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1.1 ! root 1: .ds .f manner.mn ! 2: .ds h0 "How to Use USENET Effectively ! 3: .ds h1 ! 4: .ds h2 % ! 5: .ds f0 "\*(vr ! 6: .ds f1 ! 7: .ds f2 "October 19, 1986 ! 8: .mt ! 9: How to Use USENET Effectively ! 10: .au ! 11: Matt Bishop ! 12: .ai ! 13: Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science ! 14: Mail Stop 230-5 ! 15: NASA Ames Research Center ! 16: Moffett Field, CA 94035 ! 17: .bt ! 18: .hn ! 19: Introduction ! 20: .pg ! 21: USENET is a worldwide bulletin board system ! 22: in which thousands of computers pass articles back and forth. ! 23: Of necessity, ! 24: customs have sprung up enabling very diverse people and groups ! 25: to communicate peaceably and effectively using USENET. ! 26: These customs are for the most part written, ! 27: but are scattered over several documents ! 28: that can be difficult to find; ! 29: in any case, ! 30: even if a new user can find all the documents, ! 31: he most likely will have neither the time nor the inclination ! 32: to read them all. ! 33: This document is intended to collect all these conventions into one place, ! 34: thereby making it easy for new users ! 35: to learn about the world of USENET. ! 36: (Old-timers, ! 37: too, ! 38: will benefit from reading this.) ! 39: .pg ! 40: You should read this document and understand it thoroughly ! 41: before you even think about posting anything. ! 42: If you have questions, ! 43: please ask your USENET administrator (who ! 44: can usually be reached by sending mail to ! 45: .i usenet ) ! 46: or a more knowledgeable USENET user. ! 47: Believe me, ! 48: you will save yourself a lot of grief. ! 49: .pg ! 50: The mechanics of posting an article to USENET are explained in ! 51: Mark Horton's excellent paper ! 52: .i "How to Read the Network News" ; ! 53: if you have not read that yet, ! 54: stop here and do so. ! 55: A lot of what follows depends on your knowing (at least vaguely) ! 56: the mechanics of posting news. ! 57: .pg ! 58: Before we discuss these customs, ! 59: we ought to look at the history of USENET, ! 60: what it is today, ! 61: and why we need these conventions. ! 62: .hn ! 63: All About USENET ! 64: .pg ! 65: USENET began on a set of computers in North Carolina's Research Triangle. ! 66: The programs involved ! 67: (known as \*(lqnetnews\*(rq then, ! 68: and \*(lqA news\*(rq now) ! 69: exchanged messages; ! 70: it was a small, multi-computer bulletin board system. ! 71: As time passed, ! 72: administrators of other systems began to connect their computers ! 73: to this bulletin board system. ! 74: The network grew. ! 75: Then, ! 76: at Berkeley, the news programs were rewritten ! 77: (this version became known as \*(lqB news\*(rq) ! 78: and the format changed to conform to ARPA standards ! 79: (again, ! 80: this became the \*(lqB protocol for news\*(rq.\*(dg) ! 81: .fn ! 82: .lp \*(dg \w'\*(dg\ 'u ! 83: See ! 84: .i ! 85: Standard for Interchange of USENET Messages ! 86: .r ! 87: for a description of the two formats. ! 88: .ef ! 89: This version of news was very widely distributed, ! 90: and at this point USENET began to take on its current shape. ! 91: .pg ! 92: USENET is a ! 93: .i logical ! 94: network ! 95: (as opposed to a ! 96: .i physical ! 97: network.) ! 98: It is also a very amorphous network, ! 99: in that there is no central administration or controlling site. ! 100: There is not even an official list of members, ! 101: although there is a very complete unofficial one. ! 102: A site gets access to USENET by finding some other site already on USENET ! 103: that it can connect to and exchange news articles. ! 104: So long as this second site (called a ! 105: .i neighbor ! 106: of the first site) ! 107: remains willing and able to pass articles to and from the first site, ! 108: the first site is on USENET. ! 109: A site leaves the USENET only when no one is willing or able ! 110: to pass articles to, ! 111: or accept articles from, ! 112: it. ! 113: .pg ! 114: As a result, ! 115: USENET has no equivalent of a \*(lqsysop\*(rq ! 116: or central authority controlling the bulletin board. ! 117: What little control is exercised is wielded by the person at each site ! 118: who is responsible for maintaining the USENET connections ! 119: (this person is called the \*(lqUSENET administrator.\*(rq) ! 120: Because most USENET administrators are (relatively) new to USENET, ! 121: and because administering USENET locally involves a great deal of work, ! 122: most USENET administrators tend to follow the lead of other, ! 123: more experienced, ! 124: administrators ! 125: (often known somewhat irreverently as \*(lqnet gurus.\*(rq) ! 126: This is not an abdication of responsibility, ! 127: but a means of keeping the amount of work little enough ! 128: so it can be done without interfering with the local USENET administrator's job. ! 129: An example of this is the list of currently active newsgroups ! 130: circulated every month or so. ! 131: It is not \*(lqofficial\*(rq \- ! 132: no one has that authority \- ! 133: but as the maintainer is doing the work that every other USENET administrator ! 134: would have to do otherwise, ! 135: it is accepted as a valid list. ! 136: If the maintainer changes the list in a way ! 137: another USENET administrator finds unacceptable, ! 138: that administrator can simply ignore the list. ! 139: (Incidentally, the \*(lqnet gurus\*(rq became known as such ! 140: because of the work they have contributed to USENET. ! 141: Their experience is a valuable resource for each USENET administrator.) ! 142: .pg ! 143: Because the USENET has grown so wildly, ! 144: a number of problems have appeared. ! 145: One of these problems is technical, ! 146: and a number of the conventions this document describes ! 147: spring from attempts to keep this problem under control. ! 148: .pg ! 149: The technical problem arises due to the transport mechanism used by most USENET sites. ! 