Subject: RFD: sci.bio.botany, sci.bio.misc, sci.bio.systematics

From: Una Smith <[email-masked]>
Date: 24 Mar 1995 16:29:43 -0500

REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION

Proposal to create:  sci.bio.systematics
                     sci.bio.botany
and rename:          sci.bio to sci.bio.misc

Proposed by:         Una Smith <[email-masked]>

This is a formal Request For Discussion (RFD) on the proposal to create
two unmoderated Usenet newsgroups, and rename a third.  All discussion
should take place in news.groups;  please post follow-ups there, *not*
to news.announce.newgroups.

This is *not* a call for votes.  Assuming the discussion goes smoothly,
a Call For Votes (CFV) will be posted by an independent third party 21
to 30 days from the date of this posting.

This RFD is cross-posted to:
	news.announce.newgroups, news.groups, rec.gardening,
	sci.bio, sci.bio.ecology, bionet.plants,
	[email-masked],
	[email-masked],
	[email-masked],
	[email-masked],
	[email-masked],
	[email-masked],
	[email-masked]

CHARTER for sci.bio.systematics

For discussion of the art and science of systematics and taxonomy, and
issues, both practical and theoretical, having to do with hierarchical
information systems, biological nomenclature, cladistics, phylogenetics,
species concepts, comparative analysis and integration of morphological,
anatomical, molecular, and other data, and the documentation and study
of large-scale and long-term patterns of biological diversity.

CHARTER for sci.bio.botany

For discussion of the scientific study of plants, both vascular and
nonvascular, and other taxa traditionally studied together with plants.
It is anticipated that, at some future time, this newsgroup will be
reorganized to provide subsidiary newsgroups focused on particular
higher taxa (classes or orders, e.g., angiosperms, gymnosperms, etc.)
or other groups of special interest to a large number of readers.

CHARTER for sci.bio.misc

One of the oldest, most widely read, and most lively newsgroups in the
sci.* hierarchy, sci.bio.misc (formerly sci.bio) welcomes discussion of
all topics having to do with biology.  Especially welcome are topics of
interest to the general public, and sub-fields of biology not covered
by other Usenet newsgroups.

RATIONALE

The TAXACOM mailing list, for discussion of taxonomy and systematics,
has nearly 1000 subscribers and it has been necessary for some time
now to refrain from posting too much, to keep subscribers' mailboxes
from overflowing.  Over the past year, reorganization discussions in
rec.gardens have included talk of a newsgroup for botany, and recent
threads in bionet.plants have contained similar comments.  It is hoped
that, by creating these two newsgroups, some of the traffic in these
forums will be more finely and more usefully categorized.  Numerous
TAXACOM subscribers also read Usenet newsgroups, and the presence of
Usenet newsgroups relevant to their research interests should help to
unite the very large and diverse botany and systematics communities
already distributed among numerous other newsgroups and mailing lists.
Confusion between sci.bio (a newsgroup) and sci.bio.* (a hierarchy)
may be reduced by renaming sci.bio to sci.bio.misc.  This is standard
practice in Usenet.

Please direct any comments on this proposal to news.groups.

---

From: [email-masked] (Warren Lavallee)
Date: 12 May 1995 15:35:37 -0400

FIRST CALL FOR VOTES (of 2)
                       unmoderated group sci.bio.botany
                    unmoderated group sci.bio.systematics
              unmoderated group sci.bio.misc (replaces sci.bio)

Newsgroups line:
sci.bio.botany		The scientific study of plants.
sci.bio.misc		Biology and related sciences.
sci.bio.systematics	Systematics, taxonomy, and the tree of life.

Votes must be received by 23:59:59 UTC, 2 June 1995.

This vote is being conducted by a neutral third party.  For voting
questions only contact Warren Lavallee <[email-masked]>.  For
questions about the proposed group contact Una Smith <[email-masked]>.

DISTRIBUTION
This CFV has been cross posted to:

  news.announce.newgroups, news.groups, rec.gardens, sci.bio,
  sci.bio.ecology, sci.bio.evolution, bionet.plants, bionet.molbio.evolution

and EMailed to:
	iopi, care of [email-masked]
	class-l, care of [email-masked]
	mollusca, care of [email-masked]
	paleonet, care of [email-masked]
	plant-taxonomy, care of [email-masked]
	taxacom, care of [email-masked]
	vrtpaleo, care of [email-masked]

CHARTER

sci.bio.botany
For discussion of the scientific study of plants:  vascular, nonvascular,
and unicellular photosynthetic, autotrophic organisms, and other taxa
traditionally considered to be plants.  It is anticipated that, at some
future time, this newsgroup will be reorganized to provide subsidiary
newsgroups focused on particular higher taxa (classes or orders, e.g.,
angiosperms, gymnosperms, etc.) or other groups of special interest to
a large number of readers.  Discussion of gardening, popular cultivars,
houseplants, etc., should be directed to rec.gardens.*, where they will
be seen by a large and active readership of experienced gardeners, both
amateur and professional.

sci.bio.misc

sci.bio.systematics
For discussion of the science of taxonomy and systematics, and both
practical and theoretical issues pertaining to:  hierarchical information
systems;  biological nomenclature;  cladistics;  phylogenetics;  species
concepts;  comparative analysis and integration of morphological,
anatomical, molecular, and other data;  and the documentation and study
of large-scale and long-term patterns of evolution and biodiversity.

RATIONALE

In 1987, when sci.bio.technology was created, Usenet was very small
and had a mostly flat "namespace".  As a side-effect of the creation
of sci.bio.technology, the string "sci.bio" became the name of both
a hierarchy and a newsgroup.  This has several negative consequences
for many Usenet administrators and now, due to the increasing number
of menu-based Usenet readers and newsgroup archives on the Internet,
for many Usenet readers as well.  In the past 5 years, it has become
common to repair duplicate-name problems by renaming the relictual
newsgroup to bring it within the hierarchy of the same name.  In
keeping with this practice, sci.bio will be renamed to sci.bio.misc.
Sci.bio will be otherwise not affected by any part of this proposal.

HOW TO VOTE
Erase everything above the top "-=-=-=-" line and erase everything
below the bottom "-=-=-=-" line. Do not erase anything between these
lines and do not change the group name. Basically, remove everything
except the ballot - we have to save them all on disk.

Give your name on the line that asks for it. Place a YES or NO in the
brackets next to the group name to vote for or against it. Don't
worry about spacing of the columns or any quote characters (">") that
your reply inserts.

Send MAIL to:   [email-masked]
Just Replying should work if you are not reading this on a mailing list.

-=-=-=-=-=- Don't Delete Anything Between These Lines =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
sci.bio.misc Ballot    <SBM-0001> (Don't remove this marker)

Give your real name here:
If you do not give a real name your vote may be rejected.

[Your Vote]  Group
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
[         ]  sci.bio.botany
[         ]  sci.bio.misc (replaces sci.bio)
[         ]  sci.bio.systematics
-=-=-=-=-=- Don't Delete Anything Between These Lines =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

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There will then be a five-day period during which the published vote
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requirements for group creation are 100 more YES votes than NO votes,
and 2/3 of all counted votes being YES.