From: alan@whirlnet.demon.co.uk (Alan Ford) Subject: Results: uk.local.scot-highlands PASSES 55:9 Date: Sun, 17 Jan 1999 23:38:45 GMT Message-ID: -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- RESULT OF CALL FOR VOTES Creation of new newsgroup uk.local.scot-highlands PASSES 55:9 [Ballot ID: ULSH01] - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Voting closed at 23:59:59 GMT, Friday 8 January 1999 Proponant: ncf@borve.demon.co.uk (Neil Fernandez) Votetaker: alan@whirlnet.demon.co.uk (Alan Ford) - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Distribution: These results have been posted to: uk.net.news.announce uk.net.news.config scot.general - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Voting Summary: Creation of new newsgroup: uk.local.scot-highlands Discussions relating to the Scottish Highlands+Islands The Rationale, Summary of Discussion and Charter follow the main results for informational purposes. YES = 55 (86%) NO = 9 (14%) ABSTAIN = 0 (0%) There were a total of 64 valid votes. YES beat NO by a majority of 43. This is above the majority of 12 that is required for a vote to pass. There were no abstentions. There was one invalid vote. There will be a five day discussion period after these results have been posted before the group is created to allow for any allegations of irregularities to be raised. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Votetaker's Comments: This is the second time I have personally taken a vote for a Scottish local group in uk.* Despite not creating quite as many votes as for the other group, these results are still decisively clear. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Results in Full: Those Who Voted YES (Total: 55) - ------------------- Alan Potter $ThePotters$#bigfoot{dot}com Alasdair Baxter $alasdair$#dram{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk Alice G Graham $alice{dot}graham$#scotent{dot}co{dot}uk Andi Carey $ukn$#amcarey{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk Andy Mabbett $amabett$#bham-assist{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk Andy Roberts $andyrobts$#zetnet{dot}co{dot}uk Arwel Parry $arwel$#cartref{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk Bill Davies $Billyboy$#gto{dot}net{dot}om Bob Scott $bob$#landb5{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk Calum MacLeod $mmacle$#scri{dot}sari{dot}ac{dot}uk DAllison $david$#wedding-services{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk Daniel Toye $daniel{dot}toye$#cableol{dot}co{dot}uk Dave Mayall $david{dot}mayall$#ukonline{dot}co{dot}uk David Clapham $Dave$#community-spirit{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk David Damerell $damerell$#chiark{dot}greenend{dot}org{dot}uk David Wright $daibhidh$#ealaghol{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk Denis McMahon $denis$#pickaxe{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk George S. Dingwall $George$#scottdingwall{dot}freeserve{dot}co{dot}uk Heather Colquhoun $colquhoun{dot}mob$#zetnet{dot}co{dot}uk Howard Glyn $webmaster$#britball{dot}com Hugh Davies $huge$#axalotl{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk Iain Kenneth $iaink$#dial{dot}pipex{dot}com Ian Miller $Ian_Miller$#bifroest{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk Ian Peattie $ian$#johnrich{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk Jim Hill $jim$#jh-c{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk John Muncie $jrm$#lochaber{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk julie spittle $julie{dot}spittle$#virgin{dot}net Ken James $lapis$#ndirect{dot}co{dot}uk MArc Donovan $donovan$#dial{dot}pipex{dot}com Mark Woods $mark$#woods{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk Martin Paterson $m{dot}paterson$#consunet{dot}nl Marysia $marysia$#jadzia{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk Michael Parry $michael$#unicorn-connection{dot}co{dot}uk Mike Alexander $alexanm$#netcomuk{dot}co{dot}uk Mike Landers $plissken$#netcomuk{dot}co{dot}uk Mike Paley $pmailkee$#waverider{dot}co{dot}uk Neil Fernandez $ncf$#borve{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk Norman Mackenzie $norman{dot}mckenzie$#virgin{dot}net Omar Jamil $oxj$#dcs{dot}ed{dot}ac{dot}uk Pamela S. Carr $Pamela{dot}Carr$#worldnet{dot}att{dot}net Paul Bolchover $pb10003$#cus{dot}cam{dot}ac{dot}uk Paul Womar $Vote$#pwomar{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk Peter Dent $p-dent$#ti{dot}com Peter Parry $peter$#wppltd{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk Philip Powell $philip$#blencathra{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk Richard Ashton $richard$#corixia{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk Ross Younger $wry20$#cai{dot}cam{dot}ac{dot}uk simon gray $simon$#star-one{dot}org{dot}uk steve ellwood $steve{dot}ellwood{dot}sh$#telecom{dot}dircon{dot}co Steve Gontarek $sjg$#carnasserie{dot}freeserve{dot}co{dot}uk Thomas Lee $tfl$#psp{dot}co{dot}uk tobias erle $vote$#kholdan{dot}snafu{dot}de Toby Speight $Toby{dot}Speight$#digitivity{dot}com Tom McEwan $news$#kersland{dot}u-net{dot}com Tony Towers $tony$#fishblanket{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk Those Who Voted NO (Total: 9) - ------------------ Alex Dawson $a{dot}dawson$#pmail{dot}net Anne Jackson $amygdala$#zetnet{dot}co{dot}uk Charles Ellson $charles$#ellson{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk Craig Cockburn $craig$#scot{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk Darren Wyn Rees $merlin$#cvnet{dot}co{dot}uk Duncan Dewar $duncan$#brandane{dot}demon{dot}co{dot}uk Lee Bohan $lee{dot}bohan$#iname{dot}com Peter Geddes $pgeddes$#zetnet{dot}co{dot}uk Simon Brooke $simon$#jasmine{dot}org{dot}uk Those Who ABSTAINed (Total: 0) - ------------------- None Invalid Votes Reason - ------------- ------ J T Gillies $johngillies$#calligrafix{dot}co{dot}uk [1] Reasons: [1] Acknowledgement bounced (550 User unknown) - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The creation of a new unmoderated newsgroup uk.local.scot-highlands NEWSGROUPS LINE: uk.local.scot-highlands Discussions relating to the Scottish Highlands+Islands - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RATIONALE: Although access to the internet is fairly widespread in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, no newsgroup currently exists that relates specifically to this area. As well as allowing locally-focused discussions of the sort that take place on other uk.local.* newsgroups, uk.local.scot-highlands would also be an especially useful medium for those who live in often remote communities. It is further hoped that there will be frequent use of Gaelic as well as English, and that the use of uk.local.scot-highlands would contribute positively to the thriving of Gaelic-speaking culture. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY OF THE DISCUSSION: The overall idea of a group won broad acceptance and support. The main opposition was grounded on the idea that the proposed group should be created on the scot.* hierarchy rather than the uk.* hierarchy. Clearly, however, this is insufficient ground for objection, since what happens on uk.* is a matter for the users of uk.*, many of whom are Scottish or live in Scotland or are interested in Scotland, and many of whom are ourselves users of scot.* or even active participants in scot.general. The proposed group would fit onto the uk.local.* hierarchy in the same way as groups focused on other areas of the UK; and creating it on uk.* certainly does not imply any political position whatsoever. Other points were raised that led to five small instances of tidying-up of the original charter. These are as follows: 1) The Newsgroups line has been changed from: uk.local.scot-highlands Discussions relating to the Scottish Highlands to: uk.local.scot-highlands Discussions relating to the Scottish Highlands+Islands 2) The charter has been changed accordingly. This has not led to any change in sense, nor in the area covered. The charter has been changed from: "uk.local.scot-highlands is for the discussion of any topic relating to the Scottish Highlands. The Scottish Highlands are defined broadly to include not only the geographical area under the administration of the Highland Regional Council, plus the Grampian mountains, but also the Western Isles, the Northern Isles (the Fair Isle, Orkney, and Shetland), the Southwest Highlands (an area which itself includes both areas of the mainland, such as the Kintyre Peninsula, and islands, such as Islay and Jura). 'Highlands' is of course a social term - Inverness is the largest town in the Highlands but its altitude is low - and so the relevant area's boundary is not considered to be definable with great precision. to: "uk.local.scot-highlands is for the discussion of any topic relating to the Scottish Highlands and Islands. This area is defined broadly to include not only the geographical area under the administration of Comhairle na Gaidhealtachd (the Highland Council), plus the Grampian mountains, but also the Western Isles, the Northern Isles (the Fair Isle, Orkney, and Shetland), the Southwest Highlands (an area which itself includes both areas of the mainland, such as the Kintyre Peninsula, and islands, such as Islay and Jura). 