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soc.culture.jewish FAQ: Introduction to the FAQ and s.c.j Newsgroups (1/12)
Section - Question 1.4: What are the charters of the various Jewish newsgroups?

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                                  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.

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