From: rg-frp-announce@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu
Subject:  General FAQ overview
Followup-To: rec.games.frp.misc
Originator: cwatters@top.magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu
X-Moderator-Ref: Introduction
Keywords: etiquette, news.announce.newusers, roleplaying games, administrivia
Reply-To: rec.games.frp.advocacy
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 14:28:23 GMT


                Welcome to the rec.games.frp newsgroups

Please send suggested corrections and additions to the following
address:
                  CWATTERS@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu

If you are new to Netnews, or a returning user who hasn't read any of 
the frp netnews in a while - please read this and the postings 
in rec.games.frp.announce for more information.

Contents of the general FAQ postings:

This posting:  General Information and a group summary, plus a table of
	       contents to the other FAQs.

Biweekly on rec.games.frp.announce:

1  Welcome to the rec.games.frp newsgroups!
	Overview of the groups, posting guides

2  Frequently asked questions
	Answers to some of the more common non-system specific questions
	asked on the net.  About to become a two-parter.

3  Archive sites with Roleplaying material
	Where to find roleplaying materials for FTP, also where to upload
	materials you may have produced and want to share.

4  Roleplaying Mailing Lists and Digests part 1/2
5  Roleplaying Mailing Lists and Digests part 2/2
	Mailing lists are another source of information, and there are a lot
	of them.  Often they are focused in their topics.  Addictive as 
	net-news.

6  BBS's of interest to Roleplaying gamers
	Some companies have their own BBS for the modem-literate gamer, plus
	there are BBSes with a heavy emphasis on gaming.

7* Roleplaying Net.*.books, Gaming FAQ Keepers
	One of the more interesting items on the net is the advent of the
	net.book, in which the members of the net.community are urged to
	take part.  The FAQ keepers list tells just WHO is keeping the FAQs
	of a more specific nature.

8  Arms, armor and bows in the Fantasy Setting (coming soon!)
	This FAQ will cover some of the FAQs about "real" arms and armor, plus
	"the truth" about different bows.  Don't hold your breath, I *hope*
	to have it ready next Friday (11/20/92), no promises.


            WELCOME TO THE REC.GAMES.FRP NEWSGROUPS!

WHAT *IS* REC.GAMES.FRP.*?

These groups are where participants in fantasy* role playing games may
find discussion of subjects of common interest.  By fantasy role playing,
we are not meaning the Fantasy genre of literature - fantasy in this sense
meaning something which differs in a significant way from reality.  In these
groups you will find advocates/enemies of nearly every frp system ever 
published.

WHAT DOESN'T BELONG IN REC.GAMES.FRP.*?

These groups are *not* intended for the discussion of wargames and other
board games, except as directly related to role-playing games; try
rec.games.board instead. Nor is this the proper group for discussing
computer games. Computer game discussions and spoiler requests for
Adventure-type games (such as Zork and Ultima) belong in
rec.games.video, rec.games.misc, rec.arts.int-fiction, rec.games.mud.*,
rec.games.moria, or the relevant computer-related newsgroup (e.g.,
comp.sys.mac.games).

**   Current consensus is that discussion of the role-playing portions of games
     such as BattleTech and WarHammer 40k are suitable for discussion in the
     rec.games.frp groups, but rules/tactical discussion primarily devoted to
     the tabletop / board potions of the system are best discussed in
     rec.games.board.

SUGGESTIONS FOR POSTING

The following suggestions are intended to SUPPLEMENT the general
guidelines for posting to the net. You should already be familiar with
the guidelines contained in "Rules for posting to Usenet", "A Primer on
How to Work With the Usenet Community", and "Hints on writing style for
Usenet", which can be found in the newsgroup news.announce.newusers.

The most relevant parts of these postings, or rather the parts of these
postings most often ignored on these newsgroups, are: 

1)   Don't post anything that is intended for only one other person, 
     send flames and arguments through E-mail

2)   Read threads through to the end before adding to them,
     often other people make your point first (M or m is a very useful
     keystroke in rn)

3)   Don't post "yeah, me too" articles

4)   Don't quote excessively, especially don't quote the entirety of 
     another person's posting and then add two lines at the bottom, if
     someone wants to read the entire first posting they can go back 
     and read it for themselves.

When posting messages to a large newsgroup there are several things you
can do to help readers cope with the volume. First and foremost is to
use the right newsgroup, and avoid cross-posting.

Rec.games.frp.* consists of 6 newsgroups:

rec.games.frp.advocacy                  High Volume

     This group is used for "strenuous discussion" of the merits/
     deficiencies of various gaming systems / styles.  Here is where
     the famous "GURPS vs. the Universe" flamewar resides.  
        
rec.games.frp.announce   (moderated)    Low Volume

     This group handles almost any kind of announcement - 
     new products, play by email games, conventions, etc.
     This is also the home of the informational bulletins, all
     readers of any of the r.g.f.* groups should subscribe to 
     this one.

rec.games.frp.archives   (moderated)    Medium Volume

     This group is used to post stories and other finished
     works.  Often this is used in conjunction with the .announce
     group - announce is used to announce the availability of
     something being placed on an archive site, while the actual
     item goes through the .archives group.

rec.games.frp.dnd                       High Volume

     This group is used to discuss the various incarnations of TSR's 
     _Dungeons and Dragons(tm)_ games, including the original D&D, 
     AD&D v1, AD&D v2, etc.  Discussion of gaming topics of general
     interest should take place in rec.games.frp.misc.  Items so 
     specific that they are almost unique to *DND* should be discussed
     here.

rec.games.frp.marketplace               Medium Volume
     
     Got something to sell?  Want to buy an out of print or budget
     item?  This is the place for you.  Buyer beware though.

rec.games.frp.misc                      High Volume

     R.G.F.MISC is where discussion of anything not relegated to one
     of the other groups takes place.  Here you can find discussions
     about any system (except for DND/ADND specific stuff).  This 
     group is sort of cyclic, so if your favorite system isn't being
     discussed, keep reading, it probably will come up.

*Note:  rec.games.frp was RMGROUPED on 30-AUG-1992, and is no longer
     valid.  Rec.games.rpg is considered a bogus newsgroup.  Neither
     are widely distributed.

Second, no matter what newsgroup you post to, please use descriptive
titles. Whenever you post an article which is specific to a particular
game system, please include the name of the system in the Subject of
your post. Subjects like: "Combat initiative in AD&D" or "Champions
Character: Nightstorm" are much more informative than "Combat" or
"Character: Nightstorm".

If you're posting a story, you are urged to include the word STORY in
the subject, and to use a consistent title for your work. If you post
an article related to Tabolport Net City project, please include the
word TABOLPORT in the subject so that the appropriate persons will see
it.

BEFORE POSTING THE FIRST TIME:

Please read for a little while before posting.  Get a feel for the
style and tone of the conversation.  Wait a second before responding,
think if you are going to post the same thing as a thousand others.
Case in Point:  Last Year when Gene Roddenberry (creator of StarTrek)
died, the ST newsgroups were flooded with "I just heard Gene is dead"
postings for 5 days!

NEVER NEVER N-E-V-E-R post just to correct someone's spelling:
the Internet is an International Community, and not everyone has the 
same level of familiarity with the most common language on the net.
     
LAST BUT MOST IMPORTANT!

Now go read the Introduction postings in rec.games.frp.announce!
Do this before you read any further!

-Coyt (keeper of the FAQ and guider of lost gamers)

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc