Proposal: alt.animals.fantasy

		 Newgroup Proposal: alt.animals.fantasy
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		      (or alt.fan.fantasy-animals)
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I watched with great interest the creation of alt.fan.dragons, from the
time it was first proposed.  I thought, "Why not alt.fan.unicorns, as
well?"  Many of the same arguments that were put forward for the forma-
tion of a.f.dragons seemed to apply:  There's some interest on the net
in unicorns, but postings are scattered around in various places.  I saw
some unicorn art on alt.ascii-art, once.  There's some discussion of
unicorns on alt.fan.furry from time to time, and some people there have
taken the form of the unicorn on the net and in other aspects of their
lives.  There is a considerable collection of unicorn art on
avatar.snc.edu, though much of it is anthropomorphic, inspired by
FurryMUCK characters, and the work of one artist.

So, I thought to myself, "Yes, there's interest on the net in unicorns,
but probably there won't be enough support to justify creating yet
another group (over 6,400 at our site, and increasing almost daily!) 
Then I saw this, in alt.fan.dragons:

               -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

>In article <2kiumo$4e...@aurora.engr.latech.edu> 
jpr...@engr.latech.edu (Jarred P. Prejean) writes:
>}
>}Personally, I am probably a bigger fan of gryphons than I am of dragons,
>}and that is saying quite a bit.  But gryphons just might not be quite a
>}broad enough subject for an entire newsgroup.  How about something like
>}alt.animals.fantasy for discussion of griffins, chimerae, manticora,
>}pegasi, unicorns, etc.?
>}
>}Jarred Prejean
>}jpr...@engr.latech.edu

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I thought, "Yes, this might work, it just might!"  I was less sure,
however, that this would be the best placement in the alt hierarchies. 
I therefore would like to propose alt.animals.fantasy, or alternatively,
alt.fan.fantasy-animals.

I would further propose (forgive my formality, but it seems appropriate)
that the group be unmoderated, and for the discussion of the following
topics:

The life cycles, social organization, behavior, physical and other char-
     acteristics of, and legends and folklore surrounding fantasy ani-
     mals.

Specific conceptions or images of fantasy animals in literature, art,
     film, music, and other media, specific fantasy animal characters in
     these media, specific works in which fantasy animals appear, and
     the authors, artists, and others who create these works.

Fantasy animals in all times, places, and cultures, including cross-
     cultural comparisons and evolution over time.

Any original ideas, research, stories, poems, or reviews.

Anything else pertaining to fantasy animals.


I would urge that binaries, ascii art, etc., not be posted to this
proposed group for reasons described in many places on the net, but be
posted to the appropriate groups (alt.binaries.pictures.*, alt.ascii-
art, etc.) with pointers that indicate them posted in the proposed
group.  Or, going that idea one better, I would urge that these items be
offered for archiving to the ftp sites that carry such things, where
they will be available for others' enjoyment on a more permanent basis. 
It should go without saying, however, that consideration must be given
to the rights of those who write the stories, produce the artwork, etc.,
to determine where and when their work gets redistributed, if only not
to discourage them from their creative pursuits, which benefit every-
body.

Finally, though the suggested topics of this group would overlap the
coverage of a few other groups, it might be worthwhile to point out how
this group would essentially be different from them.  Fantasy animals
are discussed in alt.mythology from time to time, as part of humankind's
mythological heritage.  alt.mythology is not restricted to the discus-
sion of mythological animals, but is open to all types of mythology. 
The discussion in alt.mythology seems mostly to be academically orient-
ed, where this group would be more popular in nature.  alt.fan.furry in-
cludes some discussion of fantasy animals (such as unicorns), but the
primary interest there seems to be in the anthropomorphic angle.  Though
not mentioned in the FAQ, it appears that furry fen are mostly inter-
ested in 'morphic forms of *existent* animals (the unicorn being the
most notable exception).  Discussion in the proposed group could include
anthropomorphic aspects of fantasy animals, but would also include the
legends, folklore, and etc. surrounding these creatures, as indicated
above.  The discussion would be limited to "fantasy" animals, that have
no real existence in the world (although some might take issue with that
assertion! :)  Please note:  My only interest here is to suggest that
the proposed group would not be a carbon copy of an already existing
one.


So, there it is!  All that remains is to ask the net the three most
basic questions I can think of:

1)   Would you subscribe to this group?  Would you post to it?  Does it
     interest you?

2)   From the above descriptions, do you have a good sense of what this
     group would be about?  Do you feel that it is in fact not redundant
     of another group?  Are the topics of discussion well and clearly
     defined?  Is there anything you'd add to the list of topics?  Any-
     thing you'd remove?

3)   Do you feel that either the name "alt.animals.fantasy" or
     "alt.fan.fantasy-animals" gives a clear "at-a-glance" idea of what
     this group would be about?  Is there another name that would be
     clearer, or better placed in the alt hierarchy?


Please follow up to alt.config, so the discussion can be kept in one
place! :)  Thank you for your consideration,

                                    Jeff