"Jenn Ridley" > wrote

Hi. I am another recent lurker in this chatroom.

> >I'm assuming that "rec.food.baking" stands for Recreational Food Baking...
>
> Not quite. Rec is Recreation, nor recreational.

Not quite, the wikipedia web page says Rec is for "recreational activities".

> Rec. is one of the
> original "Big 8" in Usenet newsgroup hierarchy (soc, sci, comp,
> humanities, misc, news, talk, rec) and food was put in the rec area,
> partly because it didn't really fit anywhere else, and partly because
> many people see preparing food as a recreational activity.

Actually there were originally only a big six, and three got added later.

> And, of course, just because it's in the rec. hierarchy doesn't mean
> that people can't make a living doing it. (rec.arts.sf.* have more
> than a few published writers and editors participating,
> rec.crafts.textiles.* have professionals in the field participating.)
> Unless it's a moderated list, there's nothing that keeps the pros out
> of the rec.* groups.
>
>
> >I don't really understand the consept of the name. It occurs to me that a
> >good number of the "regulars" are really serious bakers. I guess that what
> >I'm trying to figure out is where the recreation in "rec.food.baking" comes
> >in.
>
> A lot of people on RFB do cook/bake for enjoyment, not for a living.
> Probably at least some of the "serious" bakers enjoy it as well.

I would think professional cooking would be off topic here.

> >I noticed a while back that someone wrote in something about something
> >other than baking... and was flamed for doing so....
>
> Most Usenet groups are less than tolerant of off topic posts. Some
> are more tolerant than others. For a quick overview of Usenet and
> newsgroups in general, see Wikipedia
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newsgroup>.

The let sex and drugs on the Usenet?! I need to get some kiddie filters installed.

--oTTo--