Subject: rec.sport.rugby FAQ
Summary: This is the official Frequently Asked Questions list, complete
. with answers, for the fabled newsgroup rec.sport.rugby.  Please 
. read them carefully before posting.
Supersedes: <D92E8G.4u8@latcs1.lat.oz.au>
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2]
Date: Fri, 23 Jun 1995 03:47:56 GMT

Posting-Frequency: monthly

----------------------------------------------------------------------------


.Rec.sport.rugby Frequently Asked Questions
.------------------------------------------

CONTENTS:

.1. About rec.sport.rugby
..1.1 What is the purpose of rec.sport.rugby?
..1.2 How can I subscribe?
..1.3 Why is the group shared by rugby union and rugby league?

.2. About posting
..2.1 How can I post articles?
..2.2 What special posting conventions exist?
..2.2 What general advice should I adhere to?

.3. Requests for information

.4. Your contributions to the FAQ




1. About rec.sport.rugby
________________________


1.1 What is the purpose of rec.sport.rugby?
    ---------------------------------------     

.Rec.sport.rugby is a Usenet newsgroup for "discussion of the
game of rugby".  Heed that Usenet, which also allows for dial-up 
transmissions, is not the same as the Internet although the Internet may 
be used to propagate Usenet news articles.


1.2 How can I subscribe?
    --------------------

.You don't need to subscribe or obtain permission to join. The
discussion is open to all who are interested in rugby.


1.3 Why is the group shared by rugby union and rugby league and why doesn't 
    <the other code> get its own group?
    -----------------------------------

.Well, the fact of the matter is that there now exists a newsgroup
primarily dedicated to rugby league, that is aus.sport.rugby-league.
Originally, the reasons for the group being shared were primarily historical
but were also related to the low traffic in the early days of the group.  
Rugby league articles are still welcomed in rec.sport.rugby in light of the 
common origin of both sports and their common name "rugby," the interest of 
some in both, and fairly common discussions about players who have switched 
codes.

.Most articles in the newsgroup are about rugby union. League 
articles are prefaced with the prefix "RL:" in the title, by group 
convention. Please try to maintain this convention. 

.Whatever your opinions about the current state of affairs or the
merits of either code please respect other users and don't start needless 
flamewars. 




2. About posting
________________

.If you are new to posting articles check out the general advice in
the newsgroup news.announce.newusers; this will give you some of the basic
"rules" of dealing with internet newsgroups and especially netiquette
(the etiquette of the network).

.Patrons of rec.sport.rugby are urged to note that many other readers 
are obliged to pay to receive postings of articles because they receive Usenet
over the phone line, or that they reside in countries where they must pay
for the network transmissions.  Hence, posters are asked to ensure that 
their postings are worthwhile and constructive.

.For those users who are unfamiliar with posting articles using the 
news software, please post at your local test site BEFORE posting to 
rec.sport.rugby.  


2.1 How can I post articles?
    ------------------------
.Your newsreader program should enable you to post articles. If
for some reason it is incapable, or posting at your site has been
blocked, then you can post by sending an e-mail message to
.rec-sport-rugby@cs.utexas.edu
with the subject of your article in the mail subject line and your
article in the mail body. (Note the hyphens "-" instead of periods "."
in this e-mail address.) Please do not abuse this service; use it
sensibly and sparingly . 


2.2 What special posting conventions exist?
    ---------------------------------------

.a)As stated above, articles pertaining solely to league
should be prefixed by "RL". 
.It is most important that you adhere to this, as exchanges at 
cross purposes will frequently result otherwise. This advice particularly
applies to Australian posters who are inclined to talk about Interstate
clashes without specifying which code they are referring to. 
.Avoid discussing league and union in the same article unless
the subject of discussion clearly relates to both, e.g. players
switching codes.        

.b)Put the word "spoiler" or "result" in the title of an article 
dealing with the result or score of a match and DO NOT put the actual score 
in the title. 
.If you reveal the result in your title you may be spoiling someone 
else's enjoyment of the game --- remember not everyone gets to watch the 
matches live.

.c) Please avoid posting contentless articles of the type "come on
XXX" or "YYY are rubbish". 
.If you feel you must barrack for your favourite team
on USENET then it is relatively easy to set up a newsgroup of the
form alt.fan.rugby.team_x for that purpose. Read the appropriate articles
in news.announce.newusers on how to do this.
.

2.3 What general advice should I adhere to?
    ---------------------------------------
.
.a) Delete and paraphrase from articles that you quote when the 
information is no longer directly relevant. It is very annoying if someone 
includes hundreds of lines of quoted text merely to add one line of their
own.  If you wish to emphasise a particular quote, use ^^^^^^ underneath 
the line in question.  And when you quote, please make absolutely sure that
you attribute the quote to the correct person!
.Remember, people don't want to pay to read what they have already 
read.  Quote only what is necessary to make your response intelligible.  If 
your deletions may alter the meaning of what is quoted, insert a line.  If
you wish to emphasise a particular quote, consider using ^^^^^^ underneath 
the line in question.  Be wary though of using the tab key because some 
displays have a different number of characters, in a tab issue, to others.
And so the underlining may not be correctly aligned to the important piece
of text.
.And of course, ensure that you attribute the quote to it's original
author.

.b) Read ALL followups before responding. Errors, climb-downs and 
retractions do happen - make sure there isn't one already before you get on 
your soapbox.
.
.c) Cut down signatures, especially when they are in quotes of other 
people's articles.
.
.d) By all means offer yourself for correspondence - but don't get 
upset if nobody responds (this is a discussion group not a "penfriends" 
service).
.
.e) Use e-mail if the discussion is not of wider interest.  In 
particular, if you merely disagree with somebody's opinion, or wish to obtain 
some information of direct benefit to yourself.
.
.f) Use the title to reflect as accurately as possible the content of
the article. For example if you are discussing a game, rather than just
using "Team_A vs Team_B" try "Team_A vs Team_B: prematch analysis" or
"Team_A vs Team_B: match report" etc. At least give a hint of the content of 
the article, and update the title if the thread changes. Don't just try to 
use the title to attract attention to your article.
.
.g) Avoid writing in all upper or all lower case letters.
.
.h) Use a smiley :-) to denote humour [look at it sideways!], what is
obviously an attempt at a joke, on your behalf, might not be interpreted as 
being funny by others.  The rec.sport.rugby newsgroup is frequented by those 
of various cultures and subtle (or not so subtle) styles of humour may not 
always be appreciated as intended.
.
.i) Don't post articles of the type "Please somebody tell me the
result of yesterday's game". It is in the nature of Usenet that it may
take several days for articles to reach your site and even if you have
a good news feed, fluctuations in its quality can easily occur. It is
almost certain that somebody has already posted what you want to know
and it simply hasn't arrived yet. If you are really impatient, try 
using gopher or world wide web to read news somewhere else.

.j) Feel free to post ANY rugby articles of wide interest, but remember
that unsubstantiated opinions are not the basis for intelligent discussion.
Facts and analysis though will always be appreciated.
.
.k) Flaming (posting articles designed to insult, belittle or offend 
other posters) on rec.sport.rugby is vehemently discouraged.  This
group has been created for the discussion of rugby, and if you disagree with
someone's post, then you should be able to follow-up to it, and get your 
point across, without calling the original poster an "idiot", or "fool" or 
whatever. 
 
.This newsgroup prides itself in that it generally does not stoop to 
the derogatory levels of insult present on certain other sporting newsgroups,
and it won't be tolerated.  If you must maintain your pointless ego-jousting 
with other rugby enthusiasts, then please do it in the privacy of your own 
email facility.

.l) The posting of binary pictures (such as JPEGS) is very much 
discouraged.  There are various reasons for this, such as some users of 
Usenet having to pay transmission costs.  There is also the question of 
breach of copyright.  Also, many users do not have the necessary software to 
decode and view these pictures, and so binaries are not relevant to them.  
They are also of little use to those who live in countries where they have 
access to the same pictures from newspapers and magazines.  For those users 
who wish to distribute picture files, an option may be to set up an ftp 
server, or create their own mailing lists so that those who wish to obtain 
them may do so.  Otherwise the World Wide Web sites (see below) may decide 
to make the pictures available if asked.

.m) Restrict the distribution of your posting if it is not of 
World Wide interest.  People in New Zealand, Japan, etc. do not need to
read your request for the time of the showing of a satellite broadcast
in a bar in the US.
.There may be some justification for posting scores of club games as
many readers do move about the globe.  There is certainly wide interest in 
NZ and South African and British and French premier club games.  However, if
yours is a small club then it is most unlikely that the whole world wants to
know how your club performed on Saturday.  Consider setting up a mailing list
for the few that do.
.If for any reason, your posting is only of local interest then set
the distribution to something other than 'world'.  If your posting software
doesn't automatically offer a choice then use your editor to place a line in 
the article of the form:

Distribution: usa

or na for North America, etc.




3. Requests for information
___________________________

.Most requests for information involve game scores, etc., the answers
for which would not be appropriate to compile here.  Repositories for
much of this information do exist though on information servers on
the world wide web.     
.Rugby Union information may be found at the URL
..1.      http://rugby.phys.uidaho.edu/rugby/
..2.      http://www.vt.edu:10021/org/rugby/vrurugby.html

and a similar server for rugby league is available at the URL
..http://www.brad.ac.uk/~cgrussel/

.Other sites that exist, catering for both union and league, at club,
provincial and international level, are also available at the URL
..1.      http://www.vt.edu:10021/org/rugby/vt_pics.html
..2.      http://csugrad.cs.vt.edu/~dtracey/rugby/scores.html

Look there before asking the group.  Some of the information 
stored includes: 

.Rugby Union:
.------------
.1.      laws of the game, information about the game, schedules and 
..results of games, songs and jokes, and a few video clips. 
.2.      club scores (including college, men's, women's and old boys')
..from within the Virginia Rugby Union, world-wide scores, and 
..union and league images.

.Rugby League:
.-------------
.basics of rugby league, full rules, history of rugby league,
.international results, league tables and news, useful addresses.

.Other:
.-----
.1.      various union and league pictures  (note: these images are 
..best viewed using Netscape).  Distributors are welcome to 
..email their own picture sites to rugby@vt.edu, and expand 
..the "image library".
.2.      union match reports of world-wide club matches, 
..international and provincial games, and league games.

If what you seek is not there then by all means ask the group.

.If you don't know what the world wide web and a URL are
then read the document "Frequently asked questions about rugby on 
the World Wide Web" posted to this group monthly.

.Do note that anybody with e-mail capabilities can access these
information repositories on the WWW.  For example, the above mentioned FAQ
document for rugby on WWW can be obtained by sending mail to 
server@mail.w3.org with the single line

send http://rugby.phys.uidaho.edu/rugby/FAQ/www-rugby-faq.shtml

.in the body of the mail message and further instructions can be found 
therein.




4. Your contributions to the FAQ
________________________________

All serious suggestions as to how the FAQ could be improved, or what may have
been overlooked, are appreciated and encouraged by the maintainers.  The best
way to get yourself heard is to reply via email to the poster, and your
comment will be looked into.


Contributors:

ben.clegg@mrc-apu.cam.ac.uk
pbickers@phys.uidaho.edu
C.G.Russell@bradford.ac.uk
chiktby@latcs1.lat.oz.au


.......       / \       / \
.......       \  \     /  /
"Icy wind, dark night... |       Timothy B.Y. Chik              \  \   /  /
 begone!  This, is not   | 4th year Bach. Eng./Sci.(Hons.)  _  _ \__\_/  /
 your domain..."         |    La Trobe University, OZ.     |_||_|(___ \ |
  'Grantchester Meadows' |                                 |_||_|      |
      by ROGER WATERS.   |    chiktby@latcs1.lat.oz.au      |  /      /
.......     \ |     / 
.......     |      |


