XPost: comp.ai.edu   
   From: dnk@OMIT.cs.mu.OZ.AU   
      
   "profchiken" writes:   
      
   > Hey, I've been trying to read some of the stuff in this newsgroup and   
   > it gooes way, way over my head. I am very interested in learning as   
   > much as there is to know about A.I. and was wondering if anyone would   
   > be in favor of starting a new Group just for beginners. I think it   
   > would be very helpful to some of us. I don't know the first think about   
   > setting up a Usenet group from scratch so I would need some help, and   
   > from the way I understand it to be organized, I have to get my proposal   
   > approved. In any case, I would love to oversee or moderate the project   
   > "with a little help from my friends". Tell me what you think.   
   > Thanks   
      
   I think it's a fine idea to try to start a community for AI beginners,   
   provided you're prepared to stick with the job long enough to have a   
   reasonable chance to reach a critical mass of interested people.  The   
   good news is that you won't need to start a new newsgroup, there is one   
   ready-made and waiting for you to use: comp.ai.edu .  It's nominal   
   topic is "Applications of Artificial Intelligence to Education" but   
   don't let that worry you, it's been unused for quite a while, and to   
   use it for "Educating people about AI" would be perfectly appropriate.   
      
   As it's an unmoderated group, you'll find that you'll inevitably   
   attract some posts from the usual idiots who believe that AI is   
   impossible or who want to argue endlessly about how the mind works or   
   why everyone else except themselves is wrong about AI.  Just ignore   
   them - if you argue with them you'll just attract more of the same.   
   If your community grows well but off-topic posts become a problem   
   you can always create a moderated group at some time in the future,   
   but you can get started right now in comp.ai.edu .   
      
   Until a year ago or so there was an AI FAQ being posted to this group,   
   which you might find has some info useful for your purpose in it.   
   There are also introductory resources on AI scattered around the web,   
   of variable quality.   
      
   Good luck,   
   David   
      
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