<s>
talk.origins	B-Application
(	O
often	O
capitalised	O
to	O
Talk.Origins	B-Application
or	O
abbreviated	O
as	O
t.o.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
is	O
a	O
moderated	O
Usenet	B-Application
discussion	B-Application
forum	I-Application
concerning	O
the	O
origins	O
of	O
life	O
,	O
and	O
evolution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
remains	O
a	O
major	O
venue	O
for	O
debate	O
in	O
the	O
creation	O
–	O
evolution	O
controversy	O
,	O
and	O
its	O
official	O
purpose	O
is	O
to	O
draw	O
such	O
debates	O
out	O
of	O
the	O
science	O
newsgroups	B-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
sci.bio.evolution	O
and	O
sci.bio.paleontology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
post	O
to	O
talk.origins	B-Application
was	O
a	O
starter	O
post	O
by	O
Mark	O
Horton	O
,	O
dated	O
5	O
September	O
1986	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
early	O
1990s	O
,	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
FAQs	O
on	O
various	O
topics	O
were	O
being	O
periodically	O
posted	O
to	O
the	O
newsgroup	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1994	O
,	O
Brett	O
J	O
.	O
Vickers	O
established	O
an	O
anonymous	O
FTP	B-Protocol
site	O
to	O
host	O
the	O
collected	O
FAQs	O
of	O
the	O
newsgroup	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1995	O
,	O
Vickers	O
started	O
the	O
TalkOrigins	B-Application
Archive	O
web	O
site	O
as	O
another	O
means	O
of	O
hosting	O
the	O
talk.origins	B-Application
FAQs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
group	O
was	O
originally	O
created	O
as	O
the	O
unmoderated	O
newsgroup	B-Application
net.origins	O
as	O
a	O
'	O
dumping	O
ground	O
 '	O
for	O
all	O
the	O
various	O
flame	O
threads	O
'	O
polluting	O
 '	O
other	O
newsgroups	B-Application
,	O
then	O
renamed	O
to	O
talk.origins	B-Application
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	B-Architecture
Great	I-Architecture
Renaming	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Subsequently	O
,	O
after	O
discussion	O
on	O
the	O
newsgroup	B-Application
,	O
the	O
group	O
was	O
voted	O
to	O
be	O
moderated	O
in	O
1997	O
by	O
the	O
normal	O
USENET	B-Application
RFD/CFV	O
process	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
only	O
spam	O
and	O
excessive	O
crossposting	O
are	O
censored	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
moderator	O
for	O
the	O
newsgroup	B-Application
is	O
David	O
Iain	O
Greig	O
(	O
and	O
technically	O
Jim	O
Lippard	O
as	O
alternate/backup	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
group	O
is	O
characterized	O
by	O
a	O
long	O
list	O
of	O
in-crowd	O
jokes	O
like	O
the	O
fictitious	O
University	B-Application
of	I-Application
Ediacara	I-Application
,	O
the	O
equally	O
fictitious	O
Evil	O
Atheist	O
Conspiracy	O
which	O
allegedly	O
hides	O
all	O
the	O
evidence	O
supporting	O
Creationism	O
,	O
a	O
monthly	O
election	O
of	O
the	O
Chez	O
Watt-award	O
for	O
"	O
statements	O
that	O
make	O
you	O
go	O
'	O
say	O
what	O
 '	O
,	O
or	O
some	O
such	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
,	O
pun	B-Application
cascades	O
,	O
a	O
strong	O
predisposition	O
to	O
quoting	O
Monty	O
Python	O
and	O
a	O
habit	O
of	O
calling	O
penguins	O
"	O
the	O
best	O
birds	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
group	O
as	O
a	O
whole	O
votes	O
for	O
a	O
PoTM-award	O
(	O
Post	O
of	O
The	O
Month	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
makes	O
it	O
into	O
the	O
annals	O
of	O
TalkOrigins	B-Application
Archive	O
.	O
</s>
