RESULT: sci.techniques.microscopy.scanning-probe fails 99:60

From: Bill Aten (bill_at_netagw.com)
Date: 10/22/04 

Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2004 20:31:55 -0700

                                RESULT
unmoderated group sci.techniques.microscopy.scanning-probe fails 99:60

Voting closed at 23:59:59 UTC, 20 Oct 2004.

This vote was conducted by a neutral third party. Questions about the
proposed group should be directed to the proponent.

Proponent: Jim Logajan <JamesL@Lugoj.com>
Proponent: Thom Borton <borton@phys.ethz.ch>
Proponent: Gordon Vrdoljak <gvrdolja@nature.berkeley.edu>
Votetaker: Bill Aten <bill@netagw.com>

There were 159 valid YES/NO votes submitted during the voting period. Each
proposed newsgroup, in order to pass, must have at least 2/3 YES votes and at
least 100 more YES than NO votes. The results are as follows:

sci.techniques.microscopy.scanning-probe results - 159 valid (YES & NO) votes

 Yes No : 2/3? >100? : Pass? : Group
---- ---- : ---- ----- : ----- : -------------------------------------------
  99 60 : No No : No : sci.techniques.microscopy.scanning-probe
   7 abstaining votes

The proposal failed.

There is a five day discussion period after these results are posted.
Unless serious and significant allegations of voting irregularities are
raised, the proposal may not be voted on again for six months.

The remainder of the RESULT contains:
   Newsgroups Line
   Rationale
   Charter
   Final Voting Acknowledgements
   Forgery Footnote

NEWSGROUPS LINE:
sci.techniques.microscopy.scanning-probe Scanning probe microscopy.

RATIONALE: sci.techniques.microscopy.scanning-probe

The proposed newsgroup should be created because it will provide an
open forum for the discussion of techniques and current research of
scanning probe microscopy. The newsgroup sci.techniques.microscopy
has become a de facto forum for discussion of optical microscopy,
which has little in common with scanning probe microscopy. Currently,
a private mailing list of one SPM vendor has a good amount of
activity, with an active membership of a couple thousand users and an
average of several daily postings. And the field continues to grow,
both in users and vendors.

The group will provide the SPM community a forum that is more publicly
accessible and easier to read (e.g. direct support for threads) than
the privately subscribed mailing list. The advent of feature rich web
searchable archives by entities such as Google Groups is another
advantage of using Usenet over that of a private list. Usenet's
inherently distributed nature makes multiple archives both possible
and likely, while the same is not so easily done with a private
mailing list.

The current mailing list is run by the leading microscope manufacturer
and has provided the scanning probe community a great public service,
for which they must be commended. Postings on issues about systems
from other companies or from the large community of researchers who
built their own microscopes do come up occasionally, yet many more in
the community have not thought of subscribing to the mailing list -
either because they are unaware of it, believe it focuses only on that
manufacturer's equipment, or disagree with its list of banned topics
(such as comparisons or reviews of competitive equipment or relevant
job postings from commercial entities). An unmoderated newsgroup
would attract a much wider audience to share information and would
complement the existing mailing list.

The issue of spam is a concern of many. The amount of spam that such
a group is likely to receive can be estimated by reviewing the Google
Groups archive of the nearest relevant newsgroup,
sci.techniques.microscopy newsgroup:

http://groups.google.com/groups?group=sci.techniques.microscopy

For a sample period of ~April 17, 2004 to ~August 4, 2004 there were
~9 spam messages out of ~412 messages posted. (N.B. Google even
archives spam.) The level at which spam becomes a significant
irritation is a subjective issue, but relative to regular e-mail, a
~2% rate may be considered quite low.

CHARTER: sci.techniques.microscopy.scanning-probe

This group is an open forum for the discussion of techniques, theory,
instrumentation, and research in the use of scanning probe
microscopes. Such technologies include any form of microscopy that
involves the scanning of a probe close to a surface. This includes,
but is not limited to: atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning
tunneling microscopy (STM), magnetic force microscopy (MFM), chemical
force microscopy (CFM), lateral force microscopy (LFM), and near field
scanning optical microscopy (NSOM or SNOM). Postings advertising job
openings directly from the hiring firms (i.e. not recruiters) that
require expertise in SPM techniques, theory, instrumentation, and
research would also be appropriate, provided they are not repeated.
Binaries and postings entirely unrelated to any of the above would not
be appropriate and posters are asked to post them to more appropriate
groups.

END CHARTER.

FINAL VOTING ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

sci.techniques.microscopy.scanning-probe - Final Voter List

NOTE: This is not [to be used as] a mailing list. The email addresses
are provided only to help verify the validity of the interest poll.

