From: gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us (Gary S. Trujillo)
Subject: OBE Newsgroup Name - CALL FOR VOTES
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1992 17:14:38 GMT

A proposal for the creation of a new newsgroup for the purpose of discussing
what have come to be known as "out-of-body" experiences was made a couple of
months ago in alt.dreams.  This CALL FOR VOTES is hereby issued in order to
determine whether a new newsgroup in the "alt." hierarchy should be created,
and, if so, what its name should be.

A formal description of the "OBE" (or "OOBE") experience is not attempted
here.  Generally, it may be informally described as a separation of human
consciousness from the physical body, either during a sleeping or a waking
state, so that there is a sensation of being able to see and/or hear the
scenes and events in some place in near proximity to one's body or at some
distance - other than through the physical senses.  (I'm not sure whether
the other senses of taste, smell, or touch are ever involved, not being
personally familiar with the literature or in communication with those who
report having had the experience.)


In accordance with the "Guidelines for the creation of an 'alt' group"
posted to alt.config, news.groups, and news.answers, 6 Aug 92 10:47:43 GMT,
written by markw@gvlf8.gvl.unisys.com (Mark H. Weber), approved by
ccs@aber.ac.uk (Christopher Samuel), entitled "Creating a new 'alt' group --
guidelines," which states:

| There are no rules or guidelines for creation of "alt" groups, However
| there does appear to be an established procedure which follows.  First a
| quick bit of common-sense on choosing the name:
|
| When choosing a name for a group please note the only commandment: Thou
| shalt not choose a group name which may cause network harm or harm to a
| local machine...

this call-for-votes on the creation and naming of a new newsgroup (or to
gain additional support for and propagation of the existing "alt.oobe"
newsgroup) is hereby issued.  ("Network harm or harm to a local machine"
is defined solely in terms of choosing a name that won't cause problems for
the Usenet news software in use at various sites around the world.)

The other guidelines state:

       1) Propose a new alt group in alt.config...
       2) See what the alt.net.opinion of the new group is...
       3) Post a "newgroup" control message...
       4) Let the individual site news administrators decide
          whether to honor your "newgroup" message...

I feel we have already satisfied the first two conditions, and I am
personally willing and able to deal with the latter two.

We have had a discussion, cross-posted among alt.dreams, alt.config and
alt.oobe which I initiated on 22 July, following my having created the
alt.oobe newsgroup earlier on that same day and receiving complaints that
the name had not been discussed in alt.config, including a couple saying
that alt.oobe would not be created at the sites administrated by the
authors of those messages.  In this discussion about the name, we have,
I feel, come up with a consensus on the following as possible names for
a new newsgroup on the subject of the OBE experience:

    1. alt.oobe                         (the existing newsgroup name)
    2. alt.out-of-body
    3. alt.consciousness.out-of-body
    4. alt.paranormal.out-of-body
    
There have also been suggestions that the discussion be conducted in
existing newsgroups, including alt.consciousness, alt.paranormal, and
alt.dreams.  These latter suggestions have not been included as options
for the vote, since its purpose is to establish whether a new newsgroup
should be created and, if so, what it should be called.

Please send your vote to one OR MORE of the following addresses, depending
on the vote(s) you are casting:

    1. oobe-yes-1@gnosys.svle.ma.us     alt.oobe
    2. oobe-yes-2@gnosys.svle.ma.us     alt.out-of-body
    3. oobe-yes-3@gnosys.svle.ma.us     alt.consciousness.out-of-body
    4. oobe-yes-4@gnosys.svle.ma.us     alt.paranormal.out-of-body
    5. oobe-no@gnosys.svle.ma.us        (against creation of any of these)

As confirmation, please include in the body of your message the statement
"I vote for the creation of <newsgroup name>" (where <newsgroup name> is
replaced by the appropriate name from the above list), or "I vote against
the creation of a new newsgroup to discuss OBEs."  (Optional: If you vote
against the creation of a new newsgroup, you may indicate which existing
newsgroup you would prefer be used to discuss the subject.  A tally of
these names will be reported along with the final results of the vote.)

Example:

In a message sent to the address "oobe-yes-2@gnosys.svle.ma.us" you can
send the text:

        I vote for the creation of alt.out-of-body.

Votes for the (existing) alt.oobe newsgroup will be used to strengthen the
argument that news administrators permit the creation of that newsgroup at
their site in cases where they have refused to do so.  However, please note
that those administrators are under no obligation to create alt.oobe, even
if that name wins our ballot.  (A couple of them who sent me messages or
posted followup articles in our discussions objected on the grounds of the
ambiguity or meaninglessness of the name, and would, as such, seem unlikely
to be convinced to create alt.oobe merely due to our having achieved a
majority of votes for that name.)

You are allowed to vote in favor of more than one newsgroup name proposal
in order that we can find a name acceptable to the greatest number of our
readers, some of whom may prefer one of the newsgroup names that place the
discussion under an existing hierarchy, and others who would like the new
newsgroup to be at the top level of the "alt." hierarchy.  (Apologies in
advance for the necessity of sending more than one message to vote more
than once.  The vote is being conducted in this manner in order to simplify
the tally, and to make it easier to authenticate.)

The voting period will last for two weeks from today, ending at 0000 GMT
on 5 September 1992.  Votes received after that date will not be counted.
The winner will be declared on the basis of a simple majority.  In the event
of a tie, a run-off vote will be conducted.

Before creating a new newsgroup, I will post a complete list of names,
addresses, and votes to each of the newsgroups where this article is being
posted - giving a few days time for any challenges.

In the event that the alt.oobe newsgroup is not selected as the winner of
the ballot, a "rmgroup" control message will be issued to destroy it within
a week of the creation of the new newsgroup.

If you have any difficulty sending mail to an address of the form:

        <name>@gnosys.svle.ma.us

you can also try:

        <name>%gnosys@bu.edu
    or
        gnosys!<name>@bu.edu
    or
        bu.edu!gnosys!<name>

Most modern mail systems, however, should not have problems with the
indicated address.  (Other variants are indicated by my signature lines
below.)

I regret that it has taken so long for this process to be completed, but
I think that the result of having a newsgroup with a high rate of being
carried by systems around the English-speaking world will make the wait
worthwhile.  I understand that this degree of formality is not typical for
newsgroups in the "alt." hierarchy, but I think that doing things this way
could have several advantages, among them the possibility of eventually
being able to create a mainstream newsgroup to discuss the subject, which
would permit an even larger community to be established.

Many thanks to all of those who have taken part in the discussion, and who
have written with personal messages of support!

Gary
--
    Gary S. Trujillo                            gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us
Somerville, Massachusetts              {wjh12,bu.edu,spdcc,ima,cdp}!gnosys!gst