[2767] in comp.os.os2.announce archive
*** FAQ: Where to Post in Big-8 OS/2 Newsgroups (beta version)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Mick Brown)
Sat Apr 12 01:07:32 1997
To: os2ann.DISCUSS@bloom-picayune.MIT.EDU
Date: 12 Apr 1997 03:49:54 GMT
From: Mick.Brown@worldnet.att.net (Mick Brown)
Reply-To: Mick.Brown@worldnet.att.net
Reply-to: Mick.Brown@worldnet.att.net
---------------------------------------------------------------------
0.0 Comments
===========
After examining the state of other comp.os.os2.* newsgroups, it is apparent
that many posters are unaware of the guidelines for posting to these groups.
These guidelines are contained in the charters which were adopted by vote.
The charter statements are slightly reformatted but identical in text to the
originals and you can locate copies of the originals at the ftp.uu.net site.
I'm reissuing this with minimal changes since the charters have been a matter
of controversy. I expect to split this into several FAQs to help new readers
select the right place to post their comments or questions.
NOTE: some policies have changed in comp.os.os2.announce which invalidates
small portions of the text below. A revision will be forthcoming.
0.1 Why is excessive crossposing bad for the poster
===================================================
1) Your server may cause it to be scheduled for removal faster than if you
posted it to only one newsgroup.
2) You post might not get off your server.. or ever appear anywhere. Some
major ISPs kill articles crossposted to 10 groups without notice, and
do not pass on articles posted to more than 5 groups.
3) If it does get propagated to other servers, there are a few sites that
are rumored to not pass on articles from other servers that have more than
10 newsgroups listed.
4) You are bound to get flames from someone for crossposting excessively.
5) If you do enough of it your posts will be cancelled by a spambot.
6) The spambot reports or the abuse reports from those who you "tick off"
may cause your ISP to terminate your account for TOS violations.
Check out the news.admin.net-abuse FAQs for more information and also see the
Spam Page http://www.vix.com/spam/ if you desire more information on related
matters.
1.0 Introduction
================
Many newsgroups have a frequent posting of their charters. This is intended
to be a similar service for the OS/2 newsgroups.
I see many complaints about excessive cross posting, and inappropriate posts
in comp.os.os2.* groups (and elsewhere). Providing the charters regularly is
hoped to encourage readers of these newsgroups to post to the most
appropriate newsgroup. I also hope that it will help cut down on the
perceived need to cross post.
I usually do not crosspost. I pick the group which seems most appropriate and
post only to it. One exception I might make is posting to a *.announce group
and the best match of related newsgroups such as comp.os.os2.announce and
comp.os.os2.mail-news if I released a new mail program. Most of the other
cases I can think of would involve something like crossposting between
alt.winsock and comp.os.os2.networking.tcp-ip if I was working on getting a
windows Internet program working under OS/2. I don't think I've ever felt the
need to crosspost to more than 3 newsgroups regardless of subject.
[Note: that policy in COOA now generally prohibits crossposts.]
For those new to USENET newsgroups I heartily recommend that you get all the
messages posted in news.announce.newusers especially "Emily Postnews Guide to
Netiquette" and get the "List of Active Newsgroups" from news.lists or
news.answers. The FAQs will help you avoid being flamed for excessive
crossposting, and the second will help you determine the groups most likely to
have discussions in your interest areas. The list will also help you avoid
being flamed for being off-topic. If your news server doesn't have current
copies of these articles you can use the URLs
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/ and
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.lists/ to download copies.
The main archive site for newsgroup charters is a very busy FTP site
(ftp://ftp.uu.net/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/). So I have retrieved the
OS/2 related Newsgroup Charters (in comp.*) and extracted them from the RFD
and CFV documents for readers of OS/2 newsgroups.
The following is how I currently read the charters below. I have no special status as
interpreter, so feel free to disagree.
