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1.1     ! root        1: From: [email protected]
        !             2: Newsgroups: general
        !             3: Subject: Emily Post for Usenet
        !             4: Date: Fri, 24-Dec-82 15:35:03 EST
        !             5: Expires: 1-Jan-1985
        !             6: 
        !             7:                       Emily Post for Usenet
        !             8: 
        !             9: Usenet is a large, amorphous collection of machines (hundreds) and
        !            10: people (thousands).  Readers range from casual observers who
        !            11: infrequently scan one or two groups to active participants who spend a
        !            12: significant amount of time each day reading news.  Their ages,
        !            13: experience and interests also vary widely.  Some use the network
        !            14: solely for professional purposes.  Others use it to carry on a variety
        !            15: of exchanges and interactions.
        !            16: 
        !            17: The kinds of interaction that occur in Usenet are new to almost
        !            18: everyone.  The interactions certainly aren't face to face.  On the
        !            19: other hand, submitting an item isn't like standing up before an
        !            20: audience either.  Nor is it like writing an article for publication.
        !            21: Nor, since no one moderates submissions, is it like writing a "letter
        !            22: to the editor." It combines aspects of formal and informal
        !            23: communications in a new way.
        !            24: 
        !            25: Despite (or because of) these considerations Usenet is a powerful and
        !            26: pleasant tool when people submitting items follow the emerging "net
        !            27: etiquette." Users at new sites (those at which Usenet has been
        !            28: available for less than three months) should be especially cautious
        !            29: until they have adjusted to this new form of communication.
        !            30: 
        !            31: This document is not a readnews tutorial.  In some cases I tell you to
        !            32: do something without saying how.  Ask around or consult whatever
        !            33: documentation is available.
        !            34: 
        !            35: The following list of suggestions is long, but you can become a
        !            36: responsible member of the Usenet community by reading it.  Before
        !            37: presenting a full discussion I will boldly state the rules:
        !            38: 
        !            39:     Put all items in an appropriate group.
        !            40:     Reply via mail.
        !            41:     Exhibit care in preparing items.
        !            42:     Read followups.
        !            43:     Don't be rude or abusive.
        !            44:     Avoid sarcasm and facetious remarks.
        !            45:     Use descriptive titles.
        !            46:     Cite references when appropriate.
        !            47:     Summarize the original item in followups.
        !            48:     In posting summaries of replies, summarize.
        !            49:     Be as brief as possible.
        !            50:     Don't submit items berating violators of these rules.
        !            51:     Don't make people read the same thing more than once.
        !            52:     Mark puzzles.
        !            53: 
        !            54: A more extended discussion of these points, of some important
        !            55: newsgroups, and of some common questions follows.
        !            56: 
        !            57:  1.  Put all items in an appropriate group.
        !            58: 
        !            59:      See below for a list of some important groups.  A followup to an
        !            60:      item does not always belong in the same group as the original
        !            61:      item.  In particular, followups should never go to net.general.
        !            62: 
        !            63:      Groups exist both to accommodate different interests and to
        !            64:      limit distribution.  Many geographic areas and organizations
        !            65:      have groups that are only distributed locally.  For example, on
        !            66:      eagle where I am composing this item there are "net" groups,
        !            67:      "btl" groups (Bell Labs), "mh" (Murray Hill) and "nj" groups
        !            68:      (New Jersey)"
        !            69: 
        !            70:  2.  Use mail instead of a followup item.
        !            71: 
        !            72:      When an item asks for specific information or requests a "vote",
        !            73:      you should reply via mail to the originator.  Remember that many
        !            74:      people will be reading the item at more or less the same time
        !            75:      and if they all respond via a followup item, the net becomes
        !            76:      flooded with almost identical responses that can annoy even
        !            77:      people who were interested in the original question.
        !            78: 
        !            79:      When submitting an item that is likely to generate responses,
        !            80:      remind people of this point by ending with "send me mail and
        !            81:      I'll post the results to the net."   Of course, you then accept
        !            82:      the obligation of doing so.
        !            83: 
        !            84:  3.  Exhibit care in preparing items.
        !            85: 
        !            86:      While Usenet interactions sometimes take on the flavor of casual
        !            87:      conversation, you should spend the time and effort to make your
        !            88:      item readable and pertinent.  Be sure you have something new to
        !            89:      say. In particular, be sure you have understood earlier items.
        !            90:      If you are in doubt about an author's intent, carry on a private
        !            91:      interaction.  Frequently a discussion starts with one or two
        !            92:      carefully prepared "position papers" and then degenerates into
        !            93:      repetitive claims.
        !            94: 
        !            95:      While proper spelling and grammar do not necessarily improve the
        !            96:      ideas of an item, many readers feel that a lack of attention to
        !            97:      English usage may reflect a similar lack of attention to the
        !            98:      ideas.
        !            99: 
        !           100:  4.  Read followups before reacting.
        !           101: 
        !           102:      When you read an item, followups may have already reached your
        !           103:      machine.  Before reacting to the item (either with mail or by
        !           104:      submitting a followup) you ought to know what others have said.
        !           105: 
        !           106:      The standard readnews interface doesn't make this easy, but it
        !           107:      should be done.  (See below.)
        !           108: 
        !           109:  5.  Use an editor to prepare items for submission.
        !           110: 
        !           111:      If you are using the standard version of readnews or postnews
        !           112:      you should set the EDITOR shell environment variable to the
        !           113:      editor you want to use.   This lets you correct spelling,
        !           114:      grammar, etc.
        !           115: 
        !           116:  6.  Don't be rude or abusive.
        !           117: 
        !           118:      I regret having to say this, but I have seen too many items that
        !           119:      start "John, you idiot, ...", or contain phrases like "People
        !           120:      who think ... should be shot." I suspect much of this rudeness
        !           121:      is just carelessness.  Modes of speech that would be reasonable
        !           122:      in private conversation may not be reasonable in a semi-public
        !           123:      forum such as the net.
        !           124: 
        !           125:  7.  Avoid sarcasm and facetious remarks.
        !           126: 
        !           127:      Without the voice inflection and body language of personal
        !           128:      communication these are easily misinterpreted.
        !           129: 
        !           130:  8.  Use descriptive titles.
        !           131: 
        !           132:      Readers should be able to decide whether to read or skip items
        !           133:      based on their titles.  For example if you are having trouble
        !           134:      with your dishwasher you might submit an item titled "need help
        !           135:      with G.E. dishwasher" to net.wanted.  Don't submit an item
        !           136:      titled "Need Help."
        !           137: 
        !           138:      Followups should be titled "Re:" followed by the title of the
        !           139:      original item.  This is done automatically by the "f" command in
        !           140:      standard readnews.
        !           141: 
        !           142:  9.  Cite references when appropriate.
        !           143: 
        !           144:      This is especially true in discussions when you quote "facts"
        !           145:      that are not universally known.  Many such "facts" turn out on
        !           146:      close examination to be opinions.  This rule doesn't apply to
        !           147:      some groups like net.wanted or net.jokes where references are
        !           148:      irrelevant.
        !           149: 
        !           150: 10.  Summarize the original item in followups.
        !           151: 
        !           152:      Remember that although you may have an item in front of you when
        !           153:      you submit a followup, others won't.  Remind the reader of the
        !           154:      point of the original item.  But don't repeat a long item.  That
        !           155:      would violate the "be brief" principle.
        !           156: 
        !           157: 11.  In posting summaries of replies, actually summarize.
        !           158: 
        !           159:      Sometimes people just collect the items they received.  The
        !           160:      mailed replies might just as well been submitted to the net.  At
        !           161:      the least the replies should be edited to eliminate redundancy
        !           162:      and irrelevancy.
        !           163: 
        !           164: 12.  Be as brief as possible.
        !           165: 
        !           166:      Some people read news over slow (300bps) terminals, and watching
        !           167:      a 15 line "signature" that you have seen ten times before gets
        !           168:      boring.  (I hope you don't consider this item a violation.  I
        !           169:      have tried to keep it brief, but there is a lot to say.) Even
        !           170:      people who read news on faster terminals don't like to wade
        !           171:      through extraneous material to get to the heart of the matter.
