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From: [e-mail] (Geoff Allen)
Subject: rec.roller-coaster FAQ, part 1/3: General info & introduction
Summary: This document contains the introductions to the
    rec.roller-coaster newsgroup, and to Usenet in general.
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Archive-name: roller-coaster-faq/part1
Last-modified: Wed Jul 19, 1995; 21:47:41 MDT


              WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF ROLLER-COASTER FANATICISM!
              ==================================================

This article is posted regularly to rec.roller-coaster, news.answers, and
rec.answers by Geoff Allen.  It is also available in a hypertext version on
the World Wide Web as http://www.eecs.wsu.edu/~geoff/coaster_faq.  The
original conversion to hypertext was done by Darlene Fladager.

This article is the main info posting for rec.roller-coaster, the net's own
asylum for coaster fanatics.  In this article, you'll find everything (or,
almost everything) you need to know to be a coaster fanatic, too.

Enjoy your ride!!!!


Contents:
---------

Part 1: General info & introduction
    1.1: About rec.roller-coaster
    1.2: About Usenet
    1.3: About this document
Part 2: Coaster info, organizations, and references
    2.1: Common abbreviations
    2.2: Definitions of Roller-Coaster terms
    2.3: American Coaster Enthusiasts - ACE
    2.4: Mid-Atlantic Coaster Club - MACC
    2.5: Western New York Coaster Club - WNYCC
    2.6: Great Ohio Coaster Club - GOCC
    2.7: First Drop - U.K. Coaster Club
    2.8: National Amusement Park Historical Association - NAPHA
    2.9: National Carousel Association - NCA
    2.10: Books on Roller Coasters and Amusement Parks
    2.11: Magazines
    2.12: FTP site
    2.13: Other Stuff of Interest
    2.14: Amusement Industry Jobs
Part 3: Lists and statistics
    3.1: Roller Coaster Designer Info
    3.2: Roller Coaster Record Holders
    3.3: ACE's Classic Coaster Roster
    3.4: Inside Track ``Top Coasters'' Readers Survey
    3.5: Amusement Park Attendance Statistics
    3.6: Coming Attractions -- new coasters for 95 and beyond!
    3.7: List of Endangered Coasters in USA

Recent changes
--------------

October, 1995

  * Updated the email address of ACE membership director Brian Peters
  * Added email addresses to the "Magazines" section.
  * Some changes to the "Coaster Designers" section.
  * Added "Screechin Eagle" to ACE Classic Coaster roster.
  * Some major changes to the "Coming attractions" section.
  * (Perhaps most important!) Fixed the posting bug, and am posting ahead of
    time (on Oct. 5) so everyone can get their hands on a real, live,
    up-to-date version. It'll also be auto-posted at the regular time on the
    20th. Hopefully, we're back on track for regularly posting.

June, 1995

  * Yes, I'm a day late posting this month. My auto-poster failed due to a
    slight configuration problem. But never fear, if you're reading this,
    I've got the problem fixed.
  * Updated the Inside Track survey listing, adding the 1994 results.
    (Thanks to Bill Buckley for providing the info.)
  * Added "Point of View" to the abbreviations and the definitions sections.
  * I had planned to add park operating dates and coming coaster events to
    this month's edition, but haven't had a chance. Hopefully they'll be
    here next month. Again, thanks to Bill Buckley for providing the info.
  * I have several additions to the book section, courtesy of Mark M. Oship.
    Again, I haven't had time to include them this month, but hope to next
    month.

May, 1995

  * Added info on Great Ohio Coaster Club
  * Renumbered the sections (and changed the numbering scheme while I was at
    it).
  * Added Pepsi Max to the "steepest steel" records section
  * Updated the status of the Vancouver Playland Coaster and added the
    Conneaut Lake Blue Streak to the "endangered coasters" section.
  * Corrected the name "David Pickstone" in the New-4-95 section.
  * Updated several items in the New-4-96 section.
  * Added info for _The Ride_ magazine.
  * Updated (finally!) the description of the Coaster Calendar from Moor
    publishing.  I have the calendar, but never managed to sit down and type
    in descriptions of this year's calendar.  Thanks to Bill Buckley for
    doing it.
  * Updated pricing and contact info for NAPHA.


1.1: About rec.roller-coaster
-----------------------------

The official definition of rec.roller-coaster is:

rec.roller-coaster -- Roller coasters and other amusement park rides.

rec.roller-coaster is an unmoderated newsgroup which passed its vote for
creation by 184:72 as reported in news.announce.newsgroups on 21 July 1991.

This newsgroup is for the discussion of any amusement park rides, including
(but certainly not limited to) roller coasters.  Other topics include park
operating times/season schedules, admission prices, latest attractions,
future expansion efforts, etc.  You might also want to read rec.parks.theme
for pertinent discussions.


1.2: Usenet info
----------------
If you're new to Usenet, I'd really recommend reading the newsgroups
news.announce.newusers and news.newusers.questions for a while.  You can
learn a lot of useful things, and maybe even some not so useful things.


1.3: About this document
------------------------

The rec.roller-coaster FAQ is posted on the 20th of every month to
rec.roller-coaster, rec.answers, and news.answers. Why the 20th, you ask?
Because the patent for LaMarcus Thompson's Switchback Railway was issued on
January 20, 1885. The Switchback Railway is widely considered to the the
first modern roller coaster. (Thanks to Dave Altoff for his list of coaster
dates which helped me pick a good date to commemorate with the FAQ.)

The rec.roller-coaster FAQ is also available in a hypertext version on the
World Wide Web as http://www.eecs.wsu.edu/~geoff/coaster_faq/.

The plain text version of this document comes in three parts.  Part 1 offers
a table of contents to the posts, plus a general introduction.  Part 2
offers general roller-coaster info -- abbreviations, definitions,
information on organizations, and references for the roller
coaster/amusement park enthusiast.  Part 3 contains lists and statistics
relating to coasters.  It is also the most volatile section, more likely
than the others to be changed.

The rec.roller-coaster FAQ was originally compiled by Dave Rounds
([e-mail]), then maintained by Bill Buckley
([e-mail]), and has now fallen into my hands (Geoff
Allen, [e-mail]).  Comments and questions are most welcome via
e-mail to Geoff.

You can get a copy of the latest version of this document via anonymous FTP
from the "official" roller-coaster FTP site, gboro.rowan.edu, in directory
/pub/Coasters (more on the site later).  You can also get a copy from the
official archive of news.answers, which is on rtfm.mit.edu in the directory
/pub/usenet-by-group/rec.roller-coaster.  (A lot of other interesting FAQs
are there, too. The name under which a FAQ is archived appears in the
Archive-name: line at the top of the article.  This FAQ, for example, is
archived as roller-coaster-faq/part1, 2, and 3.  If you just want to browse
there, try directory /pub/usenet-by-hierarchy, where the dots in newsgroup
names represent directories.  So these documents are in
/pub/usenet-by-hierarchy/rec/roller-coaster.)

If you don't know how to use FTP, or don't even know if you can at your site
(not all sites can), ask a knowledgeable user at your site.

Special thanks to all the contributors, commentators, error-correctors and
others who've helped to make this FAQ possible.  They are (in no particular
order):

  * Mark Wyatt (of Inside Track magazine)
  * William "Buck" Buckley ([e-mail])
  * Me, Geoff Allen, [e-mail]
  * Ronnie Swain, [e-mail]
  * Tom Obszanski, [e-mail]
  * [e-mail]
  * Ken Denton, [e-mail]
  * little gator aka s. mudgett, [e-mail]
  * Kara L. Robinson, [e-mail]
  * Michael A. Cornell, [e-mail]
  * Chris Toomer, [e-mail]
  * Paul Asente, [e-mail]
  * Patty Winter, [e-mail]
  * Tom Maglione, [e-mail]
  * Bill Figie, [e-mail]
  * Sharon Crichton, [e-mail]
  * maniac, [e-mail]
  * Justin Garvanovic (of First Drop Coaster Club),
    [e-mail]
  * Martin I Lewison, [e-mail]
  * Matthew Crowther, [e-mail]
  * Brian Peters, [e-mail] or [e-mail]
  * Jeffrey L. Seifert, [e-mail]
  * Ty Fluharty, [e-mail]
  * Jan Fitzurka, [e-mail]
  * Jim Whelan, [e-mail]
  * Bill Bishop, [e-mail]
  * Nora G.

And now....    On with the show!!!!!!!



--
Geoff Allen, Washington State Univ, School of EE & CS, sysadmin support guy
([e-mail] || [e-mail]) && http://www.eecs.wsu.edu/~geoff/
___________________________________________________________________________
Please remain seated and keep your hands and arms above your head
           at all times.  Enjoy your ride.