From: Hank Roth <odin@world.std.com>
Subject: W_news, a new fidonet conference
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: ?
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 20:13:25 GMT

ANNOUNCING THE FORMATION OF A NEW CONFERENCE ON FIDONETS
 
W_news (The world at risk)
 
In an effort to establish a new conference on Fidonets, 
certain requirements need to be met. This can be accomplished
with your help. 
 
Please request that your Fidonet sysops add W_news to their 
BBS and inform their HUB or NEC, whoever it is they get their
mail from that the conference is online so other BBSs in that
net can participate. Initially W_news will be for local participation, 
while efforts are being made to get the conference on the national 
backbone. You can help by co-moderating it with articles cross-posted 
from M.A.P. (and p.news, or other "progressive" conferences, if you 
also have Peacenet access).
 
Next I would like those sysops who per your request add W-news to
their BBS, to also request from their Region Echo Coordinators 
(through the usual channels) that [s]he place in the ZEC conference 
a formal request to have W_news placed on the national backbone. 
 
I would also like to have NOT the usual one moderator, but a 
collective (limited only by the number of participants who want 
to also be moderators) of co-moderators who are willing to share 
the tasks of monitoring, cross-posting and administration of this 
new echo conference. So please advise if you would be willing to 
participate in conjuction with others as a co-moderator? Any dispute 
between moderators pertaining to conference policy or violations 
thereof, shall be decided by popular vote of the co-moderators. 
The co-moderators are also not expected to be politically neutral, 
since the echo policy will be rather straight forward and as follows: 
 
This new echo conference shall be about the "WORLD AT RISK", to 
be called: W_news. It will be *uncensored* and open to all views, 
articles and opinions dealing with conspiracies, interventionism, 
the Trilateralists, various political philosophies, the 
environment and all that we do to destroy it. It will examine 
world economies, imperialism, neo-colonialism, and explore 
reasons for the decline of nation-states, etc. 
 
What will make this conference different and unique is the 
*prohibition* on personal verbal abuse (NO FLAMES!); and 
restrictions on quoting, which will be held to an absolute 
minimum. All political views are invited. Participants are 
invited to post articles from the entire political spectrum from 
their favorite publications, books, other conferences, etc. for 
edification and discussion purposes. 
 
Having established one Fidonet conference (P_news for
"progressive" news, views and articles) about a year ago, I can 
tell you it required a lot of effort for P_news to become a reality
but it was worth it and now there is also a parallel conference 
but separate conference on Peacenet called p.news.
 
Now, I am asking all of you who have access to fidonets to help 
establish this NEW conference.  Fido is in need of a real conference 
where positions can be expressed from across the political spectrum 
without the usual "redbaiting" from the right or for that matter, the 
left calling everyone on the right fascists and right wing demagogues. 
 
I believe this new conference, W_news, can fill the need for balance 
without the sectarianism of a conference that is dedicated to one 
specific topic or defined by a special interest. To my knowledge there 
is not one other conference NOW on the Fido system that invites full 
"LEFT" and "RIGHT" participation, allows for complete freedom of 
expression, and places a firm limitation on quoting. 
 
Anotherwords, replies to articles or comments shouldn't be continuous
and cynical remarks or silly retorts on a line for line basis, as all
too often happens on Usenet and Fido. Instead, what we will have will
be refutations (sometimes scholarly, sometimes NOT) in the form of 
another article, not disimilar to papers submitted in a symposium.  
 
And without the flames that tend to promote a kind of unpleasant anarchy, 
and by avoiding this all too frequent excessive quoting, we can avoid 
dull, boring, redundant posting, and insure a higher level of 
intellectually honest discourse.
                               
                Hank Roth
                moderator of P_news on Fidonets 
                facilitator of p.news on Peacenet
 
P.S. Reply to me at <odin@world.std.com>, <pnews@igc.apc.org> 
     or <Fido 151/101>.
 
    1. Advise what BBSs (with phone number and name of sysop)  
       will be carrying W_news?
    2. Advise if you are willing to participate as a co-moderator?
    3. Advise if your REC is going to formally request W_news for 
       the backbone in the ZEC conference? This is a necessary 
       requirement for being included on the backbone.
 
                LETS DO IT!
 
 




Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive