From: hollowcf@NeXTwork.Rose-Hulman.Edu (Charles F Holloway)
Newsgroups: news.newusers.questions
Subject: Re: A Guide to Social Newsgroups and Mailing Lists
Date: 26 Jan 1993 13:31:20 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Department at Rose-Hulman
Reply-To: hollowcf@NeXTwork.Rose-Hulman.Edu (Charles F Holloway)
NNTP-Posting-Host: g222-13.nextwork.rose-hulman.edu

In article <spaf-social_726769477@cs.purdue.edu> taylor@intuitive.com  
writes:
> Archive-name: social-newsgroups/part1
> Original-author: taylor@intuitive.com (Dave Taylor)
> Last-change: 2 Mar 1992 by taylor@limbo.intuitive.com (Dave Taylor)
> 
> 
> 	 A Brief Guide to Social Newsgroups and Mailing Lists
> 			    on the Usenet
> 
> 
> INTRODUCTION
> 
> The Usenet distributed conferencing system is a terrific way to meet 
> new friends and engage in many interesting topics of conversation, but
> people just joining our on-line community often have a difficult time 
> figuring out which group is which and what groups they could join to 
> find like-minded individuals.
> 
> To try to help this situation, this article is intended to be one of
> a group of regularly posted articles that are given to new users to
> aid you in deciding where you might have the best luck finding new 
> electronic friends that share your interests both socially and sexually.
> 
> Disclaimer: some of what is said on Usenet might be offensive to you as
> some of the groups discuss topics that are, well, a bit unusual.  
> Fortunately it's easy to avoid this problem; don't read that group.   
Also
> please keep in mind that the more controversial the subject, the more
> likely the group is awash in inane, unrelated discussion, partially
> due to the nature of the Usenet community and partially perhaps due to 
> how uncomfortable most people are with these subjects.
> 
> To reiterate this point, please do NOT join a group to find a forum for
> arguing or demonstrating righteous indignation over a particular belief,
> behavior, or desire.  Those discussions are almost always completely
> inappropriate and the more controversial the subject, the more likely
> the participants in a group are going to dislike judgemental postings.
> Also, there is a good chance that you have misunderstood either the
> offending article or the responses of other readers.  In other words,
> you may well be alone in your indignation.
> 
> Finally, as with all groups on the Usenet, once you find one that 
> seems of interest, please try to spend a week or two just reading
> the group and learning how conversations proceed in that particular 
> forum before you jump in.  It'll save you, and others, a lot of grief 
> and unpleasantness.
> 
> THE GROUPS
> 
> alt.romance
> 
>    One of the nicest things about any relationship, be it the beginning  
of
>    a courtship or years into a more serious commitment, are the little
>    things that you do for each other, the romance.  If you're interested 
>    in chatting with people about what is considered romantic, talking  
about
>    a particular romantic thing that you've done, or even just reading 
>    stories about what other couples have done to 'be romantic' or 'have  
a 
>    romantic liaison', then this is the group.
> 
> alt.sex
> 
>    What's a relationship without sex?  For that matter, how many of us
>    would be around without our parents having had sex?  This group is  
one of
>    the most controversial on the net, not surprisingly, and while the
>    actual number of articles that discuss sex or sexuality is  
distressingly
>    low, the group is still an interesting place to find the occasional
>    horror story of a sexual rendezvous gone bad, to read debates about
>    what type of birth control (or condom) is best, or even to read some
>    surprisingly revealing details about the sex lives of people on the  
net.
> 
> alt.sex.bestiality
> 
>    While bestiality refers to engaging in sexual activity with an  
animal, 
>    the articles in this group seem to talk about everything but that.
> 
> alt.sex.bondage
> 
>    The best spin-off discussion from alt.sex, this group has a higher  
level 
>    of interesting articles, which talk about bondage and related topics, 
>    ranging from the psychology of being confined by another during  
sexual 
>    play to the mechanics of different bondage devices.  It also  
occasionally
>    delves into sadism and masochism, so as with any other group, if you  
don't
>    like what you're reading, be prepared to unsubscribe.
> 
> rec.arts.erotica
> 
>    A moderated group with long, but infrequent articles,  
rec.arts.erotica 
>    is the main focus for erotica and pornography, depending on your
>    standards.  Most are explicit, and some demonstrate a surprising  
writing 
>    ability, but many also seem rather sleazy and variously demeaning.   
Just 
>    like reading the Letters to Penthouse, it's a mixed bag as to whether  
any 
>    of it will be exciting or erotic to you.
> 
> soc.couples
> 
>    Being in a short or long term relationship offers much in the way of 
>    joy, pleasure, and emotional satisfaction, but it also offers the 
>    chance for major arguments and other problems.  This group is where
>    you can talk about the relationship you're in with others that are  
also
>    in relationships of their own.
> 
> soc.feminism
> 
>    Soc.feminism is a moderated newsgroup for the discussion of feminist
>    issues.  Both men and women are encouraged to post to it and  
discussion
>    is not limited to the pro-feminist viewpoint.
> 
>    This group differs from soc.women in that moderation keeps out the
>    flames and inappropriate cross-posts.  In addition, there are several
>    subjects appropriate for soc.women but not soc.feminism (e.g.  the
>    sporadic "where do I find comfortable shoes?"  discussion that turns  
up
>    in soc.women or discussions of women's health, other than policy  
issues 
>    related to it).
> 
> soc.men
> 
>    This group discusses similar issues to soc.women, but from the 
>    male perspective.  Topics include equal rights, child support,
>    custody of children, relationships and so on.  In addition, there
>    are often topics specific to men including shaving in the shower,
>    post-workout skin care, and similar.  Both men and women are active 
>    participants in this group.
> 
> soc.motss
> 
>    While the Usenet community is pretty open minded, many of the
>    aforementioned social groups tend to be populated primarily by
>    the heterosexual community.  Soc.motss (Members of the Same Sex) 
>    is where people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or just interested  
and 
>    sympathetic can share conversation about relationships, dating,  
travel, 
>    and the like.  Discussion of the validity or appropriateness of 
>    homosexuality is inappropriate, however, and will not be appreciated.
> 
> soc.singles
> 
>    Of all the things that people seem to have in common, perhaps the  
most
>    common thread of all is the bouts of being single, and the hunting  
and 
>    searching for relationships that this implies.  This group is a forum 
>    for all discussions even vaguely related to either being single or  
the 
>    quest for a relationship.  Indeed, it has been likened to an  
electronic 
>    cocktail party, where people have known each other (electronically, 
>    usually) for years.  There are also a number of people in  
relationships 
>    that share their thoughts, as well as a high level of aggression  
between 
>    some of the contributors.
> 
> soc.women
> 
>    Soc.women is an unmoderated group that discusses similar issues to 
>    soc.men, but from the female perspective.  Topics include equal  
rights, 
>    child support, custody of children, relationships and so on.  In  
addition, 
>    there are often topics specific to women including shaving legs,  
finding
>    comfortable shoes, and so on.  Both men and women are active  
participants 
>    in this group.
> 
> OTHER PLACES TO LOOK
> 
> In addition to these Usenet groups, there are many other forums on 
> Usenet where you can make new friends and share conversations about 
> topics of interest to yourself.  Among them are the many "soc.culture" 
> groups for specific ethnic/geographic cultures, the "soc.religion" and 
> "talk.religion" groups for those interested in meeting friends of a 
> specific religious background, the "rec.*" groups oriented about a 
> specific recreational activity and many more.  
> 
> Also, there are a number of different private mailing lists for specific 
> sexual and social orientations, including:
> 
>   alternates
>       Contact: alternates-request@ns1.rutgers.edu
> 
>       Purpose: Alternates is a mailing list for people who advocate,  
and/or
>       practice an alternate sexual lifestyle. Alternates is intended as  
a
>       forum and support group for adult men and women who espouse their
>       freedom of choice and imagination in human sexual relations, no  
matter
>       what their orientaion. Those who are offended by frank, and
>       uninhibited discussions relating to sexual issues should not
>       subscribe.
> 
>       Moderator/Editor: <amq@ns1.rutgers.edu>
> 
>   bears
>       Contact: bears-request@spdcc.COM (Steve Dyer & Brian Gollum)
>                ...!{harvard,ima,linus,mirror}!spdcc!bears-request
> 
>       Purpose: Mail.bears is a mailing list in digest format for gay
>       and bisexual men who are bears themselves and for those who enjoy
>       the company of bears.  The exact definition of a "bear" seems to
>       be a personal one, but it encompasses men who are variously  
cuddly,
>       furry, perhaps stocky, or bearded.  Mail.bears is designed to be a
>       forum to bring together folks with similar interests for  
conversation,
>       friendship and sharing of experiences.  The tone of mail.bears
>       will be determined by its members, but people uncomfortable with
>       discussing sexually explicit topics via electronic mail should
>       not subscribe.
> 
>   cdforum
>       Contact: uunet!samsung!wizvax!cdforum-request  (Stephanie Gilgut)
> 
>       Purpose: To provide support/discuss/share experiences about gender
>       related issues; Crossdressing, Transvestism, Transsexualism, etc.
>       This list is in Digest Format.
> 
>   feminists
>       Contact: femail@hpldlh.hpl.hp.com (Patricia Collins)
> 
>       Purpose: The feminist mailing list is intended to provide a forum
>       for discussion of issues of interest to women, in a friendly
>       atmosphere. The basic tenets of feminism and the day-to-day
>       experiences of women do not have to be explained or defended.  Men
>       and women can join, but everyone requesting to be added to the
>       mailing list MUST provide the moderator with: 1) a full name; 2) a
>       complete uucp path to a well-known host or a fully specified
>       Internet address; 3) the correspondent's gender (for records and
>       statistics only).  NO exceptions.
> 
>   men
>       Contact: attunix!mail-men-request
> 	       mail-men-request@usl.com (Marcel Franck Simon)
> 
>       Purpose: This digested mailing list discusses "men's issues."
>       Both women and men may join. Mail-men is a place where men and
>       women can discuss men's issues in an atmosphere of openness and
>       support. Men's issues are those problems and experiences that
>       affect male humans.
> 
>   sappho
>       Contact:  sappho-request@silver.lcs.mit.edu
> 		zonker@silver.lcs.mit.edu (Regis)
> 
>       Purpose: A forum and support group for gay and bisexual women.
>       The list is not moderated, but may become so if the volume and/or
>       content begins to warrant it.  A digest version is available; if
>       you want it, be sure to mention it in your addition request.  Men
>       who want to "listen in," for whatever reason, are requested to use
>       the feminist and alternates mailing lists instead; sappho
>       membership is limited to women.
> 
> SUMMARY
> 
> Please use this list of Usenet groups and mailing lists as one of the  
many 
> signposts to help you find the groups that you'll be interested in.  One 
> other terrific place to find more information is by asking your friends  
on 
> the net what groups they read too!
> -- 
> Gene Spafford
> Software Engineering Research Center & Dept. of Computer Sciences
> Purdue University, W. Lafayette IN 47907-1398
> Internet:  spaf@cs.purdue.edu	phone:  (317) 494-7825