From: magnum@cs.umd.edu
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: charter for rec.guns
Date: 23 Dec 92 17:17:07 GMT


(Our usual sort-of-regular posting on the mission here.... 
Also, so long as I have your attention, happy holidays to you 
and yours.  Best wishes for a safe -- and free -- new year.)


CHARTER

The charter of rec.guns is:

  1.  To discuss shooting sports, reloading and other recreational
      activities involving firearms.

  2.  To discuss training and safety information involving firearms.

  3.  To discuss home and personal defense involving firearms.

  4.  To discuss other types of weaponry, such as bows and knives.

  5.  To announce firearms and accessories to buy/sell/trade.
      Non-commercial only, please.

  6.  To discuss laws pertaining to firearms ownership and use.

  7.  To carry information and announcements concerning political and
      legislative activities.  The focus here is on information, not debate
      or interpretation, which is the primary forus of other newsgroups.
      Politically sensitive articles are best kept short and to the point
      with a minimum of rhetoric.  For example,

	   "Congress will vote on a bill to ban all firearm sales in the
	   United States, retroactive to last year.  This could be very
	   inconvenient.  It's bill #666, please call your congressdroid."

  8.  To carry new-product annoucements, product reviews, safety alerts
      and other consumer services of interest to firearm owners.


BRIEF GUIDE TO POSTING

If the focus of an article is 		... then we might suggest you post
more oriented to ....			it over in ...

  politics/legislation debate		talk.politics.guns
  hunting				rec.hunting
  guns you can't tote yourself		sci.military
  misc other weapons			rec.martial-arts
  explosives/bombs			rec.pyrotechnics
  paintball				alt.sport.paintball
  jokes					rec.humor
  picture files				alt.binaries.pictures.misc
  sound files				alt.binaries.sounds.misc
  interesting programs			comp.sources


MODERATION

My goal is to moderate in moderation, that is, unintrusively.  I hope to
post anything that falls within the charter of the group.  On occasion, I
will touch up the headers, formatting and "included" text of articles, but
prefer to avoid extensive hacking of the text.  On rarer occasions, I will
ask the poster to shorten an article that would be inconveniently long for
the forum; in such a case, I would suggest the poster send a short note to
announce where on the net a reader could find the main text body.  One of
the benefits of being moderator is of course that I get first crack at wise
cracks, so on what I hope are innocent occasions I may insert some piece of
direction, guidance, witicism or wisdom; in such a case, I always label my
contribution as MODERATOR.

The software I have written to assist in processing messages will excise
almost all but the essential NNTP fields; this is to keep things uniform for
the world and sane for me.  Apologies if you miss seeing your own favorite
frivolous field in the headers.

I do not reject an article without returning it to the author with a brief
explanation of why it was rejected.  In such a case, I almost always give a
suggestion of alternate groups where it could be submitted.  Often I find
messages from `regulars' that need redirection; in these cases, where I have
an understanding worked out ahead of time, I will redirect the message to
another forum without checking with the poster first.  Finally, we often get
requests for very simple pieces of information, such as ``How do I apply for
membership in the NRA?''  I often answer these directly without using up the
net bandwidth of a full posting.  A FAQ list will be developed shortly to
help in this activity.

If you submit an article but neither see it in the newsgroup nor receive an
acknowledgement, then either your article or my reply disappeared was lost
in the Great Network Void.  Therefore, it's a good idea to keep a backup
copy of any long article you submit.  Currently I am able to process most
messages within hours of their arrival here, so wait a day or two (to give
the net a chance to catch up) before sending a follow up query.  Whenever I
know I will be tied up with meetings (or matches!)  then I will send out a
message a day or so ahead of time warning of sporadic response.

A brief note on huge files.... please don't post them.  Our forum is gated
to many other subnets and mailers, and sysops gratiously allow us the use
so long as they have a good idea of what kind of usage to expect from us
(which is to say "little".)  Huge files, such as come from uuencoded sound
or image files, or from useful programs, really louse up our arrangements.
Try posting it elsewhere on the net, or set up an ftp server, then post a
brief pointer to it here in our forum.  These seems to work the best.

Comments and suggestions for improvement are always welcome.


LEGAL MATTERS AND CAUTIONS

We are not lawyers here, and even if so then we could not know the laws of
all 50 states, plus numerous foreign countries.  Some items offered for sale
in this group may not be legal in certain jurisdictions.  Similarly, some
activities discussed here may be illegal in some jurisdictions (e.g.,
concealed carry of firearms).  It is the reader's responsibility to learn
the relevant laws before acting.  No one in this group, and certainly not
the moderator, can be responsible if you act illegally.  If in doubt,
contact a good attorney.

A similar disclaimer applies to firearms safety.  Be sure you understand
what you're doing before following any advice posted to this group.  THIS IS
ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT WHEN HANDLOADING AMMUNITION.  Though many knowledgeable
and experienced people post to this group, typographical errors do occur,
and your situation may not be identical to that described in the posting.
YOU have primary responsibility for your actions.  If in doubt, check with a
competent gunsmith.


ADDRESSES

Most news software should be set up to submit postings via email to
			gun-control@cs.umd.edu

`Out of band' communication and requests not for general distribution should
be sent to
			magnum@cs.umd.edu

A digestified version of rec.guns is sent out to those who may not have
regular access to the netnews version.  Send an out-of-band request to me if
you find yourself in such a situation and I will add you to this list.  But
please, please, please --- only use it if you cannot get rec.guns at your
own site!  My mailer is loaded enough as it is.

Archives of previous rec.guns discussions are available on the Internet.
Using "ftp", login in as "anonymous" to "flubber.cs.umd.edu" (that is
128.8.128.99 on your Internet listening dial.)  Change do the "rec/" sub-
directory and grab what you like.  We also carry back reviews, databases,
programs and other materials donated by the net.  We are not responsibile
for the accuracy or value of this donated text, but we provide it to those
who may wish to have it.

An FTP archive with articles describing the gun legislation in some non-US 
countries is maintained by Holger Reusch.  The articles are available via 
anonymous FTP from          ftp.vmars.tuwien.ac.at (128.130.39.16) 
in the directory /pub/misc/guns/gunlaw.  The README file there contains 
additional information.  To contribute to this archive, or for more 
information, contact Holger at holger@vmars.tuwien.ac.at.