From: ka1gt@cbnewsm.cb.att.com (robert.m.atkins)
Subject: "Netiquette" or a BRIEF guide to posting on rec.photo and Usenet
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1992 15:19:04 GMT
Keywords: Revised version guidelines net etiquette


Response to my suggestion of a "netiquette" posting has been very
positive. Here is a slightly revised version, incorporating a number
of suggestions. Please e-mail corrections/comments to me. Please feel
free to incorporate this in the FAQ or archives. Question: Is there
any need to post this at regular intervals (like the FAQ?) or should it
just go in the FAQ, or is it not needed in rec.photo (one of the better
and more civilized news groups)? e-mail replies, or at least DON"T QUOTE
THIS ENTIRE POSTING if posting a followup!!
.............................................................................

GUIDELINES ("Netiquette") for rec.photo and Usenet in general.
^^^^^^^^^^

New users should read the postings on news.announce.newusers for a full
overview of usenet, how it works, what it is, what it isn't etc. THIS IS
THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO DO FOR A NEW USER AND MAY BE OF GREAT
BENEFIT TO ANYONE USING USENET.

Before posting a question, read the FAQ list. Many questions come up
over and over again ("can you freeze film", "do I need a circular polarizer",
"do X-rays fog film") and become quite tiring (especially after the 10th
time they appear). The FAQ (frequently asked question) list is posted in
rec.photo on a (semi?) regular basis. There is also an archive available
for anonymous ftp (if you don't know what this is, see the first item
above!) from moink.nmsu.edu (128.123.4.58).

When replying to a posting and including some of the original, EDIT the
original down to the relevant section. A 100 line quote with a two line
comment wastes bandwidth.

Many terminals (mine included!) have an 80 character maximum line length so
the end of long lines may not be readable by many users. Try to limit line
length to 80 characters max (preferably less since quoted postings increase
line length).

If the reply to a posting doesn't contain information of general interest
(e.g. What kind of battery should I use in my Olympus XA?), then reply by
e-mail rather than by a posting.

Limit the distribution of postings to the appropriate areas. Don't post
questions about the best camera store in San Jose to the entire world!

Remember, every posting you make, and every site you send it to costs
someone money! It may be "free" for you, but someone somewhere is paying
for the computer systems, disk storage space and transmission costs.

Limit long elaborate signature lines. A two line posting with a ten line
signature is another way to waste bandwidth.

Check the distribution of followup articles. If something was posted to
many newsgroups and you have a photographically related answer, limit
the distribution to rec.photo or YOU may get email about your posting
appearing in 10 other inappropriate newsgroups!

Don't post, or even suggest posting, picture files (GIF etc) to ANY rec.
newsgroup. There are special newsgroups that are designed to handle such
postings. They consume large amounts of bandwith and disk space, which some
systems may not wish to handle (or may not be able to handle).

Don't post any commercial messages, e.g., "Joe's Camera has the following
lenses for sale (long list follows)", or "Write for details on how to make
$10000 per week with your camera". Individual "for sale" postings of a
non-commercial nature are OK. Even postings like "Joe's camera has a Nikon
500mm f4 for sale at $100" might be OK if they are about something unusual
or rare, but not if it is just a list of ordinary stuff.

Questions like "Should I buy A Nikon 8008, Canon EOS 10s or Minolta 7xi -
what are their features?" are way too broad to answer. Get the manufacturers
literature, read it and then ask specific questions. Try to include a few
clues about what kind of photography you are interested in doing.

Don't flame. Rec.photo is one of the most civilized newsgroups. Trading
insults is a waste of time and bandwidth. Use e-mail if you must engage in
such exchanges. Note that the "symbol" :-) means that the previous
comment was supposed to be a joke (or ironic) and is not to be taken 
literally. :-) is the best "smiley face" you can get in ASCII (look at
it sideways). The phrase "RTFM" is a mild flame meaning "Please be kind
enough to refer to your user's manual", or words to that effect.

If an inappropriate posting appears, send EMAIL to the poster, rather than
posting a followup. Often it is simply an error on the part of the 
original poster. If it repeats, or if it is a very offensive posting, you
can always send mail to the "root" login at the offender's site and
register a complaint.

Remember, when you post a message it goes to thousands of sites in the USA
and many more in the rest of the world (if you specify "world" distribution).
Millions of people, from many different cultures, may have access to your
words - chose them carefully.


Bob Atkins  (long signature delated....)