        !           172: 
        !           173: 13.  Don't publicly berate violaters of these rules.
        !           174: 
        !           175:      They probably didn't realize the anti-social nature of their
        !           176:      behavior.  Besides, if you didn't want to see the original item
        !           177:      nobody wants to see your complaint.  These complaints fall into
        !           178:      the category of reactions that should go directly to the
        !           179:      originator via mail.
        !           180: 
        !           181: 14.  Don't make people read the same thing more than once.
        !           182: 
        !           183:      When you have something to say that is of interest to more than
        !           184:      one group, submit it as one item to the groups with one command.
        !           185:      If you use a separate command for each group, readers who
        !           186:      subscribe to several of these groups will see it more than once.
        !           187: 
        !           188:      If you must retract or revise an item, use the "cancel" command
        !           189:      on the original.
        !           190: 
        !           191:      If your item provkes negative followups, don't submit more items
        !           192:      unless you have something new to say.  There isn't much point in
        !           193:      submitting an item which just repeats your original submission.
        !           194: 
        !           195: 15.  Mark puzzles.
        !           196: 
        !           197:      Puzzles (questions to which you know the answer) are appropriate
        !           198:      in certain groups (e.g. net.math).  When submitting a puzzle
        !           199:      make it clear that you know the answer and are submitting the
        !           200:      item for the amusement of others. This will prevent people from
        !           201:      putting the solution into followups. It will also let people who
        !           202:      know the solution (most submitted puzzles are old) ignore the
        !           203:      item without feeling guilty about not "helping" you.
        !           204: 
        !           205: 16.  Here is a list of some groups that are important to the smooth
        !           206:      functioning of the network or are frequently used improperly:
        !           207: 
        !           208:        - net.general
        !           209: 
        !           210:          This group is only for short announcements and queries that
        !           211:          need to be read by everyone.  Followups and discussions
        !           212:          should never go here.
        !           213: 
        !           214:        - net.followup
        !           215: 
        !           216:          This is the place for continuing discussions that have
        !           217:          started in net.general.  In the standard readnews program
        !           218:          the "f" command applied to an item in net.general will put
        !           219:          your submission in net.followup, but you can also submit
        !           220:          items directly to net.followup.
        !           221: 
        !           222:        - net.misc
        !           223: 
        !           224:          This is the place to carry on frivolous discussions,
        !           225:          arbitrary chat, and rambling discussions.  New groups are
        !           226:          frequently spawned from these discussions.
        !           227: 
        !           228:        - net.wanted
        !           229: 
        !           230:          This group exists for posting queries for help.  ("I know
        !           231:          somebody must have a program to compute ...")
        !           232: 
        !           233:        - net.jokes
        !           234: 
        !           235:          Jokes go here.  Jokes that might offend any readers should
        !           236:          be encrypted.  You can learn an encryption technique by
        !           237:          decoding some encrypted jokes.
        !           238: 
        !           239:          This group is often seen by people who do not regularly use
        !           240:          computers, and there have been several instances of
        !           241:          problems raised by offensive jokes.  There have also been
        !           242:          several extended discussions of the relation of this issue
        !           243:          to free speech.  The conclusion of these discussions has
        !           244:          always been that because the net exists largely at the
        !           245:          sufferance of large institutions who foot the bills we
        !           246:          should all be very careful about offending anyone.  Almost
        !           247:          any racial, ethnic, or sexual reference will offend
        !           248:          somebody.  The safe rule is: don't submit an unencrypted
        !           249:          joke unless you have seen similar ones in this group
        !           250:          already.
        !           251: 
        !           252:        - net.jokes.d
        !           253: 
        !           254:          Discussions about humor go here, not in net.jokes
        !           255: 
        !           256:        - net.news
        !           257: 
        !           258:          Discussion of all aspects of Usenet itself belong here.
        !           259: 
        !           260:        - net.news.group
        !           261: 
        !           262:          Creating a new group affects all the machines on Usenet.
        !           263:          Normally the need for a new group should be demonstrated by
        !           264:          the submission, over a period of time, of items that might
        !           265:          properly belong in a new group.  If you are new to Usenet
        !           266:          (less than 3 months) you probably shouldn't be creating new
        !           267:          groups.
        !           268: 
        !           269:          If you want to discuss a topic and can't find anywhere
        !           270:          else, try net.misc.
        !           271: 
        !           272:          In any case before you create a new group, submit an item
        !           273:          proposing the new group to net.news.group and to specific
        !           274:          groups that may share interests with your proposed new
        !           275:          group.  If after a week or two, you have received support
        !           276:          for the idea, and you haven't received any strenuous
        !           277:          objections, go ahead and create the group.  You should also
        !           278:          create an item in the new group with a distant expiration
        !           279:          date describing what the group is about.
        !           280: 
        !           281:        - net.sources
        !           282: 
        !           283:          After being announced in some appropriate place useful
        !           284:          programs and shell scripts are put here.  These should be
        !           285:          well enough commented so that even people who miss the
        !           286:          announcement can understand what they do.
        !           287: 
        !           288:        - net.test
        !           289: 
        !           290:          This exists so that Usenet administrators can test the
        !           291:          functioning of the software.  It should be used only as a
        !           292:          last resort since items will go to all machines.  In most
        !           293:          instances there will be a more limited group in which to
        !           294:          put tests (e.g. "mh.test").
        !           295: 
        !           296: 17.  Here are some queries that seem to be submitted frequently by
        !           297:      new users. Please don't ask them out of idle curiosity.
        !           298: 
        !           299:        - "Where does 'fubar' come from?"
        !           300: 
        !           301:          In my opinion the best answer seems to be "Fouled up beyond
        !           302:          all relief." There are lots of versions of this acronym, in
        !           303:          particular "Fouled" is usually replaced by a less polite
        !           304:          word.  "foobar", "foo" and "bar" are all derived from
        !           305:          "fubar."  (See discussion of net.jokes for the reason I do
        !           306:          not use the less polite word.)
        !           307: 
        !           308:        - "What does 'rc' in files like '.newsrc' stand for?"
        !           309: 
        !           310:          It stands for "run command" and has become a convention for
        !           311:          any file containing initialization information for a
        !           312:          command.
        !           313: 
        !           314:        - "Does anybody know my freshman roommate, John Doe, who I
        !           315:          haven't seen in years but I think works at Bell Labs?"
        !           316: 
        !           317:          If you really want to know, try calling any Bell Labs
        !           318:          location and asking the operator.  (The Murray Hill number
        !           319:          is 201-582-3000.) They have lists and telephone numbers of
        !           320:          all employees.  The same of course applies to DEC or UCB or
        !           321:          wherever.
        !           322: 
        !           323:        - "I can't reply via mail to some items. What can I do?"
        !           324: 
        !           325:          There are two common causes for this.  One is items from
        !           326:          ARPANET sites. (These have "@" in their names.) There are
        !           327:          technical, administrative and organizational problems with
        !           328:          communication between Usenet and ARPANET.  The other cause
        !           329:          is machines that are on Usenet but won't forward mail.
        !           330:          (This includes some ARPANET sites and some uucp-only
        !           331:          sites.) The only (admittedly difficult) way to circumvent
        !           332:          both problems is to construct a path that avoids the
        !           333:          trouble machines.
        !           334: 
        !           335:        - "Is being called a 'hacker' a compliment or an insult?"
        !           336: 
        !           337:          Some people think one, some think the other.  If you want
        !           338:          to be unambiguous find another word.
        !           339: 
        !           340:        - "How do I read followups to an item before I reply?"
        !           341: 
        !           342:          This depends on how you read news.  If you use the standard
        !           343:          readnews program then the easiest way is to use the "e-"
        !           344:          command after reading an item.  This will tell readnews to
        !           345:          forget that you have read the previous item.  When you have
        !           346:          read the followups you can "q" and start readnews again.
        !           347: 
        !           348: Phew!!  Don't let this long list intimidate you.  The net exists to be
        !           349: used.  It is a powerful tool and as long as people treat it as a tool
        !           350: rather than a toy, it will prosper.
        !           351: 
        !           352: Jerry Schwarz
        !           353: eagle!jerry
        !           354: 
        !           355: 
        !           356: 

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