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=  F.U.C.K. - Fucked Up College Kids - Born Jan. 24th, 1993 - F.U.C.K.  = 
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                                Users 
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   Well. Got a new local board. It is called a newbie board and is full of 
newbies. Bah. Since then, there has been a big argument about newbies, 
"elite", and other types of BBSers. I guess I define newbie as "Anyone who 
displays a lack of knowledge regarding a BBS." This means that someone 
could BBS for years yet still be  considered a newbie. Just as well,  
someone who has been BBSing for a short amount of time can display  
everything the veterans do. Time has nothing to do with it really. 
   When BBSing I try to help out a new person if I can. If they just ask  
a question then i will answer it. If they cop an attitude then I will be  
one of the first to slam them. (evil ain't I?) Anyway, a few others  
basically said it is wrong for me to correct a new person if he is doing  
something wrong. The following is a few things about BBSing that I hope  
all new people read. The first set of items are a list of things to do  
and not do. As it says, it was written by a sysop, and I would bet most  
sysops would agree to most of the items. 
 
 
Author unknown (but clearly a sysop) 
 
 
1.  Don't habitually hang up on a system.  Every Sysop is aware that 
accidental disconnections happen once in a while but we do tend to get annoyed 
with people who hang up every single time they call because they are either 
too lazy to terminate properly or they labor under the mistaken assumption 
that the 10 seconds they save online is going to significantly alter their 
phone bill.  "Call Waiting" is not an acceptable excuse for long.  If you have 
it and intend to use the line to call BBS systems, you should either have it 
disconnected or find some other way to circumvent it. 
 
2.  Don't do dumb things like leave yourself a message that says "Just testing 
to see if this thing works".  Where do you think all those other messages came 
from if it didn't work?  Also, don't leave whiney messages that say "Please 
leave me a message ".  If ever there was a person to ignore, it's the one who 
begs someone to leave him a message.  If you want to get messages, start by 
reading the ones that are already online and getting involved in the 
conversations that exist. 
 
3.  Don't use the local equivalent of a chat command unless you really have 
some clear cut notion of what you want to say and why.  Almost any Sysop is 
more than happy to answer questions or offer help concerning his system.  
Unfortunately, because about 85% of the people who call want to chat and about 
99% of those people have absolutely nothing to say besides "How old are you?" 
or something equally irrelevent, fewer Sysops even bother answering their 
pagers every day. 
 
4.  When you are offered a place to leave comments when exiting a system, 
don't try to use this area to ask the Sysop questions.  It is very rude to the 
other callers to expect the Sysop to carry on a half visible conversation with 
someone.  If you have a question or statement to make and expect the Sysop to 
respond to it, it should always be made in the section where all the other 
messages are kept.  This allows the Sysop to help many people with the same 
problem with the least amount of effort on his part. 
 
5.  Before you log on with your favorite pseudonym, make sure that handles are 
allowed.  Most Sysops don't want people using handles on the system.  There 
is not enough room for them, they get silly games of one-upmanship started, 
it is much nicer to deal with a person on a personal basis, and last but not 
least, everyone should be willing to take full responsibility for his actions 
or comments instead of slinging mud from behind a phoney name. 
 
6.  Take the time to log on properly.  There is no such place as RIV, HB, ANA 
or any of a thousand other abbreviations people use instead of their proper 
city.  You may think that everyone knows what RIV is supposed to mean, but 
every BBS has people calling from all around the country and I assure you that 
someone from Podunk Iowa has no idea what you're talking about. 
 
7.  Don't go out of your way to make rude observations like "Gee, this system 
is slow".  Every BBS is a tradeoff of features.  You can generally assume that 
if someone is running a particular brand of software, that he is either happy 
with it or he'll decide to find another system he likes better.  It does 
nobody any good when you make comments about something that you perceive to 
be a flaw when it is running the way the Sysop wants it to.  Constructive 
criticism is somewhat more welcome.  If you have an alternative method that 
seems to make good sense then run it up the flagpole. 
 
8.  When leaving messages, stop and ask yourself whether it is necessary to 
make it private.  Unless there is some particular reason that everyone 
shouldn't know what you're saying, don't make it private.  We don't call them 
PUBLIC bulletin boards for nothing, folks.  It's very irritating to other 
callers when there are huge blank spots in the messages that they can't read 
and it stifles interaction between callers.  [On the other hand, don't post 
stuff in public that would be totally obscure to everybody except one person.  
-- Tim] 
 
9.  If your favorite BBS has a time limit, observe it.  If it doesn't, set a 
limit for yourself and abide by it instead.  Don't tie up a system until it 
finally kicks you off and then call back with another name.  This same rule 
applies to downloading or playing games.  Only one person at a time can be 
logged on to a BBS and it isn't fair to everyone else if you overstay your 
welcome.  Remember, a BBS is best when it can be left wide open.  If you try 
and cheat the rules you just hurt everybody by forcing the Sysop to adopt more 
strigent policies.  I can't count the number of systems that are now locked 
tighter than a drum because of people who cheat and abuse. 
 
10.  Don't call a BBS just to look at the list of other BBS numbers.  Most 
especially don't call a system as a new user and run right to the other 
numbers list.  There is probably very little that's more annoying to any Sysop 
than to have his board completely passed over by you on your way to another 
board. 
 
11.  Have the common courtesy to pay attention to what passes in front of your 
face.  When a BBS displays your name and asks "Is this you?", don't say yes 
when you can see perfectly well that it is mispelled.  Also, don't start 
asking questions about simple operation of a system until you have thouroghly 
read all of the instructions that are available to you.  I assure you that it 
isn't any fun to answer questions about the way a BBS does one  
particular thing or another for the thousandth time when the answer is 
prominently displayed in the instructions or bulletins, if a caller would only 
bother to look.  On the other hand, if you have read the instructions, and 
find them to be vague, take the time to leave the Sysop a nice message telling 
him about your problem and explain how it might be changed to help others 
understand better. 
 
12.  If by some chance you should encounter an error while you are online 
(Heaven forbid!), ALWAYS take the time to leave the Sysop a message describing 
the circumstances.  Don't just say "There was an error".  That is not helpful 
in the least.  Chances are that he knows there was an error.  What he needs 
to know is what you were doing when the error occurred so that he can have 
some chance of finding and correcting it.  If the error happened after you 
input something, tell him what it was.  Remember that a BBS can't improve 
unless you're willing to help. 
 
13.  Don't be personally abusive.  It doesn't matter whether you like a Sysop 
or think he's a jerk.  The fact remains that he has a large investment in 
making his computer available, usually out of the goodness of his heart.  If 
you don't like a Sysop or his system, just remember that you can change the 
channel any time you want.  Calling a Sysop names or making uninformed 
comments about this lifestyle only shows you for the child you really are. 
 
14.  Keep firmly in mind that you are a guest on any BBS you happen to call.  
Don't think of logging on as one of your basic human rights.  Every person 
that has ever put a computer system online for the use of other people has 
spent a lot of time and money to do so.  While he doesn't expect nonstop pats 
on the back, it seems reasonable that he should at least be able to expect 
fair treatment from his callers.  This includes following any of the rules for 
system use he has laid out without grumping about it.  Every Sysop has his own 
idea of how he wants his system to be run.  It is really none of your business 
why he wants to run it the way he does.  Your business is to either abide by 
what he says, or call some other BBS where you feel that you can obey the 
rules. 
 
------- 
Posting. 
These are my own and are based on observations of local users and their 
reactions to various posting "styles". 
1. DO NOT TYPE IN ALL CAPS. 
2. Avoid excessive use of color, especially flashing red. 
3. Do not interupt a conversation with something totally unrelated. 
4. Do not profess to know everything about BBSing. 
5. Do not take all insults seriously. If there is a <G> or other sign 
   that shows it is in jest, take it as that. 
 
     Yep. That is about all. That is the basics. Follow those basics and 
you will "fit in" with the other BBSers. Some say that this takes away 
from individuality but it doesn't. It is easy to develp a posting style 
that is unique, yet follow each of those rules. 
     The following is a small list of different symbols and abbreviations 
that are commonly used on BBSs. This list is not complete and many may 
not be used where you BBS. 
 
ADN          Any day now 
AFAIK        As Far As I Know 
AMF          Goodbye (Adios Mutha-......) 
BBS          Bulletin Board System 
BTW          By The Way 
DIIK         Damned if I know 
FITB         Fill In The Blank.... 
FWIW         For What It's Worth 
FYI          For Your Information 
GIWIST       Gee I Wish I'd Said That 
IC           I See 
IMHO         In My Humble Opinion 
IMNSHO       In My Not So Humble Opinion 
IOW          In Other Words 
L8R          Later 
LOL          Laughing Out Loud 
NBFD         No Big F***ing Deal 
OIC          Oh, I See 
OTOH         On The Other Hand 
PFM          Pure F***ing Magic 
PITA         Pain In The Arse 
POV          Point Of View 
ROTFL        Rolling On The Floor Laughing 
ROTFLMAO     Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Ass Off 
RSN          Real Soon Now 
RTFM         Read The F..k... Manual 
SYSOP        System Operator 
TPTB         The Powers That Be 
TTBOMK       To The Best Of My Knowledge 
TTFN         Ta Ta For Now 
TTUL         Talk To You Later 
WTF          What the F*** 
     
:-)  :->  :)  :>  Smiling, happy face; don't take me too seriously 
B-)     Above, but poster wears glasses or sunglasses 
8-)     Same as previous; also used to denote wide-eyed look 
:-(     Sad or angry face 
;-)     Winking happy face (something said tongue-in-cheek) 
:-P     Tongue stuck out 
:-b     Same as previous 
:-D     Wider happy face (or mouth open too much) 
:-o     "Oh, nooooooo!" (a la Mr. Bill) 
#:-o    Same as previous 
<:-)    Dumb questions 
oo      "Somebody's head-lights are on" messages 
;-)     Wink ( take this message with a grain of salt) 
|-(     Late night messages 
@>--->----  A rose. 
 
     Of course you can devise your own little signs and stuff but be 
careful that they are understandable. If you make your own abbreviations 
make sure that they are explained at one time and that they don't get to 
long. 
     These are just a few helpful hints to help you better enjoy BBSing. 
Take them as you want to but know that they are not just the likes and 
dislikes of a single BBSer. 
                                           -Scourge 
 
 
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