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.

Philip

Snipped

Congratulations Philip et al for starting something that gives me immense
pleasure - and yes some frustration.
The fact that it is a part of my everyday life indicates that it is indeed,
a success.
I have not been around for those 10 years, I think it's 7 and I lurked for a
while before (as a mere amateur) I felt confident enough to actually be able
to communicate with the professionals.
I have learnt huge amounts about this subject that fascinates us all and
feel that I have also made friends with many of the contributors.
Unfortunately, I have only met two, but I would love the opportunity to meet
you all.
There have been times when I too have wondered about the mentality of some
contributors, there have been times when I too have come in for criticism
(eg Will's snow forecast recently), but I hope and believe, that the
regulars on here are hadry and friendly bunch who take everything in their
stride.
Recently it has been quieter on here and all the better for it. The snow
rampers and other have found other boards for their moronic posts and that
has helped to strengthen it. I believe that this group is healthier and
stronger now than it has been for some time.
Once again congratulations - I hope that someone might actually have it in
them to consider organising an event to celebrate the success.
Thank-you everyone for your input.

--
David Mitchell, 70m amsl, Langtoft, East Riding of Yorkshire.

"Philip Eden" philipATweatherHYPHENukDOTcom wrote in message
...

snip


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.


Not quite true Philip. The Met Office does *not* discourage its employees
to post here. All it asks is that employees who post here do not discuss private
Met Office business,
nor act as spokesmen for the Office, which all sounds perfectly reasonable to
me. There are a few
Met Office people who post on here using their own names, and you know who they
are. Recently your apparent
hatred of the Met Office seems to have grown, I'd really love to know what
they've done to upset you so much?

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.


You not going to share the reasons then?
I personally think the newsgroup has improved over the years although I do
feel that science suffers from time to time.

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.


You get those on every newsgroup, UK.sci has its share but I think perhaps less
than other groups.

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


Thank you.

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.


Good :-)

Thanks for your efforts in setting this group up, it's bloomin marvelous.

I'd really like to know what you feel is wrong with it now though?

Will.
--

" Ah yet another day to enjoy "
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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mailto:
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DISCLAIMER - All views and opinions expressed by myself are personal
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In article ,
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
snip

Happy Not-Birthday to the group, and my thanks to Philip for creating
it. I remember how frustrated I was in December, 1995 by the lack of
such a group, when Scotland and the north of England had exceptionally
severe conditions but there was nowhere to discuss them.
--
John Hall
"Think wrongly if you please,
but in all cases think for yourself."
Doris Lessing

On Wed, 1 Mar 2006 19:13:01 -0000, "Philip Eden"
philipATweatherHYPHENukDOTcom wrote:

Not quite a birthday, but today marks the 10th anniversary of
this newsgroup's conception...

As a lurker/poster since 1997 can I thank you, Philip, for the hours
of information, entertainment and education that your brain child has
given me. I set up my first weather station fifty-two years ago at the
age of sixteen, lost touch with the weather and re-engaged after
subscribing here.

Many thanks!

--
Alan White
Twenty-eight miles NW of Glasgow, overlooking Lochs Long and Goil in Argyll, Scotland.
Web cam and weather:- http://www.windycroft.gt-britain.co....her/kabcam.htm
Some walks and treks:- http://www.windycroft.gt-britain.co.uk/walks/

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.

Is it 10 years Philip!
I'm feeling rather old now :-)
best regards from a green Wirral but I suspect white one tomorrow,
Alan

--
Wirral,Merseyside. 53.1 N 3.0 W 40m amsl
http://www.wirralcam.com/frame.htm

"Philip Eden" philipATweatherHYPHENukDOTcom wrote in message
...
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.

Philip


For an unmoderated group I think that the content is remarkably free of
irritating posts and I think that it is a pity that valued contributors no
longer post due to a very few annoying contributors. I have just looked at
a list of the last fifty or so topics and nearly all seem to fit in
reasonably well with the group's charter apart from one obvious spam item.

Surely the use of a killfile and ignoring topics of no interest is a better
way to deal with irritating posts. Perhaps some of these old friends could
be encouraged to return.

It would be possible to set up a weather forum with the same charter as this
newsgroup but administrators and moderators would be required to keep it
going and I don't think that the posting signal to noise ratio justifies
such a step. Forums of this type are a lot of work to keep running.


Alan Gardiner
Chiswell Green, St Albans

Philip

I just love this newsgroup, and do not ever look at any other weather
related internet forum for discussion and up to date information about
our number one passion and obsession, the weather in the UK and
beyond.

So many thanks to you and all the other inspirational contributors to
uk.sci.weather- you make life just so enjoyable every day!

I salute you:-)

Steve J, BWS

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

Philip

Thanks for creating this group in the first place.

It is an excellent newsgroup; head and shoulders above most of the other
groups which are a playground for the bored and abusive.

Saying that though, this newsgroup does occasionally suffer from
non-scientific posts, and worst of all some people seem to think it is a
platform to air their right-wing political views, they should post elsewhere
on more relevant newsgroups and not here.

Overall this is an excellent newsgroup and one that has taught me much about
meteorology and I have always found very interesting and informative. It is
my first port-of-call for anything weather related.

All the best Philip and be proud of what you have achieved here.
________________
Nick G
Exe Valley, Devon
50 m amsl