation script in error (i.e., which does not meet this charter but was approved by the script).This last ability is only used in exceptional circumstances; in general, it is considered preferable to allow an erroneously approved article to be propagated, and to modify the moderation script to handle that case properly the next time. The moderation panel may depose one of its members if a motion to this effect is approved by no fewer than 2/3 of existing permanent members. All other decisions made by the moderation panel are taken on the basis of a simple majority vote among its current members (not including temporary replacements). The panel shall formulate and publish additional terms of reference, including rules of procedure, in accordance with the provisions of this charter, at its earliest convenience following the adoption of this charter. The moderation panel may gate aproved articles to mailing lists with the permission of the lists' owners and with warning given to the lists' subscribers. They do not expect to gate the group to any mailing lists existing at the time of adoption of this charter. END CHARTER. MODERATOR INFO: rec.pets.ferrets Moderator: Roger McMillian Moderator: Pamela Greene Moderator: David Caudill Moderator: Kevin Kadow Submission address: rpf@ferret.chi.il.us Administrative address: rpf-owner@ferret.chi.il.us END MODERATOR INFO. PROCEDURE: This is a request for discussion, not a call for votes. In this phase, potential problems with the proposal should be raised. The discussion will continue for a minimum of 14 days, starting from the time this RFD is posted to news.announce.newgroups. After that, a Call For Votes (CFV) may be posted by a neutral vote taker, if the discussion warrants it. Please do not attempt to vote until this happens. DISTRIBUTION: This RFD has been posted to the following groups: rec.pets alt.pets.ferrets news.groups news.announce.newgroups as well as the following mailing lists Ferret Mailing List Ferret Forum Mailing List Proponent: Roger McMillian Proponent: Kevin Kadow Proponent: David Richards Proponent: Pamela Greene Proponent: David Caudill From ferret@ripco.com Tue Jan 6 15:15:22 1998 Path: news.isc.org!bounce-back From: Roger McMillian Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,rec.pets,alt.pets.ferrets Subject: RFD: rec.pets.ferrets moderated Followup-To: news.groups Message-ID: <884128109.21580@isc.org> Approved: newgroups-request@isc.org Archive-Name: rec.pets.ferrets Date: Tue, 06 Jan 1998 23:08:29 GMT Lines: 153 Xref: news.isc.org news.announce.newgroups:9681 news.groups:269598 rec.pets:71122 REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD) moderated group rec.pets.ferrets This is a Request for Discussion (RFD) for the creation of world-wide moderated Usenet newsgroup in the rec.pets hierarchy. This is not a call for votes; you cannot vote at this time. Procedural details are below. Newsgroups line: rec.pets.ferrets Domestic Ferrets. (Moderated) RATIONALE: rec.pets.ferrets Most ferret-related issues are currently discussed in alt.pets.ferrets (apf). The statistics compiled by one of the proponents indicate that this group regularly receives more than 180 messages per week. However, a disturbing percentage of the traffic on apf consists of off-topic articles, including articles cross-posted excessively (spam) and binaries. This rec.pets group is therefore proposed as a moderated newsgroup with a higher "signal-to-noise" ratio, where readers will not encounter the types of articles described above. The intention is both to provide a useful resource for inexperienced ferret owners, and to attract and retain experienced owners and specialists who can make a substantial contribution to the group. The creation of a group in the usenet hierarchy will allow more interested people to participate, compared to the limited distribution of the existing apf. The current intention is to "robo-moderate" the group, using a script overseen by a moderation panel. The moderation panel may, at its discretion, implement other technical solutions it considers necessary to enforce the provisions of the charter. Moderation is by no means intended to impede freedom of speech, but rather to help readers make the most of their time by ensuring conformity to the objectives outlined in the charter. Like the "cancel-bots" currently in use in many hierarchies, robo-moderation is intended mainly to remove spam and binary articles from the newsgroup; but unlike the cancel-bots, a moderation script will be able to eliminate many of these articles before they reach any readers. Furthermore, it is anticipated that spammers will become increasingly sophisticated in their attempts to evade existing Usenet-wide cancellation mechanisms. The presence of a moderation panel with specific knowledge of and concern for this newsgroup will allow it to react more quickly and perhaps more effectively to reject spam articles which would not otherwise trigger the cancel-bots. CHARTER: rec.pets.ferrets The group is for discussion of domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo). Examples of appropriate topics include, but are not limited to, ferret care, behavior, history, and legal status, as well as fictional works involving ferrets, announcements of ferret-related events or resources, and peripherally related discussions between members of the "ferret community". The group is moderated, with the intention of ensuring that its contents meet the provisions of this charter. As much as possible, the moderation panel uses a robo-moderation script, with any questionable articles reviewed by one or more members of the panel. As best as it can be arranged, articles which meet any of the following criteria are rejected: + articles which are cross-posted excessively; + binary files and other non-text articles; + articles which contain only text quoted from previous articles, not including the poster's signature, if present; + articles which substantively duplicate known forms of spam; + off-topic commercial advertising. A monthly report listing all articles rejected by the robo-moderation script during the previous month is posted to the group. The moderation panel consists of no fewer than 2 and no more than 10 members. In the case of a temporary abscence by a member of the moderation panel, he or she may nominate a replacement for the duration of said abscence, to be approved by the other moderators. If the absence of a moderator would leave fewer than three remaining members of the panel, the absent moderator shall make every effort to nominate such a replacement. New members may be appointed upon the permanent departure of an existing member, or as the moderation panel deems appropriate. Any member of the moderation panel may approve any article which is deemed to have been erroneously rejected by the robo-moderator. Similarly, any member of the moderation panel may cancel any article found in the group which has not been approved by an authorized moderation site, or which is deemed to have been approved by the robo-moderation script in error (i.e., which does not meet this charter but was approved by the script).This last ability is only used in exceptional circumstances; in general, it is considered preferable to allow an erroneously approved article to be propagated, and to modify the moderation script to handle that case properly the next time. The moderation panel may depose one of its members if a motion to this effect is approved by no fewer than 2/3 of existing permanent members. All other decisions made by the moderation panel are taken on the basis of a simple majority vote among its current members (not including temporary replacements). The panel shall formulate and publish additional terms of reference, including rules of procedure, in accordance with the provisions of this charter, at its earliest convenience following the adoption of this charter. The moderation panel may gate aproved articles to mailing lists with the permission of the lists' owners and with warning given to the lists' subscribers. They do not expect to gate the group to any mailing lists existing at the time of adoption of this charter. END CHARTER. MODERATOR INFO: rec.pets.ferrets Moderator: Roger McMillian Moderator: Pamela Greene Moderator: David Caudill Moderator: Kevin Kadow Submission address: rpf@ferret.chi.il.us Administrative address: rpf-owner@ferret.chi.il.us END MODERATOR INFO. PROCEDURE: This is a request for discussion, not a call for votes. In this phase, potential problems with the proposal should be raised. The discussion will continue for a minimum of 14 days, starting from the time this RFD is posted to news.announce.newgroups. After that, a Call For Votes (CFV) may be posted by a neutral vote taker, if the discussion warrants it. Please do not attempt to vote until this happens. DISTRIBUTION: This RFD has been posted to the following groups: rec.pets alt.pets.ferrets news.groups news.announce.newgroups as well as the following mailing lists Ferret Mailing List Ferret Forum Mailing List Proponent: Roger McMillian Proponent: Kevin Kadow Proponent: David Richards Proponent: Pamela Greene Proponent: David Caudill From ferret@ripco.com Tue Jan 27 18:15:25 1998 Path: news.isc.org!bounce-back From: Roger McMillian Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,rec.pets,alt.pets.ferrets Subject: 2nd RFD: rec.pets.ferrets moderated Followup-To: news.groups Message-ID: <885953585.7331@isc.org> Approved: newgroups-request@isc.org Archive-Name: rec.pets.ferrets Date: Wed, 28 Jan 1998 02:13:05 GMT Lines: 151 Xref: news.isc.org news.announce.newgroups:9725 news.groups:270619 rec.pets:71396 REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD) moderated group rec.pets.ferrets This is a Request for Discussion (RFD) for the creation of world-wide moderated Usenet newsgroup in the rec.pets hierarchy. This is not a call for votes; you cannot vote at this time. Procedural details are below. Newsgroups line: rec.pets.ferrets Domestic Ferrets. (Moderated) CHANGES from previous RFD: Removal of retromoderation. RATIONALE: rec.pets.ferrets Most ferret-related issues are currently discussed in alt.pets.ferrets (apf). The statistics compiled by one of the proponents indicate that this group regularly receives more than 180 messages per week. However, a disturbing percentage of the traffic on apf consists of off-topic articles, including articles cross-posted excessively (spam) and binaries. This rec.pets group is therefore proposed as a moderated newsgroup with a higher "signal-to-noise" ratio, where readers will not encounter the types of articles described above. The intention is both to provide a useful resource for inexperienced ferret owners, and to attract and retain experienced owners and specialists who can make a substantial contribution to the group. The creation of a group in the usenet hierarchy will allow more interested people to participate, compared to the limited distribution of the existing apf. The current intention is to "robo-moderate" the group, using a script overseen by a moderation panel. The moderation panel may, at its discretion, implement other technical solutions it considers necessary to enforce the provisions of the charter. Moderation is by no means intended to impede freedom of speech, but rather to help readers make the most of their time by ensuring conformity to the objectives outlined in the charter. Like the "cancel-bots" currently in use in many hierarchies, robo-moderation is intended mainly to remove spam and binary articles from the newsgroup; but unlike the cancel-bots, a moderation script will be able to eliminate many of these articles before they reach any readers. Furthermore, it is anticipated that spammers will become increasingly sophisticated in their attempts to evade existing Usenet-wide cancellation mechanisms. The presence of a moderation panel with specific knowledge of and concern for this newsgroup will allow it to react more quickly and perhaps more effectively to reject spam articles which would not otherwise trigger the cancel-bots. CHARTER: rec.pets.ferrets The group is for discussion of domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo). Examples of appropriate topics include, but are not limited to, ferret care, behavior, history, and legal status, as well as fictional works involving ferrets, announcements of ferret-related events or resources, and peripherally related discussions between members of the "ferret community". The group is moderated, with the intention of ensuring that its contents meet the provisions of this charter. As much as possible, the moderation panel uses a robo-moderation script, with any questionable articles reviewed by one or more members of the panel. As best as it can be arranged, articles which meet any of the following criteria are rejected: + articles which are cross-posted excessively; + binary files and other non-text articles; + articles which contain only text quoted from previous articles, not including the poster's signature, if present; + articles which substantively duplicate known forms of spam; + off-topic commercial advertising. A monthly report listing all articles rejected by the robo-moderation script during the previous month is posted to the group. The moderation panel consists of no fewer than 2 and no more than 10 members. In the case of a temporary abscence by a member of the moderation panel, he or she may nominate a replacement for the duration of said abscence, to be approved by the other moderators. If the absence of a moderator would leave fewer than three remaining members of the panel, the absent moderator shall make every effort to nominate such a replacement. New members may be appointed upon the permanent departure of an existing member, or as the moderation panel deems appropriate. Any member of the moderation panel may approve any article which is deemed to have been erroneously rejected by the robo-moderator. In general, it is considered preferable to allow an erroneously approved article to be propagated, and to modify the moderation script to handle that case properly the next time. The moderation panel may depose one of its members if a motion to this effect is approved by no fewer than 2/3 of existing permanent members. All other decisions made by the moderation panel are taken on the basis of a simple majority vote among its current members (not including temporary replacements). The panel shall formulate and publish additional terms of reference, including rules of procedure, in accordance with the provisions of this charter, at its earliest convenience following the adoption of this charter. The moderation panel may gate aproved articles to mailing lists with the permission of the lists' owners and with warning given to the lists' subscribers. They do not expect to gate the group to any mailing lists existing at the time of adoption of this charter. END CHARTER. MODERATOR INFO: rec.pets.ferrets Moderator: Roger McMillian Moderator: Pamela Greene Moderator: David Caudill Moderator: Kevin Kadow Submission address: rpf@ferret.chi.il.us Administrative address: rpf-owner@ferret.chi.il.us END MODERATOR INFO. PROCEDURE: This is a request for discussion, not a call for votes. In this phase, potential problems with the proposal should be raised. The discussion will continue for a minimum of 14 days, starting from the time this RFD is posted to news.announce.newgroups. After that, a Call For Votes (CFV) may be posted by a neutral vote taker, if the discussion warrants it. Please do not attempt to vote until this happens. DISTRIBUTION: This RFD has been posted to the following groups: rec.pets alt.pets.ferrets news.groups news.announce.newgroups as well as the following mailing lists Ferret Mailing List Ferret Forum Mailing List Proponent: Roger McMillian Proponent: Kevin Kadow Proponent: David Richards Proponent: Pamela Greene Proponent: David Caudill From ferret@mapson.ripco.com Tue Apr 7 04:30:35 1998 Path: news.isc.org!bounce-back From: Roger McMillian Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,rec.pets,alt.pets.ferrets Subject: 4th RFD: rec.pets.ferrets moderated Followup-To: news.groups Message-ID: <891941366.20647@isc.org> Approved: newgroups-request@isc.org Archive-Name: rec.pets.ferrets Date: Tue, 07 Apr 1998 09:29:26 GMT Lines: 151 Xref: news.isc.org news.announce.newgroups:9931 news.groups:277753 rec.pets:73071 REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD) moderated group rec.pets.ferrets This is a Request for Discussion (RFD) for the creation of world-wide moderated Usenet newsgroup in the rec.pets hierarchy. This is not a call for votes; you cannot vote at this time. Procedural details are below. Newsgroups line: rec.pets.ferrets Domestic Ferrets. (Moderated) CHANGES since previous RFD: None - previous rfd expired. RATIONALE: rec.pets.ferrets Most ferret-related issues are currently discussed in alt.pets.ferrets (apf). The statistics compiled by one of the proponents indicate that this group regularly receives more than 180 messages per week. However, a disturbing percentage of the traffic on apf consists of off-topic articles, including articles cross-posted excessively (spam) and binaries. This rec.pets group is therefore proposed as a moderated newsgroup with a higher "signal-to-noise" ratio, where readers will not encounter the types of articles described above. The intention is both to provide a useful resource for inexperienced ferret owners, and to attract and retain experienced owners and specialists who can make a substantial contribution to the group. The creation of a group in the usenet hierarchy will allow more interested people to participate, compared to the limited distribution of the existing apf. The current intention is to "robo-moderate" the group, using a script overseen by a moderation panel. The moderation panel may, at its discretion, implement other technical solutions it considers necessary to enforce the provisions of the charter. Moderation is by no means intended to impede freedom of speech, but rather to help readers make the most of their time by ensuring conformity to the objectives outlined in the charter. Like the "cancel-bots" currently in use in many hierarchies, robo-moderation is intended mainly to remove spam and binary articles from the newsgroup; but unlike the cancel-bots, a moderation script will be able to eliminate many of these articles before they reach any readers. Furthermore, it is anticipated that spammers will become increasingly sophisticated in their attempts to evade existing Usenet-wide cancellation mechanisms. The presence of a moderation panel with specific knowledge of and concern for this newsgroup will allow it to react more quickly and perhaps more effectively to reject spam articles which would not otherwise trigger the cancel-bots. CHARTER: rec.pets.ferrets The group is for discussion of domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo). Examples of appropriate topics include, but are not limited to, ferret care, behavior, history, and legal status, as well as fictional works involving ferrets, announcements of ferret-related events or resources, and peripherally related discussions between members of the "ferret community". The group is moderated, with the intention of ensuring that its contents meet the provisions of this charter. As much as possible, the moderation panel uses a robo-moderation script, with any questionable articles reviewed by one or more members of the panel. As best as it can be arranged, articles which meet any of the following criteria are rejected: + articles which are cross-posted excessively; + binary files and other non-text articles; + articles which contain only text quoted from previous articles, not including the poster's signature, if present; + articles which substantively duplicate known forms of spam; + off-topic commercial advertising. A monthly report listing all articles rejected by the robo-moderation script during the previous month is posted to the group. The moderation panel consists of no fewer than 2 and no more than 10 members. In the case of a temporary abscence by a member of the moderation panel, he or she may nominate a replacement for the duration of said abscence, to be approved by the other moderators. If the absence of a moderator would leave fewer than three remaining members of the panel, the absent moderator shall make every effort to nominate such a replacement. New members may be appointed upon the permanent departure of an existing member, or as the moderation panel deems appropriate. Any member of the moderation panel may approve any article which is deemed to have been erroneously rejected by the robo-moderator. In general, it is considered preferable to allow an erroneously approved article to be propagated, and to modify the moderation script to handle that case properly the next time. The moderation panel may depose one of its members if a motion to this effect is approved by no fewer than 2/3 of existing permanent members. All other decisions made by the moderation panel are taken on the basis of a simple majority vote among its current members (not including temporary replacements). The panel shall formulate and publish additional terms of reference, including rules of procedure, in accordance with the provisions of this charter, at its earliest convenience following the adoption of this charter. The moderation panel may gate aproved articles to mailing lists with the permission of the lists' owners and with warning given to the lists' subscribers. They do not expect to gate the group to any mailing lists existing at the time of adoption of this charter. END CHARTER. MODERATOR INFO: rec.pets.ferrets Moderator: Roger McMillian Moderator: Pamela Greene Moderator: David Caudill Moderator: Kevin Kadow Submission address: rpf@ferret.chi.il.us Administrative address: rpf-owner@ferret.chi.il.us END MODERATOR INFO. PROCEDURE: This is a request for discussion, not a call for votes. In this phase, potential problems with the proposal should be raised. The discussion will continue for a minimum of 14 days, starting from the time this RFD is posted to news.announce.newgroups. After that, a Call For Votes (CFV) may be posted by a neutral vote taker, if the discussion warrants it. Please do not attempt to vote until this happens. DISTRIBUTION: This RFD has been posted to the following groups: rec.pets alt.pets.ferrets news.groups news.announce.newgroups as well as the following mailing lists Ferret Mailing List Ferret Forum Mailing List Proponent: Roger McMillian Proponent: Kevin Kadow Proponent: David Richards Proponent: Pamela Greene Proponent: David Caudill From neilc@stanford.edu Tue May 26 22:30:05 1998 Path: news.isc.org!bounce-back From: Neil Crellin Reply-To: voting@uvv.stanford.edu Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,alt.pets.ferrets,rec.pets Subject: CFV: rec.pets.ferrets moderated Followup-To: poster Message-ID: <896246755.16014@isc.org> References: <884128109.21580@isc.org> <885953585.7331@isc.org> <891941366.20647@isc.org> Organization: Usenet Volunteer Votetakers Approved: newgroups-request@isc.org Expires: 18 Jun 1998 00:00:00 GMT Archive-Name: rec.pets.ferrets Date: Wed, 27 May 1998 05:25:56 GMT Lines: 224 Xref: news.isc.org news.announce.newgroups:10115 news.groups:284739 rec.pets:73910 FIRST CALL FOR VOTES (of 2) moderated group rec.pets.ferrets This CFV is to be distributed only by the votetaker. It is not to be posted to newsgroups, or mailed to mailing lists or individuals, except by the votetaker. Ballots or CFVs provided by anyone else will be invalid. Newsgroups line: rec.pets.ferrets Forum on ferret care and husbandry. (Moderated) Votes must be received by 23:59:59 UTC, 17 Jun 1998. This vote is being conducted by a neutral third party. Questions about the proposed group should be directed to the proponent. Proponent: Roger McMillian Proponent: Kevin Kadow Proponent: David Richards Proponent: Pamela Greene Proponent: Davil Caudill Votetaker: Neil Crellin RATIONALE: rec.pets.ferrets Most ferret-related issues are currently discussed in alt.pets.ferrets (apf). The statistics compiled by one of the proponents indicate that this group regularly receives more than 180 messages per week. However, a disturbing percentage of the traffic on apf consists of off-topic articles, including articles cross-posted excessively (spam) and binaries. This rec.pets group is therefore proposed as a moderated newsgroup with a higher "signal-to-noise" ratio, where readers will not encounter the types of articles described above. The intention is both to provide a useful resource for inexperienced ferret owners, and to attract and retain experienced owners and specialists who can make a substantial contribution to the group. The creation of a group in the usenet hierarchy will allow more interested people to participate, compared to the limited distribution of the existing apf. The current intention is to "robo-moderate" the group, using a script overseen by a moderation panel. The moderation panel may, at its discretion, implement other technical solutions it considers necessary to enforce the provisions of the charter. Moderation is