In message , Philip Eden
writes
Not quite a birthday, but today marks the 10th anniversary of
this newsgroup's conception when I submitted a "request for
discussion" and the proposed newsgroup charter to usenet
uk-hierarchy admin. This was the culmination of several weeks
of toying with the idea, discovering how it was done, talking
to the people who had set up other newsgroups, and so on.
Had I known how much aggro that creation process would
bring, I would never have started!

I hope that you will excuse me if I become ever-so-slightly
proprietorial ... it is, after all, the first time in ten years.

Firstly I need to acknowledge the half-dozen or so who
readily and enthusiastically lobbied for the fast-track
(oxymoron, that ... it took six weeks!) creation of the newsgroup.
And the biggest bouquets go, of course, to Martin for creating
and maintaining the FAQ pages so effectively.

It's funny to recall that, way back in 1996, I feared that the group
might be a damp squib. There were days in the first few months
when no-one posted at all, and six posts in 24 hours was
regarded as busy.

The Met Office quickly discouraged its employees from
contributing, although I was never quite sure whether that was
because the newsgroup was created by that evil Philip Eden
and therefore must be inherently evil itself, or just because
they simply feared the freedom it provided. Whichever, they
still actively discourage involvement, which I think says more
about them than it does about us. And more power to the
dozens of MO folk who do post here but still feel the need
to do so anonymously. Exeter, evidently, is still a Warsaw Pact
country.

But I wonder if I am alone in thinking that uk.sci.weather's
best days are behind us. People come and people go, but we
have lost many regulars in the last 2 or 3 years, and several of
them have let me know the reason for their departure. I almost
followed the same route last year for the same reason. Others
prefer to use their kill-files.

It is not the village idiots who irritate, it is the pub bores.
Just one or two ... ego-trippers, grandstanders, self-obsessed,
self-justifying, verbally incontinent, and like most pub bores
they probably won't even recognise themselves from this
description. That they might be widely kill-filed would
astonish them.

This might, therefore, be a good opportunity for everyone to
re-read the newsgroup's charter. It is absolutely not a list of rules
which must be obeyed; rather, it is a set of guidelines whose
objective is the happy continuance of this newsgroup:

quote
This group is essentially for the discussion of daily weather
events, chiefly affecting the UK and adjacent parts of Europe,
both past and predicted. The discussion is open to all, but
contributions on a practical scientific level are encouraged.
It may also contain postings of observations during
interesting weather episodes. The group is expected to be
patronised by both amateurs and professionals (including
academics), but it is primarily for weather enthusiasts rather
than research scientists. Any discussion of climate issues
should be from a scientific standpoint and not a political
(environmental-activist) one.
unquote

By all means criticise me or my words, but please be
constructive in your criticism. And if the end result is that
uk.sci.weather returns to its best, and old friends turn up
again, I shall be happy. And I promise no more proprietorial
throwing my weight around for another ten years.

Has it really been 10 years? I was a founder member along with the
others that enrolled. Sadly I have had to rather neglect the group for
five years and have come back to something 'different'. The fun seems
to have diminished and Phil Layton's snowman is no longer a key issue.
Some of the postings, especially on climate have been informative, and I
have leant what I could.
Some contributors have annoyed me but have generally been ignored and in
time vanished.
Nevertheless I feel that it still thrives and you must be pleased with
that surely. It is now part of my life again.
It also provides a source of help. When I have asked for help it has
always been forthcoming. New concepts that I don't understand have been
patiently explained to me, sources of data have been freely given.
Well done - you should feel proud of yourself.
Thanks
Paul
--
'Wisest are they that know they do not know.' Socrates.
Paul Bartlett FRMetS
www.rutnet.co.uk Go to local weather.
400FT AMSL 25Miles southwest of the Wash