The following request for discussion has just been posted to various
newsgroups and is now being posted to the related mailing lists mentioned
in it.
Any discussion should take place in the newsgroup news.groups and not
on the lists, please. If you have any problems accessings news.groups
please let me know.
thanks
REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD)
moderated group sci.archaeology.moderated
This is a formal Request For Discussion on the creation of a new
worldwide Usenet newsgroup, sci.archaeology.moderated. This is not a
Call for Votes (CFV); you cannot vote at this time. Procedural
details are below.
Newsgroup line:
sci.archaeology.moderated All aspects of archaeology. (Moderated)
RATIONALE: sci.archaeology.moderated
This newsgroup would *not* replace any of the existing groups
(sci.archaeology, sci.archaeology.mesoamerican, and alt.archaeology).
It would meet a long-standing demand for a moderated newsgroup for the
discussion of archaeology without flames and without the 'speculative'
postings that have put many people off in the past. It would still
leave any and all posters the forums that currently exist, so there can
be no question of denying anyone an outlet for their ideas.
CHARTER: sci.archaeology.moderated
Sci.archaeology.moderated is to be a moderated newsgroup dedicated to
the discussion of archaeology, the study of the past through its
material culture. All viewpoints and levels of knowledge are welcome,
subject to the moderation policy described below. Because archaeology
is such a broad subject and because lively debate on archaeological
issues is encouraged, this group is moderated by a panel of several
people and prospective articles are assigned randomly to any moderator
for approval. Moderators will represent both professional and amateur
archaeologists. This method will hopefully lead to the fastest
turn-around time and least intrusion possible. Articles will never be
rejected based on whether the moderator(s) disagree with the accuracy
of the article. It is hoped that almost every poster's article will be
approved as soon as is humanly possible. The text itself will either
be accepted as is, or rejected -- however if only a minor aspect of an
article is inappropriate, the moderator will usually suggest changes.
Moderation Policy:
Articles may be requests for information, announcements of relevance,
etc. Lengthy quoting (more than 30 lines) of source material must be
accompanied by commentary or by other text which ties it to on-going
discussions. Articles which quote substantially the same source
material repetitively will not be approved. Articles consisting of
materials which are available on-line at ftp or WWW sites will not be
approved, rather pointers to sites may be given. Moderators may waive
this rule at their discretion.
Articles which contain personal attacks of any sort, racist comments,
etc. will not be approved for posting.
Disagreements are welcome (so long as they contain no flames), but
if a thread looks as though it's never going to be resolved, the
moderators reserve the right to terminate it/suspend it until
new evidence is produced.
Blank messages, test messages, advertisements, MAKE.MONEY.FAST,
binaries, uuencoded messages, and so forth, will not be approved
for posting.
This will not be a forum for the discussion of 'alternative
archaeology' such as that contained in Velikovsky's works, Von Daniken,
etc. Please note that this specifically includes 'hyperdiffusionism',
the proposition that geographically isolated cultures (mainly in the
Americas) developed because of 'outside influences' from Asia, Europe,
Egypt, etc. Such posts are not welcome not only because they fall
under the classification of 'alternative archaeology' but also because
the rejection of independent invention inherent in hyperdifusionism is
racist. So if you want to post something arguing that the Celts or
Israelis were the real Mound Builders, or that Egyptians told the
Mayans how to build pyramids, expect it to be rejected unless you can
offer cites from accepted professional journals. You will still have
the existing newsgroups (eg sci.archaeology and alt.archaeology) where
you can post such articles.
Moderators may, at their discretion, change the Subject: lines for
threads which have strayed from the initial subject.
Cross-posting is discouraged.
Rejected articles which would be acceptable after editing will be
returned to the poster with an explanation and suggestions for change.
Articles rejected for other reasons may be shared with the other
moderators for group consideration if the poster wishes to appeal.
Any article that contains more than fifty percent quoted material (and
the author's signature shall not count as original material for
purposes of determining the proportion) may be trimmed or rejected at
the discretion of the moderator. In exercising this discretion, the
moderator shall take readability considerations into account, such as
the amount of quoted material at the beginning of the message, and the
size of the blocks of quoted material. If the entire length of the
article (excluding header and signature) is less than 24 lines of 80
characters, then the requirement of 50% original material _may_ be
waived at the moderator's discretion.
In keeping with Usenet netiquette conventions, signatures should be
restricted to 4 or 5 lines. Moderators may, at their discretion, trim
.sigs to four lines before posting articles.
All articles should have at least a short signature block containing
the sender's name and email address. If this is missing, moderators
may add one at their discretion.
Moderators:
Anyone may volunteer to join the moderation panel with the consent of a
two-thirds supermajority of the current moderators. If the number of
moderators fall below 8, volunteers will be solicited by a posting to
the newsgroup.
An automatic script will be used to share postings among the
moderators.
It is important to have a clear policy to cover the possibility that
there is conflict in the affairs of the moderation panel itself. It is
generally believed that moderators will come and go throughout the
course of the group, and in all cases the goal will be a consensus
amongst the panel regarding the addition of new moderators. A standard
group decision process will be followed: a motion will be made to add a
new moderator, and if there are no objections it will go ahead.
Friendly relations are certainly expected.
If there is an objection to a motion, and a group decision is not
reached by discussion, a vote can be carried out in accordance with
the statements below. In any of the following cases, a secret ballot
may be requested -- and if a suitable (meaning: agreeably neutral)
volunteer on the panel to collect the ballots cannot be found, will be
carried out via point #5 below -- but voting will generally be public
(within the confines of the moderation panel itself).
1. If it comes to a vote, new moderators must be approved by a
supermajority (75% rounded downward, ie. two out of three moderators,
eight out of eleven moderators, nine out of twelve moderators, etc.)
amongst the moderation panel. Abstentions will not affect the outcome
of this vote, meaning that a supermajority among voting moderators
must be obtained. In the case of only two voting moderators who
disagree, the prospective moderator will not be added.
2. Moderators who will be on vacation for more than a day or two are
expected to have their names removed from the active file for that
period. This implies no permanent change in status, and they will be
simply returned to active duty afterward.
3. Moderators can be removed by a supermajority (as above) vote amongst
the moderation panel (including the moderator in question).
Abstentions will count as votes against removal.
4. If there is controversy amongst the moderators concerning the
application of these guidelines, the moderation panel agrees to submit
to binding arbitration by moderators-advice at UUNET. This situation
covers true interpretive controversy, as well as such technical
scenarios as: only two moderators, one wanting to remove the other; so
many moderators on extended leave or genuinely unresponsive that the
active panel cannot remove them to get on with business, etc.
5. Any votes or motions may be called into question by moderators
returning from leaves of absence.
6. All prospective moderators must agree to abide by these guidelines
in their entirety before consideration for moderator status. By acting
as a moderator, this point is implied, regardless of written
confirmation.
Changes:
It requires unanimous approval of the moderation panel to change these
guidelines, and they must remain within the boundaries given in the
original CFV charter.
END CHARTER.
MODERATOR INFO: sci.archaeology.moderated
Moderator: Doug Weller <[log in to unmask]>
Amateur, interest in Roman Britain
Moderator: Jeff Baker <[log in to unmask]>
Mayanist
Moderator: Julian Barker <[log in to unmask]>
Amateur, Egyptology, European Neolithic and Bronze Age and
Ancient Middle Eastern Languages
Moderator: Kathy Bartsch <[log in to unmask]>
Student, Arch-Student List Owner
Moderator: Philip Blair <[log in to unmask]>
Amateur, interest in standing stones
Moderator: Ariane Burke <[log in to unmask]>
Asst Prof. of anthropology subfield arch) with U. of Manitoba
Moderator: John Carr <[log in to unmask]>
Professional, Americanist, a sysop on the Delphi Archaeology
and History forum
Moderator: John A. Giacobbe <[log in to unmask]>
Western Archaeological Services, Inc.
