From jjd@primenet.com Fri Oct 24 21:44:10 EET DST 1997
Article: 5848 of alt.comp.freeware
Path: verkko.uwasa.fi!news2.funet.fi!news.funet.fi!news.eunet.fi!EU.net!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!Sprint!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!su-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!news.Stanford.EDU!news.isc.org!bounce-back
From: Jim Davis <jjd@primenet.com>
Reply-To: jjd@primenet.com
Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,alt.comp.freeware,alt.comp.shareware,alt.comp.shareware.authors,alt.comp.shareware.for-kids,alt.comp.shareware.programmer,comp.programming
Subject: CFV: comp.software.shareware.* moderated
Followup-To: poster
Message-ID: <877375527.4932@isc.org>
Organization: Usenet Volunteer Votetakers
Approved: newgroups-request@isc.org
Expires: 11 Nov 1997 00:00:00 GMT
Archive-Name: comp.software.shareware
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 1997 19:25:28 GMT
Lines: 277
Xref: verkko.uwasa.fi news.announce.newgroups:5949 news.groups:229216 alt.comp.freeware:5848 alt.comp.shareware:37262 alt.comp.shareware.authors:4070 alt.comp.shareware.programmer:12003 comp.programming:49847

                     FIRST CALL FOR VOTES (of 2)
           moderated group comp.software.shareware.announce
           moderated group comp.software.shareware.authors
            moderated group comp.software.shareware.users

Newsgroups lines:
comp.software.shareware.announce	Shareware software announcements. (Moderated)
comp.software.shareware.authors	Creation of shareware software. (Moderated)
comp.software.shareware.users	Use of shareware software. (Moderated)

Votes must be received by 23:59:59 UTC, 10 Nov 1997.

This vote is being conducted by a neutral third party.  Questions
about the proposed group should be directed to the proponent.

Proponent: Jeremy Malcolm <terminus@odyssey.apana.org.au>
Votetaker: Jim Davis <jjd@primenet.com>

RATIONALE: all groups

Shareware is software which may generally be freely distributed for
evaluation purposes.  After the expiration of a specified evaluation
period, the software must be registered, usually by the payment of a
fee to the author.  The popularity of shareware as a method of
distribution of software has sky-rocketted as access to the Internet
has widened.  Although other types of software are also distributed
over the Internet, including public domain software, freeware and
commercial demoware or crippleware, it is true to say that more
shareware is available online than any other category of software.

In view of the ubiquity of shareware it is surprising that there are
no newsgroups in the "Big 8" hierarchies specifically devoted to it.
The closest to such newsgroups that already exists is the sub-
hierarchy alt.comp.shareware.*, of which the three primary groups
are alt.comp.shareware, alt.comp.shareware.authors and
alt.comp.shareware.programmer.

A significant shortcoming of the existing alt.comp.shareware.* groups
is the limitation on their distribution which is inherent in their
relegation to the alt hierarchy.  Another problem with the groups is
the large number of off-topic posts and cross-posts they receive,
including requests for "cracks" and registration keys to overcome the
registration incentives incorporated by many shareware authors in
their programs.  Furthermore the groups alt.comp.shareware.authors and
alt.comp.shareware.programmer are commonly cross-posted
between, and it would be difficult to justify the retention of both
groups in the new sub-hierarchy proposed here.

It is impractical to moderate groups in the alt hierarchy because of
the ease with which their status can be changed back to unmoderated.
It is therefore proposed that three new moderated groups be formed in
the existing comp.software.* sub-hierarchy.  The proposed newsgroup
comp.software.shareware.users will serve a similar purpose to
alt.comp.shareware, but will be moderated to filter messages falling
outside the group's charter.  Likewise, the proposed newsgroup
comp.software.shareware.authors will be a moderated group serving
similar purposes to both alt.comp.shareware.authors and
alt.comp.shareware.programmer.  The proposed newsgroup
comp.software.shareware.announce will be solely to provide a forum
for announcements of releases of new shareware products and resources.
Note that this proposal does NOT advocate the removal of the
alt.comp.shareware.* groups.

CHARTER: comp.software.shareware.announce

This is a moderated newsgroup, intended for informational
announcements related to shareware products and resources.
Without limitation, appropriate topics may include:

  Announcements of new shareware releases.
  Announcements of shareware FTP and WWW archives.
  Announcements regarding shareware related services, such as
  credit card registration services.

This group is not intended for discussion about shareware, and
followups to articles in this group should be posted elsewhere.
Commercial advertisements are not acceptable except insofar as they
are bona fide one-off announcments of new shareware products or
services.  Announcements relating to other forms of software such as
freeware and public domain software are not appropriate for this
newsgroup.  Crossposting between this newsgroup and other
comp.software.shareware.* newsgroups is strongly discouraged.

END CHARTER.

CHARTER: comp.software.shareware.authors

This is a moderated newsgroup, intended for discussion related to the
creation and sale of shareware software.  Without limitation,
acceptable postings may relate to:

  Development issues.
  Programming issues.
  Marketing techniques.
  Distribution techniques.

Binary postings are not acceptable, although pointers to binary
postings in appropriate binaries groups are.  Commercial
advertisements are not acceptable.  Postings relating solely to other
forms of software such as freeware and public domain software are not
appropriate for this newsgroup.  Crossposting between this newsgroup
and other comp.software.shareware.* newsgroups is strongly
discouraged.

END CHARTER.

CHARTER: comp.software.shareware.users

This is a moderated newsgroup, intended for discussion related to the
use of shareware software.  Without limitation, acceptable postings
may relate to:

  Support questions.
  Bugs, fixes and workarounds.
  Usage tips.
  Shareware reviews and comparisons.

Binary postings are not acceptable, although pointers to binary
postings in appropriate binaries groups are.  Commercial
advertisements are not acceptable.  Postings relating solely to other
forms of software such as freeware and public domain software are not
appropriate for this newsgroup.  Crossposting between this newsgroup
and other comp.software.shareware.* newsgroups is strongly
discouraged.

END CHARTER.

MODERATOR INFO: comp.software.shareware.announce

Moderator: Jeremy Malcolm <terminus@odyssey.apana.org.au>
Administrative contact address: cssan-admin@odyssey.apana.org.au
Article submission address: cssan-submit@odyssey.apana.org.au

Moderation of comp.software.shareware.announce will initially be
conducted by a combination of human and robomoderation.  Articles
by new authors must be approved by the human moderator.  Subsequent
articles by the same authors will be automatically approved by the
robomoderator, so long as they are not:

  Binary files.
  Cross-posted to five or more newsgroups.
  Commercial or personal advertisements falling outside the charter.
  Information about or requests for cracks or registration keys.

The moderation algorithm will be modified from time to time as may
be required.

Articles that are rejected by the human or robomoderator will be
returned to the author along with an explanation of the rejection.
No appeal process is proposed.

END MODERATOR INFO.

MODERATOR INFO: comp.software.shareware.authors

Moderator: Jeremy Malcolm <terminus@odyssey.apana.org.au>
Administrative contact address: cssa-admin@odyssey.apana.org.au
Article submission address: cssa-submit@odyssey.apana.org.au

Moderation of comp.software.shareware.authors will initially be
conducted by an automated robomoderation script which will reject
postings that are:

  Binary files.
  Cross-posted to five or more newsgroups.
  Commercial or personal advertisements falling outside the charter.
  Information about or requests for cracks or registration keys.

The moderation algorithm will be modified from time to time as may
be required.  The robomoderator may be supplemented, or replaced, by
a human moderator if robomoderation does not prove sufficient.

Articles that are rejected by the robomoderator will be returned to
the author along with an explanation of the rejection.  No appeal
process is proposed.

END MODERATOR INFO.

MODERATOR INFO: comp.software.shareware.users

Moderator: Jeremy Malcolm <terminus@odyssey.apana.org.au>
Administrative contact address: cssu-admin@odyssey.apana.org.au
Article submission address: cssu-submit@odyssey.apana.org.au

Moderation of comp.software.shareware.users will initially be
conducted by an automated robomoderation script which will reject
postings that are:

  Binary files.
  Cross-posted to five or more newsgroups.
  Commercial or personal advertisements falling outside the charter.
  Information about or requests for cracks or registration keys.

The moderation algorithm will be modified from time to time as may
be required.  The robomoderator may be supplemented, or replaced, by
a human moderator if robomoderation does not prove sufficient.

Articles that are rejected by the robomoderator will be returned to
the author along with an explanation of the rejection.  No appeal
process is proposed.

END MODERATOR INFO.

HOW TO VOTE:

Extract the ballot from the CFV by deleting everything before and after
the "BEGINNING OF BALLOT" and "END OF BALLOT" lines.  Don't worry about
the spacing of the columns or any quote characters (">") that your
reply inserts.  Please, DO NOT send the entire CFV back to me!

Fill in the ballot as shown below.  Please provde your REAL NAME and
indicate your desired vote in the appropriate locations inside the ballot.

When finished, MAIL the ballot to: < jjd@primenet.com >
Just "replying" to this message should work, but check the "To:" line.

Examples of how to properly indicate your vote:

  [ YES     ]  example.yes.vote
  [ NO      ]  example.no.vote
  [ ABSTAIN ]  example.abstention
  [ CANCEL  ]  example.cancellation

DO NOT modify, alter or delete any information in this ballot!
If you do, the voting software will probably reject your ballot.

If these instructions are unclear, please consult the Introduction to
Usenet Voting or the Usenet Voting FAQ at http://www.iki.fi/~jpatokal/uvv.

======== BEGINNING OF BALLOT: Delete everything before this line =======
.-----------------------------------------------------------------------
| 1ST CALL FOR VOTES: comp.software.shareware.announce
| Official Usenet Voting Ballot <CSSA-0001> (Do not remove this line!)
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
| Please provide your real name, or your vote may be rejected.  Place
| ONLY your name (ie. do NOT include your e-mail address or any other
| information; ONLY your name) after the colon on the following line:

Voter name:

| Insert YES, NO, ABSTAIN, or CANCEL inside the brackets for each
| newsgroup listed below (do not delete the newsgroup name):

 Your Vote   Newsgroup
 ---------   -----------------------------------------------------------
[         ]  comp.software.shareware.announce
[         ]  comp.software.shareware.authors
[         ]  comp.software.shareware.users

======== END OF BALLOT: Delete everything after this line ==============

IMPORTANT VOTING PROCEDURE NOTES:

Standard Guidelines for voting apply.  One vote per person, one account
per voter.  Votes must be mailed directly from the voter to the votetaker.
Anonymous, forwarded or proxy votes are not valid.  Votes mailed by
WWW/HTML/CGI forms are considered to be anonymous votes.

Vote counting is automated.  Failure to follow these directions may
mean that your vote does not get counted.  If you do not receive an
acknowledgment of your vote within three days contact the votetaker
about the problem.  It's your responsibility to make sure your vote
is registered correctly.  Duplicate votes are resolved in favor of
the most recent valid vote.  Addresses and votes of all voters will
be published in the final voting results post.

The purpose of a Usenet vote is to determine the genuine interest of
persons who would read a proposed newsgroup.  Soliciting votes from
disinterested parties defeats this purpose.  Please do not distribute
this CFV.  If you must, direct people to the official CFV as posted
to news.announce.newgroups.  Distributing pre-marked or otherwise
edited copies of this CFV is generally considered to be vote fraud.
When in doubt, ask the votetaker.


This CFV was created with uvpq 1.0 (Jun 10 1997).
PQ datestamp: 970324