'Islands' may be relatively clear, but 'Highlands' is of course a social term - Inverness is the largest town in the Highlands but its altitude is low - and so the relevant area's boundary is not considered to be definable with great precision." 3) The section on languages has been changed from: "English and Gaelic shall always be considered acceptable languages for any post to this newsgroup. In other words, no post shall be considered to be off-topic or off-charter simply by reason of being written in either of these two languages. Nor shall a request for a translation into either of these two languages be considered unacceptable either." to: "The main languages for posts to this newsgroup are expected to be English and Gaelic. Posts in any language or dialect are welcome, but users who post in a language or dialect that is less widely understood should not be surprised if somebody asks for a translation into a language or dialect that is more widely understood." 4) The sentence concerning binaries has been changed from: "With the exception of PGP signatures, the posting of binaries is not permitted." to: "Encoded binaries (e.g. pictures, sounds, compressed files, etc.) are forbidden, except for cryptographic (e.g. PGP) signatures." 5) The section concerning advertising has been changed from: "Commercial advertising is not permitted, although recommendations of products are acceptable on the understanding that the poster does not have a financial interest in their sale. Notices of coming events in the Highlands, or relevant in any way to the Highlands (e.g. Highlanders' get-togethers in Glasgow, London, or anywhere else) are of course welcome." to: "Commercial advertising is not permitted, although recommendations of products are acceptable on the understanding that the poster does not have a financial interest in their sale. Notices of coming events in the Highlands and Islands, or relevant in any way to the Highlands and Islands (e.g. get-togethers in Glasgow, London, or anywhere else) are of course welcome." - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CHARTER: uk.local.scot-highlands NEWSGROUPS LINE: uk.local.scot-highlands Discussions relating to the Scottish Highlands+Islands uk.local.scot-highlands is for the discussion of any topic relating to the Scottish Highlands and Islands. This area is defined broadly to include not only the geographical area under the administration of Comhairle na Gaidhealtachd (the Highland Council), plus the Grampian mountains, but also the Western Isles, the Northern Isles (the Fair Isle, Orkney, and Shetland), the Southwest Highlands (an area which itself includes both areas of the mainland, such as the Kintyre Peninsula, and islands, such as Islay and Jura). 'Islands' may be relatively clear, but 'Highlands' is of course a social term - Inverness is the largest town in the Highlands but its altitude is low - and so the relevant area's boundary is not considered to be definable with great precision. The main languages for posts to this newsgroup are expected to be English and Gaelic. Posts in any language or dialect are welcome, but users who post in a language or dialect that is less widely understood should not be surprised if somebody asks for a translation into a language or dialect that is more widely understood. Commercial advertising is not permitted, although recommendations of products are acceptable on the understanding that the poster does not have a financial interest in their sale. Notices of coming events in the Highlands and Islands, or relevant in any way to the Highlands and Islands (e.g. get-togethers in Glasgow, London, or anywhere else) are of course welcome. Encoded binaries (e.g. pictures, sounds, compressed files, etc.) are forbidden, except for cryptographic (e.g. PGP) signatures. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This vote was conducted by a neutral third party member of UKVoting. UKVoting is a group of independent votetakers who count votes on CFVs in the uk hierarchy. The rules under which this vote is taken are posted regularly to uk.net.news.announce or can be found at the following URL: ftp://src.doc.ic.ac.uk/usenet/news-info/news.answers/uk/voting There is a five day discussion period after these results are posted to uk.net.news.announce. Allegations of irregularity should be sent to control@usenet.org.uk. The UKVoting web pages can be found at: http://www.ukvoting.org.uk/ - -- Alan Ford Votetaker for UKVoting -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6 iQCVAgUBNqJ0/WOfGXkh8vHZAQGPDAP/by/y6O11+SZag+sSeZnki1/4T8wn5WzJ MagGLu1nmGI8MBLOgdjjZ//3uM1aOL0BQtQGb6KuwPQxaC0jYz5K0KGSWzve6/c5 YM3y9pczIm2BTPK6iLC/JWO8y/VargoRwlOqIpfXvwFjQIE1YSUnj+5ySpRHphIC DJHbGUBYnBw= =yHEb -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----