🚀 go-pugleaf

Original-from: mark@cbosgd.att.com (Mark Horton)
[Most recent change: 1 May 1987 by sahayman@math.waterloo.edu (Steve Hayman)]

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 "comp", "news", "misc", "soc", "sci", "rec" or "talk"
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 news.announce.newusers.

Don't post announcements regarding major news events (e.g. the space
shuttle has just exploded!) to news groups.  By the time most people
receive such items, they will long since have been informed by
conventional media.  If you wish to discuss such an event on the net,
use the "misc.headlines" newsgroup.

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 the
appropriate newsgroup -- comp.newprod -- never to a general purpose
newsgroup such as "misc.misc".  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 will generally be rejected.  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
---------		---------	-------
news.announce.important cbosgd!announce	Important announcements for everyone
comp.std.c		cbosgd!std-c    ANSI C standards discussion
comp.std.unix		ut-sally!std-unix	ANSI Unix standards discussion
comp.std.mumps		plus5!std-mumps	ANSI Mumps standards discussion
comp.unix		cbosgd!unix	Discussion of Unix* features and bugs

Some newsgroups have special purpose rules:

Newsgroup		Rules
---------		-----
news.announce.important	Moderated, no direct postings, important things only.
misc.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
			"comp.sources.wanted" newsgroup.
rec.humor		Clean humor only; anything offensive must be rotated;
			no discussions -- humor only.  Discussions go in
			rec.humor.d
rec.arts.movies		Don't post anything revealing part of a movie
			without marking it (spoiler) in the subject.
news.groups		Discussions about new groups: whether to create
			them and what to call them.  Don't post yes/no
			votes, mail them to the author
misc.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., ARPA, CSnet, Bitnet).  Long signatures are
definitely frowned upon.  DO NOT include drawings, pictures, maps, or
other graphics in your signature -- it is not the appropriate place
for such material and viewed as rude by other readers.

If you post an article and remember something you've left out or
realize you've made a factual error, you can cancel the article and (if
cancelled quickly enough) prevent its distribution.  Then you can
correct whatever was wrong and post a new copy.  In "rn" and
"readnews", an article that you posted can be cancelled with the "C"
command.  Be aware, however, that some people may have already read the
incorrect version so the sooner you cancel something, the better.