@c -*-tex-*-
@node Usenet News
@chapter Usenet News
@menu
@end menu

@c Original from: chip@count.tct.com (Chip Salzenberg)
@c [Most recent change: 19 May 1991 by spaf@cs.purdue.edu (Gene Spafford)]
@menu
@end menu

The first thing to understand about Usenet is that it is widely
misunderstood.  Every day on Usenet the ``blind men and the
elephant'' phenomenon appears, in spades.  In the opinion of the
author, more @dfn{flame wars} (rabid arguments) arise because of a
lack of understanding of the nature of Usenet than from any other
source.  And consider that such flame wars arise, of necessity, among
people who are on Usenet.  Imagine, then, how poorly understood Usenet
must be by those outside!

No essay on the nature of Usenet can ignore the erroneous impressions
held by many Usenet users.  Therefore, this section will treat
falsehoods first.  Keep reading for truth.  (Beauty, alas, is not
relevant to Usenet.)

@node What It Is
@section What Usenet Is

Usenet is the set of machines that exchange articles tagged with one
or more universally-recognized labels, called @dfn{newsgroups} (or
``groups'' for short).  (Note that the term @samp{newsgroup} is
correct, while @samp{area}, @samp{base}, @samp{board}, @samp{bboard},
@samp{conference}, @samp{round table}, @samp{SIG}, etc.  are
incorrect.  If you want to be understood, be accurate.)

@node Diversity
@section The Diversity of Usenet

If the above definition of Usenet sounds vague, that's because it is.
It is almost impossible to generalize over all Usenet sites in any
non-trivial way.  Usenet encompasses government agencies, large
universities, high schools, businesses of all sizes, home computers of
all descriptions, etc.

Every administrator controls his own site.  No one has any real
control over any site but his own.  The administrator gets his power
from the owner of the system he administers.  As long as the owner is
happy with the job the administrator is doing, he can do whatever he
pleases, up to and including cutting off Usenet entirely.  @var{C'est
la vie.}

@node What Usenet Is Not
@section What Usenet Is Not

@table @emph
@item Usenet is not an organization.
Usenet has no central authority.  In fact, it has no central anything.
There is a vague notion of ``upstream'' and ``downstream'' related to
the direction of high-volume news flow.  It follows that, to the
extent that ``upstream'' sites decide what traffic they will carry for
their ``downstream'' neighbors, that ``upstream'' sites have some
influence on their neighbors.  But such influence is usually easy to
circumvent, and heavy-handed manipulation typically results in a
backlash of resentment.

@item Usenet is not a democracy.
A democracy can be loosely defined as ``government of the people, by
the people, for the people.''  However, as explained above, Usenet is
not an organization, and only an organization can be run as a
democracy.  Even a democracy must be organized, for if it lacks a
means of enforcing the peoples' wishes, then it may as well not exist.

Some people wish that Usenet were a democracy.  Many people pretend
that it is.  Both groups are sadly deluded.

@item Usenet is not fair.
After all, who shall decide what's fair?  For that matter, if someone
is behaving unfairly, who's going to stop him?  Neither you nor I,
that's certain.

@item Usenet is not a right.
Some people misunderstand their local right of ``freedom of speech''
to mean that they have a legal right to use others' computers to say
what they wish in whatever way they wish, and the owners of said
computers have no right to stop them.

Those people are wrong.  Freedom of speech also means freedom not to
speak; if I choose not to use my computer to aid your speech, that is
my right.  Freedom of the press belongs to those who own one.

@item Usenet is not a public utility.
Some Usenet sites are publicly funded or subsidized.  Most of them,
by plain count, are not.  There is no government monopoly on Usenet,
and little or no control.

@item Usenet is not a commercial network.
Many Usenet sites are academic or government organizations; in fact,
Usenet originated in academia.  Therefore, there is a Usenet custom of
keeping commercial traffic to a minimum.  If such commercial traffic
is generally considered worth carrying, then it may be grudgingly
tolerated.  Even so, it is usually separated somehow from
non-commercial traffic; see @code{comp.newprod}.

@item Usenet is not the Internet.
The Internet is a wide-ranging network, parts of which are subsidized
by various governments.  The Internet carries many kinds of traffic;
Usenet is only one of them.  And the Internet is only one of the
various networks carrying Usenet traffic.

@item Usenet is not a Unix network, nor even an ASCII network.

Don't assume that everyone is using ``rn'' on a Unix machine.  There
are Vaxen running VMS, IBM mainframes, Amigas, and MS-DOS PCs reading
and posting to Usenet.  And, yes, some of them use (shudder) EBCDIC.
Ignore them if you like, but they're out there.

@item Usenet is not software.
There are dozens of software packages used at various sites to
transport and read Usenet articles.  So no one program or package can
be called ``the Usenet software.''

Software designed to support Usenet traffic can be (and is) used for
other kinds of communication, usually without risk of mixing the two.
Such private communication networks are typically kept distinct from
Usenet by the invention of newsgroup names different from the
universally-recognized ones.

@item Usenet is not a UUCP network.

UUCP is a protocol (some might say @dfn{protocol suite}, but that's a
technical point) for sending data over point-to-point connections,
typically using dialup modems.  Usenet is only one of the various
kinds of traffic carried via UUCP, and UUCP is only one of the various
transports carrying Usenet traffic.
@end table

Well, enough negativity.

@node Propagation
@section Propagation of News

In the old days, when UUCP over long-distance dialup lines was the
dominant means of article transmission, a few well-connected sites had
real influence in determining which newsgroups would be carried where.
Those sites called themselves ``the backbone.''

But things have changed.  Nowadays, even the smallest Internet site
has connectivity the likes of which the backbone admin of yesteryear
could only dream.  In addition, in the U.S., the advent of cheaper
long-distance calls and high-speed modems has made long-distance
Usenet feeds thinkable for smaller companies.  There is only one
pre-eminent UUCP transport site today in the U.S., namely UUNET.  But
UUNET isn't a player in the propagation wars, because it never refuses
any traffic---it gets paid by the minute, after all; to refuse based
on content would jeopardize its legal status as an enhanced service
provider.
@cindex UUNET

All of the above applies to the U.S.  In Europe, different cost
structures favored the creation of strictly controlled hierarchical
organizations with central registries.  This is all very unlike the
traditional mode of U.S. sites (pick a name, get the software, get a
feed, you're on).  Europe's ``benign monopolies'', long uncontested,
now face competition from looser organizations patterned after the
U.S. model.

@node Group Creation, Unhappy, Propagation, Description
@section Group Creation

As discussed above, Usenet is not a democracy.  Nevertheless,
currently the most popular way to create a new newsgroup involves a
``vote'' to determine popular support for (and opposition to) a
proposed newsgroup. @xref{Newsgroup Creation}, for detailed
instructions and guidelines on the process involved in making a
newsgroup.

If you follow the guidelines, it is probable that your group will be
created and will be widely propagated.  However, due to the nature of
Usenet, there is no way for any user to enforce the results of a
newsgroup vote (or any other decision, for that matter).  Therefore,
for your new newsgroup to be propagated widely, you must not only
follow the letter of the guidelines; you must also follow its spirit.
And you must not allow even a whiff of shady dealings or dirty tricks
to mar the vote.

So, you may ask: How is a new user supposed to know anything about the
``spirit'' of the guidelines?  Obviously, she can't.  This fact leads
inexorably to the following recommendation:

@c mebbe centered
@display
@emph{If you're a new user, don't try to create a new newsgroup alone.}
@end display

@noindent
If you have a good newsgroup idea, then read the @code{news.groups}
newsgroup for a while (six months, at least) to find out how things
work.  If you're too impatient to wait six months, then you really
need to learn; read @code{news.groups} for a year instead.  If you just
can't wait, find a Usenet old hand to run the vote for you.

Readers may think this advice unnecessarily strict.  Ignore it at your
peril.  It is embarrassing to speak before learning.  It is foolish to
jump into a society you don't understand with your mouth open.  And it
is futile to try to force your will on people who can tune you out
with the press of a key.

@node Unhappy,  , GroupCreation, Description
@section If You're Unhappy@dots{}
Property rights being what they are, there is no higher authority on
Usenet than the people who own the machines on which Usenet traffic is
carried.  If the owner of the machine you use says, ``We will not
carry @code{alt.sex} on this machine,'' and you are not happy with
that order, you have no Usenet recourse.  What can we outsiders do,
after all?

That doesn't mean you are without options.  Depending on the nature of
your site, you may have some internal political recourse.  Or you
might find external pressure helpful.  Or, with a minimal investment,
you can get a feed of your own from somewhere else. Computers capable
of taking Usenet feeds are down in the $500 range now,
Unix-capable boxes are going for under $2000, and there are at least
two Unix lookalikes in the $100 price range.

