Is there a Battlebots newsgroup yet?

In article , Stan wrote:

I guess we could try to start one: alt.tv.battlebots?

In article , Stan wrote:

Yes. Lemme look...

The following is directed toward anyone who is interested in tackling this task:

You'd be better off selecting a slightly less specific name. I suggest: alt.tv.robot-fighting or alt.robots.fighting

This would include discussion of "Battlebots," "Robot Wars," "Robotica" and any similar competitions that happen to arise.

Before you start any newsgroup, please discuss it thoroughly at alt.config. It will be your responsibility to substantiate the demand for your proposed group, in addition to establishing a suitable charter. If you fail in either regard, your newsgroup isn't likely to achieve adequate propagation.

If you are not yet familiar with the standard proposal process, it's advisable to lurk in alt.config for at least a few weeks. Be forewarned that many of the regulars are extremely strict, and some are rude and impatient. If you aren't prepared to deal with often harsh (though well-meaning) criticisms, while devoting a great deal of time and effort to your cause, it would be preferable to find an experienced newsgroup proponent to act on your behalf.

I recommend that you also avail yourself of the following information:

http://www.faqs.org/usenet/alt/ http://www.gweep.bc.ca/~edmonds/usenet/good-newgroup.html http://nylon.net/alt/newgroup.htm http://www.visi.com/~barr/alt-creation-guide.html

In the meantime, both alt.robots and alt.robotwars exist. Neither is particularly active, but you may be able to convince fellow fans to hold relevant discussions in one or both of these forums. This could increase the likelihood of attaining sufficient activity to justify a new newsgroup. Failing that, at least you would have a reasonable USENET alternative.

Good luck!

David Levy

In article , David Levy wrote:

We already use the existing Robot Wars group (news:uk.media.tv.robot-wars), but its people really prefer to talk about their own show. The news:comp.robotics.misc group is really populated by people who are more academic and less "popular" than the TV-show "bots". They want to create autonomous robots rather than tele-operated devices.

I've downloaded the appropriate FAQs from alt.config, and am taking my own sweet time at proceeding. I expect that a BattleBots-specific newsgroup would be fairly low traffic, actually.

The most recent thing I've done is the suggested search on Google for any mention of BattleBots, and I found a proposal from a few years ago for an alt.battlebots group. I've e-mailed the person responsible, and the message has not yet bounced. I'm trying to find out how his idea ended up, even though it looks to have failed.

This may be because the UK show has a uk.* newsgroup, and the people like to use that. It tends to get some traffic on a day-to-day basis.

Thank you.

In article , Howard S Shubs wrote:

BTW, I've added to a month old thread in news:rec.arts.tv about BattleBots, and there are people contributing to it again. If there's enough traffic, it might be worth a newsgroup in rec.arts.tv.*, huh? <grin>

Howard S Shubs wrote:

The inclusion of all robotic competitions certainly would generate a greater likelihood of sufficient justification. An American "Robot Wars" series (entitled "Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors") is scheduled to debut on August 20th on the TNN cable channel. It will be hosted by professional wrestler Mick Foley, and will serve as the lead-in to the highly rated World Wrestling Federation programming, so it promises to be fairly popular.

Interestingly enough, Viacom (the parent corporation of TNN) also owns half of Comedy Central.

John Patrick appears to have rushed into the project. He skipped the discussion phase, (immediately sending an improperly formatted control message) failed to provide any information regarding USENET traffic and attempted to create an unnecessary second level hierarchy.

He meant well, but apparently didn't understand the appropriate process.

After August 20th, some off-topic "Robot Wars" discussions will probably be posted within the professional wrestling newsgroups. Those are legitimately applicable toward your count.

I'm afraid not. :)

David Levy

In article , David Levy wrote:

Why not? That'd be more difficult, but the propogation...!

I will not go to wrestling newsgroups. If the discussion is in there, I'll pass.

Howard S Shubs wrote:

A majority vote is required to create a newsgroup anywhere within the rec.* hierarchy. More significantly, rec.arts.tv has almost never been split. Even enormously popular genres (such as reality programming as a whole) have failed to attain dedicated rec.arts.tv subgroups. Without overwhelming demand from substantial segments of both rec.arts.tv and the general USENET community, overcoming this hurdle is not a realistic possibility.

Nor will I, my friend! :)

You don't actually have to enter the forums. The extra results will appear if someone performs a Google Groups search for the quoted phrase "robot wars." This data can be factored into the final count, which generally must total an average of at least ten posts per day over a period of thirty days or more.

David Levy

In article , David Levy wrote:

The bare facts, I knew. What I didn't know was that it'd be THAT tough. Oh well.

Okay, I see what you mean. Good idea.