Dear friends in Bitnet-land, I am looking for a Listserv provider that
might help us on a no-fee basis to establish a mailing list on SOC2000-L.
I already have about 30 supporters lined up for a list that would discuss
the folkore, festivities and future of the year 2000. Our aim would be to
help develop a public philosophy on the advent of the third millennium
(1999 - 2001).
I have an RFD, and a FAQ drafted, but am looking for a Listserv volunteer
that might help us establish a mailing list first, as a basis upon which
a newsgroup later could be created. I have checked around with various
list administrators, locally, and on a corporate mailing list of
administrators, but no volunteers yet. Would you have an interest in
this? Upon announcing the list, I believe we would quickly grow to 200
within a month. In my list of 30 are many authors, professors, and
leaders of non-profit groups focusing on the turn of the millennium.
Enclosed is part of our RFD (not yet posted). I look forward to hearing
from you.
Jay Gary (719) 636-2000 Phone
P.O. Box 1777 E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Colorado Spgs, CO 80901
- - - -
REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD)
Group Name: soc.culture.2000
Summary: The year 2000: its folklore, festivities and future
Status: moderated
Proponent: Jay Gary <[log in to unmask]>
Distribution: world
Gateways: to a mailing list
RFD posted to: news.announce.newgroups, news.groups, alt.history.future,
bit.listserv.catholic, comp.society.futures,
rec.arts.sf.announce, talk.religion.misc.
Followup: post discussion on this RFD only to news.groups under
thread "RFD- soc.culture.2000"
NOTE: This is not a Call for Votes. Do not try to vote now.
Followups set to news.groups; please honor. See the
"Procedure" section, below, for details.
This is a formal Request For Discussion on the creation of a moderated
newsgroup about the year 2000. This RFD has been posted in accordance
with the Guidelines for Newsgroup Creation.
CHARTER:
soc.culture.2000 will serve as a forum for all aspects of the year 2000,
including discussion on its folklore, festivities and future. The
intended audience would include trivia buffs, futurists, visionaries,
historians, community organizers, adult educators, grandparents,
festival planners, people from the arts, special event professionals,
corporate leaders, church leaders, civic leaders, non-profit leaders--
anyone who would like to meaningfully commemorate the advent of the
third millennium. The proposed group will be a place where people can
exchange ideas, announce events, post questions and carry on discussions
about the various millennial celebrations from 1999 to 2001 and their
legacy to civilization.
Specific topics might include, but not be limited to:
- The cultural history of the year 2000, proposed by Isaac Newton,
Michel Nostradamus, Edward Bellamy, Arthur C. Clarke, Daniel Bell, Hal
Lindsey, Pope John Paul II, Margaret Mead, etc.
- The millennial culture of advertisers, peace-makers, cosmic party
planners, cyberpunks, prophets, visionaries, doomsayers, conspiracy
hunters, survivalists, world-savers, and global evangelists.
- Discussion of core concepts from bimillennial books such as
Megatrends 2000, Century's End, The Millennium Book, The Anniversary
Attraction, Celebrations--the Cult of Anniversaries, Reinventing the
Future, Our Globe and How to Reach It, Global 2000 Revisited, The Star
of 2000, Framework for Preparation for the Year 2000, Tertio Millenio
Adveniente, etc.
- Lessons from previous mega-anniversaries such as the Canadian
Centennial of '67, the American Bicentennial in '76, the French
Bicentennial of '89, the Columbian Quincentennial in '92, the UN 50th
Jubilee in '95, etc.
- The affirmation vs. the negation of the Gregorian calendar, including
its religious and civic cultures, cosmologies, chronologies,
eschatologies.
- The nomination of "Top Ten" lists of great ideas, great people or
great achievements happening since the birth of Christ, in this past
millennium or in this century--which are worth of bimillennial
tributes.
- The discussion of novels on the advent of the third millennium, such
as Colleen McCullough's _Creed for the Third Millennium_, or Robert
Muller's _First Lady of the World_, or the many science fiction tomes on
the year 2000.
- Proposals for congresses, spectaculars, performances or reunions
falling in the years 1999 to 2001 which aim to commemorate New Year's
Eve 1999, Rome 2000, Olympics 2000, Earth Day 2000, Expo 2000, United
Nations 2000, Christmas 2000 and New Millennium's Eve 2000 and New
Millennium's Day 2001.
- Discussion of various year 2000 organizations, such as the AD 2000
Movement, Celebration 2000, The Millennium Society, The Millennium
Institute, Project Global 2000, Toronto 2000, WAYSEE 2000, World 2000,
etc.
- Requests for research help with academic papers on the year 2000 in
various social science disciplines, such as: "The Role of Celebration in
Society," "The Five A.D. 2000 Mega-Images," "The Age of Anniversaries,"
"The History of Bimillennial Consciousness, 1965-1995," etc.
- Reflection on the proposals, plans, strategies and visions that seek
to give meaning to the start of the third millennium.
RATIONALE:
The advent of the third millennium will likely leave enormous
psychological changes, particularly in western cultures which adhere to
the Gregorian calendar. Already the year 2000 has been absolutized,
trivialized and commercialized-- but not yet internalized. For the first
time in history, the entire world will celebrate the turn of the
millennium together. The question is not whether we will celebrate the
year 2000, but rather, "How can these bimillennial celebrations truly
leave a legacy for civilization that will endure the test of time?" This
forum will serve as a place to exchange ideas on how the bimillennial
era (1996-2001) can be meaningful and universal.
At present, the topic of the year 2000 has not come under the sustained
scrutiny of any newsgroup. This is not to say that many excellent and
occasional threads on 2000 have appeared in dozens of newsgroups.
Comp.society.futures looks at technology in the future, but on behalf of
computer professionals and hobbyists. A dedicated newsgroup on the year
2000 would attract a broader readership, but take a more specific
approach to how the arrival of the third millennium should be recognized
and commemorated.
The significance of the year 2000 has been discussed at times by various
religious newsgroups. A newsgroup on 2000 would need insightful
religious contributions, particularly on the implications of Anno Domini
2000 or other chronologies, but the issues should be framed in the
language of the public square, such that everyone can participate.
In addition to newsgroups, various mailing lists such as FUTUREC, MILLEN-L
or WORLD-L have discussed different aspects of the new millennium. At
present, however, there is no place where substantial ongoing
conversations are occuring on the year 2000.
All this evidence indicates that some readers from these above mentioned
sources would participate in a dedicated newsgroup on the year 2000. A
newsgroup of this nature on the year 2000 would fit well under the
"soc." hierarchy, given that it would discuss the year 2000 as a social
phenomena in the context of different world cultures.
MODERATOR:
This group will be moderated to limit inappropriate traffic and focus the
discussion on the topic at hand--the year 2000. The moderator of the group
will be Jay Gary ([log in to unmask]). He is the author of two books on the
year 2000, and has been a voice among various year 2000 groups. His duties
as moderator of this newsgroup will be to uphold the charter, and screen
articles that do not conform to it.
MAILING LIST GATEWAY
It is our intention that the group will be gated to a mailing list for
those who do not have access to Usenet. The gate is expected to be two-
way, so that messages posted on either side will also appear on the
other side. Also plans for an anonymous FTP site are in the making, in
order to archive monthly digests of the forum.
|