No matter what, appealing to ``Usenet'' won't help.  Even if those who
read such an appeal regarding system administration are sympathetic to
your cause, they will almost certainly have even less influence at
your site than you do.

By the same token, if you don't like what some user at another site is
doing, only the administrator and/or owner of that site have any
authority to do anything about it.  Persuade them that the user in
question is a problem for them, and they might do something (if they
feel like it).  If the user in question is the administrator or owner
of the site from which he or she posts, forget it; you can't win.
Arrange for your newsreading software to ignore articles from him or
her if you can, and chalk one up to experience.

@node History
@section The History of Usenet (The ABCs)

In the beginning, there were conversations, and they were good.  Then
came Usenet in 1979, shortly after the release of V7 Unix with UUCP;
and it was better.  Two Duke University grad students in North
Carolina, Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis, thought of hooking computers
together to exchange information with the Unix community.  Steve
Bellovin, a grad student at the University of North Carolina, put
together the first version of the news software using shell scripts
and installed it on the first two sites: @var{unc} and @var{duke}. At
the beginning of 1980 the network consisted of those two sites and
@var{phs} (another machine at Duke), and was described at the January
1980 Usenix conference in Boulder, CO.@footnote{The Usenix conferences
are semi-annual meetings where members of the Usenix Association, a
group of Unix enthusiasts, meet and trade notes.} Steve Bellovin later
rewrote the scripts into C programs, but they were never released
beyond @var{unc} and @var{duke}.  Shortly thereafter, Steve Daniel did
another implementation in the C programming language for public
distribution.  Tom Truscott made further modifications, and this
became the ``A'' news release.

In 1981 at the University of California at Berkeley, grad student Mark
Horton and high school student Matt Glickman rewrote the news software
to add functionality and to cope with the ever increasing volume of
news---``A'' news was intended for only a few articles per group per
day.  This rewrite was the ``B'' news version.  The first public
release was version 2.1 in 1982; all versions before 2.1 were
considered in beta test.  As The Net grew, the news software was
expanded and modified.  The last version maintained and released
primarily by Mark was 2.10.1.

Rick Adams, then at the Center for Seismic Studies, took over
coordination of the maintenance and enhancement of the news software
with the 2.10.2 release in 1984.  By this time, the increasing volume
of news was becoming a concern, and the mechanism for moderated groups
was added to the software at 2.10.2.  Moderated groups were inspired
by ARPA mailing lists and experience with other bulletin board
systems.  In late 1986, version 2.11 of news was released, including a
number of changes to support a new naming structure for newsgroups,
enhanced batching and compression, enhanced ihave/sendme control
messages, and other features.  The current release of news is 2.11,
patchlevel 19.
@cindex moderation, of newsgroups


A new version of news, becoming known as ``C'' news, has been
developed at the University of Toronto by Geoff Collyer and Henry
Spencer.  This version is a rewrite of the lowest levels of news to
increase article processing speed, decrease article expiration
processing and improve the reliability of the news system through
better locking, etc.  The package was released to The Net in the
autumn of 1987.  For more information, see the paper @cite{News Need Not Be
Slow}, published in the Winter 1987 Usenix Technical Conference
proceedings.

Usenet software has also been ported to a number of platforms, from the
Amiga and IBM PCs all the way to minicomputers and mainframes.

@node Hierarchies
@section Hierarchies
Newsgroups are organized according to their specific areas of
concentration.  Since the groups are in a @dfn{tree} structure, the
various areas are called hierarchies.  There are seven major categories:

@table @samp
@item comp
Topics of interest to both computer professionals and
hobbyists, including topics in computer science, software sources, and
information on hardware and software systems.

@item misc
Group addressing themes not easily classified into any of the other
headings or which incorporate themes from multiple categories.
Subjects include fitness, job-hunting, law, and investments. 

@item sci
Discussions marked by special knowledge relating to research in or
application of the established sciences.

@item soc
Groups primarily addressing social issues and socializing.  Included
are discussions related to many different world cultures.

@item talk
Groups largely debate-oriented and tending to feature long
discussions without resolution and without appreciable amounts of
generally useful information.

@item news
Groups concerned with the news network, group maintenance, and software.

