3rd CFV: nz.reg.canterbury.general (renames existing group)
Simon Lyall
3rd CALL FOR VOTES (of 3)
unmoderated group nz.reg.canterbury.general
This is a Call for Votes (CFV) for the creation of the newsgroup
nz.reg.canterbury.general to replace the existing newsgroup
nz.reg.christchurch.general.
Newsgroups line:
nz.reg.canterbury.general Tales from the Garden City & Canterbury
This CFV is being issued in accordance with the guidelines set in the
"FAQ: The nz.* Usenet Hierarchy" regularly posted to nz.net.announce and
the "How to create a new usenet newsgroup" FAQ regularly posted to
news.announce.newgroups. Please refer to these articles if you have any
questions about the newsgroup creation.
Votes must be received by 23:59:59 NZST, 14 April 1998.
This vote is being conducted by a neutral third party. Questions
about the proposed group should be directed to the proponents.
Proponents: Patrick Dunford <patrick...@xtra.co.nz>
Deborah Webb <web...@lincoln.ac.nz>
Votetaker: Simon Lyall <si...@darkmere.gen.nz>
RATIONALE:
Since the creation of the new group nz.reg.christchurch.general there
has been a steady stream of spam messages advertising Christian
sites or causes posted to it. An informal analysis suggests these
spams are being posted by searching for newsgroups containing
"christ" or "church" in their names as no other group in the nz.*
hierarchy receives them.
It is proposed to rename the group to prevent its name being
matched in this fashion.
EXAMPLE 1: Message posted to nz.reg.christchurch.general
as follows:
From: "Darryl L Parker" <gold...@texhoma.net>
Newsgroups: ncf.sigs.religion.christian,
nz.reg.christchurch.general
Subject: There's No Such Thing as a "Saved Sinner"
Date: Wed, 4 Feb 1998 10:12:52 -0600
Organization: ioNET Inc.
Lines: 486
Message-ID: <6ba3n3$pl$3...@ionews.ionet.net>
<snip>
The full message is in six parts and Part 1 was spammed
to the following newsgroups according to DejaNews:
alt.christnet.philosophy,alt.christnet.prayer,
alt.christnet.public,
alt.christnet.second-coming.real-soon-now,
alt.christnet.theology,alt.conspiracy.antichrist,
alt.fan.jesus-christ,alt.religion,
alt.religion.apologetics,alt.religion.christian
alt.religion.christian.adventist,alt.religion.sabbath-keeper
alt.religion.christian.anabaptist.brethren
,alt.religion.christian.baptist
alt.religion.christian.lutheran
alt.religion.jehovahs-witn,
alt.religion.watchtower.reform
alt.bible,alt.bible.prophecy,alt.christnet,
alt.christnet.bible,alt.christnet.christianlife,
alt.christnet.demonology,alt.christnet.ethics
,alt.christnet.evangelical,alt.antichristnet,
alt.christnet.hypocrisy
EXAMPLE 2: Message posted to
nz.reg.christchurch.general as follows:
Subject: www.christianlinks.com -
Come Join & Register
From: "station" <sta...@hotmail.com>
Date: 1998/01/31
Message-ID: <01bd2e8c$dfdf62a0$70560cd1@extra200>
Organization: American Communications Services Inc.
Newsgroups: han.soc.religion.christianity.catholic,
han.soc.religion.christianity.protestant,
hk.soc.religion.christianity,misc.education.home-school.christian,
ncf.sigs.religion.christian,nz.reg.christchurch.general,
pdaxs.religion.christian,rec.music.christian
www.christianlinks.com - Come Join & Register
Similar messages were also posted to these groups:
alt.christnet,alt.christnet.bible,alt.christnet.christianlife
alt.christnet.bible-thumpers.convert.convert.convert,alt.christnet.comp,
alt.christnet.ethics,alt.christnet.evangelical,alt.christnet.games,
alt.christnet.games.ibm-pc,alt.christnet.phil,alt.religion.christian.episcopal,
alt.religion.christian.jason-grundy,alt.religion.christian.jesus-connect,
alt.religion.christian.last-days,alt.religion.christian.lutheran,
alt.religion.christian.methodist,alt.religion.christian.pentecostal,alt.relig
A total of 31 separate postings were found on DejaNews from
www.christianlinks.com
(Actual exposure in any one newsservice will vary depending on
propagation of nz.reg.christchurch.general)
CHARTER: nz.reg.canterbury.general
Any posts which deal with things of interest to or about the Canterbury
area or region are welcome and on-topic in this group. This includes
discussions of local activities and events, local non-commercial
buy/sell/wanted posts, local issues and personalities and anything else
that relates to the area covered by the group.
The following things are not welcome:
Binaries
Chain letters, including "Make Money Fast" articles
Known hoaxes (like the "Good Times Virus")
Articles posted as separate copies to several newsgroups (spam)
Articles excessively cross-posted
Articles containing significantly more quoted than new content
Duplicate/rapidly reposted messages
Commercial messages of any kind.
END CHARTER
IMPORTANT VOTING INFORMATION:
Standard Guidelines for voting apply. One vote per person, one vote
per account. 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 anonymous votes.
Names, email addresses, and votes of all voters will be published in
the final voting results post although addresses with be slightly
altered to prevent harvesting by spammers. Duplicate votes will be
resolved in favor of the most recent valid vote.
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; instead, direct people to the official CFV posted
to nz.net.announce. Distributing pre-marked, incomplete, or
otherwise edited copies of this CFV is generally considered to be vote
fraud. When in doubt, ask the votetaker.
This vote is only open to people currently living in New Zealand.
For the group to be created, YES votes must be at least twice the
number of NO votes *and* there must be at least 25 more YES than NO
votes.
HOW TO VOTE:
Extract the ballot from the CFV by deleting everything before the
"BEGINNING OF BALLOT" and after the "END OF BALLOT" lines. Please do
*not* send the entire CFV back to me!
Don't worry about the spacing of the columns or any quote characters
(">") that your software inserts.
Provide your real name on the line that asks for it, and indicate your
vote in the brackets beside the group name. Valid votes are YES, NO,
ABSTAIN, and CANCEL.
Examples of how to properly indicate your vote (do not vote here):
[ YES ] example.vote.yes
[ NO ] example.vote.no
[ ABSTAIN ] example.abstention
[ CANCEL ] example.cancellation
Do *not* modify, alter or delete any other information in this ballot.
Vote counting is partially automated, and failure to follow these
instructions means the software may reject your ballot.
When you're finished, mail the ballot to <vo...@usenet.net.nz>. Just
"replying" to this message should work, but check the "To:" line. If
you ordinarily use a spam block, please delete it and use a valid
address to vote.
Your vote will NOT count if the acknowledgment bounces due to a spam-block.
If you do not receive an acknowledgment of your vote within three
days, contact the votetaker about the problem. You are responsible
for reading your acknowledgment and making sure your vote is registered
correctly.
-=-=-=-BEGINNING OF BALLOT: Delete Everything Before This Line=-=-=-=-
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Usenet Ballot: nz.reg.canterbury.general
This ballot is distributed blank in a Call for Votes | Leave this
posted to nz.net.announce or mailed from the | marker here:
votetaker. Other ballots may be rejected. | <NZRC-0001>
Give your real name on the next line (do not give your email address).
Your name -->
Give your postal address for non *.nz account votes here:
Address ->
Address ->
Address ->
NOTE: Addresses will not be published but are required to verify you live
in New Zealand.
[Your Vote] Group (Place your vote in the empty brackets below.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[ ] nz.reg.canterbury.general (replaces existing group)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
-=-=-=-=-=-END OF BALLOT: Delete Everything After This Line-=-=-=-=-=-
DISTRIBUTION
This CFV has been posted to the following newsgroups:
nz.net.announce
nz.net.admin
nz.general
nz.reg.christchurch.general
and is available by e-mail from the votetaker.
Simon Lyall <si...@darkmere.gen.nz>
Votetaker.