Moderator: Gerard Alan Latham <[log in to unmask]>
Amateur, committee member with the
Wallingford Historical and Archaeological Society
Moderator: Vince Russett <[log in to unmask]>
County Archaeologist for Avon, England
Moderator: Adrian Tribe <[log in to unmask]>
Professional Archaeological Conservator, English Heritage
Moderator: Steve Whittet <[log in to unmask]>
Moderator: Mary Beth Williams <[log in to unmask]>
END MODERATOR INFO.
PROCEDURE:
This is a request for discussion, not a call for votes. In this phase
of the process, any potential problems with the proposed newsgroups
should be raised and resolved. The discussion period will continue for
a minimum of 21 days (starting from from when the first RFD for this
proposal is posted to news.announce.newgroups). All discussion should
be posted to news.groups.
At the end of the discussion period, a Call for Votes (CFV) will be
posted by a neutral vote taker.
This RFD attempts to fully comply with Usenet newsgroup creation
guidelines outlined in "How to Create a New Usenet Newsgroup" and "How
to Make a New Group Proposal". Please refer to these documents if you
have questions about the process.
DISTRIBUTION:
This RFD has been posted to the following newsgroups:
news.groups, news.announce.newgroups,
sci.anthropology, sci.archaeology,
sci.archaeology.mesoamerican,
alt.archaeology, soc.history,
soc.history.moderated, soc.history.medieval
This message will also be sent to the following mailing lists after
the RFD has appeared in news.announce.newgroups:
AEGEANET [log in to unmask]
AIA-L [log in to unmask]
ANCIEN-L [log in to unmask]
ANE [log in to unmask]
ANTHRO-L [log in to unmask]
ARCH-ARCTIC [log in to unmask]
ARCH-L [log in to unmask]
ARCH-STUDENT [log in to unmask]
ARCH-THEORY [log in to unmask]
ARTIFACT [log in to unmask]
AZTLAN [log in to unmask]
BRITARCH [log in to unmask]
C14-L [log in to unmask]
CONSDIST [log in to unmask]
EAAN [log in to unmask]
HISTARCH [log in to unmask]
NAUTARCH [log in to unmask]
NUMISM-L [log in to unmask]
PACARC-L [log in to unmask]
PAPY [log in to unmask]
ROCK-ART [log in to unmask]
ROMARCH [log in to unmask]
SAS-net [log in to unmask]
SPANBORD [log in to unmask]
SUB-ARCH [log in to unmask]
XYLHIST-L [log in to unmask]
PROPONENTS:
Doug Weller <[log in to unmask]>
Jeff Baker <[log in to unmask]>
Julian Barker <[log in to unmask]>
Kathy Bartsch <[log in to unmask]>
Philip Blair <[log in to unmask]>
Eric Brunner <[log in to unmask]>
Ariane Burke <[log in to unmask]>
John Carr <[log in to unmask]>
Tim Church <[log in to unmask]>
Kathryn Conners <[log in to unmask]>
Lachlan Cranswick <[log in to unmask]>
Loren Crow <[log in to unmask]>
Patrick Crowe <[log in to unmask]>
John A. Giacobbe <[log in to unmask]>
Steve Glines <[log in to unmask]>
James Harvey <[log in to unmask]>
Gerard Latham <[log in to unmask]>
M.A. Latta <[log in to unmask]>
Stewart Mac Intyre <[log in to unmask]>
James Petts <[log in to unmask]>
Adam D. Philippidis <[log in to unmask]>
Gordon Rugg <[log in to unmask]>
Vince Russett <[log in to unmask]>
Douglas Rutherford <[log in to unmask]>
Adrian Tribe <[log in to unmask]>
Steve Whittet <[log in to unmask]>
Mary Beth Williams <[log in to unmask]>
MENTOR:
Todd M. McComb <[log in to unmask]>
--
Doug Weller
"We must know the truth, and we must love the truth we know,
and we must act according to the measure of our love." Thomas Merton
***'De Chelonian Mobile!'***
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