From: wong@tesla.njit.edu
Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime
Subject: Re: rec.arts.anime: Welcome to rec.arts.anime!
Date: 4 Sep 92 14:28:28 GMT
Followup-To: rec.arts.anime
Organization: New Jersey Institute of Technology

In article <Aug.21.17.37.48.1992.1481@remus.rutgers.edu>, pearl@remus.rutgers.edu (Starbuck) writes:
> 
> 
> 
> Archive-name: anime/welcome
> 
> 		      WELCOME TO REC.ARTS.ANIME
> 		      =========================
> 			      Edited by
> 			     Steve Pearl
> 			    August 3, 1992
> 
> This is a monthly posting to familiarize new readers with the rec.arts.anime
> newsgroup.  If you have any questions, additions or corrections, send your
> stuff to:
> 
> Internet: pearl@remus.rutgers.edu   	or 	Steve Pearl
> CI$: >internet: pearl@remus.rutgers.edu		359 Lloyd Rd
> GEnie:  S.PEARL6				Aberdeen, NJ 07747-1826
> 
> Changes to this posting since July, 1992:
> 
> 
> 
> DISCLAIMER 1: To the best of our knowledge, the editor is not associated 
> with ANY of the companies or organizations mentioned below.
> 
> DISCLAIMER 2: The opinions expressed on this post do not necessarily
> represent the opinions held either by the editor or any organization
> he's affiliated with.
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> o WHAT IS REC.ARTS.ANIME?
> 
> The NetNews charter list has this entry for rec.arts.anime:
> 
> 	rec.arts.anime		Japanese animation fen discussion.
> 
> The charter reflects the nature of the group, which is discussion of Japanese
> animation (and related subjects).  Until recently, this was the only NetNews
> group for animation, until a split in 1990 created the rec.arts.animation
> newsgroup for general animation discussions.
> 
> But why is Japanese animation singled out?  Why not American animation, or
> French animation, or Swazilandian animation?  Because the Japanese currently
> produce some of the best animation in the world, in terms of story and
> technical quality.  Note that although the animation for most American
> cartoons is done in Asian countries these days, rec.arts.anime only concerns
> itself with animation originated in Japan.
> 
> 
> o HOW TO USE REC.ARTS.ANIME (For NEW UseNet users)
> 
> If you're a new NetNews reader and don't know the correct protocol and
> etiquette for posting messages, the following files accessible in the
> news.announce.newusers newsgroup are recommended reading:
> 
> 	- "A Primer on How to Work With the Usenet"
> 	- "Rules for posting to Usenet"
> 	- "Emily Postnews Answers Your Questions"
> 
> Some basic tips to reduce the signal-to-noise ratio:
> 
> - If you don't see postings about a subject you're interested in (and which is
>   related to this newsgroup), don't gripe, POST AN ARTICLE ABOUT THAT SUBJECT!
>   If you receive no reply in a week, TRY AGAIN!  Fires don't always start with
>   the first spark.
> 
> - If you feel the need to insult someone, do it by electronic mail, or better
>   yet, write a scathing message and then throw it away.  Please don't do it
>   here.  It's irritating to the bystanders, and harmful to your public image.
> 
> - Before you submit a follow-up to a message, read the rest of the messages in
>   the newsgroup to see whether someone has already said what you want to say.
>   If someone has, don't repeat it.  If you're answering a question, mail your
>   answer to the person and suggest that they summarize to the network.  This
>   way the net will only see a single copy of the answers, no matter how many
>   people answer the question.
> 
> - If you post a question, please remind people to send you the answers by
>   mail and at least offer to summarize them to the network.
> 
> 
> 
> o DEFINITIONS
> 
> The following are short descriptions of terms and abbreviations common in this
> newsgroup.
> 
> ..Z:	Suffix for compressed text files.  See Compressed Text.
> 
> Anime:	Japanese word for animation, pronounced "ah-nee-may" ("Annie May?
> 	Who's Annie May?"  :-))  The term "anime" is preferred in
> 	this newsgroup over "japanimation" (a term used by Americans to refer
> 	to Japanese animation), as the latter seems to be offensive to some
> 	people.
