Archive-name: games/stars/newsgroup-faq
Posting-Frequency: monthly (23rd day of the month)
Last-modified: 1996/09/30
Version: 1.1
URL: http://www.eecs.umich.edu/~asterian/stars-faq.txt
Maintainer: Andrew Sterian <asterian@umich.edu>

                    Introduction to rec.games.computer.stars

This FAQ is posted monthly to the rec.games.computer.stars newsgroup. For
corrections or suggestions on improving the FAQ, please contact the
current maintainer listed in the 'Maintainer:' header above. Please read
the "Newsgroup Charter" section below before posting to this newsgroup.

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

Subject: 0. Table of Contents

        1. What is Stars! (very brief)
        2. Newsgroup Charter
        3. Nomenclature
        4. Other Stars! Resources

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

Subject: 1. What is Stars! (very brief)

Stars! is a computer strategy game for the Windows platform. If you want
to learn more about this game, or if you want to download a fully playable
shareware version, visit the Stars! WWW page:

                      <http://www.webmap.com/stars!>
                 OR
                      <http://www.webmap.com/stars%21>

The above site also offers many other resources, including a comprehensive
FAQ, links to other Stars! WWW sites, and reviews of the game.

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

Subject: 2. Newsgroup Charter

CHARTER: rec.games.computer.stars

This newsgroup is a forum for the discussion of the strategy game
"Stars!", written by Jeff Johnson and Jeff McBride.  This newsgroup
will not be moderated. Acceptable postings to this newsgroup include:

     * Announcements of new "Stars!" games requiring players, or
       existing "Stars!" games in which replacement players are needed

       As a courtesy to readers, these announcements should begin with
       the key word GAME: at the beginning of the subject line. The
       key word REPLACE: should be used if replacements for an
       existing game are sought.

       Games in which players are required to pay a fee for
       participating should clearly indicate this in the game
       announcement. Postings that do not announce the beginning of a
       new pay-for-play game but instead advertise the pay-for-play
       service itself fall under the category of 'commercial services'
       and will be governed by the rules regarding advertisements
       below.

     * Strategies for playing the game

     * Tips and questions regarding the game mechanics

     * Suggestions for future versions of the game

     * Information on new releases, upgrades, patches, etc. from the
       game authors

     * Direct comparison of "Stars!" and other strategy games in the
       same genre

     * Announcements of commercial or shareware programs or services
       that are directly related to "Stars!"

       These postings must be concise and informative, must contain a
       minimum of hype, and no more than 1 advertisement per month for
       a single product or service is allowed.

       All advertisements should be marked with the key word AD: or
       ADVERTISEMENT: at the beginning of the subject line.

     * Announcements of free programs or services directly related to
       "Stars!"

       These postings are not considered advertisements but should
       nonetheless be governed by common sense and restraint in the
       nature of the announcement and the frequency of posting.

       It is suggested that such posts be marked with the key word
       ANNOUNCE: at the beginning of the subject line.

All forms of advertisement other than those covered above are
considered UNACCEPTABLE for posting to this newsgroup.

Postings containing binary files (regardless of encoding) are
UNACCEPTABLE for this newsgroup.  Rather than posting a binary
file, the binary file should be placed at an appropriate FTP site
or posted to alt.binaries.games or alt.binaries.misc and a pointer
to the binary file's location posted to this newsgroup.

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

Subject: 3. Nomenclature

Here are a list of terms that you may encounter in newsgroup discussion.
Please contact the current maintainer for changes or additions to this
list. Thanks to Kent Peterson for getting this started.

  Racial Acronyms
  ---------------

    IT   - Interstellar Traveller
    IS   - Inner Strength (note that one should be careful when using
           IS to mean Inner Strength and *not* Interstellar Traveller)
    SS   - Super Stealth
    WM   - War Monger
    JOAT - Jack of All Trades
    CA   - Claim Adjuster
    AR   - Artificial Reality
    SD   - Space Demolition
    HE   - Hyper Expansion
    PP   - Packet Physics

  General Game Terms
  ------------------

    PRT  - Primary Racial Trait (e.g., Super Stealth, Artificial Reality)
    LRT  - Lesser Racial Trait  (e.g., Improved Starbases, Total Terraforming)

  Other Terms
  -----------

    PBEM - Play-by-E-Mail

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

Subject: 4. Other Stars! Resources

* If you want to join in a play-by-email game, the best place to read about 
  new game announcements is the Stars! Player Mailing List (S!PML) which is 
  maintained by Alan Beall at the Stars! Depot.  The S!PML has 950+ 
  active subscribers. You can subscribe or unsubscribe directly at:  

          <http://www.plws.com/stars/sites/direct.html> (Stars! Player List)
                         
  or by e-mail at <alan@plws.com>. You can also announce a new
  game that you are hosting, or see the latest games available 
  through Alan's new game database: 

          <http://www.plws.com/stars/new>  (New Game Announcements)

  You can also send Alan your new game adverts the old-fashioned way 
  by e-mailing them to <alan@plws.com>.

  Announcing games through the S!PML will reach a much wider audience 
  than by announcing them in the rec.games.computer.stars newsgroup 
  alone.

* If you don't have time to read this newsgroup, subscribe to Andrew Sterian's
  Stars! Announcements list. This is a low-volume list consisting mainly of
  announcements of new Stars! versions, new auxilliary programs that aid
  in playing/hosting Stars!, and other significant postings culled from the
  rec.games.computer.stars newsgroup. To subscribe, send e-mail with the
  single word SUBSCRIBE in the subject line to:

                       stars-announce-request@umich.edu

----
End of "[rec.games.computer.stars] Introduction and Information (FAQ)"
**********************************************************************

