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Top Document: soc.culture.jewish FAQ: Introduction to the FAQ and s.c.j Newsgroups (1/12) Previous Document: Question 1.3: Why soc.culture.jewish? Wouldn't soc.religion.jewish be more appropriate? Next Document: Question 1.5: Are there other newsgroups about which Jews should be aware? See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge
Answer:
A charter of a newsgroup bounds the content of the newsgroup. The
following are the charters of the main Jewish newsgroups. Note that
the charter descriptions listed here are abridged (condensed);
usually, a pointer is given to the source of the full charter.
* Unmoderated Newsgroups:
+ [5]soc.culture.jewish. S.C.J does not have a formal charter;
it predates the time when charters were required as part of
group creation. This FAQ serves as the primary guideline
regarding acceptable content for the group.
+ [6]alt.humor.jewish. This group appears to have no regularly
posted charter.
+ [7]alt.music.jewish. This group appears to have no regularly
posted charter.
+ [8]alt.personals.jewish. This group appears to have no
regularly posted charter.
* Moderated Newsgroups:
+ [9]soc.culture.jewish.moderated. This is a moderated
newsgroup for the discussion of all aspects of Judaism,
including its history, philosophy, culture, practice, and
law. In general, any post which contains substantive Jewish
content is appropriate. The following posts are unacceptable
in SCJM, unless they have substantive Jewish content: (1)
inappropriately crossposted discussion (more than 3 groups,
or to any group on a list of banned groups, with some
exceptions, such as the FAQ); (2) posts whose connection to
Judaism consists solely of the Jewish identity of one of its
participants or subjects (personal announcements are an
exception); (3) political discussion, including Israeli,
Middle Eastern, and Arab politics; (4) posts whose connection
to Judaism consists solely of a relationship to Israel; (5)
offensive or derogatory statements aimed at any individual or
group (criticism of ideas or actions, however, is acceptable,
provided they meet the other requirements); (6) posts that
deny or question the existence or extent of the Holocaust
(responses are similarly off-topic, but discussion of how
Jews can/ought to respond to such ideas is OK); (7)
proselytizing or witnessing for any non-Jewish religion
(discussion of how Jews can/ought to respond to such attempts
is OK); (8) discussion of the beliefs or doctrines of Jews
for Jesus, Hebrew Christianity, Messianic Judaism, or other
similar groups (again, discussion of how Jews should respond
to such groups is OK); (9) binary posts, with some small
exceptions; (10) commercial posts for non-Jewish items. Note
that Gnosticism falls under category (8), and is not
considered a Jewish movement in the contemporary sense, for
there is no contemporary communal organization, no
contemporary Jewish religious literature, no contemporary
social setting, and no contemporary educational context for
gnosticism, even though it may have been a "Jewish movement"
in the first few centuries of the Common Era. There is also a
prohibition about posting of material that constitutes a
probable copyright violation.
Additionally, discussion of the moderation policy of the
newsgroup and the moderators' decisions are also unacceptable
in SCJM; such discussion belongs on a side mailing list,
[10]scjm-policy@lists.nj.org. Specifically, this list is for
discussion of potential changes to the charter or moderation
policy, changes to the composition of the moderation panel,
changes in the way the moderation guidelines, or any other
subjects regarding the way in which the group is moderated.
[The restriction about Meta-discussion to the scjm-policy
list was an interpretation of the original charter's
definition of "discussion of all aspects of Judaism..."] To
subscribe to the scjm-policy list, send a message to
[11]scjm-policy-request@lists.nj.org with the body text
"subscribe".]
For more information: The charter and moderation policy is
regularly posted in the newsgroup, and is available on the
groups webpage, [12]http://scjm.nj.org/.
+ [13]soc.culture.jewish.holocaust. This newsgroup focuses upon
the events leading up to the Holocaust, the events of the
Holocaust itself (such as Kristallnacht and the concentration
and death camps), and closely-related events and consequences
following the Holocaust (such as the search for and
imprisonment/execution of Nazi criminals who fled).
