BEGINNING OF CHARTER: Charter Created: June 24, 1996 update to e-mail information: April 6, 2002 update to moderator information: June 19, 1999 temporary addendum1: July 23, 1996 temporary addendum2: Sept 2, 1996 moderated group soc.culture.belarus Newsgroups line: soc.culture.belarus All things about Belarus. (Moderated) ***************** Temporary Addendum1 *************************** Although this s.c.b charter states that a submission to a maximum of four newsgroups is permitted (including s.c.b), albeit not encouraged, we are not accepting any cross-posted submissions for the time being due to a problem in implementing this condition fairly (to the Internet community as well as to the submitter). IMPORTANT: Any submission to s.c.b that is cross-posted will not appear in any of those cross-posted newsgroups. If a submitter wants a message to appear in soc.culture.belarus, please repost the message without any cross-posting, and it will be processed by the s.c.b. moderators. To post the message in the other newsgroups please exclude soc.culture.belarus from the list of the newsgroups the message was posted to, and repost the message. We apologize for any inconvenience and wish to state that it is a temporary restriction. We will resolve this issue as soon as we can think of and agree to an adequate solution. If you would like to comment on this point of the soc.culture.belarus charter, please send your suggestions to scb-moderators@soc-culture-belarus.org Thank you for understanding, soc.culture.belarus moderators ********** end of temporary addendum1 to s.c.b charter *********** ***************** Temporary Addendum2 *************************** In response to interest expressed from a participant of s.c.b, we are allowing Polish to be used on a trial basis (for 6 months). *IF* there is adequate interest in using Polish, we will add it to the other three languages permitted in discussions (Belarusian, English, and Russian). If you would like to express your opinion on this or other issues related to soc.culture.belarus, please contact the moderators at scb-moderators [at] soc-culture-belarus.org. ********** end of temporary addendum2 to s.c.b charter *********** * - * - * - * BEGIN CHARTER: Charter Created: June 24, 1996 * - * - * RATIONALE: soc.culture.belarus The topic of Belarus is a topic that needs the platform of a Usenet newsgroup. There are over 10 million Belarusians in the Republic of Belarus, plus an additional 3.5 million that are members of the Belarusian Diaspora. There is no current Usenet newsgroup that addresses this topic. Soc.culture.soviet is the only possibility, but at best, it is a very, very broad forum. The need for a moderated group is best explained by a taking a casual look at the many off-topic postings in other, non-moderated Usenet soc.culture.* groups. We would like to avoid such problems from the start. CHARTER: soc.culture.belarus The spelling of "Belarusian" in this document conforms to our understanding of the official spelling. We use this spelling out of a expression of solidarity, even though some of us feel "Belarusan" should be the spelling in English. Possibly, efforts will be initiated to change the spelling to "Belarusan." Soc.culture.belarus is a moderated newsgroup for the free exchange of information and opinions on Belarusian culture, language, history, economics, science, and other topics related to Belarus. Posts appropriate for soc.culture.belarus include, but are not restricted to the following aspects of Belarus: Informational posts about Belarus culture, history, etc. Language issues related to Belarusian Discussion of education, health, environment, etc., issues Discussion of politics, elections, etc. Relations between Belarus and other countries as long as discussion remains relevant to Belarus Discussion of economic conditions and gov't policies toward them Issues related to members of the Belarusian Diaspora Questions and information about genealogy within the historical territory that has been Belarus Discussion of (new) books, articles, movies, etc., about Belarus Belarusian cuisine The effects of Chornobyl on Belarusians and the environment Discussion of minority issues, including language, within Belarus Job opportunities within Belarus Soc.culture.belarus is for anyone who is interested in Belarus and who can follow Usenet newsgroup netiquette, basic rules of polite human interaction, and any further restrictions imposed by this charter. There is no test or requirement as to how much of a Belarusian a person is who wants to make a submission and participate. Any restrictions concerning the contents of a post are intended to keep to the topic of Belarus, and are not intended to restrict anyone's expression of opinions. Free speech exists within the context of Belarus as a topic as defined in this charter. If the topic is not about Belarus, forums other than soc.culture.belarus are more appropriate. Submissions must be in English, Belarusian, or Russian. If in Belarusian or Russian, they should be transliterated or in KOI-8 (RFC-1489). There is a problem with posts in Belarusian in KOI-8 in that there is no agreed to mapping for "y neskladovae" and "i". This issue will be addressed and resolved through discussions on this newsgroup and will be included in the forthcoming FAQ. Visual approximations of Cyrillic Belarusian and Russian are strongly discouraged for the body of the message as they are essentially indecipherable. Use in signatures or other short usage is acceptable. Format of submissions shall be as follows: Subject Line -- Clearly identifies the content as explicitly and concisely as possible Line length -- No more than 72 characters/line; most lines 60 characters or more, with hard carriage returns; (for legibility, especially when quoted in a follow-up posting) Content -- At least 1/3 original (unquoted) text preferred Appropriate to the group readership, not for personal e-mail (i.e., for one or only several others). Meets conditions of this charter, including netiquette. Signatures -- separated from the body by "-- " (note space) very long signatures and "handles" are discouraged; real names preferred Cross-posts -- to no more than 4 newsgroups (total, including soc.culture.belarus), if any at all <<<< temporarily, no cross-postings permitted; see addendum, above >>>>> Submissions unrelated to Belarus shall be rejected. Commercial advertisements unrelated to Belarus