150: Most computers on USENET do not have access to large-area networks like ! 151: ARPANET. ! 152: As a result the only viable transport mechanism these sites can use ! 153: is a set of programs collectively known as UUCP ! 154: and which communicate over dialup telephone lines. ! 155: Initially, ! 156: news programs generated one UUCP command per article. ! 157: With the explosion of the USENET, ! 158: the number of articles simply swamped many sites; ! 159: phone lines would be tied up all day transmitting news, ! 160: and many articles would be processed at the same time, ! 161: slowing down the computers noticeably. ! 162: .pg ! 163: The solution was to batch messages. ! 164: This way, ! 165: many articles are sent via UUCP with one command, ! 166: and the command on the receiving machine would split the file ! 167: into separate articles, ! 168: which could then be processed individually. ! 169: While this increased the size of the files being sent, ! 170: it cut down on the number of UUCP commands sent, ! 171: and since sending a command involves quite a bit of overhead, ! 172: this decreased the duration of phone calls, ! 173: and to a lesser degree the load on the computer. ! 174: At some sites, ! 175: such as Purdue, ! 176: this was not quite enough, ! 177: so a simple spooler was implemented to process the individual articles ! 178: one at a time. ! 179: This reduced the system load to a very acceptable amount. ! 180: .pg ! 181: However, ! 182: the problem has not gone away by any means. ! 183: In one sense it has become worse; ! 184: as more articles are posted to the network, ! 185: phone costs and system loads averages increase, ! 186: and system administrators require USENET administrators to cut back ! 187: or eliminate newsgroups and ! 188: to transmit news only at night ! 189: (which means long propagation delays). ! 190: In short, ! 191: everyone who has anything to do with administering any USENET site ! 192: is very concerned about the future of USENET, ! 193: both in general ! 194: and at his own site. ! 195: .pg ! 196: Many of the rules you will read address this concern. ! 197: The fear that USENET may collapse is not a bogeyman, ! 198: but very real. ! 199: We hope it will not collapse, ! 200: and the rules below outline some ways to prevent problems ! 201: and increase the likelihood ! 202: that enough sites will remain on USENET to keep it alive. ! 203: There is no central authority that can force you to follow them, ! 204: but by doing so you will help keep USENET a valuable resource ! 205: to the computer community. ! 206: .hn ! 207: Deciding to Post ! 208: .pg ! 209: Before you decide to post an article, ! 210: you should consider a few things. ! 211: .hn 2 ! 212: Do not repeat postings ! 213: .pg ! 214: This applies even if you did not post the information the first time around. ! 215: If you know the answer to a question someone asked, ! 216: first read the follow-ups, and if you have something more to contribute, ! 217: mail it to the questioner; ! 218: if you think it should be seen by others, ! 219: ask the questioner to summarize the answers he receives in a subsequent article. ! 220: One of the biggest problems on USENET is that ! 221: many copies of the same answer to a simple question are posted. ! 222: .pg ! 223: If you want to repost something because you believe ! 224: it did not get to other USENET sites due to transmission problems ! 225: (this happens sometimes, ! 226: but a lot less often than commonly believed), ! 227: do some checking before you repost. ! 228: If you have a friend at another USENET site, ! 229: call him and ask if the article made it to his site. ! 230: Ask your USENET administrator if he knows of any problems in the USENET; ! 231: there are special newsgroups to which USENET administrators subscribe ! 232: in which problems are reported, ! 233: or he can contact his counterparts at other sites for information. ! 234: Finally, ! 235: if you decide you must repost it, ! 236: indicate in the article subject that it is a reposting, ! 237: and say why you are reposting it ! 238: (if you don't, ! 239: you'll undoubtedly get some very nasty mail.) ! 240: .pg ! 241: Reposting announcements of products or services is flatly forbidden. ! 242: Doing so may convince other sites to turn off your USENET access. ! 243: .pg ! 244: When school starts, ! 245: hoards of new users descend upon the USENET ! 246: asking questions. ! 247: Many of these questions have been asked, ! 248: and answered, ! 249: literally thousands of times since USENET began. ! 250: The most common of these questions, ! 251: and their answers, ! 252: have been collected in the hope that ! 253: the new users will read them and not re-post the same questions. ! 254: So, ! 255: if you want to ask a question, ! 256: check Appendix A ! 257: .b "Answers to Frequently Asked Questions" ) ( ! 258: to be sure it isn't one that has been asked and answered ! 259: literally hundreds of times before you started reading the USENET. ! 260: .hn 2 ! 261: Do not post anything when upset, angry, or intoxicated ! 262: .pg ! 263: Posting an article is a lot like driving a car \- ! 264: you have to be in control of yourself. ! 265: Postings which begin \*(lqJane, ! 266: you ignorant slut, ...\*(rq ! 267: are very definitely considered in poor taste\*(dg. ! 268: .fn ! 269: \*(dg Unless you are critiquing ! 270: .i "Saturday Night Live" . ! 271: .ef ! 272: Unfortunately, ! 273: they are also far too common. ! 274: .pg ! 275: The psychology of this is interesting. ! 276: One popular belief is that since we interact with USENET via computers, ! 277: we all often forget that a computer did not do the posting; ! 278: a human did. ! 279: A contributing factor is that you don't have to look the target of abuse ! 280: in the eye when you post an abusive message; ! 281: eye-to-eye contact has an amazing effect on inhibiting obnoxious behavior. ! 282: As a result, ! 283: discussions on the USENET often degenerate into a catfight ! 284: far more readily than would a face-to-face discussion. ! 285: .pg ! 286: Before you post an article, ! 287: think a minute; ! 288: decide whether or not you are upset, ! 289: angry, ! 290: or high. ! 291: If you are, ! 292: wait until you calm down (or come down) before deciding to post something. ! 293: Then think about whether or not you really want to post it. ! 294: You will be amazed what waiting a day or even a few hours can do ! 295: for your perspective. ! 296: .pg ! 297: Bear in mind that ! 298: shouting hasn't convinced anyone of anything ! 299: since the days of Charlemagne, ! 300: and being abusive makes people hold even more tenaciously ! 301: to their ideas or opinions. ! 302: Gentleness, ! 303: courtesy, ! 304: and eloquence are far more persuasive; ! 305: not only do they indicate you have enough confidence in your words ! 306: to allow them to speak for you, ! 307: but also they indicate a respect for your audience. ! 308: This in turn makes it easier for your audience to like or respect you \- ! 309: and people tend to be far more interested in, ! 310: and receptive to, ! 311: arguments advanced by those they like or respect ! 312: than by writers who are abusive. ! 313: Finally, ! 314: remember that some discussions or situations simply cannot be resolved. ! 315: Because people are different, ! 316: agreed-upon facts often lead to wildly different feelings and conclusions. ! 317: These differences are what makes life so wonderful; ! 318: were we all alike, ! 319: the world would be a very boring place. ! 320: So, ! 321: don't get frantic; ! 322: relax and enjoy the discussion. ! 323: Who knows, ! 324: you might even learn something! ! 325: .hn 2 ! 326: Be sure your posting is appropriate to USENET ! 327: .pg ! 328: Some things are inappropriate to post to USENET. ! 329: Discussing whether or not some other discussion is appropriate, ! 330: or if it is in the right newsgroup, ! 331: is an example. ! 332: Invariably, ! 333: the \*(lqmeta-discussion\*(rq generates so many articles ! 334: that the discussion is simply overwhelmed and vanishes; ! 335: but the meta-discussion lingers on for several weeks, ! 336: driving most of the readers of that newsgroup ! 337: out of their collective minds. ! 338: Help preserve the sanity of your fellow USENET readers ! 339: by mailing such comments to the people involved, ! 340: rather than posting them. ! 341: .pg ! 342: Another example of inappropriate postings is the infamous ! 343: \*(lqspelling flame.\*(rq ! 344: Every few months someone takes another poster to task ! 345: for poor spelling or grammar. ! 346: Soon, ! 347: everyone jumps on the bandwagon, ! 348: tearing apart one another's postings for such errors. ! 349: To put it mildly, ! 350: this angers almost everyone involved ! 351: for no real reason. ! 352: Please remember that we all make mistakes, ! 353: and there are a lot of people for whom English is a second language. ! 354: So, ! 355: try to keep your spelling and grammar comments to yourself \- ! 356: but if you find you simply cannot, ! 357: mail them to the poster rather than posting them. ! 358: .pg ! 359: Far more insidious are requests similar to ! 360: \*(lqHow can I splice into the local cable TV transmission line?\*(rq ! 361: Posting to USENET is akin to publishing, ! 362: so don't ask for or post instructions on how to do something illegal. ! 363: And please don't quote the First Amendment, ! 364: or the laws allowing freedom of speech in your country; ! 365: while the posting programs will not stop you, ! 366: the aftermath could be very unpleasant \- ! 367: lawsuits and court trials usually are, ! 368: and the USENET would certainly collapse as sites dropped from it ! 369: to protect themselves from legal liability. ! 370: You wouldn't want that on your conscience, ! 371: would you? ! 372: Of course not. ! 373: .pg ! 374: Related to this is the next rule. ! 375: .hn 2 ! 376: Do not post other people's work without permission ! 377: .pg ! 378: Posting something to USENET puts it in the public domain ! 379: for all practical purposes. ! 380: So, ! 381: be careful about posting things like ! 382: .ux -related ! 383: material (specifically source code) or company documents; ! 384: consider licensing and nondisclosure agreements first. Some people regard ! 385: the posting of \*(lqdiffs\*(rq based on licensed code to be a suitable ! 386: compromise, as they are only useful to those who have the base code already. ! 387: .pg ! 388: Copyrighted works are a separate problem. ! 389: Both United States and international law provide protection ! 390: for copyrighted works; ! 391: other than short extracts for purposes of criticism, ! 392: you cannot copy a copyrighted work in whole or in part ! 393: without permission of the copyright holder ! 394: (who may, ! 395: or may not, ! 396: be the author.) ! 397: Without this protection, ! 398: artists could not make any money and hence would have limited incentive ! 399: to make the fruits of their art available at all. ! 400: Posting a copyrighted work without permission is theft, ! 401: even though the property stolen is not tangible in most cases. ! 402: Hence, ! 403: posting movie and book reviews, ! 404: song lyrics, ! 405: or anything else which is copyrighted ! 406: without the permission of the copyright holder, ! 407: could cause you personally, ! 408: your company, ! 409: or the USENET itself ! 410: to be held liable for damages. ! 411: Please be very careful that you obey the law ! 412: when posting such material! ! 413: .hn 2 ! 414: Don't forget that opinions are those of the poster and not his employer. ! 415: .pg ! 416: Every so often, ! 417: someone will post a particularly disgusting article, ! 418: and a number of responses will ask ! 419: if all employees of the original poster's company ! 420: share his (revolting) opinion, ! 421: or suggest that action be taken against that company. ! 422: Please remember that all opinions or statements in articles ! 423: are to be attributed to the poster ! 424: .i only , ! 425: and in particular, do not necessarily represent the opinions ! 426: of the poster's employer, ! 427: the owner of the computer on which the article originated, ! 428: or anyone involved with any aspect of USENET \- ! 429: and consequently the responsibility for any USENET message ! 430: rests with the poster and with no one else. ! 431: The appropriate response is not to attack the company ! 432: or its other employees; ! 433: let the poster know what you think of his posting via mail. ! 434: If the postings continue, ! 435: take advantage of the news software's presenting you ! 436: with the author's name and the subject line ! 437: and then asking if you want to see the article; ! 438: start looking for the poster's name or the offensive subject ! 439: in the articles presented to you ! 440: and skip them. If you really get offended, you can unsubscribe from a newsgroup. ! 441: .pg ! 442: Part of the price of freedom is allowing others to make fools of themselves. ! 443: You wouldn't like to be censored, ! 444: so don't advocate censorship of others. ! 445: No one is forcing you to read the postings. ! 446: .pg ! 447: In some countries, ! 448: posting or receiving certain types of articles may be a criminal offense. ! 449: As a result, ! 450: certain newsgroups which circulate freely within the United States ! 451: may not be circulated in other nations ! 452: without risking civil or criminal liabilities. ! 453: In this case, ! 454: the appropriate action for sites in that country ! 455: is neither to accept nor to transmit the newsgroup. ! 456: No site is ! 457: .i ever ! 458: forced to accept or pass on ! 459: .i any ! 460: newsgroup. ! 461: .hn 1 ! 462: Where to Post ! 463: .pg ! 464: The various newsgroups and distributions ! 465: have various rules associated with their use. ! 466: This section will describe these rules ! 467: and offer suggestions on which newsgroups to post your message. ! 468: .hn 2 ! 469: Keep the distribution as limited as possible ! 470: .pg ! 471: A basic principle of posting is to keep the distribution of your article ! 472: as limited as possible. ! 473: Like our modern society, ! 474: USENET is suffering from both an information glut and information pollution. ! 475: It is widely believed that the USENET will cease to function ! 476: unless we are able to cut down the quantity of articles. ! 477: One step in this direction is not to post something to places ! 478: where it will be worthless. ! 479: For example, ! 480: if you live in Hackensack, ! 481: New Jersey, ! 482: the probability of anyone in Korea wanting to buy your ! 483: 1972 Toyota is about as close to zero as you can get. ! 484: So confine your posting to the New Jersey area. ! 485: .pg ! 486: To do this, ! 487: you can either post to a local group, ! 488: or post to a net-wide group and use the ! 489: .i distribution ! 490: feature to limit how widely your article will go. ! 491: When you give your posting program ! 492: (usually ! 493: .i postnews (1)) ! 494: a distribution, ! 495: you are (in essence) saying that ! 496: machines which do not recognize that distribution ! 497: should not get the article. ! 498: (Think of it as a subgroup based on locality and you'll get the idea.) ! 499: For example, ! 500: if you are posting in the San Francisco Bay Area, ! 501: and you post your article to ! 502: .ng rec.auto ! 503: but give ! 504: .ng ba ! 505: as the distribution, ! 506: the article will not be sent beyond the San Francisco Bay Area ! 507: (to which the ! 508: .ng ba ! 509: distribution is local) ! 510: even though you put it in a net-wide newsgroup. ! 511: Had you given the distribution as ! 512: .ng ca ! 513: (the California distribution), ! 514: your article would have been sent to all Californian sites on USENET. ! 515: Had you given the distribution as ! 516: .ng world , ! 517: your article would have been sent to all sites on USENET. ! 518: .hn 2 ! 519: Do not post the same article twice to different groups ! 520: .pg ! 521: If you have an article that you want to post to more than one group, ! 522: post to both at the same time. ! 523: Newer versions of the news software will show an article only once ! 524: regardless of how many newsgroups it appears in. ! 525: But if you post it once to each different group, ! 526: all versions of news software will show it once for each newsgroup. ! 527: This angers a lot of people ! 528: and wastes everybody's time. ! 529: .hn 2 ! 530: Do not post to moderated newsgroups. ! 531: .pg ! 532: You may not post directly to certain newsgroups; ! 533: you cannot post to some at all. ! 534: Newer versions of the news software will inform you ! 535: when either of these restrictions apply, ! 536: but older versions of news software will not. ! 537: .pg ! 538: If you want to have the appropriate moderator post something, ! 539: mail it to the moderator. ! 540: (If you do not know the address, ! 541: ask your USENET administrator. ! 542: In some cases, ! 543: the software will automatically mail, ! 544: rather than post, ! 545: your article to the moderator.) ! 546: .hn 2 ! 547: Ask someone if you can't figure out where to post your article ! 548: .pg ! 549: If you cannot figure out where to post something, ! 550: look in ! 551: .ng news.announce.newusers ! 552: for the list of active newsgroups. ! 553: (This is posted biweekly. ! 554: If you can't find it, ! 555: look at the list in ! 556: .i "How to Read the Network News" ; ! 557: but be aware that list is undoubtedly out of date already.) ! 558: If your article does not seem to fit in any of the listed groups, ! 559: post it to ! 560: .ng misc.misc ! 561: or don't post it. ! 562: .pg ! 563: If you still are not sure which newsgroup to post your article to, ! 564: ask an old-timer. ! 565: If your site doesn't have any old-timers ! 566: (or none of the old-timers will admit to being old-timers), ! 567: contact any of the following people: ! 568: .sd ! 569: Gene Spafford ([email protected], [email protected]) ! 570: Mark Horton ([email protected]) ! 571: Rick Adams ([email protected], [email protected]) ! 572: Chuq Von Rospach ([email protected]) ! 573: Matt Bishop ([email protected], [email protected]) ! 574: .ed ! 575: We will be happy to help you. ! 576: But, ! 577: please, ! 578: do not post the article to the net before you ask us! ! 579: .hn 2 ! 580: Be sure there is a consensus before creating a new newsgroup ! 581: .pg ! 582: Creating a new newsgroup is, ! 583: in general, ! 584: a very bad idea. ! 585: Currently, ! 586: there are so many articles being posted that the USENET is in danger of collapse ! 587: as site after site decides to cease to accept and retransmit certain newsgroups. ! 588: Moreover, ! 589: there is no established procedure for deleting a newsgroup, ! 590: so once created, ! 591: newsgroups tend to stay around. ! 592: They also tend to encourage people to think up new newsgroups, ! 593: and the cycle repeats. ! 594: Try to avoid thinking up new newsgroups. ! 595: .pg ! 596: If, ! 597: however, ! 598: you believe a new group should be created, ! 599: be sure you have a consensus that the group is needed ! 600: (either a mailing list has enough traffic and readers ! 601: to justify turning it into a newsgroup, ! 602: or a discussion in a current newsgroup ! 603: becomes so large for a period of time long enough ! 604: to warrant splitting it into a newsgroup.) ! 605: Then post an article to ! 606: .ng news.group ! 607: as well as any other groups related to your proposed new group, ! 608: and discuss the topics you are proposing be covered in your new group, ! 609: what it should be called, ! 610: whether it is ! 611: .i really ! 612: needed, ! 613: and so forth. ! 614: Try to resolve all objections, ! 615: and take into account all suggestions and comments; ! 616: finally, ! 617: have everyone mail you a \*(lqyes\*(rq or \*(lqno\*(rq vote ! 618: on whether the group should be created. ! 619: Try to get at least 40 or 50 \*(lqyes\*(rq votes before creating the group; ! 620: if you want to be safe, ! 621: get around 100. ! 622: .hn 2 ! 623: Watch out for newsgroups which have special rules about posting ! 624: .pg ! 625: Some newsgroups have special rules. ! 626: This section summarizes them. ! 627: .lp rec.arts.books 20 ! 628: Do not post anything revealing a plot or a plot twist ! 629: without putting the word ! 630: .cf spoiler ! 631: somewhere in the ! 632: .hf Subject ! 633: field. ! 634: This will let those who do not wish to have a surprise spoiled ! 635: skip the article. ! 636: .lp rec.humor 20 ! 637: If you want to post an offensive joke ! 638: (this includes racial, ! 639: religious, ! 640: sexual, ! 641: and scatological humor, ! 642: among other kinds) ! 643: rotate it. ! 644: (If you do not know what this means, ! 645: look in the section ! 646: .b "Writing Your Posting" .) ! 647: .lp rec.arts.movies 20 ! 648: Do not post anything revealing a plot or a plot twist ! 649: without putting the word ! 650: .cf spoiler ! 651: in the ! 652: .hf Subject ! 653: field. ! 654: This will let those who do not wish to have a surprise spoiled ! 655: skip the article. ! 656: .lp news.group 20 ! 657: Discussions about whether or not to create new groups, ! 658: and what to name them, ! 659: go here. ! 660: Please mail your votes to the proposer; ! 661: don't post them. ! 662: .lp comp.sources 20 ! 663: Source code postings go here. ! 664: Discussions are not allowed. ! 665: Do not post bug fixes here. ! 666: .lp comp.sources.bugs 20 ! 667: Bug reports and bug fixes to sources posted in ! 668: .ng comp.sources ! 669: go here. ! 670: .lp comp.sources.wanted 20 ! 671: Requests for sources go here. ! 672: .lp misc.test 20 ! 673: Use the smallest distribution possible. ! 674: In the body of the message, ! 675: say what you are testing. ! 676: .lp misc.wanted 20 ! 677: Requests for things other than source code go here. ! 678: Please use the smallest distribution possible. ! 679: Post offers here, ! 680: too. ! 681: .hn 1 ! 682: Writing the Article ! 683: .pg ! 684: Here are some suggestions to help you communicate effectively ! 685: with others on the USENET. ! 686: Perhaps the best advice is not to be afraid to consult a book on ! 687: writing style; ! 688: two of the best are ! 689: .i "How to Write for the World of Work" ! 690: by Cunningham and Pearsall, ! 691: and ! 692: .i "Elements of Style" ! 693: by Strunk and White. ! 694: .hn 2 ! 695: Write for your audience ! 696: .pg ! 697: USENET is an international network, ! 698: and any article you post will be ! 699: .i very ! 700: widely read. ! 701: Even more importantly, ! 702: your future employers may be among the readers! ! 703: So, ! 704: try to make a good impression. ! 705: .pg ! 706: A basic principle of all writing is to write at your readers' reading level. ! 707: It is better to go below than above. ! 708: Aiming where \*(lqtheir heads ought to be\*(rq may be fine ! 709: if you are a college professor (and a lot of us would dispute even that), ! 710: but it is guaranteed to cause people to ignore your article. ! 711: Studies have shown that the average American reads at the fifth grade level ! 712: and the average professional reads at the twelfth grade level. ! 713: .hn 2 ! 714: Be clear and concise ! 715: .pg ! 716: Remember that you are writing for a very busy audience; ! 717: your readers will not puzzle over your article. ! 718: So be very clear and very concise. ! 719: Be precise as well; ! 720: choose the least ambiguous word you can, ! 721: taking into account the context in which you are using the word. ! 722: Split your posting into sections and paragraphs as appropriate. ! 723: Use a descriptive title in the ! 724: .hf Subject ! 725: field, ! 726: and be sure that the title is related to the body of the article. ! 727: If the title is not related, ! 728: feel free to change it to a title that is. ! 729: .hn 2 ! 730: Proofread your article ! 731: .pg ! 732: This is a matter of courtesy; ! 733: since you want others to read your article, ! 734: the least you can do is check that it says what you mean in a clear, ! 735: concise manner. ! 736: Check for typographical errors, ! 737: silly grammar errors, ! 738: and misspellings; ! 739: if you have a spelling checking program, ! 740: use it. ! 741: Also be sure the article is easy to read. ! 742: Use white space \- blanks, tabs, and newlines \- ! 743: and both upper and lower case letters. ! 744: Do not omit the definite and indefinite articles, ! 745: either; ! 746: not only do \*(lqa\*(rq, ! 747: \*(lqan\*(rq, ! 748: and \*(lqthe\*(rq make a posting much easier to read, ! 749: their omission can make a posting ambiguous. ! 750: .hn 2 ! 751: Be extra careful with announcements of products or services ! 752: .pg ! 753: When writing a product or service announcement, ! 754: bear in mind that others will be paying most of the telephone bills. ! 755: So, ! 756: if you are announcing several things, ! 757: combine all the announcements into one article. ! 758: Mark the posting as a product or service announcement ! 759: in the title in the ! 760: .hf Subject ! 761: field. ! 762: Advertising hyperbole is not appropriate here; ! 763: remember that your audience is to a large degree technically literate, ! 764: and your product will stand or fall on its technical merits. ! 765: Be aware that posting obnoxious or inappropriate advertisements ! 766: is very serious and if you do it, ! 767: you may find your neighbors yanking your USENET access. ! 768: .hn 2 ! 769: Indicate sarcasm and humor ! 770: .pg ! 771: Remember that people cannot see you when they read your posting; ! 772: hence, ! 773: all the subtle nuances of body and facial motion are hidden. ! 774: It can be quite difficult to tell when you are being sarcastic or humorous. ! 775: To deal with this problem, ! 776: the USENET readers and posters have developed a special sign. ! 777: Mark passages you intend to be taken as humorous with the ! 778: \*(lqsmiley face\*(rq, ! 779: while looks like this: \*(lq:\-)\*(rq. ! 780: (Think of a head facing you lying on its right side and look again ! 781: if you don't understand why that symbol was chosen.) ! 782: As for sarcasm, ! 783: there is no universal symbol for that ! 784: (unless the sarcasm is meant humorously, ! 785: in which case use the smiley face again.) ! 786: But mark your passage so everyone will realize you are being sarcastic. ! 787: .hn 2 ! 788: Mark postings which spoil surprises ! 789: .pg ! 790: High on the list of obnoxious messages ! 791: are those that spoil the plot of a book or movie ! 792: by giving away an unexpected detail. ! 793: If you post such an article, ! 794: please put the word ! 795: .cf spoiler ! 796: in the ! 797: .hf Subject ! 798: field of your posting, ! 799: so people who do not wish to have a surprise ruined can skip the article. ! 800: .hn 2 ! 801: Rotate offensive postings ! 802: .pg ! 803: If you feel you must post a message that may offend people, ! 804: you can take steps to be sure the message will only be read ! 805: by those who explicitly ask for it to be shown to them. ! 806: The USENET convention is to encrypt these messages ! 807: by shifting each letter 13 characters, ! 808: so that ! 809: (for example) ! 810: \*(lqa\*(rq becomes \*(lqn\*(rq. ! 811: (In more precise terms, ! 812: this is a Caesar cipher of shift 13; ! 813: on the USENET, ! 814: it is called ! 815: .i rot13 .) ! 816: When you do this, ! 817: put the word ! 818: .cf rot13 ! 819: in the ! 820: .hf Subject ! 821: field. ! 822: The news reader you are using almost certainly has a command ! 823: to encrypt and decrypt such messages; ! 824: if not, ! 825: use the ! 826: .ux ! 827: command ! 828: .sd c ! 829: tr a\-zA\-Z n\-za\-mN\-ZA\-M ! 830: .ed ! 831: .hn 2 ! 832: The shorter your signature, the better ! 833: .pg ! 834: Keep signatures concise; ! 835: 2 or 3 lines are usually plenty. ! 836: Include your name and addresses on any major networks ! 837: (such as ARPANET, ! 838: BITNET, ! 839: or CSNET). ! 840: This helps people contact you quickly and easily, ! 841: usually more so than by following the return path of the article. ! 842: Do not include pictures, graphics or clever quotations that make the ! 843: signature longer; this is not the appropriate place for them, ! 844: and many sites resent paying the phone bills for such signatures. ! 845: .hn 1 ! 846: Conclusion and Summary ! 847: .pg ! 848: Here is a list of the rules given above: ! 849: .si ! 850: .lp \(rh \w'\(rh\ 'u ! 851: Deciding to post ! 852: .si ! 853: .lp \(bu \w'\(bu\ 'u ! 854: Do not repeat postings ! 855: .lp \(bu \w'\(bu\ 'u ! 856: Do not post anything when upset, angry, or intoxicated ! 857: .lp \(bu \w'\(bu\ 'u ! 858: Be sure your posting is appropriate to USENET ! 859: .lp \(bu \w'\(bu\ 'u ! 860: Do not post other people's work without permission ! 861: .lp \(bu \w'\(bu\ 'u ! 862: Don't forget that opinions are those of the poster and not his company ! 863: .ei ! 864: .lp \(rh \w'\(rh\ 'u ! 865: Where to Post ! 866: .si ! 867: .lp \(bu \w'\(bu\ 'u ! 868: Keep the distribution as limited as possible ! 869: .lp \(bu \w'\(bu\ 'u ! 870: Do not post the same article twice to different groups ! 871: .lp \(bu \w'\(bu\ 'u ! 872: Do not post to ! 873: .ng news.announce ! 874: newsgroups ! 875: .lp \(bu \w'\(bu\ 'u ! 876: Ask someone if you can't figure out where to post your article ! 877: .lp \(bu \w'\(bu\ 'u ! 878: Be sure there is a consensus before creating a new newsgroup ! 879: .lp \(bu \w'\(bu\ 'u ! 880: Watch out for newsgroups which have special rules about posting ! 881: .ei ! 882: .lp \(rh \w'\(rh\ 'u ! 883: Writing the Article ! 884: .si ! 885: .lp \(bu \w'\(bu\ 'u ! 886: Write for your audience ! 887: .lp \(bu \w'\(bu\ 'u ! 888: Be clear and concise ! 889: .lp \(bu \w'\(bu\ 'u ! 890: Proofread your article ! 891: .lp \(bu \w'\(bu\ 'u ! 