CHARTER: misc.facts.straight-dope
Rich Lafferty
culled from the Call for Votes.
(Please note that I'm not the proponent; I had expected that OpalCat
would have posted the charter, but I understand that it's a considerable
amount of work to get AOL to get around to creating a new newsgroup.
This is posted even more unofficially than an unmoderated group's
charter posting would usually be :-)
-Rich
----8<---- begin included text ----8<----
RATIONALE: misc.facts.straight-dope
The AOL Straight Dope message forum (AOL keyword
aol://5863:126/mB:59300) needs to find a new home. The current forum
will be discontinued on March 31st, because AOL is not renewing its
contract with The Straight Dope (and its parent company, the Chicago
Reader). Within days of the announcement, there were over 200 posts just
about the forum closing and 'where will we go then?'
A group that seems similar on the surface, alt.fan.cecil-adams, exists,
but the two communities have separate histories, and this community's
traffic load by itself fully justifies the attempt to create a Big 8
group. The alt.* group's success, as well as the high volume of the AOL
group (daily postings in the hundreds) does demonstrate that there is
considerable potential readership for a group on this subject on Usenet.
A mailing list does currently exist (teeming...@egroups.com,
currently 70+ subscribers), but is not suitable format for the heavy
traffic of the forum and is used primarily for casual conversation. The
"regulars" of the forum also have a home page at
http://fathom.org/teemingmillions with personal profiles, a FAQ, and
archives of especially memorable posts. A newsgroup would be the only
thing that is comparable to the existing forum.
CHARTER: misc.facts.straight-dope
This group is for discussion of Cecil Adams' Straight Dope column and
books, as well as discussions in keeping with the style and attitude of
these works. Topics may include past columns and books, Cecil Adams
himself, questions of the type answered by The Straight Dope series, and
offshoot discussions from any of these. Participants are not required
to remain strictly on topic, but may not excessively cross-post,
multi-post, post advertising or other spam, or post large binaries.
The Straight Dope style and attitude attracts questions of almost any
kind, but most clearly encompasses a "hard trivia" of sorts. Most
questions have minimal relevance to daily life, but require significant
research and/or critical thought to properly answer. The mission of the
followers of The Straight Dope, however, is to stamp out ignorance
wherever it may lie, so very few topics are completely excluded. Some
examples of topics covered in past columns include:
Where can I join the Millard Fillmore Society?
What's the origin of 'Uncle Sam'?
Is it true about Catherine the Great and the Horse?
Where did Bullwinkle go to college?
Is homosexuality inherited?
How do porcupines mate?
The story of Schroedinger's Cat
Where are all the dead pigeons?
Do people really die from Spontaneous Human Combustion?
END CHARTER.
-----8<---- end included text ----8<-----
--
Rich Lafferty ---------------------------------------------------------
IITS/Computing Services | "Oderint dum metuant."
Concordia University | -- Lucius Accius (170-90 BC).
ri...@vax2.concordia.ca -----------------------------------------[McQ]--
OpalCat
ri...@vax2.concordia.ca (Rich Lafferty) wrote:
> For those wondering what this group *is*, here's the newsgroup charter
> culled from the Call for Votes.
>
> (Please note that I'm not the proponent; I had expected that OpalCat
> would have posted the charter, but I understand that it's a considerable
> amount of work to get AOL to get around to creating a new newsgroup.
> This is posted even more unofficially than an unmoderated group's
> charter posting would usually be :-)
Actually, I don't use AOL as an ISP, but my ISP doesn't carry the group yet.
So here I am with Deja News Woohoo! We're working on a FAQ too.
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
Remco Gerlich
> Where can I join the Millard Fillmore Society?
> What's the origin of 'Uncle Sam'?
> Is it true about Catherine the Great and the Horse?
> Where did Bullwinkle go to college?
> Is homosexuality inherited?
> How do porcupines mate?
> The story of Schroedinger's Cat
> Where are all the dead pigeons?
> Do people really die from Spontaneous Human Combustion?
Now I'm from Europe and I haven't seen any of the actual columns,
but I've followed the RFD and the group looked fun, and so on.
So is there any really good or funny explanation for any of these? :)
--
Remco Gerlich scarblac (a) pino.selwerd.cx
Kleptomaniac
I really really want to know is, what happened to all the white dog shit ?
It used to be everywhere when I was a kid, and then one day it all
disappeared.
Sorry if this is a bit scatological, but I'd genuinely like to know
Regards
Kleptomaniac
Rich Lafferty <ri...@vax2.concordia.ca> wrote in message
news:7gq9m1$afu$1...@newsflash.concordia.ca...
> For those wondering what this group *is*, here's the newsgroup charter
> culled from the Call for Votes.
>
> (Please note that I'm not the proponent; I had expected that OpalCat
> would have posted the charter, but I understand that it's a considerable
> amount of work to get AOL to get around to creating a new newsgroup.
> This is posted even more unofficially than an unmoderated group's
> charter posting would usually be :-)
>
> Where can I join the Millard Fillmore Society?
> What's the origin of 'Uncle Sam'?
> Is it true about Catherine the Great and the Horse?
> Where did Bullwinkle go to college?
> Is homosexuality inherited?
> How do porcupines mate?
> The story of Schroedinger's Cat
> Where are all the dead pigeons?
> Do people really die from Spontaneous Human Combustion?
>
Dave Van Domelen
Kleptomaniac <kle...@on-net.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
>I don't know anything about "The Straight Dope", being from the UK, but what
>I really really want to know is, what happened to all the white dog shit ?
>
>It used to be everywhere when I was a kid, and then one day it all
>disappeared.
>
>Sorry if this is a bit scatological, but I'd genuinely like to know
Well, first you have to understand what makes crap brown, something
explained in the first Straight Dope book. White dog doo is the result of
the brown bilirubin (dead blood cells, basically) being leached out of the
mass of other...stuff. Leave doggie droppings out long enough, and it'll
eventually turn whitish.
However, I suspect tougher "clean up after your dog" laws have made it
so that the stuff never sits around long enough to bleach anymore.
Dave Van Domelen, sees very little dogshit of ANY color these days,
thankfully....
David Gaudine
Kleptomaniac <kle...@on-net.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
>I don't know anything about "The Straight Dope", being from the UK, but what
>I really really want to know is, what happened to all the white dog shit ?
Fewer white dogs? How can you tell what color the dog was from its shit?
Jym Dyer
=o= See http://www.straightdope.com/ for details.
=o= As the creator (well, newgrouper) of alt.fan.cecil-adams,
I'm really glad to see this newsgroup.
<_Jym_>
Eric Bear Albrecht
> Dave Van Domelen, sees very little dogshit of ANY color these days,
That's cuz it's in my yard now.
--
Eric Bear Albrecht -- Box 6040 -- Taos, New Mexico 87571 -- 505-758-0579
"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any vice president, and
that one word is 'to be prepared'."
- Vice President Dan Quayle, 12/6/89
Kleptomaniac
I think I'm going to enjoy this ng, shame about the argumentative start.
Regards and Thanks
Kleptomaniac
Dave Van Domelen <dva...@eyrie.org> wrote in message
news:7gsr1d$lpb$1...@nntp.Stanford.EDU...
> In article <7gsqi5$ncs$1...@news5.svr.pol.co.uk>,
> Kleptomaniac <kle...@on-net.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
> >I don't know anything about "The Straight Dope", being from the UK, but
what
> >I really really want to know is, what happened to all the white dog shit
?
> >
> >It used to be everywhere when I was a kid, and then one day it all
> >disappeared.
> >
> >Sorry if this is a bit scatological, but I'd genuinely like to know
>
> Well, first you have to understand what makes crap brown, something
> explained in the first Straight Dope book. White dog doo is the result of
> the brown bilirubin (dead blood cells, basically) being leached out of the
> mass of other...stuff. Leave doggie droppings out long enough, and it'll
> eventually turn whitish.
> However, I suspect tougher "clean up after your dog" laws have made
it
> so that the stuff never sits around long enough to bleach anymore.
>
> Dave Van Domelen, sees very little dogshit of ANY color these days,
> thankfully....
Gavin Michels
I thought the whitish color was attributed to certain breeds. The
poodles in my neighborhood used to dump white poopies all the time. The
REAL dogs tended to dump in brown.
Another possibility is the kind of filler dog foods used to use.
These days it's wheat and corn, but perhaps 20 years ago they were using
more meat or possibly cauliflower....
--
"So I told him to try it like a duck...and he billed me!"
Gavin Michels
That's less a problem than how to get OUT of the M.F. Society!
: > What's the origin of 'Uncle Sam'?
Grampa Sam and Gramma Sam had a few drinks and went to the motel room
where they....
: > Is it true about Catherine the Great and the Horse?
See for yourself at www.porno-pony.com
: > Where did Bullwinkle go to college?
He went to alot of colleges. But he attended Whatsamatta U
: > Is homosexuality inherited?
Yes, most same-sex partners who procreate through natural means
almost ALWAYS have homosexual children.
: > How do porcupines mate?
phone sex
: > The story of Schroedinger's Cat
I think that's Lucy's boyfriend's pet who plays Beethoven sonatas
on a toy piano
: > Where are all the dead pigeons?
Being fed-exed to your house as we speak.
: > Do people really die from Spontaneous Human Combustion?
Try it and see!