Voted YES
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1jeffrey [at] us.ibm.com Jeff McMurray
ale [at] AsylumResearch.com Flavio Alejandro Bonilla
alfredo [at] stromboli.uni.cc Alfredo Stromboli
art [at] stromboli.uni.cc Arturo Stromboli
blakelei [at] hotmail.com Sam Blakelei
borton [at] phys.ethz.ch Thom Borton
bouvin [at] daimi.au.dk Niels Olof Bouvin
bradley_wolfen [at] yahoo.com Bradley Wolfen
bruce [at] AsylumResearch.com Bruce Wallace
ceri [at] submonkey.net Ceri Davies
chonglai_188 [at] hotmail.com Chong Lai
cira [at] stromboli.uni.cc Cira Stromboli
clint [at] AsylumResearch.com Clint Callahan
david [at] AsylumResearch.com David Beck
dc [at] panix.com David W. Crawford
dclark [at] AsylumResearch.com Richard Clark
dfaddis [at] hotmail.com David Faddis
diegodestefani [at] libero.it Diego De Stefani
dricci [at] libero.it DAVIDE FRANCESCO RICCI
dw [at] AsylumResearch.com Deron Walters
e [at] stromboli.uni.cc Elisabetta Stromboli
eduardo401 [at] lycos.com Eduardo Ortega
Ekkehard [at] Uthke.de Ekkehard Uthke
ellis [at] spinics.net Rick Ellis
eugene.tyler [at] howtokillapenguin.com Eugene Tyler
Francis.Mirabella [at] Equistarchem.com Mirabella, Francis M.
frico [at] ub.edu Felix Rico
g [at] stromboli.uni.cc Giorgio Stromboli
gaspar_esperanza_781 [at] hotmail.com Gaspar Esperanza
gcc [at] couger.com Gordon Couger
gina [at] stromboli.uni.cc Gina Stromboli
goran [at] anl.gov Goran Karapetrov
gth [at] mpch-mainz.mpg.de Guenter Helas
gussauros [at] fastimap.com Gus Sauros
gvrdolja [at] nature.Berkeley.EDU Gordon Vrdoljak
hantschel [at] hotmail.com Thomas Hantschel
harder [at] ifa.au.dk Jesper Harder
hipps [at] wsu.edu K W Hipps
hugo [at] stromboli.uni.cc Hugo Stromboli
iacob [at] itc.it iacob
icw6okl02 [at] sneakemail.com David Harmon
irene [at] AsylumResearch.com irene revenko
isabel.madeira [at] temenos.net Isabel Madeira
jbemis [at] AsylumResearch.com Jason Bemis
jeffrey.an [at] gmail.com AN Jin
jhausch [at] zedat.fu-berlin.de Jens Hauschild
jim [at] iwl.com Jim Logajan
jns [at] ipa.fraunhofer.de Jens Schoebel
joe [at] jolomo.net Joe Morris
joel.pikarsky [at] mirc.gatech.edu Joel Pikarsky
joey [at] stromboli.uni.cc Joey Stromboli
johan.benesch [at] dep.uminho.pt Johan Benesch
jtd [at] wsu.edu Tom Dickinson
K.-O.Voss [at] gsi.de Kay-Obbe Voss
kappl [at] mpip-mainz.mpg.de Michael Kappl
keith [at] AsylumResearch.com Keith M. Jones
Laurent.Kreplak [at] unibas.ch Laurent Kreplak
leo [at] stromboli.uni.cc Leo Stromboli
lowe [at] nanotechsys.com Jeff Lowe
lyf [at] lamar.colostate.edu lu yunfeng
marco.salerno [at] unile.it Marco Salerno
mario [at] AsylumResearch.com Mario B. Viani
mason.g [at] uku.co.uk Graham L. Mason
mason.t [at] uku.co.uk Tia C. Mason
mbeaudoin [at] scintrextrace.com Marcel Beaudoin
microbill [at] mohawk.net Bill Miller
mike [at] polyinsight.com Michael Mallamaci
minis [at] europe.com Mindaugas Rackaitis
mlynch [at] bioforcenano.com Michael Lynch
montch [at] aracnet.com Matthew Montchalin
mounce [at] u.washington.edu Doug Mounce
n.tomczak [at] ct.utwente.nl Nikodem Tomczak
olivia [at] stromboli.uni.cc Olivia Stromboli
Owen.Gallagher [at] caleb-brett.com Owen Gallagher
paco.madeira [at] temenos.net Paco Madeira
pan [at] syix.com Pan
pattist [at] earthlink.net Barbara Pattist
petereaton [at] hotmail.com Peter Eaton
Polarhound [at] comcast.net Polarhound
pope [at] AsylumResearch.com Paul Costales
psmyth [at] gmx.net Peter Smyth
rafa.fernandez [at] nanotec.es Rafael Fernandez
rlapshin [at] yahoo.com Rostislav Lapshin
rlartius [at] novascan.com Raj Lartius
robert.mcclenon [at] verizon.net Robert McClenon
roger [at] AsylumResearch.com Roger Proksch
rosa [at] stromboli.uni.cc Rosa Stromboli
rworkman2 [at] earthlink.net Richard Workman
terry [at] AsylumResearch.com Terry Mehr
testsolutions [at] bellsouth.net Phil Wolf
tk [at] csail.mit.edu Tom Knight
today [at] AsylumResearch.com Todd Day
tony_cit [at] yahoo.com Anthony Grant
ulci [at] ktu.lt ARTURAS ULCINAS
unertl [at] maine.edu WN Unertl
uwe.mick [at] uni-duesseldorf.de Uwe Mick
vpdura [at] hiwaay.net Victor P Dura
walter.botte [at] surfy.net Walter Botte
youhg [at] email.uc.edu Hong You

Voted NO
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a_69_1 [at] hotmail.com Arlene Balken
b-ohler [at] cox.net Ben Ohler
bad-ninja [at] taekwondo.co.nz Leon Marshall
biology-student [at] hubbardcollege.com Trevor Gisselle
bloodyscott [at] uku.co.uk Scott Keller
brit [at] findusin.co.uk Brittany Blaire
bruno [at] stromboli.uni.cc Bruno Stromboli
burns [at] computhouse.com Neville Burns
chadkelvin [at] lycos.com Chad Kelvin
crocodile-dundee [at] ausi.com Edmund Drake
dodcopman [at] myway.com Brian Tetwiler
dohlberry [at] reiki.nu John Dohlberry
donna [at] ezc.info Donna Beavie
elshaw [at] MIT.EDU Elisabeth Shaw
emmaclemence [at] canada.com Emma Clemence
enrico [at] stromboli.uni.cc Enrico Stromboli
enzo [at] stromboli.uni.cc Enzo Stromboli Senior
flubber_blubber [at] hotmail.com Jim Cohn
francrooke [at] netscape.net Fran Crooke
frankie [at] stromboli.uni.cc Frankie Stromboli
hans.sluzeb [at] atlas.cz Hans Sluzeb
harry.jaques [at] aggressive.com Harry Jaques
myrnacarson@abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijk.com
                                                                  Myrna Carson
jabbar69 [at] linuxmail.org Madison Jabbar
jada [at] stromboli.uni.cc Jada Stromboli
janisleary [at] yahoo.com Janis Leary
jesp [at] hotvoice.com Eugenio Sanchez
junior [at] stromboli.uni.cc Enzo Stromboli Junior
kenadambeyer [at] hotmail.com Ken Adam Beyer
leefong493 [at] hotmail.com Lee Fong
lino [at] stromboli.uni.cc Lino Stromboli
marco [at] stromboli.uni.cc Marco Stromboli
mario [at] stromboli.uni.cc Mario Stromboli
mauro [at] stromboli.uni.cc Mauro Stromboli
melinda [at] mail2cute.com melinda colton
Mickey.Huson [at] csiro.au Mickey Huson
miyako.natsumi [at] simarchitect.com Miyako Natsumi
mona [at] stromboli.uni.cc Mona Stromboli
nisakikawawi [at] norika-fujiwara.com Nisaki Kawawi
normandine [at] uku.co.uk Della Normandine
ortiz.eva [at] hispaniconline.com Eva Ortiz
quincy.fuscienne [at] australia.edu Quincy Fuscienne
r.davids [at] nudecrawler.com Romeo Davids
rick [at] bcm.tmc.edu Richard Miller
rob [at] stromboli.uni.cc Roberto Stromboli
roger.yari [at] ujamaapoets.com Roger Yari
rosario [at] stromboli.uni.cc Rosario Stromboli
santa [at] stromboli.uni.cc Santa Stromboli
serpent [at] mail2beast.com Bard Roman
speedyjoey [at] the-quickest.com Joseph Kaleigh
spidermen [at] lionrampant.co.uk Zeke Featherman
stainles [at] realtime.net Dwight Brown
stovelli.michael [at] swatvalley.com Michael Stovelli
terese.beliard [at] graffiti.net terese beliard
thor [at] anta.net Thor Kottelin
thurmand31 [at] excite.com Dana Thurman
trumpeteer [at] uku.co.uk Jeff Nesmondi
vincenzo [at] stromboli.uni.cc Vincenzo Stromboli
xavier [at] mail2Oceanographer.com Xavier Monaco
xballer [at] ballerstatus.net Dom Reinoso

Voted ABSTAIN
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
fungus [at] OCF.Berkeley.EDU Hank Fung
jpmcw [at] comcast.net John McWilliams
michal [at] rosa.id.au Michal Rosa
sean.monaghan [at] scenta.co.uk Sean Monaghan
tony [at] stromboli.uni.cc Tony Stromboli
van.ette [at] inter.nl.net Robert-Jan van Ette
wigger [at] phatpimpclothing.com Phoenix Skyler

FORGERY FOOTNOTE:

A total of 71 ballots were received over a several day period which were
obvious forgeries. These votes have been invalidated. "Ballot Received"
acknowledgements were automatically sent to the "sender" of each forged
ballot, but no "Vote Acknowledged" email messages were sent because none of
these ballots were ever processed and counted. The forged email addresses
and user names are not included in this report. 

-- 
Bill Aten, UVV <bill@netagw.com>