Subject: FAQ: sci.bio.* newsgroups

From: [email-masked] (Una Smith)
Date: 12 May 1995 22:37:09 GMT

I am frequently asked about the biology newsgroups in Usenet and their
associated mailing lists.  This is a brief pre-emptive FAQ.  ;-)

	Una Smith

________________________________________________________________________
			Overview of sci.bio.* 
========================================================================
As of May 1995, the sci.bio.* hierarchy contains these newsgroups:

	sci.bio				(no mailing list attached)
	sci.bio.conservation		(moderated, no mailing list)
	sci.bio.ecology			(mailing list is moderated)
	sci.bio.entomology.lepidoptera
	sci.bio.ethology
	sci.bio.evolution		(moderated)
	sci.bio.herp
	sci.bio.microbiology		(new, no mailing list yet)
	sci.bio.paleontology		(new, no mailing list yet)
	sci.bio.technology

Newsgroups that have been proposed or are currently being voted on:

	sci.bio.botany
	sci.bio.entomology.misc
	sci.bio.fisheries
	sci.bio.food-science
	sci.bio.misc (renaming of sci.bio)
	sci.bio.systematics

See news.groups for discussion of these proposals.  For the Request for
Discussion (RFD) and Call for Votes (CFV), see news.announce.newgroups.

________________________________________________________________________
		Details about sci.bio.* newsgroups
========================================================================
* sci.bio -- By far the oldest, most widely read, and often most active
	newsgroup for discussion of biology, sci.bio has no mailing list
	attached, and no archive.  Discussions of all topics having to
	do with biology are welcome here.

* sci.bio.conservation -- Moderated by Preston Hardison,
	[email-masked], who also runs the CONSBIO mailing list.

* sci.bio.ecology -- This newsgroup is gated to ECOLOG-L, a mailing
        list of over 2000 subscribers.  ECOLOG-L is run by David Inouye,
	a specialist on pollination biology, via [email-masked].
	David Inouye "filters" the mailing list to catch mis-directed
	subscription requests and off-topic articles;  the newsgroup is
	not moderated.  Archived on the host site via LISTSERV, which
	supports full-text searches by e-mail.

* sci.bio.entomology.lepidoptera -- Gated to the LEPS-L mailing list,
	run by Larry Gall, an entomologist and museum information
	systems administrator, via [email-masked] (an
	archive is expected on the host site).  It is a forum for
	discussion of all things lepidopterological (lepidoptera are
	butterflies and moths), among amateurs and professionals.

* sci.bio.ethology -- Gated to the ETHOLOGY mailing list, run by Jarmo
        Saarikko, an animal behaviorist, via [email-masked],
        for the discussion of animal behavior and behavioral ecology.
        This list has a strong European contingent.  Archived on the
	host site via LISTSERV.

* sci.bio.evolution -- Gated to the EVOLUTION mailing list, run by
        Josh Hayes, a marine biologist, via evolution-request@
        pogo.cqs.washington.edu.  To discourage the permanent debate
        about evolution vs creationism from moving from talk.origins
        into this newsgroup, Josh Hayes moderates it.  The newsgroup
        is archived on sunsite.unc.edu, in the Ecology and Evolution
        section, where it can be searched and read via gopher.

* sci.bio.herp -- Gated to the HERP-L mailing list, run by Michael
	Eisen, an herpetologist, via [email-masked].
	For discussion of the biology, ecology, evolution, biodiversity,
	and conservation of amphibians and reptiles.  Archived on the
	host site via LISTPROC.

* sci.bio.microbiology -- For discussion of all things having to do
	with microscopic organisms, including bacteria, yeasts, fungi,
	algae, and many more unfamiliar single-celled organisms.

* sci.bio.paleontology -- For discussion of ancient life on earth,
	on a professional level.  See talk.origins for the permanent
	home of the creation/evolution debate in Usenet.

* sci.bio.technology -- Gated to the BIOTECH mailing list, run by
        Dan Jacobs, via [email-masked].  BIOTECH is moderated,
        and has over 500 subscribers.  BIOTECH was one of the first
        mailing lists to have a gateway to the Usenet "mainstream".
	It is devoted to biotechnology and more applied biological
	research in general.  Archived on the host site via LISTSERV.

________________________________________________________________________
	How to subscribe to mailing lists (gated to newsgroups)
========================================================================
To subscribe to any of the mailing lists mentioned above (distinct from
the newsgroups!), send e-mail to the address given in the blurb (above),
and include the text

		subscribe <listname> <Your Name>

	+-------------------- An Example --------------------+
	|                                                    |
	|  Someone named Ima Biologist, who wanted to join   |
	|  BIOTECH, which is linked to sci.bio.technology,   |
	|  would send e-mail containing the message:         |
	|                                                    |
	|	subscribe biotech Ima Biologist              |
	|  to                                                |
	|	[email-masked]                        |
	|                                                    |
	+----------------------------------------------------+

Enjoy!