Archive-name: sf/groups-intro

Changes this version:
  Format was revised a bit, into a more readable and organized format.
  It's now a Q&A format, with the list of questions at the top to let
  readers find their questions more readily.

Send questions and updates or comments to: phillips@syrinx.umd.edu.

1. What does the 'sf' in 'rec.arts.sf.*' mean?
2. What rec.arts.sf.* groups are available?
3. What other 'sf' groups are available?
4. What mailing lists are there for similar topics?
5. What are the current charters for the groups under rec.arts.sf.*?

1. What does the 'sf' in 'rec.arts.sf.*' mean?
  The 'sf' means 'Speculative Fiction'.  According to the call for votes
that created the original hierarchy, this was defined as: Both science
fiction and fantasy, as well as that vast blurred mass of material in
between.

2. What rec.arts.sf.* groups are available?

Here's a short, one-line-per-group listing of the groups:

rec.arts.sf.misc Replaces rec.arts.sf-lovers as the catch-all
rec.arts.sf.announce  Announcements (moderated: zorch@uunet.uu.net)
rec.arts.sf.fandom Fannish activities, cons, etc.
rec.arts.sf.marketplace Personal for-sale notices
rec.arts.sf.movies SF movies that don't have their own groups
rec.arts.sf.reviews Reviews of sf/fantasy/horror works (Moderated)
rec.arts.sf.science Science and theory related to sf
rec.arts.sf.starwars Star wars, books, movies, etc
rec.arts.sf.tv  SF tv shows that don't have their own groups
rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5 Babylon 5 creators meet Babylon 5 fans.
rec.arts.sf.written Novels, stories, etc.


3. What other 'sf' groups are available?
  rec.arts.books.tolkien
  rec.arts.drwho
 Discussions about the movies, the show, and anything and everything
 related to Dr. Who.
  rec.arts.startrek.info.
 A distillation of news and information about Star Trek, including
 synopses of new episodes, convention reports, station airing times
 around the US and the world, and other tidbits of factual information
 about Trek.

 Moderated: send submissions to trek-info@dweeb.fx.com; questions or
  comments should be sent to trek-info-request@dweeb.fx.com.
  rec.arts.startrek.current
  rec.arts.startrek.fandom
  rec.arts.startrek.misc
  rec.arts.startrek.tech
 Star Trek, all shows, movies, books, etc, related to the original
 show.  There's a monthly informational posting in those groups and
 news.answers and rec.answers which describes the groups in detail.
  alt.books.asimov
  alt.books.deryni
  alt.books.m-lackey
  alt.cyberpunk
  alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo
 Virtual reality  via prose interaction.
  alt.fan.douglas-adam
  alt.fan.eddings
  alt.fan.pern
 McCaffrey's Pern; also some discussions of her other books.
  alt.fan.piers-anthony
  alt.fan.pratchett
  alt.fan.tolkien
  alt.fandom.cons
  alt.fandom.misc
  alt.galactic-guide
 An attempt to write a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, inspired by
 Douglas Adams.  Ongoing for several years.
  alt.music.filk
  alt.tv.red-dwarf

4. What mailing lists are there for similar topics?

  Good question; I haven't the faintest.  But I'll be adding them as people
tell me about them, and I believe there's a posting that lists them, that
I'll try to get permission to use.

5. What are the current charters for the groups under rec.arts.sf.*?

Here's a list, in the same order as the groups appear in the list in question
2.  I use the word 'current' because, while most of these haven't changed
since the dawn of creation, the rec.arts.sf.reviews one has changed to
include a new submission address.

rec.arts.sf.misc
     Charter: Group rec.arts.sf.misc will be the general-purpose
              and spillover group for science fiction and fantasy
       discussions that do not find a more specific subgroup 
       under rec.arts.sf.*, or that would otherwise require 
       wide crossposting among the other subgroups.

