Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2005 23:31:45 -0400
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
From: "Mike B." <omni at omniphile.com>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Q: What do you call two MDs who travel back in time to cure pivotal figures and protect the timeline?
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

At 07:32 PM 4/12/05 -0400, Ted White wrote:

>Actually, those "star registries" are complete scams.

No, not really.  They actually do put your star's name in their registry.
Some even publish the registry.  That's what they promise to do, and they
do it, so no scam.

They never claim (if they are smart...) that the registry is recognized or
used by any major, or even specific, astronomical organizations.  Which
registry you decide to adhere to is up to you, same as it is with
professional astronomers, goat herders and any others who like to name
stars.  Who says that the Royal Astronomical Society has any more right to
name stars than some star registry company somewhere?  I suspect that more
people follow what the RAS, or other major astronomical organizations, say
than the star registry companies, but popularity isn't everything, and
tends to shift over time.  What we call "Sirius" for instance has probably
had thousands of names since humans started naming things, and some of
these were probably written down in one registry or another, most of which
are no longer used by anyone.  Heck, even the professional astronomers have
got lots of registries of various kinds from various people over the years.

If some customer somewhere thought that there was one big central
repository of all things astronomical, that everyone, everywhere and
everywhen used to know the names of stars, and that THAT was the place they
were buying a star name, well, the phrase "Caveat emptor" comes to mind.
Just because you don't know much about what it is you are buying, and so
you don't get exactly what you expected, doesn't make it a scam to sell it
to you.  If that was the case, Mr. Popeel would be in jail along with
thousands of politicians and toy company advertisers.

-- Mike B.
--
So I'm in bed gazing up at the stars and I think, "Where the HELL is my
ROOF?!?"