chuqui@nsc.UUCP (06/05/84)
I'm shipping a fresh copy of the emily post document. There has been a lot
of feedback, all positive (thanks!) and quite a few good suggestions that
have been used for this. The largest change is in the section discussing
rotating articles and the 'rot13' programs. Further feedback to nsc!chuqui
or nsc!emily-post is always welcome.
chuq
A Primer on How to Work With the USENET Community
Chuq Von Rospach (nsc!chuqui)
USENET is a large collection of computers that share data with each
other. It is the people on these computers that make USENET worth the
effort, and for USENET to function properly these people must be able to
interact in productive ways. This document is intended as a guide to
using the net in ways that will be pleasant and productive for everyone.
This document is not intended to teach you how to use USENET. Instead,
it is a guide to using it politely, effectively and efficiently.
Communication by computer is new to almost everybody, and there are
certain aspects that can make it a frustrating experience until you get
used to them. This document should help you avoid the worst traps.
The easiest way to learn how to use USENET is to watch how others use it.
Start reading the news and try to figure out what people are doing and
why. After a couple of weeks you will start understanding why certain
things are done and what things shouldn't. There are documents available
describing the technical details of how to use the software. These are
different depending on which programs you use to access the news. You
can get copies of these from your system administrator. If you do not
know who that person is they can usually be contacted by mailing to
account 'usenet'.
Never Forget that the Person on the Other Side is Human
Because your interaction with the network is through a computer it is
easy to forget that there are people "out there." Situations arise where
emotions erupt into a verbal free-for-all that can lead to hurt feelings.
Please remember that people all over the world are reading your words.
Do not attack people if you cannot persuade them with your presentation
of the facts. Screaming, cursing, and abusing others only serves to make
people think less of you and be less willing to help you when you need
it.
If you are upset at something or someone, wait until you have had a
chance to calm down and think about it. A cup of coffee or a good
night's sleep works wonders on your perspective. Hasty words create more
problems than they solve. Try not to say anything to others you would
not say to them in person in a room full of people.
Be Brief
Never say in ten words what you can say in fewer. Say it succinctly and
it will have a higher impact. Remember that the longer you make your
article, the fewer people will bother to read it.
Your Postings Reflect Upon You; Be Proud of Them
Most people on USENET will know you only by what you say and how well you
say it. They may someday be your co-workers or friends. Take some time
to make sure each posting is something that will not embarrass you later.
Minimize your spelling errors and make sure that the article is easy to
read and understand. Writing is an art and to do it well requires
practice. Since much of how people judge you on the net is based on your
writing, such time is well spent.
Use Descriptive Titles
The subject line of an article is there to enable a person with a limited
amount of time to decide whether or not to read your article. Tell
people what the article is about before they read it. A title like "Car
for Sale" to net.auto does not help as much as "66 MG Midget for sale:
Beaverton OR." Don't expect people to read your article to find out what
it is about because many of them won't bother.
Think About Your Audience
When you post an article think about the people you are trying to reach.
Asking UNIX(*) questions on net.auto will not reach as many of the people
you want to reach as if you asked it on net.unix or net.unix-wizards.
Try to get the most appropriate audience for your message, not the
widest.
It is considered bad form to post to net.general and some other
newsgroup, or to net.misc and some other newsgroup, or to net.net-people
and some other newsgroup. If it belongs in that other newsgroup, it does
not belong in net.general, net.misc, or net.net-people. It is important
that no unnecessary messages be sent to net.general. If it gets
overloaded, people start unsubscribing to it and its usefulness is
impaired.
If your message is of interest to a limited geographic area (apartments,
car sales, meetings, concerts, etc...), restrict the distribution of the
message to your local area. Some areas have special newsgroups with
geographical limitations, and the newer versions of the news software
allow you to limit the distribution of material sent to net-wide
newsgroups. Check with your system administrator to see what newsgroups
are available and how to use them.
If you want to try a test of something, do not use a net-wide newsgroup!
Messages in net.general that say "This is a test" are likely to cause
large numbers of caustic messages to flow into your mailbox. There are
newsgroups that are local to your computer that should be used. Your
system administrator can tell you what they are. There is a newsgroup
called net.test, but it is there for the system administrators to use to
test the network software and should not be used by anyone else.
Be Careful with Humor and Sarcasm
Without the voice inflections and body language of personal
communications, it is easy for a remark meant to be funny to be
misinterpreted. Subtle humor tends to get lost, so take steps to make
sure that people realize you are trying to be funny. The net has
developed a symbol called the smiley face. It looks like ":-)" and
points out sections of articles with humorous intent. No matter how
broad the humor or satire, it is safer to remind people that you are
being funny.
Only Post a Message Once
If you are going to post a message to multiple newsgroups, do not post to
each group separately. Instead, specify all the groups on a single copy
of the message. This reduces network overhead and lets people who
subscribe to more than one of those groups see the message once instead
of having to wade through each copy.
Please Rotate Messages With Questionable Content
Certain newsgroups (such as net.jokes) have messages in them that may be
offensive to some people. To make sure that these messages are not read
unless they are explicitly requested, these messages should be encrypted.
The standard encryption method is to rotate each letter by thirteen
characters so that an "a" becomes an "n". This is known on the network
as "rot13" and when you rotate a message the word "rot13" should be in
the "Subject:" line. Most of the software used to read usenet articles
have some way of encrypting and decrypting messages. Your system
administrator can tell you how the software on your system works, or you
can use the Unix command "tr [a-z][A-Z] [n-z][a-m][N-Z][A-M]".
Summarize What You are Following Up
When you are following up someone's article, please summarize the parts
of the article to which you are responding. This allows readers to
appreciate your comments rather than trying to remember what the original
article said. It is also possible for your response to get to some sites
before the original article.
Summarization is best done by including appropriate quotes from the
original article. Do not include the entire article since it will
irritate the people who have already seen it. Even if you are responding
to the entire article, summarize only the major points you are
discussing.
Use Mail, Don't Post a Follow-up
One of the biggest problems we have on the network is that when someone
asks a question many people send out identical answers. When this
happens, dozens of identical answers pour through the net. Mail your
answer to the person and suggest that they summarize to the network.
This way the net will only see a single copy of the answers, no matter
how many people answer the question.
Read All Follow-ups and Don't Repeat What Has Already Been Said
Before you submit a follow-up to a message, read the rest of the messages
in the newsgroup to see whether someone has already said what you want to
say. If someone has, don't repeat it.
Be Careful About Copyrights and Licenses
Once something is posted onto the network, it is effectively in the
public domain. When posting material to the network, keep in mind that
material that is UNIX-related may be restricted by the license you or
your company signed with AT&T and be careful not to violate it. You
should also be aware that posting movie reviews, song lyrics, or anything
else published under a copyright could cause you, your company, or the
net itself to be held liable for damages, so we highly recommend caution
in using this material.
Cite Appropriate References
If you are using facts to support a cause, state where they came from.
Don't take someone else's ideas and use them as your own. You don't want
someone pretending that your ideas are theirs; show them the same
respect.
When Summarizing, Summarize!
When you request information from the network, it is common courtesy to
report your findings so that others can benefit as well. The best way of
doing this is to take all the responses that you received and edit them
into a single article that is posted to the places where you originally
posted your question.
Take the time to strip headers, combine duplicate information, and write
a short summary. Try to credit the information to the people that sent
it to you, where possible.
Mark or Rotate Answers and Spoilers
When you post something (like a movie review that discusses an important
detail of the plot) which might spoil a surprise for other people, please
mark your message with a warning so that they can skip the message.
Another alternative would be to use the "rot13" protocol to encrypt the
message so it cannot be read accidently. When you post a message with a
spoiler in it make sure the word "spoiler" is part of the "Subject:"
line.
Spelling Flames Considered Harmful
Every few months a plague descends on USENET called the spelling flame.
It starts out when someone posts an article correcting the spelling or
grammar in some article. The immediate result seems to be for everyone
on the net to turn into a 6th grade English teacher and pick each other's
postings apart for a few weeks. This is not productive and tends to
cause people who used to be friends to get angry at each other.
It is important to remember that we all make mistakes, and that there are
many users on the net who use English as a second language. If you feel
that you must make a comment on the quality of a posting, please do so by
mail, not on the network.
Don't Overdo Signatures
Signatures are nice, and many people can have a signature added to their
postings automatically by placing it in a file called ".signature".
Don't overdo it. Signatures can tell the world something about you, but
keep them short. A signature that is longer than the message itself is
considered to be in bad taste. The main purpose of a signature is to
help people locate you on the net, not learn your life story. Every
signature should include your return address relative to a well known
site on the network. Your system administrator can give this to you.
Summary of Things to Remember
Never forget that the person on the other side is human
Be brief
Your postings reflect upon you; be proud of them
Use descriptive titles
Think about your audience
Be careful with humor and sarcasm
Only post a message once
Please rotate material with questionable content
Summarize what you are following up
Use mail, don't post a follow-up
Read all follow-ups and don't repeat what has already been said
Be careful about copyrights and licenses
Cite appropriate references
When summarizing, summarize
Mark or rotate answers or spoilers
Spelling flames considered harmful
Don't overdo signatures
(*)UNIX is a trademark of AT&T Bell Laboratories.
--
>From the closet of anxieties of: Chuq Von Rospach
{amd70,fortune,hplabs,ihnp4}!nsc!chuqui (408) 733-2600 x242
I'm sure I have my death ray in here somewhere...