[AR] what's on-topic (was Re: Zero g and radiation...)

  • From: Henry Spencer <hspencer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: Arocket List <arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sat, 2 Jan 2021 16:20:30 -0500 (EST)

On Sat, 2 Jan 2021, Dr Edward Jones wrote:

...Is this question [radiation issues for human spaceflight] off-topic on aRocket. Please refresh me (the ignorant) on the ground rules for posting to this "amateur rocketry" group list. Are topics related only to commercial, non-amateur rocketry off-limits? Thanks.

We've never had official, formal ground rules, that I know of. The boundary between amateur rocketry and entrepreneurial rocketry is particularly fuzzy, as witness groups which straddle the boundary, e.g. the original Armadillo Aerospace. Probably the best rule is that the group is primarily about *hands-on* rocketry, actually designing and building things.

There are some ambitious/crazy :-) people in the amateur/entrepreneurial rocketry world, and human spaceflight in particular isn't categorically ruled out. And analyzing how the Big Boys do things can be relevant to the Little Guys too. But spaceflight as a spectator sport (e.g. cheering for NASA, or even SpaceX) *is* off-topic.

Discussions do wander, and brief notes about things that are marginal but potentially of interest don't seem unreasonable. Occasional digressions are best just tolerated unless they get really lengthy. But in the spirit of New Year's resolutions :-), let's all try a little harder to keep things focused.

Henry

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