From: amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu (comp.sys.amiga.reviews moderator)
Subject: MONTHLY POSTING: Introduction to comp.sys.amiga.reviews
Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.misc
Summary: How to write, submit, and request reviews
Keywords: monthly posting
Reply-To: amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu
Organization: The Amiga Online Review Column - ed. Daniel J. Barrett
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 01:07:02 GMT
Expires: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 05:00:00 GMT




			  AN INTRODUCTION TO
			COMP.SYS.AMIGA.REVIEWS

This document was last updated on:	August 31, 1992
(MAJOR UPDATE -- new moderator)

	Welcome to comp.sys.amiga.reviews!  This is a moderated newsgroup
for reviews of products related to the Commodore Amiga computer.  All
reviews are written by YOU, the wonderful readers of USENET, and I invite
you to send me your opinions of any Amiga hardware, software, books, or
whatever else you believe is interesting and relevant to the Amiga.

	This document describes:

	I.	How to write your review.
	II.	How to submit your review.
	III.	Special help for non-native English speakers.
	IV.	How to obtain copies of previous reviews.
	V.	Disclaimer and legal stuff


I.  HOW TO WRITE A REVIEW FOR COMP.SYS.AMIGA.REVIEWS

	You do not have to be a "great writer" in order to write a review.
All you need is enthusiasm, plus some experience with the product you are
reviewing.  If English is not your best language, you can arrange to get
special help with English grammar and style (see Part III).

	Everybody loves a good review; and by writing one, you are doing a
great service for all your friends in the Amiga community!  In addition,
when your review is posted in c.s.a.reviews, it doesn't end there.  Your
review is archived (saved) on a publically accessible computer, so anybody
on USENET can retrieve it and refer to it in the future.

	There are three kinds of reviews that you might write.  They
are the MINI-REVIEW, the FULL REVIEW, and the SURVEY.

	(1)	The mini-review

		Did you just get a program that, on first impression, looks
		really good?  Or really terrible?  A mini-review is for
		exactly this:  first impressions.

		Write down 2-4 organized paragraphs about the product,
		describing it briefly, and stating what you like and don't
		like about it.

		Later, when you get to know the product better, please
		consider writing a full review.  After all, your impressions
		might change after you have used the product for more time.

	(2)	The full review

		Just like in the magazines, only better... because YOU
		wrote it!

		You should feel familiar with the product before writing a
		full review.  It can be in any format you like, and any
		length.  If you are having trouble organizing your thoughts,
		I encourage you to use the "comp.sys.amiga.reviews Full
		Review Template", which appears in a separate article posted
		every month.  This is a "fill in the blanks" form with
		instructions and hints on how to organize your review.

		Even if you don't use the Template, I encourage you to
		look at it, to give you ideas about what to write.

		Most importantly, remember that your review is going to be
		read and referred to by thousands of people.  Some of them
		may base their buying decisions on your review.  So, be as
		careful and accurate as you can, and try to make your review
		interesting to read.

	(3)	The survey

		Once in a while, a reader will ask USENET for opinions about
		an Amiga product.  Sometimes, the reader even collects all
		the responses and posts a summary.  This is a great idea...
		but a few months later, the summary is gone and forgotten.

		This does not have to happen!  After you collect the
		responses and organize them, send the results to
		comp.sys.amiga.reviews, so they can be archived and made
		available to future readers.

		I have only a few guidelines for the survey article.  First,
		make sure you inform everybody (in your original posting)
		that you will be making their responses public.  Second,
		when you write your survey, don't just append everybody's
		responses and send it out.  Try to summarize and organize
		the information in useful ways, perhaps using tables,
		or grouping similar pieces of information.  Then, at the
		end of the survey, you can append everybody's responses if
		you like.

		If you would like to see an example of a finished survey,
		send a request to the "amiga-reviews-requests" address
		listed in section II.

	No matter what kind of review you write, always include the
following information at the top of the review:

	o	The name of the product.

	o	The name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address
		(if applicable) of the author or manufacturer.

	o	The list price.  Be sure to say what currency units
		(US dollars, francs, etc.) you mean, since USENET
		is international.

	o	A 1-2 sentence description of the product.

	o	Whether the product is copy-protected and/or installs
		on a hard drive.

	o	Whether or not the product works with accelerated CPU's
		(68030, etc.) and the latest version of the Amiga operating
		system, if you know.

In addition, always spell-check your review!


II.  HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR REVIEW TO COMP.SYS.AMIGA.REVIEWS

	comp.sys.amiga.reviews is a "moderated" newsgroup.  This means
that you cannot post anything in the newsgroup directly.  Instead,
you send it to the moderator (me) who can accept or reject the review.
When the review is accepted, the moderator posts it.

	Mail your completed review to:

		amiga-reviews-submissions@math.uh.edu

	In addition, if you want to discuss something with me about a
review, send mail to:

		amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu

	Do not worry whether your review will be accepted or not.  As long
as your review is accurate and clear, it will almost definitely be
accepted.  My job is really to help make the reviews look "standard" (in the
Subject: line, for example) and readable, keep non-review material out of the
newsgroup, and avoid biased commercial announcements.


III.  SPECIAL HELP FOR NON-NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS

	If English is not your first language, don't be afraid to write a
review.  Try it anyway.  And when you submit your review, include an extra
note to me at the top of the letter, asking for help.  I will read your
review, make suggestions and corrections, and send it back for you to check.


IV.  HOW TO OBTAIN COPIES OF PREVIOUS REVIEWS

	An index of all previous reviews is posted on the first day of every
month in comp.sys.amiga.reviews.

	If you have ftp access, you can download reviews from the machine
math.uh.edu (129.7.128.1).  Use the login name

		anonymous

and use your own e-mail address as the password.  The reviews are in
the directory

		pub/Amiga/comp.sys.amiga.reviews

Administrative information, such as this "Introduction" article, are in
the directory

		pub/Amiga/comp.sys.amiga.reviews/0admin

To get a review after you are logged in, type at the "ftp>" prompt:

		ftp> cd pub/Amiga/comp.sys.amiga.reviews
		ftp> ls -C
		(a list of review files is shown)
		(pick the one you want and use the "get" command)

		ftp> get Name_Of_Review
		ftp> get Another_Review
		...
		ftp> quit

If you need help using ftp, please ask a user consultant or systems
administrator at your site.

	If you do not have ftp access, send mail to

		amiga-reviews-requests@math.uh.edu

ask for a copy of the review, and I will mail it to you.  BE SURE TO
INCLUDE YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS.


V.  DISCLAIMER AND LEGAL STUFF

In the following conditions, the "reviewer" is the person who wrote a
particular review.  The "moderator" is the moderator of the
comp.sys.amiga.reviews newsgroup.

(1)	All opinions stated in a review are those of the reviewer, and
	not necessarily those of the comp.sys.amiga.reviews moderator,
	nor the organization whose computers are used to post the review.

	Neither the moderator, nor the organization whose computers are
	used to post the review, will be held liable for the accuracy or
	content of the review material, nor for any errors of omission
	the moderator may make when editing or posting the review.

(2)	All reviews remain the property of the reviewer.

	By submitting a review, the reviewer agrees that his/her review
	may be posted on USENET and included in:

	    1. Newsletters and other printed matter available freely with a
	       copying and distribution fee of not more than $2.00 an issue;
	       and,

	    2. Newsletters on magnetic media and other forms of magnetic
	       distribution such as the USENET summary disks available
	       freely with a copying and distribution fee of not more than
	       $6.00.

	    3. Electronic network distributions, either by the standard
	       USENET distribution or on a commercial information system
	       (e.g., the Portal System) charging no more than $6.00 per
	       hour of non-prime time 2400 baud connection not including
	       local access charges (e.g., Telenet or Tymnet access charges).

	The above notwithstanding, articles appearing in
comp.sys.amiga.reviews may NOT be included in any distribution over which a
compilation copyright is enforced.

	Articles to be included cannot be modified in any way other than the
removal of the standard news headers and the moderator's network signature.
The original author's signature must not be removed.  The original author is
to be credited with authorship.  Articles may not be edited.  Excerpts may
be used according to the Fair Use Laws of the United States.

	If inclusion in a publication is desired that would violate the
above, contact the original author of the article.  The moderator of
comp.sys.amiga.reviews will not act as arbitrator in this situation.

	If you disagree with any of these conditions, you are welcome to
discuss them by sending mail to amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu.  Do not submit a
review if you are not willing to abide by these conditions.

---

   Dan Barrett, Moderator, comp.sys.amiga.reviews
   Send reviews to:	amiga-reviews-submissions@math.uh.edu
   Request information:	amiga-reviews-requests@math.uh.edu
   General discussion:	amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews