zerkle@iris.ucdavis.edu (Dan Zerkle) (01/10/91)
[ This is a very minor revision plus a nice re-formatting ] [ of the January 7th version of this article. ] Instructions for Submissions as of January 9, 1991 This file gives instructions on how to make submissions to the comp.sys.amiga.announce newsgroup. As this is the first revision, there will certainly be changes forthcoming. Revised editions will be posted monthly. This group distributes announcements of import to people using the Commodore brand Amiga computers. Announcements may contain any important information, but most likely will deal with new products, disk library releases, software updates, uploads to archives, reports of major bugs or dangerous viruses, notices of meetings or upcoming events, and so on. Information should come from reliable sources. The most favored source is an official representative of the company discussed in the announcement. This group is not an advertising forum. Product announcements may not contain hype or comparisons with existing products. Announcements of products should contain only a straightforward description. A look at the "news" or "new products" section of a computer magazine should give an idea of the proper presentation. This group is moderated. You can not post directly to a moderated group. Instead, you need to send your submission to the moderator of the group, and the moderator will post your submission for you. The most typical way to send the submission is through electronic mail, but other methods are possible. More on this later. Product announcements should include at least the following information: 1. Short description of product. a. Overview b. List of features. 2. Compatibility with: a. Amiga 3000 b. Workbench/Kickstart 2.0 3. Price. 4. Release date. 5. Method to contact the company. This can be a phone/FAX number, e-mail address, or paper mail address. Software announcements should also include the following information: 1. Special hardware/peripherals required (if any). 2. Workbench/Kickstart versions required. 3. Usable RAM required. 4. Copy protection (Is it HD installable? Does it multitask politely?). Hardware announcements should include the following information as appropriate: 1. Power requirements. 2. Which models the product works with: 500/1000/2000/3000, NTSC/PAL. 3. Software required/included. Announcements may include additional information. Once you have your announcement ready, you should submit it to the moderator. The primary moderator is Dan Zerkle. The preferred method for submitting announcements is via electronic mail. Send your submissions to announce@iris.eecs.ucdavis.edu. You may send paper mail to Dan Zerkle Division of Computer Science University of California Davis, CA 95616 Other methods of submission are possible. For instance, if your company mails out press kits, the moderator can transcribe them. Please contact Dan at the e-mail address shown above or call (916) 754-0240 to make other arrangements. Assuming you send your announcement through electronic mail, an acknowledgement will be sent within two days. This may take longer to reach you due to the slowness of certain mail distribution systems such as UUCP. If you receive no acknowledgement after a reasonable wait, send the announcement again. This time, you should include your telephone number in case there is some trouble getting e- mail to you. If you still get no acknowledgement, either call the number above or use the backup moderator (see below). If there are no problems with the announcement, it will be posted immediately. The moderator may make minor edits for spelling, grammar, or clarity, but their presence will be noted. If there is some problem with the announcement, it will be returned with a note about the problem, so you can fix it. Likely reasons for rejection are inappropriateness for this group, incomplete information about a product, or too much selling hype. There is a backup moderator. He serves as the moderator when the primary moderator can not, due to absence or technical difficulties. Also, if you have a dispute with the primary moderator (He refuses to post something you think is ok), you can submit it to the backup moderator. The backup moderator is Mike Meyer. His e-mail address is mwm@decwrl.dec.com. There is a file containing warnings and disclaimers about this group. It is posted separately. One thing mentioned in that file is that by submitting announcements to the moderator, you implicitly release them into the public domain. This is so the moderators or other people can use the information in other ways, such as compiling or summarizing it. If you don't want your announcements to be released into the public domain, you should attach section to them stating that the information is copyrighted, and what uses of the information are permissible. Finally, if you have any questions about this group or making submissions you may contact the moderator at his personal e-mail box. The address is zerkle@iris.eecs.ucdavis.edu. Do not send submissions to this address, or they will be returned unposted. -- Please see monthly postings for the disclaimer, the introduction, the charter, and submission instructions. Comments to zerkle@iris.eecs.ucdavis.edu. Submissions to announce@iris.eecs.ucdavis.edu.