> 
> Anonymous FTP:  A method to log into a remote machine without needing an
> 	account, and extracting software from it.  A list of machines with 
> 	anime resources available through anonymous FTP is given later on.
> 	If you want to use anonymous FTP but don't know how, ask your local
> 	System Administrator.
> 
> APA:	Amateur Publication Association, a generic term for a kind of "members
> 	only" fanzine in which the members of the association send art or text
> 	contributions (known as "tribs") to the fanzine editor, who then
> 	compiles all the tribs into a magazine which is sent back to the 
> 	contributing members.  Note that a member of an APA is expected to 
> 	contribute something (i.e., no passive members).  [For more
>         information, and a list of Anime APAs, send me e-mail]
> 
> Aspect Ratio:  The proportions of the image rectangle.  Most theatrical anime
> 	uses an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, with some exceptions.  For example,
> 	WINGS OF HONNEAMISE uses an aspect ratio of 1.85:1.  This means that
> 	the image is 1.85 times wide as it is tall.
> 
> BGC:	Bubble Gum Crisis, a popular SF OVA series.  The name is a slang
>         for a situation which is ready to blow up at any time.
> 
> BGM:	Background music, expanded here to include songs.
> 
> CD:	Compact Disc.  There are four major types of anime CDs:
> 	soundtrack - Contains the musical score for the anime.  An exception
> 		is the soundtrack for Akira, which includes the voices and
> 		sound effects!  If you just want the music, get the Akira
> 		Symphonic Suite instead.
> 	symphonic - A full-symphony rendition of the music in the anime.
> 	image - Contains music that "evokes the memory (or mood) of the film".
> 		This includes new versions of music on the anime, music written
> 		for the film but not included in it, and other (maybe new)
> 		music somehow related to the film.
> 	high-tech - A synthetizer rendition of the music in the anime. 
> 
> CD-V:	CD-Video.  A five-inch disc that has one track of audio-and-video,
> 	and three or four additional tracks of audio-only. It looks exactly
> 	like a CD, only with gold foil instead of aluminum used for the data
> 	surface.
> 
> CAV:	Constant Angular Velocity.  The name used for a method of encoding
> 	images in a LD which can retrieve individual image frames from
> 	a video.  This mode allows such special effects as "perfect" freeze
> 	frame, "perfect" slow motion, and frame-by-frame stepping.  A LD
> 	using CAV can only store 30 minutes of video per side.
> 
> CLV:	Constant Linear Velocity.  The name used for a method of encoding
> 	images in a laserdisc which provides twice the capacity of CAV disks
> 	(up to 60 minutes of video per side).  The special effects available
> 	in CAV disks are not supported in CLV disks, but some high-scale
> 	LD players use special electronics to simulate those features.
> 
> Compressed text:  Text files compressed with the Unix compress(1) program.
> 	This is done to long text files (like anime scripts) to save disk
> 	storage space.  In order to view such a file, you must first run
> 	uncompress(1) or an equivalent program in order to convert it back
> 	to its original form.  You could also use zcat(1) to view the contents
> 	of the file without decompressing it.
> 
> Dubbing: Translating an anime film into another language, using voice actors
> 	to provide the voices in that language.
> 
> Dubbing: Copying video/audio tapes.  Dubbing anime tapes for purposes other
>         than having a backup copy is illegal according to the US and Japanese
> 	copyright laws. 
> 
> ED:	Ending credits.  A good place to find good animation and BGM.
> 
> FAQ:	Frequently Asked Question.  A question which is frequently asked
> 	by new (or casual) users of a newsgroup.  In order to increase the
> 	Signal-to-Noise ratio, some newsgroups have a person in charge of
> 	posting a monthly list of FAQs and the correct answers.  The Anime
> 	FAQL consists of four postings which (hopefully) cover most things
> 	new rec.arts.anime users look for:
> 	1) An introduction to the newsgroup and its slang.
> 	2) Answers to common questions.
> 	3) Anime Resources, both electronic and commercial.
> 	4) Recommendations for good anime.
> 
> 	This list is posted here the first week of every month.  You're
> 	looking at it.
> 
> FTP:	See Anonymous FTP.
> 
> GIF:	GIF is a format developed at CompuServe to store color computer
> 	graphics in a compact, machine independent format.  To view a GIF file
> 	you need a program that reads the GIF file and produces an image in the
> 	format used by your computer system.  The /gifstuff directory in the
> 	ix3.ucc.utexas.edu anonymous FTP site contains GIF viewers for Amiga,
> 	Apple II and IIgs, Macintosh, MS-DOS, Sun, and X.  If you can't find
> 	what you're looking for, you can ask in the appropriate newsgroup for
> 	your computer, or in alt.graphics.pixutils.
> 
> IMHO:	In My (Humble, Honest) Opinion.
> 
> KOR:	Kigumare Orange Road, an old romantic fantasy/comedy TV series popular
> 	in this newsgroup.
> 
> LD:	Full-sized (twelve inch) laserdisc.  There is also an eight-inch
> 	format, usually known as "LD8".
> 
> Letterbox:  The term used to describe the method on which a film with an aspect
> 	ratio grater than 1.33:1 (the aspect ratio of a TV screen) is shrunk
> 	so that the image fits in a TV screen.  This will cause black bands at
> 	the top and bottom of the screen; the greater the aspect ratio, the
> 	more pronounced the bars.  The word comes from an analogy of looking
> 	at the screen through a letter-box slot.
> 
> Manga:	Pronounced "man-gah".  A type of Japanese artform which has
> 	it's roots in Ukiyo-e wood prints and other traditional art.  In it's
> 	popular culture form of Asian sequential art and graphic storytelling,
> 	features, manga can be found in most Japanese bookstores.
> 	Many popular anime were adapted from original manga. Recently,
> 	a newsgroup rec.arts.manga, was created to discuss manga in
> 	it's many incarnations.
> 
> Mailing list:  A method of communication between fans of a given subject
> 	without the need of a newsgroup.  A member of a mailing list sends
> 	e-mail to a machine called a "mailing list server", which in turn
> 	sends copies of the e-mail to all the members of the mailing list.
> 	To subscribe to the mailing list, send e-mail to the mailing list
>  	server.  The first line of the e-mail should look like this:
> 		subscribe list-name yourlogin@youraddress Firstname Lastname
> 
> Mecha:	Roughly, Japanese for "mechanicals".  Most of the so-called
> 	"giant robot" anime features are known as mecha features.
> 
> Model kit:  Scale model.  The most popular varieties of these are:
> 	injection-molded - this is the typical polyestyrene scale model
> 		most people are familiar with.
> 	garage kits - usually done from plastic resin (for mecha) or vinyl
> 		(for character models).  These tend to have smaller production
> 		runs and be VERY expensive (up to $100.00!).
> 
> OAV:	Original Animation Video.  An anime feature released directly to video
> 	without a previous theatrical or broadcast release.  The US equivalent
> 	would be "made-for-video".  In terms of quality, theatrical movies are
> 	usually the best, followed by OAVs, and network TV shows at the end. 
> 	Also known as OVA (Original Video Animation).
> 
> OP:	Opening credits.  Another good place to find good animation/BGM.
> 
> Otaku:	Japanese for "obsessed fan" (a term which applies to many people in
> 	rec.arts.anime :-) ). See The Frequently Asked Questions list
> 	for a more detailed definition.
> 
> OVA:	Original Video Animation.  Same thing as an OAV.
> 
> Script:	An English-text script for a particular anime feature.  Very useful
> 	for Japanese-impaired anime fans.
> 	
> Subbing:  Slang for subtitling.
> 
> Subtitling:  Translating an anime film into another language, using text at
> 	the bottom of the screen as a running translation of what the
> 	characters are saying.
> 
> Synopsis:  A text description of an anime feature, possibly with some snippets
> 	of dialogue thrown in.  Unlike dubbing, subtitling, and scripts,
> 	a synopsis does not require the approval of the legal owner of the
> 	feature before it is made publicly available.
> 
> UY:	Urusei Yatsura, a famous comedy SF series.
> 
> WotW:	WARRIORS OF THE WIND.  See the Frequently Asked Questions List for the
> 	NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND vs. WARRIORS OF THE WIND entry.
> 
> 
> <>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime