[Thread Prev] | [Thread Next] | [Thread Index] | [Date Prev] | [Date Next] | [Date Index] |
Attached is the second and last call for votes (CFV) for the creation of two new Usenet newsgroups, and the renaming of a third. If you have an interest in any of these, and care to vote, please send your completed ballot to VOTING@SYRA.NET, *not* to me or the list. Thanks! Una Smith ----------------------------------------------------------------------- LAST CALL FOR VOTES (of 2) unmoderated group sci.bio.botany unmoderated group sci.bio.systematics unmoderated group sci.bio.misc (replaces sci.bio) Newsgroups line: sci.bio.botany The scientific study of plants. sci.bio.misc Biology and related sciences. sci.bio.systematics Systematics, taxonomy, and the tree of life. Votes must be received by 23:59:59 UTC, 2 June 1995. This vote is being conducted by a neutral third party. For voting questions only contact Warren Lavallee <warren@Syra.NET>. For questions about the proposed group contact Una Smith <una.smith@yale.edu>. DISTRIBUTION This CFV has been cross posted to: news.announce.newgroups, news.groups, rec.gardens, sci.bio, sci.bio.ecology, sci.bio.evolution, bionet.plants, bionet.molbio.evolution and EMailed to: iopi, care of listserv@life.anu.edu.au class-l, care of listserv@ccvm.sunysb.edu mollusca, care of listserv@ucmp1.berkeley.edu paleonet, care of majordomo@nhm.ac.uk plant-taxonomy, care of mailbase@mailbase.ac.uk taxacom, care of listserv@cmsa.berkeley.edu vrtpaleo, care of listserv@vm.usc.edu CHARTER sci.bio.botany For discussion of the scientific study of plants: vascular, nonvascular, and unicellular photosynthetic, autotrophic organisms, and other taxa traditionally considered to be plants. It is anticipated that, at some future time, this newsgroup will be reorganized to provide subsidiary newsgroups focused on particular higher taxa (classes or orders, e.g., angiosperms, gymnosperms, etc.) or other groups of special interest to a large number of readers. Discussion of gardening, popular cultivars, houseplants, etc., should be directed to rec.gardens.*, where they will be seen by a large and active readership of experienced gardeners, both amateur and professional. sci.bio.misc One of the oldest, most widely read, and most lively newsgroups in the sci.* hierarchy, sci.bio.misc (formerly sci.bio) welcomes discussion of all topics having to do with biology. Especially welcome are topics of interest to the general public, and sub-fields of biology not covered by other Usenet newsgroups. sci.bio.systematics For discussion of the science of taxonomy and systematics, and both practical and theoretical issues pertaining to: hierarchical information systems; biological nomenclature; cladistics; phylogenetics; species concepts; comparative analysis and integration of morphological, anatomical, molecular, and other data; and the documentation and study of large-scale and long-term patterns of evolution and biodiversity. RATIONALE The TAXACOM mailing list, for discussion of taxonomy and systematics, has nearly 1000 subscribers and it has been necessary for some time now to refrain from posting too much, to keep subscribers' mailboxes from overflowing. Over the past year, reorganization discussions in rec.gardens have included talk of a newsgroup for botany, and recent threads in bionet.plants have contained similar comments. It is hoped that, by creating these two newsgroups, some of the traffic in these forums will be more finely and more usefully categorized. Numerous TAXACOM subscribers also read Usenet newsgroups, and the presence of Usenet newsgroups relevant to their research interests should help to unite the very large and diverse botany and systematics communities already distributed among numerous other newsgroups and mailing lists. In 1987, when sci.bio.technology was created, Usenet was very small and had a mostly flat "namespace". As a side-effect of the creation of sci.bio.technology, the string "sci.bio" became the name of both a hierarchy and a newsgroup. This has several negative consequences for many Usenet administrators and now, due to the increasing number of menu-based Usenet readers and newsgroup archives on the Internet, for many Usenet readers as well. In the past 5 years, it has become common to repair duplicate-name problems by renaming the relictual newsgroup to bring it within the hierarchy of the same name. In keeping with this practice, sci.bio will be renamed to sci.bio.misc. Sci.bio will be otherwise not affected by any part of this proposal. HOW TO VOTE Erase everything above the top "-=-=-=-" line and erase everything below the bottom "-=-=-=-" line. Do not erase anything between these lines and do not change the group name. Basically, remove everything except the ballot - we have to save them all on disk. Give your name on the line that asks for it. Place a YES or NO in the brackets next to the group name to vote for or against it. Don't worry about spacing of the columns or any quote characters (">") that your reply inserts. Send MAIL to: voting@Syra.NET Just Replying should work if you are not reading this on a mailing list. -=-=-=-=-=- Don't Delete Anything Between These Lines =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- sci.bio.misc Ballot <SBM-0002> (Don't remove this marker) Give your real name here: If you do not give a real name your vote may be rejected. [Your Vote] Group ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [ ] sci.bio.botany [ ] sci.bio.misc (replaces sci.bio) [ ] sci.bio.systematics -=-=-=-=-=- Don't Delete Anything Between These Lines =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Neither ABSTAIN nor CANCEL messages are counted as votes; they serve only to cancel any previous vote. Abstentions are noted in the final vote list, whereas CANCEL removes your vote from that list entirely. (This is the only difference between the two.) 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's your responsibility to make sure your vote is registered correctly. If you later change your mind you may vote again; only your last valid vote will count. Standard Guidelines for voting apply: no more than one vote per person, no more than one vote per account. If you attempt multiple votes or other vote fraud, all your votes may be canceled and your name published. The complete vote list will be posted with the vote result, including how each person voted. Note that Usenet votes are not done by secret ballot. There will then be a five-day period during which the published vote list may be corrected and any irregularities addressed. The requirements for group creation are 100 more YES votes than NO votes, and 2/3 of all counted votes being YES.
Partial index: