Charter of soc.culture.scottish

Charter

The soc.culture.scottish newsgroup will be open to discussion of all subjects specifically referring to Scotland or Scottish culture. This newsgroup will be created for reasons including, but not restricted to, the following:

* To encourage understanding and discussion of Scotland and Scottish culture, in the many ways people wish to define it.

* To act as a focus for the Scottish Diaspora (Scottish people, including emigrants and their descendants) and to draw together the global threads of the Scottish nation.

* To act as a resource for Scottish people who wish to use the Internet and for people who wish to encourage the development of the Internet in Scotland.

* To provide a forum for the use and support of the Scots and Scots Gaelic languages and the Norse influenced dialects of Orkney and Shetland.

The following exceptions should be noted:

* Matters referring to broader British issues should be posted to soc.culture.british

* Matters referring to the broader Celtic issues should be posted to soc.culture.celtic.

* Matters referring to Scottish Celtic folk music may have a more appropriate forum in rec.music.celtic.

Rationale

Millions of people worldwide are of Scottish descent, and there is sufficient demand for a forum to discuss specifically Scottish topics. Many new Usenet users are at a loss when they fail to find a group with Scottish or Scotland in the title. This group's name will act as a signpost for these people.

Previously, many people have used either soc.culture.british or soc.culture.celtic, but this situation is increasingly difficult. As the Scots are a small minority amongst the British peoples, many who would post and/or read articles on uniquely Scottish topics in the soc.culture.british newsgroup are inhibited from doing so by the overwhelming number of non-Scottish posts to that group. The group soc.culture.celtic also tends to be dominated by posts about Ireland which are not related to Celtic matters and are not of interest to the group's traditional readers. The soc.culture.celtic newsgroup is also not particularly suitable for discussing Scottish issues as a great many Scots do not view themselves as Celts.

The Scottish culture is unique. The Scots are a British people who have been influenced by a number of different cultures. The main cultural influence has been an Anglo-Saxon one similar but distinct from that of England. The Gaelic culture of the Highlands is indeed a part of the wider Celtic culture. The culture of Orkney and Shetland has been deeply influenced by Scandinavia. This unique fusion of diverse cultures means that there is currently no newsgroup that can serve as a forum for all Scottish people to discuss uniquely Scottish issues.

The motivation for the creation of a soc.culture.scottish newsgroup is not separatist. The new newsgroup will serve the distinct needs of the Scottish people in the same way as say the existing soc.culture.quebec and soc.culture.berber newsgroups serve the distinct needs of the Quebec and Berber peoples.

Charter authors: Brian Atkins, John Mack, Craig Cockburn.

Control and Summary

One line summary

The newsgroup line for soc.culture.scottish is:
"Anything regarding Scotland or things Scots."

Control Messages

ftp://ftp.uu.net/usenet/control/soc/soc.culture.scottish

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