"jimmyjames" > wrote:

>I'm assuming that "rec.food.baking" stands for Recreational Food Baking...

Not quite. Rec is Recreation, nor recreational. Rec. is one of the
original "Big 8" in Usenet newsgroup hierarchy (soc, sci, comp,
humanities, misc, news, talk, rec) and food was put in the rec area,
partly because it didn't really fit anywhere else, and partly because
many people see preparing food as a recreational activity.

And, of course, just because it's in the rec. hierarchy doesn't mean
that people can't make a living doing it. (rec.arts.sf.* have more
than a few published writers and editors participating,
rec.crafts.textiles.* have professionals in the field participating.)
Unless it's a moderated list, there's nothing that keeps the pros out
of the rec.* groups.


>I don't really understand the consept of the name. It occurs to me that a
>good number of the "regulars" are really serious bakers. I guess that what
>I'm trying to figure out is where the recreation in "rec.food.baking" comes
>in.

A lot of people on RFB do cook/bake for enjoyment, not for a living.
Probably at least some of the "serious" bakers enjoy it as well.

>I noticed a while back that someone wrote in something about something
>other than baking... and was flamed for doing so....


Most Usenet groups are less than tolerant of off topic posts. Some
are more tolerant than others. For a quick overview of Usenet and
newsgroups in general, see Wikipedia
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newsgroup>.