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.