whang@puff.UUCP (12/19/85)
> Original-from: Gene Spafford (gatech!spaf) > [Most recent change: 6 November 1985 by spaf] > > This is a short introduction to the proper use of the "net.general" > newsgroup. The "rules" for Usenet are based on convention, common sense, and > tradition. More detail on these rules, and on effective and proper use of the > Usenet in general may be found in the regular monthly postings in the > "net.announce.newusers" newsgroup. If you have not yet read those postings, > dxxxx 23 > exit so, soon! If your system does not get "net.announce.newusers" then send > me mail and I will try to obtain copies of those articles for you. > > > What is appropriate to post to net.general? > The only articles appropriate to net.general are articles of general > interest and importance to *EVERYONE* on the net. This includes readers > of the net in Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada, and the USA -- readers at > over 1100 sites around the world. > > Announcements of items for sale, test messages, announcements of local > seminars, postings of sources or bugs, enquiries as to the whereabouts of > old friends, and the like are *NOT* to be posted to net.general. > Followups to articles in net.general are also NOT supposed to go to > net.general; there is a "net.followup" specifically for that purpose. > > By convention, anything posted to net.general should *NOT* be posted to > any other "net" group, except perhaps "net.announce" (which is a > moderated group). > > Where do I post those articles then? > Look for a local or regional group first, and use the distribution > feature of "postnews" (see the "man" page for postnews and/or the > articles in "net.announce.newusers" for specifics on how to do this). > > For instance, a car for sale could be mentioned in an article in the > "net.auto" group BUT ONLY with the distribution set to an appropriate > value, like "nj" or "ca" -- very few people in Australia or Denmark will > want to read about a Chevy for sale in Chicago. They also don't want to > pay the phone costs to transmit the article overseas. > > Test messages should go to your local "test" newsgroup. Test messages > that MUST be broadcast to the entire world should be put in "net.test". > Please don't send tests to sites on four continents just to make sure > that your link with a single neighbor works; use an appropriate > distribution on net.test, or create a "to" newsgroup for such tests. s s exit JUNe oo exit exit >> >>> net.net.jpost > Most "wanted" requests should go to either "net.wanted" or > "net.wanted.sources". > > Where do I post something if I can't figure out where to post it? > Well, if you aren't sure where to post it, it definitely does NOT belong > in net.general. If it doesn't seem to fit in any newsgroup as described > in the list of active groups posted to net.announce.newusers, you should > post it to the "net.misc" group -- or not post it at all. > > Where do I go to get more information about newsgroups and posting? > See the articles in "net.announce.newusers". I post a number of articles > there every month which list all active newsgroups and their purposes. I > also post updated articles on Usenet rules and conventions. Every Usenet > user should familiarlize himself or herself with the contents of those > articles. > > You can also ask an "old-timer" for advice or help. Try sending mail to > me (spaf@gatech.uucp), Mark Horton (mark@cbosgd.uucp), Rick Adams > (rick@seismo.uucp) or Chuq Von Rospach (chuq@sun.uucp). We'll be happy > to try to answer your questions -- just don't post them to the net > first! > > > Usenet continues to function due to the co-operative efforts of its users. > Please co-operate and use net.general for its intended purpose. *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE ***