The Group's Charter wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
A newsgroup's charter is it's basic statement of purpose.
The charter for alt.drinks.scotch-whisky was posted to the newsgroup by Mr_Grimm ( snipped-for-privacy@dave-world.net) on June 17, 1998 as part of the rough draft of the FAQ, and reposted by Johanna ( snipped-for-privacy@magma.ca) in 2001. Other posts of the charter have occurred.
This is from Johanna's repost.
This is the charter for alt.drinks.scotch-whisky:
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From: Johanna ( snipped-for-privacy@magma.ca) Subject: Newsgroup Charter Newsgroups: alt.drinks.scotch-whisky Date: 2001-05-08 20:06:02 PST
[Note: I have snipped a paragraph of conversation relevant to the topics of May 2001 - Bart]The Charter:
This unmoderated newsgroup is intended for the non-commercial discussion of blended and single malt Scotch whisky. The acceptable topics of discussion include but not limited to Tasting Notes; fermentation, distillation and aging techniques in use at different distilleries; Blended vs Single Malt; current single/single and cask strength offerings and their location; Merchant bottling vs distillery; food, cigars and activities that complement Scotch whisky and events pertaining to Scotch whisky.
This newsgroup is for the discussion of Scotch whisky with the intent of increasing the level of knowledge we have about the most distictive beverage on this planet. The greater our knowledge of Scotch whisky the more we can appreciate it and the efforts of those who produce it.
Welcome. Share your knowledge and pleasent experiances over a wee dram of the water of life.
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Notice that while discussions of food, cigars or even "activities" are officially On Topic - as long as they are those "that complement Scotch whisky" - discussions of other whiskies (i.e.... Irish Whiskey, Canadian Whisky, and Bourbon and American Whiskey) are not. Nevertheless, from the inception of the newsgroup occasional discussions of Irish and Canadian whiskies were common. Discussion of American whiskeys also occurred but with less frequency.
Whether such discussions should be allowed was an early issue, although unlike many groups on USENET, issues have arisen in the most polite manner in this group. A consensus seemed to form that while Off-Topic strictly speaking, unless such discussions overtook the discussion of scotch whisky there was no need to invoke any rules against them or request users to refrain. If they did become a large percentage of the traffic volume in the group then perhaps new newsgroups should spin off. As far as I know this never happened. There was a newsgroup (no longer active I believe) devoted to Irish Whiskey but I believe it arose independently of this group. And these discussions of other whiskies have added another interesting view on the world of whisky.
Mr_Grimm's take on it was as follows:
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From: Mr_Grimm ( snipped-for-privacy@dave-world.net) Subject: Re: Orig>
Brian,
I started playing with the idea of a Scotch newsgroup about 6 months ago as well. Great minds and all that. :) I spent a couple months researching the process, then a couple months gathering readership statistics, then I proposed the group about three weeks ago after bouncing the idea off of some others.
I really have no problem with people discussing other single malts. I probably won't be involved in them, but that is certainly no reason to object. As I see it currently, traffic is low enough that non-Scotch malts wouldn't be a problem. In the future that may change...more non-scotch traffic than Scotch or something. Of course that could be remedied with the creation of a sister/parallel newsgroup, yes?
Pretty much, I don't care what gets discussed as long as it has some tangential reference to Scotch.
Mr_Grimm
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Cigars and tobacco caused another dispute to arise, which was more philosphic than organizational. Some people enjoyed smoking a cigar as an adjunct to enjoying a whisky, while others argued that smoking diminished one's ability to taste, and therefore enjoy a whisky. Smoking also brings out strong feelings in its devotees and critics, and while the conversation was never abusive feelings could get hurt, and people did get defensive. Most would allow that one should enjoy whisky however one enjoys it (and, unlike in a bar or restaurant, on the web second-hand smoke was never an issue), but it is no surprise that no consensus was reached between smokers and non-smokers as to whether smoking enhances or diminishes perceptions of flavor and aroma, before the whole issue just dried up and blew away along with the "cigar craze" of the 1990's.
One issue is explicitly excluded in the charter: commercial discussions of whisky. A broad category that was never defined more specifically in conversation in the newsgroup, probably intended to limit advertising by merchants, but would also include discussions about the sale of whiskies. At times there have been strong sentiments expressed that whisky is for drinking, not collecting or investing. But information about corporate affairs such as which distilleries are opening and closing, information and remarks about high prices paid at auction or charged for rare and expensive whiskies, the price and availability of various whiskies in various locales, and discussions about online ordering of whiskies have been constant fodder for conversation.
Offers to sell your whiskies to the members of the newsgroup or notices of whiskies you have for sale are not encouraged and would certainly be within the "commercial discussions" the charter excludes. Nevertheless, such postings have never been common enough to arouse much animosity.
Another "commercial" topic is so common that it would have to be included in a true list of Frequently Asked Questions. That would be, "I have found an old bottle of (insert whisky name). How much is it worth?" Usually the poster is not a regular participant in the conversation, and perhaps has no personal interest in whisky. They've come into something they know is old or rare, and they're appealing to "the experts" for some guidance. Some answers, by no means complete, to this common query
...will be collated and given later.
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[Note: It's a work-in-progress. I haven't assembled the responses to that question yet]