@item rec
Groups oriented towards hobbies and recreational activities
@end table

These ``world'' newsgroups are (usually) circulated around the entire
Usenet---this implies world-wide distribution.  Not all groups
actually enjoy such wide distribution, however.  The European Usenet
and Eunet sites take only a selected subset of the more ``technical''
groups, and controversial ``noise'' groups are often not carried by many
sites in the @w{U.S. and} Canada (these groups are primarily under the @samp{talk}
and @samp{soc} classifications).  Many sites do not carry some or all of
the @code{comp.binaries} groups because of the typically large size of
the posts in them (being actual executable programs).

Also available are a number of ``alternative'' hierarchies:

@table @samp
@item alt
True anarchy; anything and everything can and does appear;
subjects include sex, the Simpsons, and privacy.

@item gnu
Groups concentrating on interests and software with the GNU
Project of the Free Software Foundation. For further info on what the
FSF is, @pxref{FSF}.

@item biz
Business-related groups.
@end table

@node Moderation, news.groups, Hierarchies, Newsgroups
@section Moderated vs Unmoderated
@cindex gateway, mail--news
@cindex moderation, of newsgroups

Some newsgroups insist that the discussion remain focused and
on-target; to serve this need, moderated groups came to be.  All
articles posted to a moderated group get mailed to the group's
@dfn{moderator}.  He or she periodically (hopefully sooner than later)
reviews the posts, and then either posts them individually to Usenet,
or posts a composite @dfn{digest} of the articles for the past day or
two.  This is how many mailing list gateways work (for example, the
@cite{Risks Digest}).

@node news.groups, Creation, Moderation, Newsgroups
@section @code{news.groups} & @code{news.announce.newgroups}

Being a good @dfn{net.citizen} includes being involved in the
continuing growth and evolution of the Usenet system.  One part of
this involvement includes following the discussion in the groups
@code{news.groups} and the notes in @code{news.announce.newgroups}.
It is there that discussion goes on about the creation of new groups
and destruction of inactive ones.  Every person on Usenet is allowed
and encouraged to vote on the creation of a newsgroup.

@node Works
@section How Usenet Works
@menu
@end menu

The transmission of Usenet news is entirely cooperative.  Feeds are
generally provided out of good will and the desire to distribute news
everywhere.  There are places which provide feeds for a fee (e.g.
UUNET), but for the large part no exchange of money is involved.

There are two major transport methods, UUCP and NNTP.  The first is
mainly modem-based and involves the normal charges for telephone
calls.  The second, NNTP, is the primary method for distributing news
over the Internet.
@c @cindex NNTP (Network News Transport Protocol)
@cindex NNTP
@c @cindex UUCP (Unix-to-Unix Copy Program)
@cindex UUCP

With UUCP, news is stored in @dfn{batches} on a site until the
neighbor calls to receive the articles, or the feed site happens to
call.  A list of groups which the neighbor wishes to receive is
maintained on the feed site.  The Cnews system compresses its batches,
which can dramatically reduce the transmission time necessary for a
relatively heavy newsfeed.

NNTP, on the other hand, offers a little more latitude with how news
is sent.  The traditional store-and-forward method is, of course,
available.  Given the ``real-time'' nature of the Internet, though,
other methods have been devised.  Programs now keep constant
connections with their news neighbors, sending news nearly
instantaneously, and can handle dozens of simultaneous feeds, both
incoming and outgoing.

The transmission of a Usenet article is centered around the unique
@samp{Message-ID:} header.  When an NNTP site offers an article to a
neighbor, it says it has that specific Message ID.  If the neighbor
finds it hasn't received the article yet, it tells the feed to send it
through; this is repeated for each and every article that's waiting
for the neighbor.  Using unique IDs helps prevent a system from
receiving five copies of an article from each of its five news
neighbors, for example.

Further information on how Usenet works with relation to the various
transports is available in the documentation for the Cnews and NNTP
packages, as well as in RFC-1036, the @cite{Standard for Interchange of
USENET Messages} and RFC-977, @cite{Network News Transfer Protocol: A
Proposed Standard for the Stream-Based Transmission of News}.  The
RFCs do tend to be rather dry reading, particularly to the new user.
@xref{RFCs} for information on retrieving RFCs.
@cindex RFCs (Requests for Comments)

@node Gateways
@section Mail Gateways
@cindex gateway, mail--news

A natural progression is for Usenet news and electronic mailing lists
to somehow become merged---which they have, in the form of @dfn{news
gateways}.  Many mailing lists are set up to ``reflect'' messages not
only to the readership of the list, but also into a newsgroup.
Likewise, posts to a newsgroup can be sent to the moderator of the
mailing list, or to the entire mailing list.  Some examples of this in
action are @code{comp.risks} (the @cite{Risks Digest}) and
@code{comp.dcom.telecom} (the @cite{Telecom Digest}).

This method of propagating mailing list traffic has helped solve the
problem of a single message being delivered to a number of people at
the same site---instead, anyone can just subscribe to the group.
Also, mailing list maintenance is lowered substantially, since the
moderators don't have to be constantly removing and adding users to
and from the list.  Instead, the people can read and not read the
newsgroup at their leisure.

@c from ``Dear Emily Postnews'' by Brad Templeton
@node Usenet Netiquette
@section Usenet ``Netiquette''
@menu
@end menu

There are many traditions with Usenet, not the least of which is
dubbed @dfn{netiquette}---being polite and considerate of others.  If
you follow a few basic guidelines, you, and everyone that reads your
posts, will be much happier in the long run.

@node Signatures, Personal, Netiquette, Netiquette
@subsection Signatures
@cindex signature files

At the end of most articles is a small blurb called a person's
@dfn{signature}.  In Unix this file is named @file{.signature} in the
person's login directory---it will vary for other operating systems.
It exists to provide information about how to get in touch with the
person posting the article, including their email address, phone
number, address, or where they're located.  Even so, signatures have
become the graffiti of computers.  People put song lyrics, pictures,
philosophical quotes, even advertisements in their ``@code{.sigs}''.
(Note, however, that advertising in your signature will more often
than not get you @dfn{flamed} until you take it out.)
@cindex address, email

Four lines will suffice---more is just extra garbage for Usenet sites
to carry along with your article, which is supposed to be the intended
focus of the reader.  Netiquette dictates limiting oneself to this
``quota'' of four---some people make signatures that are ten lines or
even more, including elaborate ASCII drawings of their hand-written
signature or faces or even the space shuttle.  This is @emph{not}
cute, and will bother people to no end.

Similarly, it's not necessary to include your signature---if you
forget to append it to an article, @emph{don't worry} about it.  The
article's just as good as it ever would be, and contains everything
you should want to say.  Don't re-post the article just to include the
signature.

@node Personal, Tests, Signatures, Netiquette
@subsection Posting Personal Messages

If mail to a person doesn't make it through, avoid posting the message
to a newsgroup.  Even if the likelihood of that person reading the
group is very high, all of the other people reading the articles don't
give a whit what you have to say to Jim Morrison.  Simply wait for the
person to post again and double-check the address, or get in touch
with your system administrator and see if it's a problem with local
email delivery.  It may also turn out that their site is down or is
having problems, in which case it's just necessary to wait until
things return to normal before contacting Jim.

@node Posting Mail
@subsection Posting Mail

In the interests of privacy, it's considered extremely bad taste to post
any email that someone may have sent, unless they explicitly give you
permission to redistribute it.  While the legal issues can be heavily
debated, most everyone agrees that email should be treated as anything
one would receive via normal snailmail,@footnote{The slang for the
normal land and air postal service.}, with all of the assumed rights
that are carried with it.

@node Tests
@subsection Test Messages

Many people, particularly new users, want to try out posting before
actually taking part in discussions.  Often the mechanics of getting
messages out is the most difficult part of Usenet.  To this end, many,
many users find it necessary to post their tests to ``normal'' groups
(for example, @code{news.admin} or @code{comp.mail.misc}).  This is
considered a major netiquette @dfn{faux pas} in the Usenet world.
There are a number of groups available, called @dfn{test groups}, that
exist solely for the purpose of trying out a news system, reader, or
even new signature.  They include
@cindex newsgroups, for testing

@smallexample
alt.test
gnu.gnusenet.test
misc.test
@end smallexample

@noindent
some of which will generate @dfn{auto-magic} replies to your posts to
let you know they made it through.  There are certain denizens of
Usenet that frequent the test groups to help new users out.  They
respond to the posts, often including the article so the poster can
see how it got to the person's site.  Also, many regional hierarchies
have test groups, like @code{phl.test} in Philadelphia.

By all means, experiment and test---just do it in its proper place.

