• RfD: Rationalization of talk.*

    From =?UTF-8?Q?Julien_=C3=89LIE?=@iulius@nom-de-mon-site.com.invalid to news.groups.proposals on Wed Jan 7 20:59:05 2026
    From Newsgroup: news.groups.proposals

    Hi all,

    A second discussion with the example of the talk.* hierarchy. It clearly shows a different use than what we are accustomed to here in news.*, so it could lead to an interesting discussion about a possible rationalization.
    (I guess that humanities.*, misc.* and soc.* will have similarities with talk.* current usage, and that comp.* will rather look like news.*; rec.* and sci.* a mix of them.)

    I would propose to keep the following newsgroups which are still relevant and/or active:

    talk.abortion All sorts of discussions and arguments on abortion. talk.atheism Debate about the validity and nature of atheism. talk.bizarre The unusual, bizarre, curious, and often interesting. talk.environment Discussion the state of the environment & what to do. talk.euthanasia All aspects of euthanasia.
    talk.origins Evolution versus creationism (sometimes hot!). (Moderated)
    talk.philosophy.humanism Humanism in the modern world. talk.philosophy.misc Philosophical musings on all topics. talk.politics.animals The use and/or abuse of animals.
    talk.politics.crypto The relation between cryptography and government. talk.politics.drugs The politics of drug issues. talk.politics.european-union The EU and political integration in Europe. talk.politics.guns The politics of firearm ownership and (mis)use. talk.politics.medicine The politics and ethics involved with health care. talk.politics.mideast Discussion & debate over Middle Eastern events. talk.politics.misc Political discussions and ravings of all kinds. talk.politics.soviet Discussion of Soviet politics, domestic and foreign. talk.politics.theory Theory of politics and political systems.

    The rationale is that they are still used for discussions between several people.



    And we could discuss the removal of:

    talk.answers Repository for periodic USENET articles. (Moderated) talk.politics.china Discussion of political issues related to China. talk.politics.libertarian Libertarian politics & political philosophy. talk.politics.tibet The politics of Tibet and the Tibetan people.
    talk.rape Discussions on stopping rape; not to be crossposted. talk.religion.bahai Discussion of the Baha'i Faith.
    talk.religion.buddhism All aspects of Buddhism as religion and philosophy. talk.religion.course-miracle A Course in Miracles.
    talk.religion.misc Religious, ethical, & moral implications. talk.religion.newage Esoteric and minority religions & philosophies. talk.religion.pantheism Pantheism in general.
    talk.rumors For the posting of rumors.
    talk.us.rhode-island Issues related to the State of Rhode Island, USA.

    They are either spammed (like talk.politics.china), empty (like talk.answers), links to various articles without actual discussion (like talk.ripe) or only the place for monologs (at least the other newsgroups in talk.* have a semblance of discussion).

    Even the only poster in talk.religion.course-miracle asked in March 2025 whether someone else was still reading this newsgroups, without any answer (<vq36u8$12bu9$1@dont-email.me>).


    Any thoughts about that proposal?
    --
    Julien |eLIE

    -2-aLa raison du plus fou est toujours la meilleure.-a-+ (Raymond Devos)

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