892: Be extra careful with announcements of products or services ! 893: .lp \(bu \w'\(bu\ 'u ! 894: Indicate sarcasm and humor ! 895: .lp \(bu \w'\(bu\ 'u ! 896: Mark postings which spoil surprises ! 897: .lp \(bu \w'\(bu\ 'u ! 898: Rotate offensive postings ! 899: .lp \(bu \w'\(bu\ 'u ! 900: The shorter your signature, the better ! 901: .ei ! 902: .ei ! 903: .pg ! 904: The USENET can be a great place for us all. ! 905: Sadly, ! 906: not enough people are following the customs that have been established ! 907: to keep the USENET civilized. ! 908: This document was written to educate all users of the USENET ! 909: on their responsibilities. ! 910: Let's clean up the USENET, ! 911: and turn it into a friendly, ! 912: helpful community again! ! 913: .sp ! 914: .bi Acknowledgements: ! 915: The writing of this document was inspired by Chuq von Rospach's posting ! 916: on USENET etiquette, ! 917: and it draws on previous work by Mark Horton, ! 918: A. Jeff Offutt, ! 919: Gene Spafford, ! 920: and ! 921: Chuq von Rospach. ! 922: .bp ! 923: .hu 1 ! 924: Appendix A. Answers to Frequently Asked Questions ! 925: .pg l ! 926: .i ! 927: originally from Jerry Schwarz ([email protected]) ! 928: .br ! 929: modified by Gene Spafford ([email protected]) ! 930: .br ! 931: modified by Matt Bishop ([email protected]) ! 932: .r ! 933: .sp ! 934: .pg ! 935: This document discusses some items that occur repeatedly on USENET. ! 936: They frequently are submitted by new users, ! 937: and result in many follow-ups, ! 938: sometimes swamping groups for weeks. ! 939: The purpose of this note is to head off these annoying events ! 940: by answering some questions ! 941: and warning about the inevitable consequence of asking others. ! 942: If you don't like my answers, ! 943: let me know and I may include revisions in future versions of this note. ! 944: .nr Qs \w'\0\0.\ 'u ! 945: .de Lp ! 946: .lp "\\$1" \\n(Qsu ! 947: .. ! 948: .Lp \01. ! 949: What does ! 950: .ux ! 951: stand for? ! 952: .Lp ! 953: It is not an acronym, ! 954: but is a pun on \*(lqMULTICS.\*(rq ! 955: MULTICS is a large operating system that was being developed shortly before ! 956: .ux ! 957: was created. ! 958: .Lp \02. ! 959: What is the derivation of \*(lqfoo\*(rq as a filler word? ! 960: .Lp "" ! 961: The favorite story is that it comes from \*(lqfubar\*(rq ! 962: which is an acronym for \*(lqfouled up beyond all recognition,\*(rq ! 963: which is supposed to be a military term. ! 964: (Various forms of this exist, ! 965: \*(lqfouled\*(rq usually being replaced by a stronger word.) ! 966: \*(lqFoo\*(rq and \*(lqBar\*(rq have the same derivation. ! 967: .Lp \03. ! 968: Is a machine at \*(lqfoo\*(rq on the net? ! 969: .Lp ! 970: These questions belong in ! 971: .ng news.config ! 972: if anywhere, ! 973: but in fact your best bet is usually to phone somebody ! 974: at \*(lqfoo\*(rq to find out. ! 975: If you don't know anybody at \*(lqfoo\*(rq you can always try calling ! 976: and asking for the \*(lqcomputer center.\*(rq ! 977: Also, ! 978: see the newsgroup ! 979: .ng mod.map , ! 980: where maps of USENET and the UUCP network are posted regularly. ! 981: .Lp \04. ! 982: What does \*(lqrc\*(rq at the end of files like ! 983: .i .newsrc ! 984: mean? ! 985: .Lp ! 986: According to Dennis Ritchie, ! 987: \*(lqThe name ! 988: .i rc ! 989: comes from RUNCOM, which was the rough equivalent ! 990: on the MIT CTSS system of what ! 991: .ux ! 992: calls shell scripts. Of course, ! 993: RUNCOM derives from ! 994: .i "run commands.\*(rq" ! 995: .Lp \05. ! 996: What do \*(lq- (nf)\*(rq and \*(lqOrphaned Response\*(rq in an item's title mean? ! 997: .Lp ! 998: It means that the item was created by \*(lqnotefiles,\*(rq ! 999: an alternative news handling interface that many people prefer. ! 1000: If you want to find out more you can read the ! 1001: .i \*(lqNotesfile ! 1002: System Reference Manual\*(rq or contact ! 1003: .cn uiucdcs!essick . ! 1004: .Lp \06. ! 1005: What does \*(lq:\-)\*(rq mean? ! 1006: .Lp ! 1007: This is the net convention for a \*(lqsmiley face.\*(rq ! 1008: It means that something is being said in jest. ! 1009: If it doesn't look like a smiley face to you, ! 1010: flop your head over to the left and look again. ! 1011: .Lp \07. ! 1012: How do I decrypt jokes in ! 1013: .ng rec.humor ? ! 1014: .Lp ! 1015: The standard cipher used in ! 1016: .ng rec.humor ! 1017: in called \*(lqrot13.\*(rq ! 1018: Each letter is replaced by the letter 13 further along in the alphabet ! 1019: (cycling around at the end). ! 1020: Most systems have a built in command to decrypt such articles; ! 1021: .i readnews (1) ! 1022: and ! 1023: .i vnews (1) ! 1024: have the ! 1025: .qp D ! 1026: command, ! 1027: .i rn (1) ! 1028: (another popular public-domain full screen news reader) has the ! 1029: .qp X ! 1030: or ! 1031: .qc CONTROL-X ! 1032: commands, ! 1033: .i notes (1) ! 1034: has ! 1035: .qp % ! 1036: or ! 1037: .qp R . ! 1038: If your system doesn't have a program to encrypt and decrypt these, ! 1039: you can quickly create a shell script using ! 1040: .i tr (1): ! 1041: .sd c ! 1042: tr A\-Za\-z N\-ZA\-Mn\-za\-m ! 1043: .ed ! 1044: On some versions of ! 1045: .ux , ! 1046: the ! 1047: .i tr ! 1048: command should be written as: ! 1049: .sd c ! 1050: tr \*(lq[a\-m][n\-z][A\-M][N\-Z]\*(rq \*(lq[n\-z][a\-m][N\-Z][A\-M]\*(rq ! 1051: .ed ! 1052: .Lp \08. ! 1053: .ng soc.net-people : ! 1054: Is John Doe out there anywhere? ! 1055: .Lp ! 1056: I suspect that these items are people looking for freshman roommates ! 1057: that they haven't seen in ten years. ! 1058: If you have some idea where the person is ! 1059: you are usually better off calling the organization. ! 1060: For example, ! 1061: if you call any Bell Labs location and request John Doe's number. ! 1062: They can give it to you even if he works at a different location. ! 1063: .Lp \09. ! 1064: .ng sci.math : ! 1065: Proofs that 1 \(eq 0. ! 1066: .Lp ! 1067: Almost everyone has seen one or more of these in high school. ! 1068: They are almost always based on either division by 0 ! 1069: or taking the square root of a negative number. ! 1070: .Lp 10. ! 1071: .ng rec.games : ! 1072: Where can I get the source for ! 1073: .i empire (6) ! 1074: or ! 1075: .i rogue (6)? ! 1076: .Lp ! 1077: You can't. ! 1078: The authors of these games, ! 1079: as is their right, ! 1080: have chosen not to make the sources available. ! 1081: .Lp 11. ! 1082: .ng comp.unix.wizards : ! 1083: How do I remove files with ! 1084: .sm ASCII "" non- ! 1085: characters in their names? ! 1086: .Lp ! 1087: You can try to find a pattern that uniquely identifies the file. ! 1088: This sometimes fails because a peculiarity of some shells is that ! 1089: they strip off the high-order bit of characters in command lines. ! 1090: Next, ! 1091: you can try an \*(lqrm \-i\*(rq, or \*(lqrm \-r\*(rq ! 1092: (see ! 1093: .i rm (1).) ! 1094: Finally, ! 1095: you can mess around with i-node numbers and ! 1096: .i find (1). ! 1097: .Lp 12. ! 1098: .ng comp.unix.wizards : ! 1099: There is a bug in the way ! 1100: .ux ! 1101: handles protection for programs that run setuid. ! 1102: .Lp ! 1103: There are indeed problems with the treatment of protection in setuid programs. ! 1104: When this is brought up, ! 1105: suggestions for changes range from implementing a full capability list ! 1106: arrangement to new kernel calls for allowing more control over when ! 1107: the effective id is used and when the real id is used to control accesses. ! 1108: Sooner or later you can expect this to be improved. ! 1109: For now you just have to live with it. ! 1110: .Lp 13. ! 1111: .ng soc.women : ! 1112: What do you think about abortion? ! 1113: .Lp ! 1114: Although abortion might appear to be an appropriate topic for ! 1115: .ng soc.women , ! 1116: more heat than light is generated when it is brought up. ! 1117: Since the newsgroup ! 1118: .ng talk.abortion ! 1119: has been created, ! 1120: all abortion-related discussion should take place there. ! 1121: .Lp 14. ! 1122: .ng soc.singles : ! 1123: What do \*(lqMOTOS,\*(rq ! 1124: \*(lqMOTSS,\*(rq, \*(lqMOTAS\*(rq, ! 1125: and \*(lqSO\*(rq stand for? ! 1126: .Lp ! 1127: Member of the opposite sex, ! 1128: member of the same sex, ! 1129: member of the appropriate sex, ! 1130: and significant other, ! 1131: respectively. ! 1132: .Lp 15. ! 1133: How do I use the ! 1134: .hf Distribution ! 1135: feature? ! 1136: .Lp ! 1137: When ! 1138: .i postnews (1) ! 1139: prompts you for a distribution, ! 1140: it's asking how widely distributed you want your article. ! 1141: The set of possible replies is different, ! 1142: depending on where you are, ! 1143: but at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, ! 1144: New Jersey, ! 1145: possibilities include: ! 1146: .sd c ! 1147: \!.ta 8n ! 1148: local\tlocal to this machine ! 1149: mh\tBell Labs, Murray Hill Branch ! 1150: nj\tall sites in New Jersey ! 1151: btl\tAll Bell Labs machines ! 1152: att\tAll AT&T machines ! 1153: usa\tEverywhere in the USA ! 1154: na\tEverywhere in North America ! 1155: world\tEverywhere on USENET in the world ! 1156: .ed ! 1157: If you hit ! 1158: .qc RETURN , ! 1159: you'll get the default, ! 1160: which is the first part of the newsgroup name. ! 1161: This default is often not appropriate \- ! 1162: .i please ! 1163: take a moment to think about how far away people are likely ! 1164: to be interested in what you have to say. ! 1165: Used car ads, ! 1166: housing wanted ads, ! 1167: and things for sale other than specialized equipment like computers ! 1168: certainly shouldn't be distributed to Europe and Korea, ! 1169: or even to the next state. ! 1170: .Lp ! 1171: The newsgroup ! 1172: .ng misc.forsale ! 1173: exists for postings of sale announcements. ! 1174: Its distribution is limited to North America; ! 1175: posters should restrict this distribution even further, ! 1176: if possible and appropriate. ! 1177: .Lp 16. ! 1178: Why do some people put funny lines ! 1179: (\*(lqbug killers\*(rq) ! 1180: at the beginning of their articles? ! 1181: .Lp ! 1182: Some earlier versions of news had a bug which would drop ! 1183: the first 512 or 1024 bytes of text of certain articles. ! 1184: The bug was triggered whenever the article started with white space ! 1185: (a blank or a tab). ! 1186: A fix many people adopted was to begin their articles ! 1187: with a line containing a character other than white space. ! 1188: This gradually evolved into the habit of including amusing first lines. ! 1189: .Lp ! 1190: The original bug has since been fixed in newer version of news, ! 1191: and sites running older versions of news have applied a patch ! 1192: to prevent articles from losing text. ! 1193: The \*(lqbug-killer\*(rq lines are therefore probably no longer needed, ! 1194: but they linger on. ! 1195: .Lp 17. ! 1196: What is the address or phone number of the \*(lqfoo\*(rq company? ! 1197: .Lp ! 1198: Try the white and yellow pages of your phone directory, ! 1199: first; ! 1200: a sales representative will surely know, ! 1201: and if you're a potential customer they will be who you're looking for. ! 1202: Phone books for other cities are usually available in libraries of any size. ! 1203: Whoever buys or recommends things for your company ! 1204: will probably have some buyer's guides or national company directories. ! 1205: Call or visit the reference desk of your library; ! 1206: they have several company and organization directories ! 1207: and many will answer questions like this over the phone. ! 1208: Remember if you only know the city where the company is, ! 1209: you can telephone to find out their full address or a dealer. ! 1210: The network is ! 1211: .i not ! 1212: a free resource, ! 1213: although it may look like that to some people. ! 1214: It is far better to spend a few minutes of your own time ! 1215: researching an answer rather than broadcast ! 1216: your laziness and/or ineptness to the net.
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