@node Celebrities
@subsection Famous People Appearing

Every once in a while, someone says that a celebrity is accessible
through ``The Net''; or, even more entertaining, an article is forged
to appear to be coming from that celebrity.  One example is Stephen
Spielberg---the @code{rec.arts.movies} readership was in an uproar for
two weeks following a couple of posts supposedly made by Mr.
Spielberg.  (Some detective work revealed it to be a hoax.)

There @emph{are} a few well-known people that are acquainted with
Usenet and computers in general---but the overwhelming majority are
just normal people.  One should act with skepticism whenever a notable
personality is ``seen'' in a newsgroup.

@node Summaries
@subsection Summaries

Authors of articles occasionally say that readers should reply by mail
and they'll @dfn{summarize}.  Accordingly, readers should do just
that---reply via mail.  Responding with a followup article to such an
article defeats the intention of the author.  She, in a few days, will
post one article containing the highlights of the responses she
received.  By following up to the whole group, the author may not read
what you have to say.

When creating a summary of the replies to a post, try to make it as
@dfn{reader-friendly} as possible.  Avoid just putting all of the
messages received into one big file.  Rather, take some time and edit
the messages into a form that contains the essential information that
other readers would be interested in.

Also, sometimes people will respond but request to remain anonymous
(one example is the employees of a corporation that feel the
information's not proprietary, but at the same time want to protect
themselves from political backlash).  Summaries should honor this
request accordingly by listing the @samp{From:} address as
@samp{anonymous} or @samp{(Address withheld by request)}.

@node Quoting, Cross Posting, Summaries, Netiquette
@subsection Quoting

When following up to an article, many newsreaders provide the facility
to @dfn{quote} the original article with each line prefixed by @samp{>
}, as in

@smallexample
@group
In article <1232@@foo.bar.com>, sharon@@foo.bar.com wrote:
> I agree, I think that basketweaving's really catching on,
> particularly in Pennsylvania.  Here's a list of every person
> in PA that currently engages in it publicly:
@centerline @dots{} @rm{etc} @dots{}
@end group
@end smallexample

This is a severe example (potentially a horribly long article), but
proves a point.  When you quote another person, @emph{edit out}
whatever isn't directly applicable to your reply.@footnote{But not
changing their words, of course.}  This gives the reader of the new
article a better idea of what points you were addressing.  By
including the @emph{entire} article, you'll only annoy those reading
it.  Also, signatures in the original aren't necessary; the readers
already know who wrote it (by the attribution).

Avoid being tedious with responses---rather than pick apart an
article, address it in parts or as a whole.  Addressing practically
each and every word in an article only proves that the person
responding has absolutely nothing better to do with his time.

If a ``war'' starts (insults and personal comments get thrown back and
forth), @dfn{take it into email}---exchange email with the person
you're arguing with.  No one enjoys watching people bicker
incessantly.

@node Crossposting
@subsection Crossposting
@cindex crossposting

The @samp{Newsgroups:} line isn't limited to just one group---an
article can be posted in a list of groups.  For instance, the line

@smallexample
	Newsgroups: sci.space,comp.simulation
@end smallexample

@noindent
posts the article to both the groups @code{sci.space} and
@code{comp.simulation.} It's usually safe to crosspost to up to three
or four groups.  To list more than that is considered ``excessive
noise.''

It's also suggested that if an article is crossposted a
@samp{Followup-To:} header be included.  It should name the group to
which all additional discussion should be directed to.  For the above
example a possible @samp{Followup-To:} would be

@smallexample
	Followup-To: sci.space
@end smallexample

@noindent
which would make all followups automatically be posted to just
@code{sci.space}, rather than both @code{sci.space} and
@code{comp.simulation}.  If every response made with a newsreader's
``followup'' command should go to the person posting the article no
matter what, there's also a mechanism worked in to accommodate.  The
@code{Followup-To:} header should contain the single word
@samp{poster}:

@smallexample
	Followup-To: poster
@end smallexample

@noindent
Certain newsreaders will use this to sense that a reply should never
be posted back onto The Net.  This is often used with questions that
will yield a summary of information later, a vote, or an
advertisement.


