(11) Personal arguments are inappropriate in a public
group
=====================================================
If you're unhappy with what some user said, don't start a
personal
argument publicly. Send private e-mail instead.
(12) Think About Your Audience
===============================
When you post an article, think about the people you're trying
to
reach. Asking chess questions on rec.games will not reach as
many
of the people you want to reach as if you asked them on
rec.games.chess.
Try to get the most appropriate audience for your posting, not
the
widest.
If your message is of interest to a limited geographic area
(apartments, car sales, meetings, concerts), use the
"Distribution"
feature to restrict the distribution of the message to your
local
area. For example, if it only belongs on Penn State's local
systems, post to a psu group.
If you want to try a test of something, don't use a net-wide
newsgroup! Messages in widely-used groups that say "This is a
test" are likely to cause large numbers of caustic messages to
flow
into your reader. You are welcome to use psu.test to try out
the
posting software to your heart's content. That's what it's
there
for!
(13) Be Careful with Humor and Sarcasm
=======================================
Without the voice inflections and body language of personal
communications, it's 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're 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's safer to remind
people
that you are being funny. (Turn your head sideways to see the
smile).
(14) Describe What You're Following Up
=======================================
When you're following up someone's article, please summarize
the
parts of the article to which you're responding. This allows
readers to appreciate your comments rather than trying to
remember
what the original article said. Also, it's possible for your
response to get to some sites before the original article
does.
Summarization is best done by including appropriate quotes from
the
original article. ã|Don't include the entire article,ã% since
it
will irritate the people who have already seen it. Even if
you're
responding to the entire article, summarize only the major
points
you are discussing.
(15) Posting a Followup vs. Sending Personal Reply
===================================================
One of the biggest problems we have on the network is that,
when
someone asks a question, many people have identical answers,
and
dozens of these identical answers pour through the net.
Therefore,
before you submit a followup article, read the rest of the
articles
in the newsgroup to see whether someone has already said what
you
want to say. If someone has, don't repeat it. If you want
your
opinion recorded, however, e-mail your answer to the person
instead
of posting a followup, and suggest that they summarize in a
single
posting to NETNEWS (see next section). This way the net will
only
see a single copy of the answers, no matter how many people
answer
the question.
If you post a question, please remind people to send you the
answers by e-mail and offer to summarize them to the network.
And remember, if in doubt, send e-mail.
(16) Summarizing Responses to Questions
========================================
When you request information from the network, it's 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 you receive
and
edit them into a single article that's 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.
(17) Advertising Policy
========================
Announcement of professional products or services on Netnews
is
allowed; however, since someone else is paying the phone bill,
it's
important that the announcement be of overall benefit to
Netnews.
Post to an appropriate newsgroup, never to a general purpose
group.
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. This policy
is, of course,
subject to change if it becomes a problem.
(18 ) Don't Break the Law
=========================
Once something is posted onto the network, it's effectively in
the
public domain. 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.
It's perfectly legal to reproduce short extracts of a
copyrighted
work for critical purposes, but reproduction in whole is
strictly
and explicitly forbidden by U.S. 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 Netnews articles should be
taken
as the opinions of the person who wrote the article. They
don't
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 Netnews or the underlying networks which
comprise Netnews. All responsibility for statements made in
Netnews rests with the individual posting the article.
Posting of information on Netnews is to be viewed as similar
to
publication. Because of this, don't post instructions for how
to
do some illegal act (such as jamming radar or obtaining cable
TV
service illegally); also don't ask how to do illegal acts by
posting to the net.
(19) Cite Appropriate References
=================================
If you're 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.
(20) Mark or Rotate Answers and Spoilers
=========================================
When you post something (like a movie review that discusses a
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
article. When you post a message with a spoiler in it, make sure
the word
"spoiler" is part of the Subject line.
