XPost: rec.pets.cats.health+behav, alt.cats 
 From: mmontcha@OregonVOS.net 
  
 On Thu, 25 Sep 2003, BarB wrote: 
 |While it is trivially easy to send a control message for a new alt 
 |group, getting it propagated is not. 
  
 A little bit of elbow grease?  Rather, a good amount of elbow grease. 
  
 |In the Big 8 hierarchies, most ISPs pick up the new groups 
 |automatically. In alt, users must ask the providers they use 
 |to add the group. That can make it difficult to get a new group 
 |off the ground. 
  
 Many 'smaller scale' ISPs expect their subscribers to let them 
 know that a newsgroup is needed in the Big8 as well, otherwise 
 the control messages for the Big8 are ignored. 
  
 |If the group has 130+ voters, it is better off in rec.*  If not, 
 |I'd rather see the available groups used. We have quite enough 
 |unused groups about cats...about dogs may be even worse I think.:) 
  
 Yes, probably so. 
  
 |I used to try to keep up with some of them, but it just isn't 
 |worthwhile. 
  
 It is often a very good idea to choose the newsgroups you have 
 time for, and inclination to participate in, rather than root 
 for endless series of similarly named newsgroups. 
  
 |As an exercise in something or other (I know I have way too 
 |much time on my hands) I wondered how many cat groups there were... 
 |search parameters "cat" or "feline". I probably missed a bunch. 
  
 You missed the ones that are in French, Spanish, Italian, or 
 German.  Change your search perameter to 'Katzen' for Cats, 
 for example. 
  
 |It seems to me that alt.animals.felines.diseases is one that ought 
 |to have been better propagated, but perhaps the veterinary group 
 |is a better source for help. The group alt.cats.declawing-debate 
 |was a NIMBY ( not in my back yard) proposal....doomed from the start. 
 | 
 | 
 |alt.animals.cat         Discussion of the cat 
 |alt.animals.felines     Cats of all types. 
 |alt.animals.felines.diseases    Discussions of feline infectious 
 |   diseases. 
 |alt.cats                No description. 
 |alt.cats.declawing-debate       No description. 
 |alt.cats.world.domination       No description. 
 |alt.discuss.here.kitty.kitty.kitty      Group for discussions about 
 |   everything good about kittens and cats. 
  
     
  
 In your list, you seemed to ignore de.rec.tiere.katzen, a newsgroup 
 I recently stumbled on.  If you were wondering what the parts of the 
 newsgroup name mean, it goes like this: 
  
    de.      German Language 
      .rec.       recreation 
          .tiere.    animals 
             .katzen    cats 
  
 --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05 
  * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)