"opinion"

On Wed, 17 Jan 2007 19:36:10 -0600, David Knisely
wrote:

Well, I am not with you at all. There are a number of other Usenet
newsgroups or on-line forums for discussion of things like cosmology,
planetary science, space exploration, etc. without having to include
some of those endless "debates" here. The charter says it all
*"sci.astro.amateur is forum for amateur astronomers to discuss topics
of mutual interest, with a focus on astronomical observing".* It is for
the hobby of Amateur Astronomy. If people want to be taken seriously
here, they should stay fairly close to the relevant amateur astronomy
topics which the group was set up for. Clear skies to you.

Understood, but I disagree. The charter is out of date- it no longer
reflects what amateur astronomy is all about. The other groups you
mention are less appropriate for these discussions than SAA because they
don't involve _this_ community of amateurs. I, for one, will continue to
welcome and participate in discussions of astronomy that go beyond
simple observing.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com

So what's the BFD about a poster using outlook express?? I'll save you the
trouble of looking, I use Outlook Express.


--
There are those who believe that life here, began out there, far across the
universe, with tribes of humans, who may have been the forefathers of the
Egyptians, or the Toltecs, or the Mayans. Some believe that they may yet be
brothers of man, who even now fight to survive, somewhere beyond the
heavens.


The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond
Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord
Sidewalk Astronomy
www.sidewalkastronomy.info
The Church of Eternity
http://home.inreach.com/starlord/church/Eternity.html


"Sy Bourg" wrote in message
news:yAArh.158081$YV4.146429@edtnps89...

Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.3028

Chris L Peterson wrote:
Understood, but I disagree. The charter is out of date- it no longer
reflects what amateur astronomy is all about. The other groups you
mention are less appropriate for these discussions than SAA because they
don't involve _this_ community of amateurs. I, for one, will continue to
welcome and participate in discussions of astronomy that go beyond
simple observing.

While I agree that it's a shame that astronomy as a science is
supposedly off topic here, I don't agree that the charter is out of
date. This group was formed from sci.astro in the early 90's and
neither amateur astronomy nor usenet have really changed much since then.

The reason the charter was written that way was because of the horrible
signal to noise on sci.astro, which was primarily due to cranks, always
arguing over wacky (mostly cosmological) theories. It was felt that a
group devoted only to amateur astronomy (without the hard science) would
get away from all that. And it does make some sense. After all,
sci.astro is still full of all that nonsense, and there isn't all that
much of it here.

On the other hand, it's hard for me to imagine an amateur astronomer who
thinks the science of astronomy is uninteresting or unrelated. Not
only that, but I think the real difference between the two newsgroups is
the people who are attracted to them. So I doubt that a little science
here and there would end up with SAA becoming just like sci.astro. And
hey, it's usenet: the charter doesn't really mean squat.

--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools: http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html
Observing: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html
Comets: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/comets.html

To reply take out your eye

"Starlord" wrote in message
. ..
So what's the BFD about a poster using outlook express?? I'll save you the
trouble of looking, I use Outlook Express.

Go ask Sam. He's wacked on it.

Sy Bourg,

That was a pretty mean thing to even imply that Sam Wormley is that
kind of person.
How do we know what kind of person you are huh?

"David Knisely" wrote

Well, I am not with you at all. There are a number of other Usenet
newsgroups or on-line forums for discussion of things like cosmology,
planetary science, space exploration, etc. without having to include some
of those endless "debates" here. The charter says it all
*"sci.astro.amateur is forum for amateur astronomers to discuss topics of
mutual interest, with a focus on astronomical observing".* It is for the
hobby of Amateur Astronomy. If people want to be taken seriously here,
they should stay fairly close to the relevant amateur astronomy topics
which the group was set up for. Clear skies to you.

David, et al,

Maybe the newsgroup title should be changed to something like
"sci.astro.amateur.observing" or something to that effect. Maybe it could be
broken down into various sub-groups such as "equipment." Amateur astronomy
DOES take in many topics, including some that are theoretical. I'm with you:
the theoretical topics are not in the charter and so don't belong. I
remember in 1998 how much fun it was to watch the Leonids and then
immediately post to s.a.a. about what *I* saw, and compare to what others
had seen elsewhere. That's much more what s.a.a. was about, and I miss that,
as well as many of the people who've since left because of what's happened.
I know this has all been hashed out before....

On Thu, 18 Jan 2007 09:46:04 -0700, "Howard Lester"
wrote:

Maybe the newsgroup title should be changed to something like
"sci.astro.amateur.observing" or something to that effect. Maybe it could be
broken down into various sub-groups such as "equipment." Amateur astronomy
DOES take in many topics, including some that are theoretical. I'm with you:
the theoretical topics are not in the charter and so don't belong. I
remember in 1998 how much fun it was to watch the Leonids and then
immediately post to s.a.a. about what *I* saw, and compare to what others
had seen elsewhere. That's much more what s.a.a. was about, and I miss that,
as well as many of the people who've since left because of what's happened.
I know this has all been hashed out before....

The point is, this is a community of amateur astronomers. Interests
change with time, and this is reflected in the range of topics (which is
nothing so crazy as sci.astro). Realistically, a newsgroup charter
reflects the interests and desires of the founders, at the time of
founding. As time passes, it is natural that the flavor of the group
will be dictated by the will of the community, and the nature of the
actual posts.

I'm looking back at your own posts over the last few years. Most seem to
stray significantly from the guidelines of the charter (not a criticism,
just an observation). When was the last time you watched a meteor shower
and then made an immediate post to SAA about it? Posts about
observations still generate interesting discussions, it's just that such
posts represent a smaller percentage of the total than they once did.

If you want this group to be about observing, start some posts about
observing! Don't blame everyone else. This group will be what its
members make it.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com

"Chris L Peterson" wrote

I'm looking back at your own posts over the last few years. Most seem to
stray significantly from the guidelines of the charter (not a criticism,
just an observation). When was the last time you watched a meteor shower
and then made an immediate post to SAA about it? Posts about
observations still generate interesting discussions, it's just that such
posts represent a smaller percentage of the total than they once did.

If you want this group to be about observing, start some posts about
observing! Don't blame everyone else. This group will be what its
members make it.

Many of my posts are meant to be humorous. (Some might not think so!) So in
that regard I have been off topic. The point I'm trying to make is what
other "old-timers" have said in the past: the percentage of postings
regarding amateur astronomy, specifically observing and equipment, is way
down compared to even 5 years ago. MAYbe... if a newsgroup specified
observing and/or equipment, mirror and lens manufacturing and their related
theory, ATM'ing....we'd avoid the nutcases and all the crosspostings from
alt.nutcase.min, etc. I know, wishful thinking.

"Patrick Edward Murray" wrote in message
ups.com...

Sy Bourg,

That was a pretty mean thing to even imply that Sam Wormley is that
kind of person.
How do we know what kind of person you are huh?

I call it as I see it. He usually posts stuff for the mind of a 13 yr old
anyway. Go look at his
website. The whole thing is geared toward kids pretty much.

"Sy Bourg" wrote in message
news:GGzrh.162888$hn.72993@edtnps82...
Heads up Sitav, Sam likes cruisin for kids in here.


This post is totally unacceptable, and I hope that someday the poster will
wise up to the point of being ashamed of it.

Dennis