From soul@kersur.net Mon Jul 21 16:45:11 1997 Path: news.isc.org!bounce-back From: Steve Porter Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups Subject: RFD: rec.games.mud.smaug Followup-To: news.groups Message-ID: <869528341.14989@isc.org> Approved: newgroups-request@isc.org Archive-Name: rec.games.mud.smaug Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 23:39:01 GMT Lines: 141 Xref: news.isc.org news.announce.newgroups:608 REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD) unmoderated group rec.games.mud.smaug This is a formal Request For Discussion (RFD) for creating the group rec.games.mud.smaug. This is not a Call for Votes (CFV); you cannot vote at this time. Procedural details are below. Newsgroup line: rec.games.mud.smaug Multi-User Dungeon (Smaug Based) Admin Discussion Group. RATIONALE: rec.games.mud.smaug Smaug is a MUD code base, that is quickly rising in popularity. There are currently in the area of 112 Smaug based MUDs and new ones are coming online daily. We have been holding our discussions via a listsrv but it has gotten so popular, that it has become way too unwieldy to function any longer. There are in the neighborhood of 100+ posts daily which cause tremdous mail spam for everyone subscribed to that listsrv. With so much mail being generated, very few actually bother to read them all and some very good questions/observations go unanswered as a result. A newsgroup dedicated to the discussion of Smaug based MUDs would be an ideal solution to an overburdened listserv. Since becoming so full, the listsrv now receives no less than 10 unsubscribe requests a day. We don't want to lose our subscribers simply because our listsrv is popular. The subscribe/unsubscribe address is: smaug-request@realms.game.org. CHARTER: rec.games.mud.smaug rec.games.mud.smaug is dedicated to the administration and development of Smaug based MUDs. It is intended for those who are currently running a Smaug based MUD, or are in the process of starting one up. Additionally, this is to be a social group. Contributions are welcome from all who wish to engage in discussion of further developing the Smaug MUD code base. Discussion on rec.games.mud.smaug may consist of such things as: * Posts asking for information regarding OnLine Creation (OLC). * Discoveries of bugs within the released code base. * Replies to requests for information. * Questions on modification of the code and replies to same. * Diverse and far reaching discussions on new ways to code and new ideas on things to add. * A centralized place to post FAQs as they become available, and are modified to reflect changes to the code. rec.games.mud.smaug is not to be used for the following: * Advertising of non-related things. * Posting of binaries (with the exception of PGP signatures and clear-signatures, and code snippets, which are allowed). However, notices of archives, Smaug related web pages, or FTP sites dedicated to Smaug and other MUD code binaries are welcome, and should be used as alternatives to posting larger binary materials. * Blatant trolls or other abusive material. * Posting of off-topic or excessively-cross posted material. * Advertising/solicitation of new MUDs, requests for builders, coders, or players for MUDs. "Off-topic" refers to anything not pertaining to the administration and development of Smaug based MUDs. However, "on-topic" will be interpreted very broadly; almost anything that is not directly objectionable (by the criteria for disallowed posts given above) will be encouraged. Postings considered by the Usenet community to be 'spam' or similar forms of net-abuse are not permitted. The discussion in rec.games.mud.smaug is un moderated. Enforcement of these policies is to be self-enforcing via methods tried and proven in other un moderated newsgroups. (Ignore them and they usually go away, otherwise complaints to the abuse address at their ISP.) Conversation, chat, and the mutual fun of the participants are all important. Off-topic threads that began as on-topic threads will not be "rejected" as long as they retain some periodic relevance to the Smaug code base. Commercial postings are not prohibited provided that they pertain specifically to the Smaug code base, and NOT to MUDs in general. END CHARTER. PROCEDURE: This is a request for discussion, not a call for votes. In this phase of the process, any potential problems with the proposed newsgroup should be raised and resolved. The discussion period will continue for a minimum of 21 days (starting from when the first RFD for this proposal is posted to news.announce.newgroups). During this discussion phase, anyone may comment on the proposal in news.groups and the proponents may modify the RFD in response to such suggestions. After three weeks a Call For Votes (CFV) may be posted by a neutral vote taker if the discussion warrants it. Please do not attempt to vote until this happens. The proposal must pass a Usenet-wide vote with a 2/3 majority--and at least 100 more votes in favor than against--to be created. Anyone with an e-mail address may cast a ballot. A neutral vote-taker from the Usenet Volunteer Votetakers (UVV) conducts all CFVs. All discussion of this proposal should be posted to news.groups. This RFD attempts to comply fully with the Usenet newsgroup creation guidelines outlined in "How to Create a New Usenet Newsgroup" and "How to Format and Submit a New Group Proposal". Please refer to these documents (available in news.announce.newgroups) if you have any questions about the process. DISTRIBUTION: This RFD is being cross-posted in the following newsgroups, per accepted procedure: news.announce.newgroups news.groups Pointers will be sent to various related mailing lists and newsgroups. All follow-up messages and discussions should be directed to news.groups, the Usenet newsgroup dedicated to the discussion of proposals for newsgroups. Follow-up messages should not be cross-posted to the other groups listed above. When a Call For Votes (CFV) is issued, it will be distributed to all of these newsgroups. RFD compiled by Steve Porter , but based largely on a prior RFD compiled and posted by Michel Bartolone .