161 lines
7.9 KiB
Plaintext
161 lines
7.9 KiB
Plaintext
From sherman@trln.lib.unc.edu Wed Jun 30 10:45:34 1993
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Received: by trln.lib.unc.edu (MX V3.3 VAX) id 30126; Wed, 30 Jun 1993 13:46:55
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EDT
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Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1993 13:46:52 EDT
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From: "Dennis R. Sherman" <sherman@trln.lib.unc.edu>
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To: andrew@bransle.ucs.mun.ca, WEW@naucse.cse.nau.edu
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Message-Id: <0096ECD5.7A4DB2E0.30126@trln.lib.unc.edu>
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Subject: sca-faq/part04
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Status: OR
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Newsgroups: rec.org.sca,rec.answers,news.answers
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Subject: rec.org.sca / Rialto Frequently Asked Questions - part04/04
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From: dennis_sherman@unc.edu
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Followup-To: poster
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Summary: FAQs with Answers for the Rialto - rec.org.sca and mailing
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list sca@mc.lcs.mit.edu. The Society for Creative Anachronism is
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an organization that studies the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and
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recreates those parts we find most interesting.
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Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
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Archive-name: sca-faq/part04
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Last-modified: 05/11/1993
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rec.org.sca and sca@mc.lcs.mit.edu FAQ
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or
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Questions Frequently Asked on the Rialto
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----------------------------------------
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This article is part 4 of the complete Frequently Asked Questions
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posting for the Rialto. An introduction and table of contents are
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included in part 1. The complete Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list
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is available via FTP from rtfm.mit.edu in directory
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/pub/usenet/rec.org.sca. Those without FTP access should send e-mail to
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mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with "send usenet/news.answers/finding-sources"
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in the body to find out how to do FTP by e-mail.
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For more complete introductions to the SCA, see the recurring postings
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"Come on in -- the water's fine" (by Hal Ravn [whheydt@pacbell.com] ) and
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"Life in the Current Middle Ages." (by Arval Benicour
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[mittle@watson.ibm.com] ).
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Guide to Posting Style
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Each line of text posted to the Rialto is stored on thousands of Usenet
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machines, and is also processed through the digestifier software and mailed
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out to every recipient of the digest. Many of the readers of the Rialto
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must pay for disk space and connect time. Keeping this in mind, here are
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some common-sense guidelines for polite use of the Rialto. These are just
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suggestions: there are no rules. However, following these guidelines would
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be a courtesy to your fellow Rialtans, and to the good and generous
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institutions whose machines support our communication.
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Many of these suggestions are adapted from regular postings on
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news.announce.newusers, notably "Rules for Posting to Usenet," "What is
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Usenet?", "A Primer on How to Work with the Usenet," and "Hints on Writing
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Style for Usenet." If you have access to that newsgroup, please take the
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opportunity to read these postings.
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* Keep it short. Say what you have to say, but in the fewest words
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possible that make your meaning clear. Brevity that obscures
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meaning is not very useful.
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* Quote only what you must from previous articles.
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- Don't quote someone's entire signature, or blank space.
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- Don't include an entire article in order to append a single line of
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text.
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- Often a paraphrase will be clearer and more succinct than a quote.
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* Use white space as necessary for clarity in your posting, and no more.
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* Use a signature, but keep it short. People appreciate knowing who and
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where you are (SCA and modern). Include your email address in your
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signature, and enough of your name, titles, location etc. to ensure
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an unambiguous identification. People do not appreciate paying
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phone bills to transmit over-large signatures, and Usenet etiquette
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frowns very strongly on many-line signatures or signatures with
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graphics.
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* Reply by mail, unless your message is going to be of general interest. Of
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course, the Rialto is eclectic enough that a serious discussion of
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almost any relevant topic will interest some people. Use your best
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judgement to balance the level of general interest against the cost of
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posting your message to the Rialto. Postings whose content amounts to
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"you're an idiot" or "I demand you apologize for ..." are most
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emphatically *NOT* welcome.
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* If you have a problem reaching someone by e-mail contact your system
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administrator, write to postmaster at your correspondent's node, or ask
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someone on the net who seems to know a lot about e-mail. Please avoid
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posting a message about it - you are trying to send something to
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someone on ONE system. Posting sends it to all the thousands of
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systems throughout the world that make up the Rialto - which is going
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to cost someone, even if not you, a lot of money.
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* Please don't post local event announcements. This is another "balance the
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general interest value against the cost" issue. Local event
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announcements probably will be of interest to only a small fraction of
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the readership of the Rialto. A brief mention of an event in a
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signature, or a 2 or 3 line summary with "email for more information"
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is perfectly in order.
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* Write carefully. People reading your postings can't hear your tone of
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voice or see your expression, and probably don't know you well
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enough to know whether you are serious or joking. Sarcasm is
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guaranteed to be misunderstood by someone. It is better to avoid it
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entirely, or at least clearly mark it with something like <SARCASM
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ON> ...sarcasm... <SARCASM OFF>.
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* LOTS of people read the Rialto, and the newsgroup is completely public.
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Don't post anything you wouldn't want to say in a room filled with
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complete strangers, your boss, your parent's relatives, reporters from
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the National Enquirer, the peerage and royalty of your kingdom, etc.
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They might well be reading. Take the time to re-read your posting, and
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to think whether you *really* want to say that.
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* Don't get offended, and don't offend others - most of the people
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reading the Rialto are SCAdians, and would prefer being your friend
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to the alternative. Treat people well and they will assuredly
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respond in kind. If someone appears to be offended by a posting of
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yours, especially if the offense is unintended, the best response is
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to apologize via email. Also, note that "I'm sorry you took it that
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way" is inadequate as an apology -- better is "I'm sorry I offended
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you." The first implicitly shifts the blame to the offended person,
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while the second does not.
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* Use the subject line. If you can describe your topics in the subject
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line of your posting, please do so. Posting with Subject: Various is
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pretty pointless, isn't it? :-) If you are replying to a previous
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posting, and you have shifted the topic, please correct the subject
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line. Some people will make note of the previous subject like this:
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Subject: Two-sword technique (Was Re: Pennsic)
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---------- End of Rialto FAQ ----------
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========================================================================
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Thanks to all who have contributed to this article.
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This article is a work in progress. If you have other topics you'd like to
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see included, send me email with the question(s) and your suggested
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answer(s). If you have comment on the items included, please send me
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(polite) email.
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PLEASE DO NOT COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE ON THE RIALTO! ! !
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The whole point of this effort is to reduce traffic. I will summarize
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comments sent to me, if it seems necessary.
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--
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Robyyan Torr d'Elandris Kapellenberg, Windmaster's Hill Atlantia
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Dennis R. Sherman Triangle Research Libraries Network
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dennis_sherman@unc.edu Univ. of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
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