Proposed group addition for ALL legacy Apple products

[Brian Hyer <bmhyer@ameritech.net>]

I'm glad to see so much intelligent comment and discussion on this idea -
with that in mind, I did a little research on the creation of Usenet
newsgroups. Here's what I found:

Creating a newsgroup in the alt.* hierarchy is no effort at all - aside from
posting a few notices, all you need is someone willing to carry your group,
and bang! You've got one.

Creating a group in the 'big 8,' as it's called, is a bit more involved.
First a proposal is submitted to Usenet and a 'trial judge' is assigned. Our
potential group would be created in the *.trial.* hierarchy and allowed to
run for about five months, during which time its readership is evaluated and
its potential thus measured. If it 'passes muster,' so to speak, the
permanent group is created. If not, it is deleted. To pass, the group must
have a 2/3 majority of 'keep' votes, and there must be at least 100 'keep'
votes. (I think I read that part correctly - it was late. <grin>)

There's another method, but it involves a large-majority vote - and I don't
know how many people read this NG on a regular basis, or whether it's enough
to force the creation of a group.

I agree with the "comp.sys.apple.legacy" name FWIW. It's even better than
the one I came up with! Less awkward typing it, too.

I'm also coming out from behind the spamkiller alias (I.Dont@think.so) since
this is a pretty serious discussion topic. I'd like to hear what everyone
thinks of an 'umbrella group' that covers all non-Macintosh products. If
there's really a call for it, I'll write a serious proposal and post it here
for everyone to read, then revise it until everyone is happy and submit it.
Note that I do NOT nominate myself or anyone else to moderate the group; I
think we're all old enough and wise enough not to need a moderator.

Also FWIW: I like comp.sys.apple2.* groups - they've gotten me to open up
the closet and take out all my Apple goodies and remember why I stayed in
this field for so long. <L> Thanks to everyone who participates in this
discussion, and I can be reached here or by e-mail with any questions.

Brian <bmhyer@ameriREMOVEUPPERCASEtech.net>