@node Recent News
@subsection Recent News

One should avoid posting ``recent'' events---sports scores, a plane
crash, or whatever people will see on the evening news or read in the
morning paper.  By the time the article has propagated across all
of Usenet, the ``news'' value of the article will have become
stale.  (This is one case for the argument that @samp{Usenet news} is
a misnomer.@footnote{Note that the Clarinet News service
(@pxref{Clarinet}) offers news items in a Usenet format as a precise
@emph{alternative} to the morning paper, et. al.})

@node Quality
@subsection Quality of Postings

How you write and present yourself in your articles is important.  If
you have terrible spelling, keep a dictionary near by.  If you have
trouble with grammar and punctuation, try to get a book on English
grammar and composition (found in many bookstores and at garage
sales).  By all means pay attention to what you say---it makes you who
you are on The Net.

Likewise, try to be clear in what you ask.  Ambiguous or vague
questions often lead to no response at all, leaving the poster
discouraged.  Give as much essential information as you feel is
necessary to let people help you, but keep it within limits.  For
instance, you should probably include the operating system of your
computer in the post if it's needed, but don't tell everybody what
peripherals you have hanging off of it.

@node Useful Subjects
@subsection Useful Subjects

The @samp{Subject:} line of an article is what will first attract
people to read it---if it's vague or doesn't describe what's contained
within, no one will read the article.  At the same time,
@samp{Subject:} lines that're too wordy tend to be irritating.  For
example:

@table @code
@item Good
Subject: Building Emacs on a Sun Sparc under 4.1

@item Good
Subject: Tryin' to find Waldo in NJ.

@item Bad
Subject: I can't get emacs to work !!!

@item Bad
Subject: I'm desperately in search of the honorable Mr. Waldo in the state of@dots
@end table

@noindent
Simply put, try to think of what will best help the reader when he or
she encounters your article in a newsreading session.

@node Tone, Religion, Useful Subjects, Netiquette
@subsection Tone of Voice

Since common computers can't portray the inflection or tone in a
person's voice, how articles are worded can directly affect the
response to them.  If you say

@smallexample
	Anybody using a Vic-20 should go buy themselves a life.
@end smallexample

@noindent
you'll definitely get some responses---telling you to take a leap.  Rather
than be inflammatory, phrase your articles in a way that rationally
expresses your opinion, like

@smallexample
	What're the practical uses of a Vic-20 these days?
@end smallexample

@noindent
which presents yourself as a much more level-headed individual.

Also, what case (upper or lower) you use can indicate how you're
trying to speak---netiquette dictates that if you USE ALL CAPITAL
LETTERS, people will think you're ``shouting.''  Write as you would in
a normal letter to a friend, following traditional rules of English
(or whatever language you happen to speak).

@node Religion,  , Tone, Netiquette
@subsection Computer Religion

No matter what kind of computer a person is using, theirs is always
the @emph{best} and most efficient of them all.  Posting articles
asking questions like @samp{What computer should I buy? An Atari ST or an
Amiga?} will lead only to fervent arguments over the merits and
drawbacks of each brand.  Don't even ask The Net---go to a local user
group, or do some research of your own like reading some magazine
reviews.  Trying to say one computer is somehow better than another is
a moot point.

@c @node Anatomy, FAQ, Netiquette, Usenet News
@c @section The Anatomy of an Article
@c @cindex headers

@node FAQ
@section Frequently Asked Questions
@cindex FAQs
@menu
* Pit-Manager::			The Pit-Manager Archive
@end menu

A number of groups include @dfn{Frequently Asked Question} (FAQ)
lists, which give the answers to questions or points that have been
raised time and time again in a newsgroup.  They're intended to help
cut down on the redundant traffic in a group.  For example, in the
newsgroup @code{alt.tv.simpsons}, one recurring question is
@samp{Did you notice that there's a different blackboard opening at the
beginning of every Simpsons episode?}  As a result, it's part of the
FAQ for that group.

Usually, FAQ lists are posted at the beginning of each month, and are
set to expire one month later (when, supposedly, the next FAQ will be
published).  Nearly every FAQ is also crossposted to
@code{news.answers}, which is used as a Usenet repository for them.

@node Pit-Manager
@subsection The Pit-Manager Archive
@cindex FTPable Items

MIT, with Jonathan Kamens, has graciously dedicated a machine to the
archiving and storage of the various periodic postings that are
peppered throughout the various Usenet groups. To access them, FTP to
the system @code{pit-manager.mit.edu} and look in the directory
@file{/pub/usenet}.

@vskip 0pt plus 1filll
@flushright
``Be it true or false, so it be news.''
@b{Ben Jonson}, @cite{News from the New World}
@end flushright
