a modest proposal [long] : in memoriam: alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.peel

[sqdrldr]

Hello all,

Just to say I still am hugely saddened by John Peel's death. 

It's nothing less than a tragedy round here.

In order that some good might come out of this sad time, is any body interested in the 
concept of a  .peel newsgroup on Usenet to keep his work and spirit alive?

I know people here are using EDonkey or other networks to spread the music 
that John brought us, but maybe we could do better. 

Newer P2P networrks are either slow, not cross-platform, or lately under threat from the 
RIAA/BPI goblins.

Usenet (hence my proposal) is fast, anonymous and enduring. Music is available for many 
weeks on a good server. It's simply, in my humble opinion, a better way to share music 
than any other. Unless you have a radio station that is. 

To that end I've posted some old sessions under another nom-de-net on 
alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.indie (many thanks and much respect to JonQ and others there as 
well) but normally (here's the thing) mp3.indie is merely the net equivalent of the NME, eg 
indie band du jour, and the antithesis of intelligent (Peel-style) freeranging taste. 

As far as other natural Usenet homes of Peeliana go-  a.b.s.m.avantgarde is just too often 
a home for hairshirted jazz bores, and the .reggae people as you might expect exclusively 
post reggae, and so on. 

All very boring, all very limited, and again, very unlike the reasons for 
tuning into radio 1 at nights, year in year out.

Lastly, we can count on the BBC not to do proper justice to John's legacy. Only this 
morning on the Home Truths tribute programme they were talking about having lost Peel-
related stuff from the archives. *Sighs*

So it's up to us. 

I've never started a newsgroup before, but I understand it's not a complex 
process. 

That's alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.peel I'm suggesting.

Anybody interested ?

Sqdrldr