RFD: rec.music.tori-amos (forwarded from news.announce.newgroups)

[yoda@soda.berkeley.edu (Sean "Yoda" Rouse)]

This is a posting I found on news.announce.newgroups.  I have received the
permission of the original poster, John M. Grohol <grohol@alpha.acast.nova.edu>
to post it here.  Please note the "Followup-To:" line.

--Sean <yoda@soda.berkeley.edu>

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

...............................................................
   The First Request For Discussion (RFD) on the Creation of
...................  REC.MUSIC.TORI-AMOS ......................
 
Note: Discussion on this RFD should occur on "news.groups"
 
Introduction
------------
     Tori Amos is a singer/songwriter who has been on the 
"alternative" music scene for the past couple of years. 
It has only been recently, though, that she has gained worldwide 
attention with her first major-label solo album, Little Earthquakes,
released in 1991 (Atlantic, 7 82358-2). Since then, she has released
numerous singles and another album, "Under the Pink."

     Few singer/songwriters exist today that capture the raw emotion in
both the studio and especially in live performances as does Ms. Amos.
It is perhaps because she writes and sings about emotion-laden topics
(such as being sexually abused) that she has gained such attention.
Or perhaps it is because of the near-religious silence that is
the norm for her audiences during her live performances, as she sits
in front of a piano singing her lyrics. Whatever the reason, 
Tori Amos has become a popular singer and enjoys a loyal and large
following throughout the world.

Rationale
---------
    Fans of the female singer, Tori Amos, have enjoyed their own
mailing list for over the past 3 years (rdt@gradient.cis.upenn.edu)
(rdt stands for Really Deep Thoughts, a lyric from a song of hers
and the name of her fan magazine). In that time, the list 
has grown to include 974 subscribers and averages anywhere
>from  30k to 60k of messages per day of messages in digest form. Once
this digest was always one part; now it's always a two-parter, and
sometimes three parts of 20-30k each. In digest form, this 
discussion on Tori Amos is difficult and time-consuming to read
and no longer is an efficient way to carry on discussion of
Tori Amos. Average digests have approximately 800 messages/month,
or about 27 messages/day.

    No gateway between the mailing list and the proposed newsgroup 
is included in this proposal because of the resources needed and,
more importantly, because the mailing list's digests are already
too large. Adding every post posted to a mainstream Usenet newsgroup
to the digest would make it virtually unreadable and increase
the trafffic on the mailing list anywhere from a minimum of
100% to 500%. Past evidence also suggests that this might not be
very successful.

    The name, rec.music.tori-amos is preferred over the more obscure
rec.music.rdt because the guidelines suggest names that are clear
and easy to find in relation to the subject matter which is discussed
in the newsgroup. While at least one other mailing list cum newsgroup
decided to keep it's cryptic mailing-list name, rdt relays very little
information except to "in" fans of Tori Amos. As a newsgroup, we'd
like to attract all fans, especially those who might not recognize
the newsgroup's name otherwise.

    This serves as the formal Request For Discussion (RFD)
on the creation of rec.music.tori-amos.

 
Proposed Charter
----------------
Name:  rec.music.tori-amos (unmoderated)
 
Description:  Discussion of the female singer/songwriter Tori Amos.
 
Charter:  
    
    This newsgroup is for the discussion of the female
singer/songwriter, Tori Amos, and her works. Topics for discussion
can range from her latest album, cover songs she has performed,
recent live performances, B-sides, her personal life,
upcoming concert dates and information, interviews with Ms. Amos,
rare albums and any non-commercial Tori Amos-related items
for sale by private individuals. Flames and non-Tori Amos 
related topics would not be appropriate subjects for this newsgroup.

 
Notes on this Request For Discussion (RFD)
------------------------------------------
This RFD is being posted on July 27, 1994 to the following newsgroups:
               news.groups
               news.announce.newgroups
               alt.music.alternative
               alt.music.alternative.female
   [ and later rec.music.gaffa ]
 
and the Tori Amos mailing list:
               rdt@gradient.cis.upenn.edu

and may be freely distributed to any other groups or mailing lists
where it might be of relevance. Please leave the Followup-To:
header intact. Persons not able to communicate or post directly
to Usenet may mail their comments or questions to:
             grohol@alpha.acast.nova.edu
 
  **  All pertinent disucssion relating to this RFD    **
  **  should take place on news.groups, hence          **
  **  follow-ups have been directed there. I strongly  **
  **  urge readers to limit their discussion on this   **
  **  RFD to news.groups, as is the recognized         **
  **  convention.                                      **
 

Call For Votes (CFV)
--------------------
The CFV is expected to be posted in approximately 30 days,
           on or around July 27, 1994.
The CFV is expected to be conducted by an independent vote-taker,
arranged through Ron "Asbestos" Dippold (rdippold@qualcomm.com).
The CFV will be sent out to the same newsgroups (listed above)
and mailing list (rdt@gradient.cis.upenn.edu)
as the RFD was sent to. Details on voting will be posted in the CFV.
 
-jmg