From: joshua@veritas.com
Newsgroups: rec.games.cyber
Subject: ADMIN: Introduction to rec.games.cyber / CyberRPG (v2)
Date: 9 Apr 92 19:24:00 GMT
Reply-To: cyberrpg-request@veritas.com
Organization: VERITAS Software
Archive-Name: rgc293

Information on the rec.games.cyber newsgroup / CyberRPG mailinglist

This posting is about 4 pages long.  Please read it when you join.
It covers the following topics:
   GOALS:  The goals of this news group / mailing list.
   SOCIETY:  Conventions local to this news group / mailing list.
   POSTINGS: How to post to this news group or mailing list.
   SUBJECT TAGS:  How to read and understand subject lines.
   ARCHIVES:  How to get old rec.games.cyber / CyberRPG postings.
   MODERATION POLICIES:  Discussion of the policies used to moderate postings.
   MODERATION MECHANICS:  Discussions of exactly how moderation is done.
   UNWELCOME SUBJECTS:  Topics which should not be discussed here.

GOALS
    This newsgroup is dedicated to cyberpunk style role playing using any 
    rule system.  It is open to game masters and players alike. 

    For this newsgroup, ``cyberpunk'' involves a near-future with 
    microelectronics, biotechnology, global computer networks, large 
    corporations, street punk low lifes, drugs, and pervasive multi-media.  
    Not all of these traits are found in all cyberpunk RPGs, of course.  
    A nihilistic/punk attitude is important, too.

    Shadowrun (and other ``magitech'' games) are welcome on this
    newsgroup.  Also, DMZ and other games which are cyberpunk, but
    not strictly role playing games are welcome.

SOCIETY
    CyberRPG is a cooperative venture of gamers trying to help each other.
    It is composed of several linked electronic resources: a mailing list,
    a news group, and an archive server at present.  CyberRPG grew from a 
    mailing list, and many people treasure the polite, helpful environment 
    which that list had.  An important goal of this newsgroup is to preserve 
    that envrionment even as more an more people take part in the discussion.  

POSTING
    Try to have an informative subject line in your post, and a reply-to 
    line which works.  Try to avoid putting more than 70 character on a line,
    or having a post which is longer than 64K (about 900 lines).  Except
    for your introductory post, avoid long sigs.  But most of all:

    Don't worry too much about these formatting rules.  If you don't follow
    them, the moderator will fix it before sending out your post.

    Relevant contributions to rec.games.cyber / CyberRPG may be reprinted 
    by the moderator elsewhere (such as in Interface) unless you state 
    otherwise.

SUBJECT TAGS
    Rec.games.cyber / CyberRPG is experimenting with using tags in the
    subjects of postings so that people a use KILL files to filter out
    postings which do not interest them.  (Not all news readers support
    KILL files, and no mail readers do.)

    If your posting is rule system specific, please put a marker at the
    beginning of the subject line, to show which rules system it refers
    to.  Sample markers include "CP:" for Cyberpunk, "SRUN:" for Shadowrun, 
    "ST:" for SpaceTime, "CS:" for CyberSpace, and "GURPS/Cyber:" for GURPS 
    Cyber.  

    Postings which are personal introductions should have an "INTRO:" marker.
    Postings which discuss the news group / mailing list, how it is run,
    what should be posted, future directions, and so on, should have a 
    "META:" marker.  Finally, important postings, which should be read 
    by everyone will be marked "ADMIN:".

ARCHIVES
    There is an archive server associated with rec.games.cyber / CyberRPG.
    You can send it email at archvie-server@veritas.com, and it will send
    you back the files you ask for.  Please do not abuse the archive server.

    I recommend sending the server email with the following body:
    send help
    send index
    send cyberrpg index
    path you@your.machine.name
    
    This will cause it to send you its help file, a list of the sections 
    of the server, and a list of everything in the CyberRPG section. The
    path command is optional, so if you get no reply after a week, try
    resending with no path line. 

MODERATION POLICY
    The cyberpunk newsgroup/mailinglist is moderated.  The goal of this
    moderation is to maintain a high signal to noise ratio by removing
    duplicate, inapproaprate or content free postings and answering 
    questions directly instead of sending them out to 100s or 1000s
    of people.
   
    New situations occasionally arise when someone posts a new type of article
    or uses the list or group for something new.  The moderator uses his or
    her best judgment in these situations, but also puts a note in the posting
    (or in an ``META:'' posting if the original was rejected) telling
    the list what happened, and soliciting comments.  If several list members
    object to the moderators handling of the situation, then there will be
    discussion of the situation in CyberRPG.

MODERATION MECHANICS
    Postings are generally handled in a first received, first posted order.
    The delay is typically 12-48 hours, more during long weekends.
    
    The moderator also occasionally edits postings, by removing blank lines
    formatting text, removing disclaimers and removing signatures which we 
    have already seen.  Finally, comments are sometimes added to postings.  
    These are always enclosed in double square brackets [[ like this ]].

    Since disclaimers may be removed, you should always assume that a poster
    is speaking for themselves only, and are not representing an company,
    unless they say they are.
    
    Moderation is currently done by Joshua Levy (cyberrpg-request@veritas.com).
    He considers comp.compilers and comp.risks to be examples of well moderated
    news groups.
    
UNWELCOME SUBJECTS
    Some topics are constantly under discussion in other groups, or well 
    known to be uninteresting to rec.games.cyber readers.  These topics
    should be avoided:
        What is cyberpunk?
        What is cyberpunk music?
        Black ICE is [not] possible.
    All flames should be sent to alt.flames or /dev/null.

Joshua Levy  (joshua@veritas.com)  Moderator of rec.games.cyber / CyberRPG.