X-Message-Number: 20097 Date: Wed, 18 Sep 2002 19:08:00 +0200 Subject: "Immortal" List Charter and administrative information (v 1.4) From: David Stodolsky <> "Immortal" (Immortalist Philosophy) List Charter and administrative information The "Immortal" List deals with immortalism as a practical philosophy. That is, the attempt to achieve vastly extended life spans via technological means and the socio-political sources and impacts of such attempts. Discussion of faith-based approaches to eternal life (resurrection through belief in a god, reincarnation, time travel, near-death experiences as evidence of an afterlife, etc.) is specifically excluded. Technological advances form the foundation for discussion, but are not themselves the topic of the List. Thus, articles concerning new developments in medicine, nanotechnology, information technology, and so on, are welcome, as long as they come from reliable sources, such as peer-reviewed journals. Such articles should include a citation to the source. These posts are likely to trigger discussion of social and political dynamics, which are the focus of the List. The most central topic of the List is how social conditions promote or retard the acceptance of immortalism as a life philosophy and what the effects of such a philosophy are on those who hold it. Thus, the coverage includes philosophy, law, sociology, psychology, gerontology, anthropology, political science, thanatology, and religious science (the study of religions). Only specific topics within these subjects are relevant. For example, existential psychology is directly relevant: "The attempt to escape from death anxiety is at the core of the neurotic conflict . . . . The neurotic life style is generated by a fear of death; but insofar as it limits one's ability to live spontaneously and creatively, the defense against death is itself a partial death (Yalom. [1980]. Existential psychotherapy. NY: Basic Books. p. 146.)" This quote illustrates that discussion is not only concerned with life extension, but also the impact of immortalist beliefs on the quality of life. ------ The Immortal List home page is: http://secureid.org:8100/Lists/Immortal/List.html You can subscribe, view archives, and perform some other administrative operations there. You can subscribe in one of the following modes: :FEED (default). In this mode, the subscriber receives list messages as they are posted. Send to address: mail-to: :DIGEST. In this mode, the subscriber receives daily digest of messages (A new digest will be sent immediately when the digest size exceeds 1 MB or 200 messages). Send to address: mail-to: :INDEX. In this mode the subscriber receives daily index messages. An index message is the same as the digest Table Of Contents, but it does not contain the posted messages themselves. Send to address: mail-to: To get a confirmation ID that can be used as a password for other subscription operations: Send to address: mail-to: To unsubscribe from the List: Send to address: mail-to: A HELP command (in the message body) returns a list of supported commands. Send to address: mail-to: Administrative requests go to: Send to address: mail-to: Mail to the List: Send to address: mail-to: Privacy and junk-mail (SPAM) protection: :the 'From' address of the posted message is modified, so it contains the List address instead of the message author address. If your original 'From' address contained a comment (typically your real name), it is preserved. This mechanism 'hides' your email address (and your real name, if it is not included in the comment). Alternatively, you can reveal your email address by including it as a comment. For example, if the content of the 'From' header in your mail to the List is 'John Smith <>' or ' (John Smith)', your name, but not your email address will be revealed. This is the recommended format, since it allows sorting of messages by author, but still protects your email address. Use a pseudonym, as a comment, if you wish to hide your identity. :replies are directed to the mailing List by default. :List archives are available to anyone (public). :only subscribers can post to the List. Maximum message size is 300 KiloBytes. The mailing list manager rejects all postings with a reply prefix (Re:, Re>, etc.) followed by an unmodified Digest Subject text. Messages must contain only Western European (ISO) characters, others will be rejected. Listmaster: mail-to: Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=20097