by no means intended to impede freedom of speech, but rather to help readers make the most of their time by ensuring conformity to the objectives outlined in the charter. Like the "cancel-bots" currently in use in many hierarchies, robo-moderation is intended mainly to remove spam and binary articles from the newsgroup; but unlike the cancel-bots, a moderation script will be able to eliminate many of these articles before they reach any readers. Furthermore, it is anticipated that spammers will become increasingly sophisticated in their attempts to evade existing Usenet-wide cancellation mechanisms. The presence of a moderation panel with specific knowledge of and concern for this newsgroup will allow it to react more quickly and perhaps more effectively to reject spam articles which would not otherwise trigger the cancel-bots. CHARTER: rec.pets.ferrets The group is for discussion of domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo). Examples of appropriate topics include, but are not limited to, ferret care, behavior, history, and legal status, as well as fictional works involving ferrets, announcements of ferret-related events or resources, and peripherally related discussions between members of the "ferret community". The group is moderated, with the intention of ensuring that its contents meet the provisions of this charter. As much as possible, the moderation panel uses a robo-moderation script, with any questionable articles reviewed by one or more members of the panel. As best as it can be arranged, articles which meet any of the following criteria are rejected: + articles which are cross-posted excessively; + binary files and other non-text articles; + articles which contain only text quoted from previous articles, not including the poster's signature, if present; + articles which substantively duplicate known forms of spam; + off-topic commercial advertising. A monthly report listing all articles rejected by the robo-moderation script during the previous month is posted to the group. The moderation panel consists of no fewer than 2 and no more than 10 members. In the case of a temporary abscence by a member of the moderation panel, he or she may nominate a replacement for the duration of said abscence, to be approved by the other moderators. If the absence of a moderator would leave fewer than three remaining members of the panel, the absent moderator shall make every effort to nominate such a replacement. New members may be appointed upon the permanent departure of an existing member, or as the moderation panel deems appropriate. Any member of the moderation panel may approve any article which is deemed to have been erroneously rejected by the robo-moderator. In general, it is considered preferable to allow an erroneously approved article to be propagated, and to modify the moderation script to handle that case properly the next time. The moderation panel may depose one of its members if a motion to this effect is approved by no fewer than 2/3 of existing permanent members. All other decisions made by the moderation panel are taken on the basis of a simple majority vote among its current members (not including temporary replacements). The panel shall formulate and publish additional terms of reference, including rules of procedure, in accordance with the provisions of this charter, at its earliest convenience following the adoption of this charter. The moderation panel may gate aproved articles to mailing lists with the permission of the lists' owners and with warning given to the lists' subscribers. They do not expect to gate the group to any mailing lists existing at the time of adoption of this charter. END CHARTER. MODERATOR INFO: rec.pets.ferrets Moderator: Roger McMillian Moderator: Pamela Greene Moderator: David Caudill Moderator: Kevin Kadow Submission address: rpf@ferret.chi.il.us Administrative address: rpf-owner@ferret.chi.il.us END MODERATOR INFO. IMPORTANT VOTING PROCEDURE NOTES: READ THIS BEFORE VOTING The purpose of a Usenet vote is to determine the genuine interest in reading the proposed newsgroup, and soliciting votes from uninterested parties defeats this purpose. Do *not* distribute this CFV; intead, direct people to the official CFV as posted to news.announce.newgroups. Distributing specific voting instructions or pre-marked copies of this CFV is considered vote fraud. This is a public vote: All email addresses, names and votes will be listed in the final RESULT post. The name used may be either a real name or an established Usenet handle. At most one vote is allowed per person or per account. Duplicate votes will be resolved in favor of the most recent valid vote. Voters must mail their ballots directly to the votetaker. Anonymous, forwarded, or proxy votes are not valid, nor are votes mailed from WWW/HTML/CGI forms (which should not exist). Votes from nonexistent accounts are also invalid, and the votetaker will reject any "munged" address he cannot decipher immediately. Please direct any questions to the votetaker at . HOW TO VOTE: Extract the ballot from the CFV by deleting everything before and after the "BEGINNING OF BALLOT" and "END OF BALLOT" lines. Don't worry about the spacing of the columns or any quote characters (">") that your reply inserts. Please, DO NOT send the entire CFV back to me! Fill in the ballot as shown below. Please provide your REAL NAME and indicate your desired vote in the appropriate locations inside the ballot. Examples of how to properly indicate your vote: [ YES ] example.yes.vote [ NO ] example.no.vote [ ABSTAIN ] example.abstention [ CANCEL ] example.cancellation DO NOT modify, alter or delete any information in this ballot! If you do, the voting software will probably reject your ballot. When finished, MAIL the ballot to: < voting@uvv.stanford.edu > Just "replying" to this message should work, but check the "To:" line. If you do not receive an acknowledgment of your vote within three days contact the votetaker about the problem. You are responsible for reading your ack and making sure your vote is registered correctly. If these instructions are unclear, please consult the Introduction to Usenet Voting or the Usenet Voting FAQ at http://www.stanford.edu/~neilc/uvv. ======== BEGINNING OF BALLOT: Delete everything before this line ======= .----------------------------------------------------------------------- | 1ST CALL FOR VOTES: rec.pets.ferrets | Official Usenet Voting Ballot (Do not remove this line!) |----------------------------------------------------------------------- | Please provide your real name, or your vote may be rejected. Place | ONLY your name (ie. do NOT include your e-mail address or any other | information; ONLY your name) after the colon on the following line: Voter name: | Insert YES, NO, ABSTAIN, or CANCEL inside the brackets for each | newsgroup listed below (do not delete the newsgroup name): Your Vote Newsgroup --------- ----------------------------------------------------------- [ ] rec.pets.ferrets (moderated) ======== END OF BALLOT: Delete everything after this line ============== DISTRIBUTION: In addition to the groups named in the Newsgroups: header, the CFV and the eventual RESULT posts will be mailed to these mailing lists: Mailing list name: Ferret Forum Mailing List Submission address: ferret-forum@majordomo.net Request address: majordomo@majordomo.net ("subscribe ferret-forum") Pointers directing readers to this CFV will be posted to this list: Mailing list name: Ferret Mailing List Submission address: ferret-list@cunyvm.cuny.edu Request address: ferret-request@cunyvm.cuny.edu ("subscribe" in 1st line) This CFV was created with uvpq 1.0 (Aug 14 1997). PQ datestamp: 980322 -- Voting address: voting@uvv.stanford.edu From neilc@stanford.edu Fri Jun 5 10:24:28 1998 Path: news.isc.org!bounce-back From: Neil Crellin Reply-To: voting@uvv.stanford.edu Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,alt.pets.ferrets,rec.pets Subject: CFV: rec.pets.ferrets moderated Followup-To: poster Message-ID: <897067467.16961@isc.org> References: <884128109.21580@isc.org> <885953585.7331@isc.org> <891941366.20647@isc.org> Organization: Usenet Volunteer Votetakers Approved: newgroups-request@isc.org Expires: 18 Jun 1998 00:00:00 GMT Archive-Name: rec.pets.ferrets Date: Wed, 27 May 1998 05:25:56 GMT Lines: 224 Xref: news.isc.org news.announce.newgroups:10143 news.groups:286793 rec.pets:74046 FIRST CALL FOR VOTES (of 2) moderated group rec.pets.ferrets This CFV is to be distributed only by the votetaker. It is not to be posted to newsgroups, or mailed to mailing lists or individuals, except by the votetaker. Ballots or CFVs provided by anyone else will be invalid. Newsgroups line: rec.pets.ferrets Forum on ferret care and husbandry. (Moderated) Votes must be received by 23:59:59 UTC, 17 Jun 1998. This vote is being conducted by a neutral third party. Questions about the proposed group should be directed to the proponent. Proponent: Roger McMillian Proponent: Kevin Kadow Proponent: David Richards Proponent: Pamela Greene Proponent: Davil Caudill Votetaker: Neil Crellin RATIONALE: rec.pets.ferrets Most ferret-related issues are currently discussed in alt.pets.ferrets (apf). The statistics compiled by one of the proponents indicate that this group regularly receives more than 180 messages per week. However, a disturbing percentage of the traffic on apf consists of off-topic articles, including articles cross-posted excessively (spam) and binaries. This rec.pets group is therefore proposed as a moderated newsgroup with a higher "signal-to-noise" ratio, where readers will not encounter the types of articles described above. The intention is both to provide a useful resource for inexperienced ferret owners, and to attract and retain experienced owners and specialists who can make a substantial contribution to the group. The creation of a group in the usenet hierarchy will allow more interested people to participate, compared to the limited distribution of the existing apf. The current intention is to "robo-moderate" the group, using a script overseen by a moderation panel. The moderation panel may, at its discretion, implement other technical solutions it considers necessary to enforce the provisions of the charter. Moderation is by no means intended to impede freedom of speech, but rather to help readers make the most of their time by ensuring conformity to the objectives outlined in the charter. Like the "cancel-bots" currently in use in many hierarchies, robo-moderation is intended mainly to remove spam and binary articles from the newsgroup; but unlike the cancel-bots, a moderation script will be able to eliminate many of these articles before they reach any readers. Furthermore, it is anticipated that spammers will become increasingly sophisticated in their attempts to evade existing Usenet-wide cancellation mechanisms. The presence of a moderation panel with specific knowledge of and concern for this newsgroup will allow it to react more quickly and perhaps more effectively to reject spam articles which would not otherwise trigger the cancel-bots. CHARTER: rec.pets.ferrets The group is for discussion of domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo). Examples of appropriate topics include, but are not limited to, ferret care, behavior, history, and legal status, as well as fictional works involving ferrets, announcements of ferret-related events or resources, and peripherally related discussions between members of the "ferret community". The group is moderated, with the intention of ensuring that its contents meet the provisions of this charter. As much as possible, the moderation panel uses a robo-moderation script, with any questionable articles reviewed by one or more members of the panel. As best as it can be arranged, articles which meet any of the following criteria are rejected: + articles which are cross-posted excessively; + binary files and other non-text articles; + articles which contain only text quoted from previous articles, not including the poster's signature, if present; + articles which substantively duplicate known forms of spam; + off-topic commercial advertising. A monthly report listing all articles rejected by the robo-moderation script during the previous month is posted to the group. The moderation panel consists of no fewer than 2 and no more than 10 members. In the case of a temporary abscence by a member of the moderation panel, he or she may nominate a replacement for the duration of said abscence, to be approved by the other moderators. If the absence of a moderator would leave fewer than three remaining members of the panel, the absent moderator shall make every effort to nominate such a replacement. New members may be appointed upon the permanent departure of an existing member, or as the moderation panel deems appropriate. Any member of the moderation panel may approve any article which is deemed to have been erroneously rejected by the robo-moderator. In general, it is considered preferable to allow an erroneously approved article to be propagated, and to modify the moderation script to handle that case properly the next time. The moderation panel may depose one of its members if a motion to this effect is approved by no fewer than 2/3 of existing permanent members. All other decisions made by the moderation panel are taken on the basis of a simple majority vote among its current members (not including temporary replacements). The panel shall formulate and publish additional terms of reference, including rules of procedure, in accordance with the provisions of this charter, at its earliest convenience following the adoption of this charter. The moderation panel may gate aproved articles to mailing lists with the permission of the lists' owners and with warning given to the lists' subscribers. They do not expect to gate the group to any mailing lists existing at the time of adoption of this charter. END CHARTER. MODERATOR INFO: rec.pets.ferrets Moderator: Roger McMillian Moderator: Pamela Greene Moderator: David Caudill Moderator: Kevin Kadow Submission address: rpf@ferret.chi.il.us Administrative address: rpf-owner@ferret.chi.il.us END MODERATOR INFO. IMPORTANT VOTING PROCEDURE NOTES: READ THIS BEFORE VOTING The purpose of a Usenet vote is to determine the genuine interest in reading the proposed newsgroup, and soliciting votes from uninterested parties defeats this purpose. Do *not* distribute this CFV; intead, direct people to the official CFV as posted to news.announce.newgroups. Distributing specific voting instructions or pre-marked copies of this CFV is considered vote fraud. This is a public vote: All email addresses, names and votes will be listed in the final RESULT post. The name used may be either a real name or an established Usenet handle. At most one vote is allowed per person or per account. Duplicate votes will be resolved in favor of the most recent valid vote. Voters must mail their ballots directly to the votetaker. Anonymous, forwarded, or proxy votes are not valid, nor are votes mailed from WWW/HTML/CGI forms (which should not exist). Votes from nonexistent accounts are also invalid, and the votetaker will reject any "munged" address he cannot decipher immediately. Please direct any questions to the votetaker at . HOW TO VOTE: Extract the ballot from the CFV by deleting everything before and after the "BEGINNING OF BALLOT" and "END OF BALLOT" lines. Don't worry about the spacing of the columns or any quote characters (">") that your reply inserts. Please, DO NOT send the entire CFV back to me! Fill in the ballot as shown below. Please provide your REAL NAME and indicate your desired vote in the appropriate locations inside the ballot. Examples of how to properly indicate your vote: [ YES ] example.yes.vote [ NO ] example.no.vote [ ABSTAIN ] example.abstention [ CANCEL ] example.cancellation DO NOT modify, alter or delete any information in this ballot! If you do, the voting software will probably reject your ballot. When finished, MAIL the ballot to: < voting@uvv.stanford.edu > Just "replying" to this message should work, but check the "To:" line. If you do not receive an acknowledgment of your vote within three days contact the votetaker about the problem. You are responsible for reading your ack and making sure your vote is registered correctly. If these instructions are unclear, please consult the Introduction to Usenet Voting or the Usenet Voting FAQ at http://www.stanford.edu/~neilc/uvv. ======== BEGINNING OF BALLOT: Delete everything before this line ======= .----------------------------------------------------------------------- | 1ST CALL FOR VOTES: rec.pets.ferrets | Official Usenet Voting Ballot (Do not remove this line!) |----------------------------------------------------------------------- | Please provide your real name, or your vote may be rejected. Place | ONLY your name (ie. do NOT include your e-mail address or any other | information; ONLY your name) after the colon on the following line: Voter name: | Insert YES, NO, ABSTAIN, or CANCEL inside the brackets for each | newsgroup listed below (do not delete the newsgroup name): Your Vote Newsgroup --------- ----------------------------------------------------------- [ ] rec.pets.ferrets (moderated) ======== END OF BALLOT: Delete everything after this line ============== DISTRIBUTION: In addition to the groups named in the Newsgroups: header, the CFV and the eventual RESULT posts will be mailed to these mailing lists: Mailing list name: Ferret Forum Mailing List Submission address: ferret-forum@majordomo.net Request address: majordomo@majordomo.net ("subscribe ferret-forum") Pointers directing readers to this CFV will be posted to this list: Mailing list name: Ferret Mailing List Submission address: ferret-list@cunyvm.cuny.edu Request address: ferret-request@cunyvm.cuny.edu ("subscribe" in 1st line) This CFV was created with uvpq 1.0 (Aug 14 1997). PQ datestamp: 980322 -- Voting address: voting@uvv.stanford.edu From neilc@stanford.edu Sun Jun 7 19:30:25 1998 Path: news.isc.org!bounce-back From: Neil Crellin Reply-To: voting@uvv.stanford.edu Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,alt.pets.ferrets,rec.pets Subject: 2nd CFV: rec.pets.ferrets moderated Followup-To: poster Message-ID: <897272555.15943@isc.org> References: <884128109.21580@isc.org> <885953585.7331@isc.org> <891941366.20647@isc.org> <896246755.16014@isc.org> Supersedes: <896246755.16014@isc.org> Organization: Usenet Volunteer Votetakers Approved: newgroups-request@isc.org Expires: 18 Jun 1998 00:00:00 GMT Archive-Name: rec.pets.ferrets Date: Mon, 08 Jun 1998 02:22:35 GMT Lines: 229 Xref: news.isc.org news.announce.newgroups:10169 news.groups:286982 rec.pets:74065 LAST CALL FOR VOTES (of 2) moderated group rec.pets.ferrets This CFV is to be distributed only by the votetaker. It is not to be posted to newsgroups, or mailed to mailing lists or individuals, except by the votetaker. Ballots or CFVs provided by anyone else will be invalid. Newsgroups line: rec.pets.ferrets Forum on ferret care and husbandry. (Moderated) Votes must be received by 23:59:59 UTC, 17 Jun 1998. This vote is being conducted by a neutral third party. Questions about the proposed group should be directed to the proponent. Proponent: Roger McMillian Proponent: Kevin Kadow Proponent: David Richards Proponent: Pamela Greene Proponent: Davil Caudill Votetaker: Neil Crellin RATIONALE: rec.pets.ferrets Most ferret-related issues are currently discussed in alt.pets.ferrets (apf). The statistics compiled by one of the proponents indicate that this group regularly receives more than 180 messages per week. However, a disturbing percentage of the traffic on apf consists of off-topic articles, including articles cross-posted excessively (spam) and binaries. This rec.pets group is therefore proposed as a moderated newsgroup with a higher "signal-to-noise" ratio, where readers will not encounter the types of articles described above. The intention is both to provide a useful resource for inexperienced ferret owners, and to attract and retain experienced owners and specialists who can make a substantial contribution to the group. The creation of a group in the usenet hierarchy will allow more interested people to participate, compared to the limited distribution of the existing apf. The current intention is to "robo-moderate" the group, using a script overseen by a moderation panel. The moderation panel may, at its discretion, implement other technical solutions it considers necessary to enforce the provisions of the charter. Moderation is by no means intended to impede freedom of speech, but rather to help readers make the most of their time by ensuring conformity to the objectives outlined in the charter. Like the "cancel-bots" currently in use in many hierarchies, robo-moderation is intended mainly to remove spam and binary articles from the newsgroup; but unlike the cancel-bots, a moderation script will be able to eliminate many of these articles before they reach any readers. Furthermore, it is anticipated that spammers will become increasingly sophisticated in their attempts to evade existing Usenet-wide cancellation mechanisms. The presence of a moderation panel with specific knowledge of and concern for this newsgroup will allow it to react more quickly and perhaps more effectively to reject spam articles which would not otherwise trigger the cancel-bots. CHARTER: rec.pets.ferrets The group is for discussion of domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo). Examples of appropriate topics include, but are not limited to, ferret care, behavior, history, and legal status, as well as fictional works involving ferrets, announcements of ferret-related events or resources, and peripherally related discussions between members of the "ferret community". The group is moderated, with the intention of ensuring that its contents meet the provisions of this charter. As much as possible, the moderation panel uses a robo-moderation script, with any questionable articles reviewed by one or more members of the panel. As best as it can be arranged, articles which meet any of the following criteria are rejected: + articles which are cross-posted excessively; + binary files and other non-text articles; + articles which contain only text quoted from previous articles, not including the poster's signature, if present; + articles which substantively duplicate known forms of spam; + off-topic commercial advertising. A monthly report listing all articles rejected by the robo-moderation script during the previous month is posted to the group. The moderation panel consists of no fewer than 2 and no more than 10 members. In the case of a temporary abscence by a member of the moderation panel, he or she may nominate a replacement for the duration of said abscence, to be approved by the other moderators. If the absence of a moderator would leave fewer than three remaining members of the panel, the absent moderator shall make every effort to nominate such a replacement. New members may be appointed upon the permanent departure of an existing member, or as the moderation panel deems appropriate. Any member of the moderation panel may approve any article which is deemed to have been erroneously rejected by the robo-moderator. In general, it is considered preferable to allow an erroneously approved article to be propagated, and to modify the moderation script to handle that case properly the next time. The moderation panel may depose one of its members if a motion to this effect is approved by no fewer than 2/3 of existing permanent members. All other decisions made by the moderation panel are taken on the basis of a simple majority vote among its current members (not including temporary replacements). The panel shall formulate and publish additional terms of reference, including rules of procedure, in accordance with the provisions of this charter, at its earliest convenience following the adoption of this charter. The moderation panel may gate aproved articles to mailing lists with the permission of the lists' owners and with warning given to the lists' subscribers. They do not expect to gate the group to any mailing lists existing at the time of adoption of this charter. END CHARTER. MODERATOR INFO: rec.pets.ferrets Moderator: Roger McMillian Moderator: Pamela Greene Moderator: David Caudill Moderator: Kevin Kadow Submission address: rpf@ferret.chi.il.us Administrative address: rpf-owner@ferret.chi.il.us END MODERATOR INFO. IMPORTANT VOTING PROCEDURE NOTES: READ THIS BEFORE VOTING The purpose of a Usenet vote is to determine the genuine interest in reading the proposed newsgroup, and soliciting votes from uninterested parties defeats this purpose. Do *not* distribute this CFV; intead, direct people to the official CFV as posted to news.announce.newgroups. Distributing specific voting instructions or pre-marked copies of this CFV is considered vote fraud. This is a public vote: All email addresses, names and votes will be listed in the final RESULT post. The name used may be either a real name or an established Usenet handle. At most one vote is allowed per person or per account. Duplicate votes will be resolved in favor of the