Discussion about the historical and social contexts of these
events, such as antisemitism within and without Nazi Germany
and the response of the outside world is also welcome. Other
topics that are encouraged include religious and
philosophical reactions and responses to the Holocaust (i.e.
how was faith strengthened or weakened by the Shoah),
discussions by Holocaust concentration camp liberators, and
book reviews of texts that focus on the Holocaust. The
following posts are unacceptable in SCJH: (1) discussion of
Holocaust denial (euphemistically "revisionism"), or ways to
counteract such denial [Such discussion belongs in
[14]alt.revisionism]; (2) ad hominem attacks, flames, or foul
language; (3) commercial messages unless they are of high
informational value to the SCJH community; (4) copyrighted
material without permission of the copyright holder.
Cross-posted messages will be considered, but not
cross-posted.
For more information: [15]www.holocausthistory.org. The
charter is regularly posted in the newsgroup.
+ [16]soc.culture.jewish.parenting. This group provides a forum
for discussing issues specific to rearing children within a
Jewish context. Topics for discussion range from very
specific requests for advice and information to broader
questions about Jewish education and practice. In the context
of soc.culture.jewish.parenting, the phrase "within a Jewish
context" is intended to indicate either an environment in
which the child's primary belief system is Judaism (without
regard to the belief systems of the child's caretakers), or
the Jewish aspects of a multifaith child's environment. The
group also uses a broad definition of Judaism is used,
ranging from Humanistic Judaism to more traditional forms,
but excluding combined faith systems such as "Messianic
Judaism" (sic). Unacceptable posts include (1) questions or
statements attacking, showing a lack of respect for, or
questioning the fundamental Jewish validity of an
individual's outlook, affiliation, or practices; (2) posts
that criticize a parent for any circumcision decision made
for their son; (3) medical arguments for or against
circumcision; (4) questions unrelated to Jewish traditions
and practices in the context of raising a child (with one
exception: introductions of participants); (5) submissions
that attack an individual as opposed to an individual's
position; (6) commercial announcements (regional
announcements and commercial product reviews are permitted on
a limited basis); (7) questions regarding general practices
of Judaism not pertaining to raising children (redirected to
soc.culture.jewish or other appropriate groups); (8) extended
discussions about halacha (religious law) when they no longer
deal with parenting-related issues; (9) questions pertaining
to general parenting practices (redirected to misc.kids or
other appropriate groups); (10) questions and discussions
regarding how to raise children in an intercultural
environment that do not focus on Jewish aspects of the
child's upbringing; and (11) questions about non-Jewish
religious traditions.
Other notes: This group is mirrored with the SCJ-PARENTING
mailing list, managed through the listproc as shamash.org. To
subscribe, send a message of the form "subscribe
scj-parenting yourfirstname yourlastname" to
[17]listproc@shamash.org.
For more information: The FAQ for SCJP is regularly posted;
it is also available through the SCJFAQ autoretriever. Send
the command "send scjp-faq" to [18]archives@scjfaq.org.
+ [19]rec.food.cuisine.jewish. Rec.food.cuisine.jewish is for
the discussion of various aspects of Jewish food. These
include: sharing of recipes from Jewish ethnic streams
(Sephardic, Ashkenazic, Yemenite, etc.) and communities
around the world; adaptation of classic Jewish recipes to
current lifestyle demands, such as the problems often faced
by vegans and vegetarians during Passover; adaptation of new
recipes to the requirements of keeping a kosher kitchen;
Sabbath, holiday and holy day cooking and cuisine; recipes
and menus for life-cycle celebrations (births, Bar/Bat
Mitzva, weddings); sourcing suppliers, delicatessens and
restaurants (locations, specialties, reviews and recipes);
Jewish cooking history, traditions, cookbooks and related
reference materials. Discussions may also include tips on
setting up a kosher kitchen, kosher-food preparation,
recipes, ingredient substitutions in non-kosher recipes,
techniques, existence of rabbinic approval or labeling of
specific food products, keeping kosher when traveling, kosher
restaurants, caterers and hotels. Interpretation of the
religious laws is beyond the scope of RFCJ. Recipes posted to
the newsgroup are expected to respect the basic framework of
the Jewish dietary laws: no recipes calling for pork or pork
products, shellfish, catfish or crustaceans, and no recipes
mixing meat or poultry with dairy products. The group expects
that sensitivity will be exhibited both by those who observe
the Jewish dietary laws and those who do not; inflammatory
postings about one's degree of observance or the
philosophical merits of "kashruth" are strictly outside this
group's framework. The group is a lightly moderated group;
unacceptable postings include antisemitic posts; other
inflammatory diatribes; vulgarity; commercial advertisements
that do not relate to Jewish food in any way; posts that
attempt to coerce anyone to alter their spiritual practices;
get-rich-quick schemes and similar spam; messages that have
been known to perpetuate such urban myths as the
Neiman-Marcus chocolate chip cookie recipe; cross-posts to
other groups; and posts from anonymous addresses.
For more information: RFCJ Archives at
[20]http://www.cyber-kitchen.com/rfcj/ and regular moderation
guideline posts to the newsgroup.
+ [21]rec.humor.jewish. RHJ is for anyone who wants to share
and discuss humor, primarily humor as it pertains to Jews,
their culture, Israel, and the Jewish religion. Non-Jewish
humor will also be accepted. The whole idea is to make people
laugh! Unacceptable postings are in the following areas: (1)
antisemitic posts; (2) revisionist posts (holocaust deniers);
(3) posts from individuals/groups that have openly advocated
harm against the Jewish people; (4) website announcements
unrelated to Judaism, with some exceptions; (5) excessively
crossposted articles; (6) trolls, spam, off-topic or
offensive posts; (7) personal messages; (8) off-topic
threads; (9) posts that offer or promote conversion to
another religion; (10) large binaries and formats
incompatible with the moderation software; (11) posts with
explicit sexual content; (12) exact duplicates of posts
recently submitted; (13) posts not in English; (14)
advertisements and/or announcements and/or endorsements for
profit or non-profit endeavours; (15) copyrighted works.
Posters are expected to maintain a basic tone of civility,
not make derogatory remarks about religious practices or the
lack of them, and refrain from making derogatory comments
about other religious, racial, or ethnic groups.
For more information:
[22]http://members.tripod.com/~rechumorjewish. The charter
and an RHJ FAQ are regularly posted in that newsgroup.
+ [23]soc.geneology.jewish. The JewishGen(r) Discussion Group is
a computer-based forum devoted to Jewish genealogy. Users can
request help with genealogical problems, post information
about new sources for research, and network with other Jewish
genealogists globally. The only acceptable content are
messages that are related to research in Jewish genealogy
such as: offering or requesting information on resources;
inquiries about geographical locations or families;
information on research techniques; brief reports about
research trips; and concise summaries of meetings and
seminars.
Additional notes: This newsgroup is a mirror of the JewishGen
mailing list. To subscribe to the JewishGen mailing list on
Internet, you can use the web subscription form at
[24]http://www.jewishgen.org/listserv/jg.htm or by sending an
e-mail message to [25]listserv@lyris.jewishgen.org containing
the message body (NOT the subject field): "SUBSCRIBE
JewishGen FirstName LastName".
For more information: See
[26]http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/faq.html and
[27]http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/rules.htm.
+ [28]alt.religion.judaism.orthodox. This newsgroup is for
discussions concerning Orthodox Judaism and the surrounding
education (Halakha, Talmut Torah etc.), including discussions
regarding the various Orthodox recognised movements within
Judaism and educational discussion. Educational discussion
includes discussion of the Parashat Hashavua; Weekly Haftora
discussions; Tehillim examination; Different topics in
Halakha; Holidays. Unacceptable topices include: (1) Middle
East politics, especially international issues concerning
Israel; (2) Material that is available from a listserv; (3)
"witnessing" or preaching; (4) discussions of so-called
"Messianic Judaism[sic]," and the Christian missionary
organization calling itself "Jews for Jesus,"; (5)
revisionist teachings (i.e., those teachings that attempt to
deny that the holocaust ever happened); (6) personal attacks,
Lashon Hara, and Motzei Shem Ra.
For more information: [29]http://stump.algebra.com/~arjo.
User Contributions:Top Document: soc.culture.jewish FAQ: Introduction to the FAQ and s.c.j Newsgroups (1/12) Previous Document: Question 1.3: Why soc.culture.jewish? Wouldn't soc.religion.jewish be more appropriate? Next Document: Question 1.5: Are there other newsgroups about which Jews should be aware? Single Page [ Usenet FAQs | Web FAQs | Documents | RFC Index ] Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer: SCJ FAQ Maintainer <maintainer@scjfaq.org>
Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:11 PM
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