shall be rejected; all personal ads shall be rejected. Submissions containing ethnic slurs, or submissions intended to hurt any given race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation, shall be rejected. Personal attacks on individual posters will also be rejected. When major changes to the charter are to be considered, an announcement will be made on soc.culture.belarus inviting interested people to respond and thus participate in an e-mail charter review discussion group. Any discussions of changes will be made within this group, and the results will be posted to soc.culture.belarus for review by the general readership. (Should the committee continue for longer than one month, periodic postings of the committee's existence and status will be repeated once per month.) Proposed major changes to the charter will be preceded by an RFD and a CFV. Moderation Policy: The role of the moderators is to ensure the conditions of the charter are met by any submission to soc.culture.belarus. The moderators recognize that they should be as un-biased and objective as is humanly possible. Submissions are evaluated as to whether or not (1) they are on topic, (2) they meet netiquette, (3) they are appropriate for the group membership as a group (rather than something that belongs in e-mail to an individual(s)), and (4) meet any other submission standards as defined in the charter. The forwarding of the submissions to soc.culture.belarus by the moderators should be in a timely manner. The total number of moderators shall be a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 7. Should a moderator reject a submission, s/he will send the complete submission together with an explanation for the rejection to the submitter in a timely manner (usually within 48 hours). All of the other moderators shall be included in the "cc." Should the moderators as a group disagree with a moderator's decision about a submission, a minimum of a 2/3rd's majority is required to override it. Other details will be refined during the initial existence of soc.culture.belarus, recognizing that it is impossible to anticipate all of the details of moderation in advance. Submitters to soc.culture.belarus should recognize the volunteer nature of the moderators, possible equipment problems with the server, etc., and keep such issues in mind when considering whether or not a post was made in a timely way. The moderators will explore the possibility of using "robomoderator" software to increase the efficiency of posting new submissions to soc.culture.belarus. Developments in using such software will be posted to soc.culture.belarus for review. The moderators will also work among themselves to define the details of moderation, for example, addressing such issues as how many moderators are actively moderating at a time and how to deal with threads that appear to have strayed from the subject of Belarus. Additional moderators to the initial four may be recruited from the readership as demand warrants. If a moderator wants to retire from the moderation panel, he or she must make a public statement at least one month prior to retirement so that a replacement moderator may be found. Anyone may volunteer to join the moderation panel with the consent of at least a 2/3rd's majority of the current moderators. Moderators also may be removed by a 2/3rd's majority of the moderation panel. Of course, moderators may resign of their own volition at any time. E-Mail Addresses: Two e-mail addresses will be established. One which will receive the submissions to soc.culture.belarus (through a forwarding mechanism); the other for contacting the group of moderators. A home page will also be established as a repository for the charter and other relevant materials that may be required in the future (FAQ, moderator policy updates, etc.). END CHARTER. MODERATOR INFO: soc.culture.belarus Proponent: Peter Kasaty Moderator: Peter Kasaty Moderator: Alex Artsyukhovich Moderator: Irena Slage Moderator: Matvey Nemenman Moderator: << open >> Administrative contact address: scb-moderators [at] soc-culture-belarus.org Article submission address: scb-post [at] soc-culture-belarus.org Peter Kasaty http://www.belarus-misc.org/ Peter Kasaty is a Belarusian-American, born in Germany, who works as a computer professional in southern California, USA. He is the primary list-owner of the Belarus e-mail list and maintainer of a Web page dedicated to collecting information about Belarus both on and off the 'Net. Most of his relatives live in Belarus, and he directed an Internet project there as well ('97-'98). He is very interested in Belarusian literature, the Internet in Belarus, human rights, and environmental issues. Irena Slage http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5430/ Irena Slage was born and raised in Vitebsk. She completed her B.S. in Science and Technology at the California State University, Monterey Bay. While there, she worked as a technical support specialist for one of the Computer and Media facilities. She is currently in the graduate (PhD) program at George Washington University in Science, Technology, and Public Policy. Alex Artsyukhovich http://www.belarusguide.com/ Alex Artsyukhovich is a professor in the Applied Optics Department at Hrodna State University, currently on leave at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California. He was born and grew up in Hrodna, Belarus. Alex maintains part of the "Virtual Guide to Belarus" on the Web. Alex's main hobby is gardening. His major areas of interest include natural sciences, philosophy, history of religion, contemporary art, lately Belarusian history and ethics. Matvey Nemenman http://www.menem.com/MinskSite/ http://www.menem.com/mattn After studying at the Belarusian State Polytechnical Academy, Matvey is now continuing his education in computer science at the University of California, Berkeley, working at the same time for Informix Software, Inc. He was born and grew up in Mensk and now lives in Fremont, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is the maintainer of The Mensk Site. Matvey is very much interested in world history and literature. Moderator 5: << open >> END MODERATOR INFO. temporary addendum1: July 23, 1996 temporary addendum2: Sept 2, 1996 update to moderator information: June 19, 1999 update to e-mail information: April 6, 2002 * - * - * - * END OF CHARTER: Charter Created: June 24, 1996 * - * - *