RFD: rec.arts.anime reorganization
Stephanie da Silva
REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD)
unmoderated group rec.arts.anime.fandom
unmoderated group rec.arts.anime.games
unmoderated group rec.arts.anime.music
unmoderated group rec.arts.anime.erotica
unmoderated group rec.arts.anime.fan-works.discuss
unmoderated group rec.arts.anime.misc (renames rec.arts.anime)
moderated group rec.arts.anime.fan-works.misc (renames rec.arts.anime.stories)
Proposed by: Stephanie da Silva <ari...@taronga.com>
This is a formal Request For Discussion (RFD) for the reorganization
of the unmoderated newsgroup, rec.arts.anime.
RATIONALE: all groups
Anime is animation that is produced in Japan for the Japanese market. It
is far more diverse than American animated cartoons and appeals to a wider
cross-section of the community. It has gained an avid following in North
America, and often these fans become extremely interested in the Japanese
culture and language.
This popularity of anime is reflected on the net. There are five anime
related rec.arts.* groups and at least four alt groups devoted to some
faction of anime. There are at least 34 mailing lists, including mail
to news gateways for the rec.arts.anime and rec.arts.manga newsgroups,
lists for popular works like Oh! My Goddess, Bubblegum Crisis, Dirty
Pair, Kimagure Orange Road, Maison Ikkoku, Robotech, Ranma 1/2, and
Sailor Moon, and lists for topics such as the renowned producer Miyazaki,
anime voice artists, fan fiction and fan translation works-in-progress.
North American audiences are gaining more exposure to anime through English
language adaptations of shows like Dragon Ball, Technoman, and Sailor Moon.
This "mainstreaming" is certain to increase its popularity.
The traffic on rec.arts.anime currently averages about 250 articles per
day, and has gone up as high as 330 articles per day (for example, with
the premier of Sailor Moon in the US market this past September). In a
recent discussion about a possible split, some users expressed concerns that
the newsgroup is growing too large and noisy, that smaller threads are
being lost, that the group is losing focus. Some veteran users were being
driven away by the noise, and the high volume would intimidate new users,
discouraging them from reading the newsgroup, and thereby missing out on
the collective knowledge of the genre that the readership of the newsgroup
has to offer and depriving the group of new blood, new ideas and viewpoints.
Spin-offs have of course been forming in "alt", such as the new Sailor
Moon group. Rec.arts.anime itself was last split in April, 1993... and as
Usenet continues to grow, rec.arts.anime should expand to accomodate these
changes.
CHARTER: rec.arts.anime.fandom
An unmoderated newsgroup for issues of interest to anime fandom and related
chat, including meta-discussions. Examples:
Which are better, dubs or subs?
Are there any females who watch anime?
How does one pronounce 'anime'?
Why don't anime characters look Asian?
Tezuka's Jungle King vs. Disney's Lion King.
A place for provincial topics and questions.
Examples:
What time does Sailor Moon play in my city?
Are there any anime clubs/stores/cons in my city?
For conventions reports, anime club announcements, legal concerns, discussion
of fan artwork and fansubs (availability, technology, etc).
For the discussion of important fan issues, such as starting a fan club,
organizing conventions, editing newsletters and fanzines, etc.
This group should not be used for the trading of fansubs nor for the posting
of binary files. The posting of these types of articles will be discouraged.
END CHARTER.
CHARTER: rec.arts.anime.games
An unmoderated newsgroup for anime-related video games and RPGs, as well
as related topics such as dealers, compatibility issues between US and
Japanese systems, etc.
END CHARTER.
CHARTER: rec.arts.anime.music
An unmoderated newsgroup for the discussion of anime-related music,
including lyrics, Japanese Pop, soundtracks. translations, etc.
END CHARTER.
CHARTER: rec.arts.anime.erotica
An unmoderated group for the discussion of adult oriented anime, including
the genres known as Hentai/ecchi/H and "lemon". Shows of this ilk include
Urotsukidoji, Wandering Kid, Rei Rei, and La Blue Girl.
Hentai is controversial and many readers would prefer it be discussed in
a separate newsgroup.
END CHARTER.
CHARTER: rec.arts.anime.fan-works.discuss
An unmoderated group for the discussion, commentary, and critique of fan
fiction stories and their authors. This group would serve as a companion
to the moderated rec.arts.fan-works.misc newsgroup.
END CHARTER.
CHARTER: rec.arts.anime.misc
An unmoderated newsgroup for general anime discussion and topics that don't
fall into any of the other categories. This newsgroup would replace the
existing rec.arts.anime newsgroup.
END CHARTER.
CHARTER: rec.arts.anime.fan-works.misc
This moderated newsgroup would serve as a place for the posting of fan
created works.
For any anime or manga related fan work including stories, original scripts
written by fans, and original artwork. Only the actual fan works will be
posted here - any discussion regarding these works should be posted to
rec.arts.anime.fan-works.discuss.
END CHARTER.
MODERATOR INFO: rec.arts.anime.fan-works.misc
Moderator: mega...@world.std.com (Brian Bikowicz)
Request address: anime-dojin...@world.std.com
Submission address: anime-d...@world.std.com
END MODERATOR INFO.
rec.arts.anime.info and rec.arts.anime.marketplace are unaffected by
this proposal and will remain as is.
PROCEDURE:
Discussion will run a minumum of 21 days. The newsgroups in this proposal
are subject to change, and if major changes are necessary, the discussion
period may be extended an additional 7 days.
A Call for Votes (CFV) will be posted after the end of the discussion period.
The vote will be run by a neutral third party.
This RFD attempts to fully comply with Usenet newsgroup creation guidelines
outlined in "How to Create a New Usenet Newsgroup". Please refer to this
document if you have questions about the process.
DISTRIBUTION:
This RFD is being posted to news.announce.newgroups, news.groups,
rec.arts.anime, rec.arts.anime.info, rec.arts.anime.stories, rec.arts.manga,
rec.arts.anime.marketplace, alt.fan.sailor-moon, alt.tv.robotech,
and alt.fan.bgcrisis, with follow-ups set to news.groups. All
discussion regarding this proposal should take place in news.groups only.
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