rec.arts.sf.announce (moderated, <sf-announce-request@uunet.uu.net>)
     Charter: (moderated) Announcements of happenings in the
              SF world, such as cons, including calls for con
              participation, readings, deaths, honors, new SF
              mailing lists, periodic postings of rec.arts.sf
              subgroup charters and other administrivia,
              signings, TV specials, meetings, shop openings and
              closings, etc. Not for personal or commercial ads.
     Send submissions to: sf-announce@uunet.uu.net; questions to
 the moderator address above.

rec.arts.sf.fandom
     Charter: Discussions of fannish activities; meant to provide
              a new home for the SF-related part of the traffic
              currently posted to alt.fandom.* and similar
              postings current in rec.arts.sf-lovers.

rec.arts.sf.marketplace
     Charter: A place for personal wanted-to-buy and for-sale ads
              for SF related materials.  Personal ads only;
              commercial ads belong in comp.newprod or commercial
              advertising channels, not elsewhere on USENet.  Do
              NOT crosspost ads; those looking to buy or sell SF
              stuff will be reading this group and just annoyed
              by ads mixed in elsewhere.

rec.arts.sf.movies
     Charter: Discussions of all aspects of SF related movies not
              otherwise covered in more specific groups (such as
              the Star Trek group).  Specifically includes
              screenplays looking for producers, and discussions
              of novelizations as compared to the movie base;
              discussion of novelizations independent of the 
              related movie belong in .written.

rec.arts.sf.reviews (moderated)
 Charter: Reviews and critical discussion of SF/fantasy/horror 
   works.  Works include novels, short fiction, movies,
   music, periodicals, art, etc., that are of interest to
   the SF community.  Reviews are expected to conform to
   the guidelines in the FAQ "Welcome to rec.arts.sf.reviews"
   posted to the group periodically and available by
   anonymous FTP on the host net.bio.net [134.172.2.69]
   (file: sf-reviews/welcome).  Archives of the group are also
   available on net.bio.net in the directory misc/sf-reviews.  
   Submissions should be sent to sf-reviews@presto.ig.com;
   comments to the moderators should be sent to
   rasfr-comments@presto.ig.com.

rec.arts.sf.science
     Charter: A home for the spinoff discussion of real and
              speculative science and sometimes about how the
              laws of science could be used in creating new SF
              universes.  

rec.arts.sf.tv
     Charter: A group for discussing general television SF, both
              live acted and cartoons.  Note that some tv shows,
       (such as Dr. Who and Star Trek) have their own
       specialized newsgroups as well.


rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5
     Charter: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5 is to be an unmoderated newgroup
       dedicated to the following topics:

              * The plots and characters of "Babylon 5" episodes.
              * The possible ties between episodes in the 5-year story arc
              * The special-effects techniques and technology
              * Musings and speculations about where the show is going.
              * AND NOT, NOT, NOT, NOT story ideas and/or fan-fiction.

       J. Michael Straczynski, Babylon 5's creator, (hereafter: JMS)
       has stated flatly that for legal reasons that if any story
       ideas appear on a "B5" newsgroup he will be forced to leave the
       electronic forum. This would be, to our reckoning, a
       net.tragedy, and is to be avoided at all costs.

       Solutions such as forfeiture of copyrights to JMS with all
       postings, etc, have been considered, but ultimately rejected.
       This forum can only survive through the good will of its users,
       PLEASE do not destroy it for the rest of us.

       In the event of legal action in the future resulting from
       someone's disregard of this rule, I offer myself, Brian Badger,
       to be subpoenaed to testify as to the nature of this charter,
       and its prohibition.  It's an ugly job...

rec.arts.sf.written
     Charter: A group for discussing the general SF which is seen
              by its audience in written form, whether printed or
              online.  Note that many more specific groups in
              rec.arts.sf.* exist to pull some traffic from this
              group, but in general, this is where new releases
              are discussed, informal reviews given, continuity
              topics discussed, authors compared, and is the
              starting point for many threads which should
              eventually be moved to more appropriate groups.
              (Please cooperate when the call is put forward to
              move a discussion to a more specific group.)


Leanne Phillips
"Do not meddle with the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick
to anger."  (I don't want to hear other versions.  I've heard them all before.)
Words to live by: "Violence is the refuge of the incompetent."
 (Yes, I know it isn't right; it's deliberate.)