most recent valid vote. Voters must mail their ballots directly to the votetaker. Anonymous, forwarded, or proxy votes are not valid, nor are votes mailed from WWW/HTML/CGI forms (which should not exist). Votes from nonexistent accounts are also invalid, and the votetaker will reject any "munged" address he cannot decipher immediately. Please direct any questions to the votetaker at . HOW TO VOTE: Extract the ballot from the CFV by deleting everything before and after the "BEGINNING OF BALLOT" and "END OF BALLOT" lines. Don't worry about the spacing of the columns or any quote characters (">") that your reply inserts. Please, DO NOT send the entire CFV back to me! Fill in the ballot as shown below. Please provide your REAL NAME and indicate your desired vote in the appropriate locations inside the ballot. Examples of how to properly indicate your vote: [ YES ] example.yes.vote [ NO ] example.no.vote [ ABSTAIN ] example.abstention [ CANCEL ] example.cancellation DO NOT modify, alter or delete any information in this ballot! If you do, the voting software will probably reject your ballot. When finished, MAIL the ballot to: < voting@uvv.stanford.edu > Just "replying" to this message should work, but check the "To:" line. If you do not receive an acknowledgment of your vote within three days contact the votetaker about the problem. You are responsible for reading your ack and making sure your vote is registered correctly. If these instructions are unclear, please consult the Introduction to Usenet Voting or the Usenet Voting FAQ at http://www.stanford.edu/~neilc/uvv. ======== BEGINNING OF BALLOT: Delete everything before this line ======= .----------------------------------------------------------------------- | 2ND CALL FOR VOTES: rec.pets.ferrets | Official Usenet Voting Ballot (Do not remove this line!) |----------------------------------------------------------------------- | Please provide your real name, or your vote may be rejected. Place | ONLY your name (ie. do NOT include your e-mail address or any other | information; ONLY your name) after the colon on the following line: Voter name: | Insert YES, NO, ABSTAIN, or CANCEL inside the brackets for each | newsgroup listed below (do not delete the newsgroup name): Your Vote Newsgroup --------- ----------------------------------------------------------- [ ] rec.pets.ferrets (moderated) ======== END OF BALLOT: Delete everything after this line ============== DISTRIBUTION: In addition to the groups named in the Newsgroups: header, the CFV and the eventual RESULT posts will be mailed to these mailing lists: Mailing list name: Ferret Forum Mailing List Submission address: ferret-forum@majordomo.net Request address: majordomo@majordomo.net ("subscribe ferret-forum") Pointers directing readers to this CFV will be posted to this list: Mailing list name: Ferret Mailing List Submission address: ferret-list@cunyvm.cuny.edu Request address: ferret-request@cunyvm.cuny.edu ("subscribe" in 1st line) rec.pets.ferrets Bounce List - Please contact me about your vote ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- beisners@verio.com Scott Beisner Minze@nospamvoicenet.com Patrick McLaughlin This CFV was created with uvpq 1.0 (Aug 14 1997). PQ datestamp: 980322 -- Voting address: voting@uvv.stanford.edu From neilc@stanford.edu Wed Jun 17 21:00:06 1998 Path: news.isc.org!bounce-back From: Neil Crellin Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,alt.pets.ferrets,rec.pets Subject: RESULT: rec.pets.ferrets moderated passes 129:23 Followup-To: news.groups Message-ID: <898142165.13429@isc.org> References: <884128109.21580@isc.org> <885953585.7331@isc.org> <891941366.20647@isc.org> <896246755.16014@isc.org> <897272555.15943@isc.org> Supersedes: <897272555.15943@isc.org> Organization: Usenet Volunteer Votetakers Approved: newgroups-request@isc.org Archive-Name: rec.pets.ferrets Date: Thu, 18 Jun 1998 03:56:05 GMT Lines: 321 Xref: news.isc.org news.announce.newgroups:10208 news.groups:288129 rec.pets:74188 RESULT moderated group rec.pets.ferrets passes 129:23 There were 129 YES votes and 23 NO votes, for a total of 152 valid votes. There were 3 abstentions and 4 invalid ballots. For a group to pass, YES votes must be at least 2/3 of all valid (YES and NO) votes. There must also be at least 100 more YES votes than NO votes. A five day discussion period follows this announcement. If no serious allegations of voting irregularities are raised, the moderator of news.announce.newgroups will create the group shortly thereafter. Newsgroups line: rec.pets.ferrets Forum on ferret care and husbandry. (Moderated) The voting period closed at 23:59:59 UTC, 17 Jun 1998. This vote was conducted by a neutral third party. Questions about the proposed group should be directed to the proponent. Proponent: Roger McMillian Proponent: Kevin Kadow Proponent: David Richards Proponent: Pamela Greene Proponent: Davil Caudill Votetaker: Neil Crellin RATIONALE: rec.pets.ferrets Most ferret-related issues are currently discussed in alt.pets.ferrets (apf). The statistics compiled by one of the proponents indicate that this group regularly receives more than 180 messages per week. However, a disturbing percentage of the traffic on apf consists of off-topic articles, including articles cross-posted excessively (spam) and binaries. This rec.pets group is therefore proposed as a moderated newsgroup with a higher "signal-to-noise" ratio, where readers will not encounter the types of articles described above. The intention is both to provide a useful resource for inexperienced ferret owners, and to attract and retain experienced owners and specialists who can make a substantial contribution to the group. The creation of a group in the usenet hierarchy will allow more interested people to participate, compared to the limited distribution of the existing apf. The current intention is to "robo-moderate" the group, using a script overseen by a moderation panel. The moderation panel may, at its discretion, implement other technical solutions it considers necessary to enforce the provisions of the charter. Moderation is by no means intended to impede freedom of speech, but rather to help readers make the most of their time by ensuring conformity to the objectives outlined in the charter. Like the "cancel-bots" currently in use in many hierarchies, robo-moderation is intended mainly to remove spam and binary articles from the newsgroup; but unlike the cancel-bots, a moderation script will be able to eliminate many of these articles before they reach any readers. Furthermore, it is anticipated that spammers will become increasingly sophisticated in their attempts to evade existing Usenet-wide cancellation mechanisms. The presence of a moderation panel with specific knowledge of and concern for this newsgroup will allow it to react more quickly and perhaps more effectively to reject spam articles which would not otherwise trigger the cancel-bots. CHARTER: rec.pets.ferrets The group is for discussion of domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo). Examples of appropriate topics include, but are not limited to, ferret care, behavior, history, and legal status, as well as fictional works involving ferrets, announcements of ferret-related events or resources, and peripherally related discussions between members of the "ferret community". The group is moderated, with the intention of ensuring that its contents meet the provisions of this charter. As much as possible, the moderation panel uses a robo-moderation script, with any questionable articles reviewed by one or more members of the panel. As best as it can be arranged, articles which meet any of the following criteria are rejected: + articles which are cross-posted excessively; + binary files and other non-text articles; + articles which contain only text quoted from previous articles, not including the poster's signature, if present; + articles which substantively duplicate known forms of spam; + off-topic commercial advertising. A monthly report listing all articles rejected by the robo-moderation script during the previous month is posted to the group. The moderation panel consists of no fewer than 2 and no more than 10 members. In the case of a temporary abscence by a member of the moderation panel, he or she may nominate a replacement for the duration of said abscence, to be approved by the other moderators. If the absence of a moderator would leave fewer than three remaining members of the panel, the absent moderator shall make every effort to nominate such a replacement. New members may be appointed upon the permanent departure of an existing member, or as the moderation panel deems appropriate. Any member of the moderation panel may approve any article which is deemed to have been erroneously rejected by the robo-moderator. In general, it is considered preferable to allow an erroneously approved article to be propagated, and to modify the moderation script to handle that case properly the next time. The moderation panel may depose one of its members if a motion to this effect is approved by no fewer than 2/3 of existing permanent members. All other decisions made by the moderation panel are taken on the basis of a simple majority vote among its current members (not including temporary replacements). The panel shall formulate and publish additional terms of reference, including rules of procedure, in accordance with the provisions of this charter, at its earliest convenience following the adoption of this charter. The moderation panel may gate aproved articles to mailing lists with the permission of the lists' owners and with warning given to the lists' subscribers. They do not expect to gate the group to any mailing lists existing at the time of adoption of this charter. END CHARTER. MODERATOR INFO: rec.pets.ferrets Moderator: Roger McMillian Moderator: Pamela Greene Moderator: David Caudill Moderator: Kevin Kadow Administrative contact address: rpf-owner@ferret.chi.il.us Article submission address: rpf@ferret.chi.il.us END MODERATOR INFO. rec.pets.ferrets Final Voter list Voted YES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ dformosa [at] cit.nepean.uws.edu.au David Formosa {aka ? the Platypus} abuse [at] brushtail.apana.org.au Chris Sable Baird AT [at] village.uunet.be Anke Ros doctor [at] doctor.nl2k.ab.ca Dave Yadallee awhite [at] canaco.ca Ariel W. chriseb [at] nortel.ca Chris Ebenezer anelson [at] sk.sympatico.ca Amy Nelson-Mile calabres [at] chass.utoronto.ca T.Calabrese ermine [at] aimnet.com Matthew Ouimette ALICEWDB [at] aol.com Alice Barrett CALYPSO152 [at] aol.com Kathleen Haindl Debmuel [at] aol.com Deb Mueller desiegel [at] aol.com D. E. Siegel DStormy1 [at] aol.com Debby Greatbanks FerretzRus [at] aol.com Tom Kuchcinski HeathrVA [at] aol.com jimo3 [at] aol.com JIM OVERMYER Oneeyesas [at] aol.com Scott A. Smart prophet650 [at] aol.com Ken Moses Smaccie [at] aol.com Sharon McLaughlin SStout1536 [at] aol.com Susan Stout TKBowman [at] aol.com Todd Bowman WhyNotFert [at] aol.com Carla R. Smith ed.lazarowitz [at] bcbsnca.com Ed Lazarowitz kimdv [at] best.com Kim DeVaughn chris-barnes [at] bigfoot.com Chris Barnes R_Bouffier [at] bigfoot.com Robert J. Bouffier lmckee [at] channel1.com Lee McKee Ilena [at] compuserve.com Ilena Ayala eridani [at] databasix.com Belinda booda [at] datasync.com Martin H. Booda guymacon [at] deltanet.com guymacon@deltanet.com (Guy Macon) willp [at] dreamscape.com Will Pierce hucke [at] enteract.com Matt Hucke exferrets [at] exclusivelyferrets.com Scott Lehman lynda [at] flinthills.com Lynda Reid (Razz) curtis_whalen+usenet [at] geocities.com Curtis (Jewell) Whalen a.millar [at] home.com Alan Millar martin [at] inmind.com Robert J. Martin ferrets [at] innocent.com Sam Young vickmark [at] itctel.com Ryan Vickmark cbell [at] javanet.com Karl Zimmerman krazykritter [at] kozykingdom.com Matthew Stevens shika [at] kozykingdom.com Vikki Stevens star [at] kwom.com Star McAleese chris [at] kzim.com Christopher Robin Zimmerman ferret_lover [at] mailexcite.com Curtis Bond sabbe [at] mci2000.com Samuel Abbe inmiami [at] mindspring.com Peggy Alden-Clapper johnnybw [at] mindspring.com John B. Watson killian [at] user2.mnsinc.com William Alan Killian johnihm [at] mtco.com John Gordon sekullbe [at] newscorp.com Scott E Kullberg guy [at] panix.com Guy Polis JWR1 [at] pge.com John Rostoni scott.zou [at] platinum.com Scott Zou rlcarr [at] animato.pn.com Rich Carreiro panaga [at] primenet.com David Caudill jmccaul [at] iatcmail.ed.ray.com Joe McCauley ferret [at] ripco.com Roger McMillian pbroe [at] rrnet.com Paul Broe hunton [at] soldsign.com Debbie Hunton dwolff [at] world.std.com David Wolff andrea [at] t3media.com Andrea N. Mercado arielle [at] taronga.com Stephanie da Silva peter [at] taronga.com Peter da Silva elayne [at] teleport.com Elayne Barclay leonard [at] teleport.com Leonard Bottleman leanne.davis [at] ti.com LeAnne Davis lumina [at] tir.com Suzanne Grabowski alex [at] unicorn.us.com Alex M. geos [at] voicenet.com George M. Stephens songbird [at] voicenet.com Nancy Stephens rstrait [at] wolfenet.com Richard Strait crenaud [at] wwa.com Chuck Renaud kruposki [at] yahoo.com Andrew Krupowicz vlh1 [at] yahoo.com Vicki L. Henderson Ekkehard.Uthke [at] gmx.de Ekkehard Uthke naddy [at] mips.rhein-neckar.de Christian Weisgerber bouvin [at] daimi.aau.dk Niels Olof Bouvin keith [at] alumni.caltech.edu Keith Schneider busch [at] math.colostate.edu Yuki S. Busch bigcu [at] cunyvm.cuny.edu Bill Gruber hh299 [at] cleveland.Freenet.Edu Jim Baranovich gt5838b [at] prism.gatech.edu Mary Lyn Rivamonte poolemh [at] jmu.edu Mark Poole y-pisan [at] nwu.edu Yusuf Pisan Linda.Iroff [at] oberlin.edu Linda Iroff pgreene [at] optics.rochester.edu Pamela Greene baggett [at] stsci.edu Wayne Baggett rick [at] bcm.tmc.edu Richard Miller wls [at] astro.umd.edu schmied [at] CSTP.UMKC.EDU Stephen T. Schmiedeler eennis [at] zoo.uvm.edu Erin M. Ennis rufinus [at] mbe.ece.wisc.edu J Rufinus mjstanek [at] facstaff.wisc.edu Marsha Stanek gchand [at] faatcrl.tc.faa.gov George Chandler jpc [at] drum.msfc.nasa.gov J. Porter Clark theways [at] worldnet.att.net Harold Way w2jc [at] bellatlantic.net Jim Cooper marnic [at] cgocable.net Mary Catharine Kuruziak jlowe [at] glowe.clara.net JANET LOWE lotaweasel [at] CLDS.NET Jackie Hawley rdickin [at] concentric.net Rosemary Dickin swamp [at] earthlink.net swamp ncc2893 [at] frontiernet.net Gail Reilly psull [at] ici.net Patrick M. Sullivan kritters [at] pioneerplanet.infi.net Gayle Chase ganymede [at] insync.net Greg R. Broderick jackie_skidmore [at] lineone.net Jackie Ann Skidmore dhartung [at] mcs.net Daniel A. Hartung gravitor [at] mis.net Edward Chaney starr99 [at] mis.net Suzanne Chaney ferretwise [at] top.monad.net ALicia Drakiotes jmarch [at] ricochet.net jmarch smerritt [at] sonic.net Sam Merritt profit69 [at] swbell.net Jim Patton spirit [at] telenet.net Rich Christman queenie607 [at] uswest.net Marilyn Hayes robertsl [at] kahu.lincoln.ac.nz Lawrence Roberts david [at] home.net.nz David Farrar ron [at] ackermann.org Ron Ackermann dookdook [at] collector.org Margaret M Szelmeczka vote [at] erle.ORG tobias erle nat [at] nataa.fr.eu.org Nat Makarevitch aa2043 [at] lcfn.org Bob Repas mjanke [at] miamiferret.org MICHAEL F. JANKE bacca [at] wvwise.org Chris Berry griffon [at] canit.se Urban Fredriksson Voted NO ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ jasmine [at] fl.net.au Jasmine Taylor cdt [at] audiophile.com Chris Trumbore stainles [at] bga.com Dwight Brown lcs [at] zk3.dec.com Larry Smith bob149 [at] efortress.com Bob Blanchard dwiseman [at] erim-int.com Dave Wiseman bjv [at] herbison.com B.J. Herbison dougob [at] javanet.com Doug O'Brien olav [at] viking.mv.com Olav Nieuwejaar pooh5 [at] ix.netcom.com Robin Bell tgm [at] netcom.com Thomas G. McWilliams barb [at] ohio-state.com Barb Jarvis dc [at] panix.com David W. Crawford steiners [at] primenet.com Jason Steiner Minze [at] voicenet.com Patrick McLaughlin jackmccoy [at] yahoo.com Jack McCoy dirk.gomez [at] sap-ag.de Dirk Gomez kmz112 [at] psu.edu Kevin Zacks pbern7 [at] earthlink.net Paul Bernhardt msoysal [at] mistik.express.net Mustafa Soysal MS57 marquez [at] pacbell.net Aaron Marquez hfung [at] lerami.lerctr.org Hank Fung erigbadj [at] postmaster.co.uk Eric Badger Abstained ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ k95dl01 [at] cc.kzoo.edu Daniel Lawson segercra [at] cc.helsinki.fi Mikael Segercrantz Voting [at] valdena.demon.co.uk AST Invalid votes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ beisners [at] verio.com Scott Beisner ! Undeliverable address greenest [at] wam.umd.edu Edward Bruce Swartz ! No vote statement in message bigft [at] rmci.net Nathan Nipper ! No vote statement in message webmaster [at] ferretnews.org SCOTT BEISNER ! Ineligible address -- Neil Crellin, UVV