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From: usenet@gatech.CSNET
Newsgroups: net.announce.newusers
Subject: Rules for posting to Usenet (Last changed: 2 May 1985)
Message-ID: <201@gatech.CSNET>
Date: Sat, 1-Jun-85 00:19:34 EDT
Article-I.D.: gatech.201
Posted: Sat Jun  1 00:19:34 1985
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Original-from: mark@cbosgd.UUCP (Mark Horton)
[Most recent change: 2 May 1985 by spaf]

This message describes some of the rules of conduct on Usenet.  The rules
vary depending on the newsgroup.

Some newsgroups are intended for discussions and some for announcements
or queries.  It is not usually a good idea to carry on discussions in
newsgroups that are designated otherwise.  It is never a good idea to
carry on "meta-discussions" about whether a given discussion is
appropriate -- such traffic mushrooms until nobody can find articles
that belong.  If you are unhappy with what some user said, send him/her
mail, don't post it.

Before posting, think about where your article is going.  If it's
posted to a "net." newsgroup, it will probably go to the USA, Canada,
Europe, Korea, and Australia.  Certain articles are only of local
interest (e.g. used car ads) and it is inappropriate to post them to
the whole world.  Use the "Distribution" feature to restrict
distribution to your local area.  If you don't know how to use this
feature, read "Frequently Submitted Items" in another article in
net.announce.newusers.

Announcement of professional products or services on Usenet is allowed;
however, since someone else is paying the phone bills for this, it is
important that it be of overall benefit to Usenet.  Post to an
appropriate newsgroup, never a general purpose newsgroup such as
"net.general".  Clearly mark your article as a product announcement in
the subject.  Never repeat these -- one article per product at the
most; preferably group everything into one article.  Advertising hype
is especially frowned upon -- stick to technical facts.  Obnoxious or
inappropriate announcements or articles violating this policy are very
serious and cause for removing your machine from Usenet.  This policy
is, of course, subject to change if it becomes a problem.

Some newsgroups are moderated.  In these groups, you cannot post
directly, either by convention or because the software prevents it.  To
post to these newsgroups, send mail to the moderator. Examples:

Newsgroup	Moderator	Purpose
---------	---------	-------
net.announce	cbosgd!announce	Important announcements for everyone on the net
mod.std.c	cbosgd!std-c    ANSI C standards discussion
mod.std.mumps	plus5!std-mumps	ANSI Mumps standards discussion
mod.unix	cbosgd!unix	Moderated discussion of Unix* features and bugs

Some newsgroups have special purpose rules:

Newsgroup	Rules
---------	-----
net.announce	Moderated, no direct postings, very important things only.
net.general	Announcements only, no discussions, very important things only.
net.followup	Followups to net.general, results of surveys (no discussions)
net.wanted	Queries, "I want an x", "Anyone want my x?".  No discussions.
		Don't post to more than one xxx.wanted.  Use the smallest
		appropriate wanted (e.g. used car ads to nj.wanted.)
		Requests for sources, termcaps, etc. should go to the
		"net.wanted.sources" newsgroup.
net.flame	Normal standards of courtesy are not observed here.
net.jokes	Clean jokes only; anything offensive must be rotated; no
		discussions -- jokes only.  Discussions go in net.jokes.d
net.movies	Don't post anything revealing part of a movie without marking
		it (spoiler) in the subject.
net.news.group	Discussions about new groups: whether to create them and what
		to call them.  Don't post yes/no votes, mail them to the author
net.sources	Big files such as source code, no discussions.
		Bugs and fixes get posted to net.sources.bugs
net.test	Use the smallest test group possible, e.g. "test" or "ucb.test".
		Say in the body of the message what you are testing.

It is perfectly legal to reproduce short extracts of a copyrighted work
for critical purposes, but reproduction in whole is strictly and
explicitly forbidden by US and international copyright law.  (Otherwise,
there would be no way for the artist to make money, and there would
thus be less motive for people to go to the trouble of making their art
available at all.  The crime of theft is as serious in this context as
any other, even though you may not have to pick locks, mask your face,
or conceal merchandise.)

All opinions or statements made in messages posted to Usenet should be
taken as the opinions of the person who wrote the message.  They do not
necessarily represent the opinions of the employer of that person, the
owner of the computer from which the message was posted, or anyone
involved with Usenet or the underlying networks of which Usenet is made
up.  All responsibility for statements made in Usenet messages rests
with the individual posting the message.

Posting of information on Usenet is to be viewed as similar to
publication.  Because of this, do not post instructions for how to do
some illegal act (such as jamming radar or obtaining cable TV service
illegally); also do not ask how to do illegal acts by posting to the
net.

If you have a standard signature you like to append to your articles,
put it in a file called .signature in your home directory.  "postnews"
and "inews" will automatically append it to your article.  Please keep
your signatures concise, as people do not appreciate seeing lengthy
signatures, nor paying the phone bills to repeatedly transmit them.  2
or 3 lines are usually plenty.  Sometimes it is also appropriate to add
another line or two for addresses on other major networks where you can
be reached (e.g., DARPA, CSnet, Bitnet).  Long signatures are
definitely frowned upon.
-- 
Gene "3 months and holding" Spafford
The Clouds Project, School of ICS, Georgia Tech, Atlanta GA 30332
CSNet:	Spaf @ GATech		ARPA:	Spaf%GATech.CSNet @ CSNet-Relay.ARPA
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