ANNOUNCEMENTS & NEWS:
o short announcements of new programs or new program editions goes to
*.announce or the group best related by product category. Reasonable
crossposting requests are honored by the *.announce moderator.
o News in the form of official announcements (for example Press Releases or
new information on official websites etc) may be handled similarly to the
above.
o Unconfirmed reports and rumors should be referred to an appropriate
discussion group.
PROMOTION:
o TEAM OS/2 activities probably best go into the NEW comp.org.team-os2 group
or a general discussion group like *.advocacy *.moderated or *.misc
o Repeats of vendor & reseller ads probably best go in *.marketplace
although a good case can be made for posting to another group based on the
general product category. Initial announcements of "specials" or new
products are usually appropriate for *.announce also.
o Discussions and questions about how to promote or market a product (OS/2,
newsreaders, hardware, etc.) probably best go to *.advocacy
o *.advocacy is intended for other promotions and advocacy such as
discussions of how OS/2 is superior to X OS, etc.
BUGS:
o OS system level bugs belong in *.bugs
o Application program belong in the appropriate application group.
APPLICATIONS: (**UPDATED**)
o General business or financial programs such as: spreadsheets, graphics,
word processors, accounting, PIMs (Personal Information Managers) and
various other major applications go to *.apps
o Desktop enhancers, file utilities, conversion utilities, etc. belong in
*.utilities
o CAD, Math, Statistics, Scientific Applications, etc. belong in *.scitech
**NEW**
o See below for Internet or Networking, HTML, News, Mail etc. apps.
INTERNET & WWW:
o mail readers and utilities go to *.mail-news
o news readers and utilities go to *.mail-news
o WWW browsers, servers, WWW site maintenance applications and utilities go
to *.networking.www
o FTP, telnet, MUD, IRC, etc. utilities, servers and clients go in
*.networking.tcp-ip
COMMUNICATIONS:
o programs for accessing BBSes, or other computers via the phone lines go to
*.comm
o programs that communicate by using the internet like Iphone go to
*.networking.tcp-ip
o programs that use UUCP: I'm unsure where they best fit in--probably
*.networking.misc
NETWORKING: (**UPDATED**)
o LANs WANs etc. server and network administration issues belong in
*.networking.server **NEW**
o Network USER utilities, software, etc. belong in *.networking.misc
o see INTERNET & WWW above for suggestions for news, email, FTP, etc.
GAMES:
o DOS and OS/2 games settings, bugs, utilities go in *.games
PROGRAMMING:
o SOM, DSOM, and other object oriented features of WPS go to
*.programmer.oop
o Programmer's utilities go to *.programmer.tools
o Discussion of porting apps for other OSes to OS/2 or vice versa go to
*.programmer.porting
o All other programming discussion goes to *.programmer.misc
o I think OpenDoc probably goes into *.programmer.oop
MULTIMEDIA:
o applications using sound, graphics animation, or specialized video go to
*.multimedia
INSTALLATION, HARDWARE Related Problems, Device DRIVERS:
o multimedia hardware (special video & sound etc.) setup and drivers still
goes in *.multimedia
o Bugs in drivers go into the appropriate *.setup.* subgroup
o Installing CDROMS, Hard Drives, Floppies, tapes, memory go to
*.setup.storage
o Installing monitors, video cards, video capture, etc. goes to *.setup.video
o All other installation issues of OS/2 system software and hardware goes to
*.setup.misc
BETAS:
o BETA system software like new OS/2 versions such as Merlin's successors
& SMP editions, goes in *.beta
o Application beta software discussion goes to an appropriate newsgroup for
its category.
GENERAL DISCUSSION: (**UPDATED**)
o The comp.os.os2.moderated **NEW** and comp.os.os2.misc groups are suitable
for general discussion of OS/2 and OS/2 based products. One of the main
differences is that the moderated group limits crossposts and flames.
2.0 Brief Official newsgroup lines.
===================================
comp.binaries.os2 Binaries for use under the OS/2 API. (Moderated)
comp.org.team-os2 Users promoting the OS/2 operating system. (Moderated)
comp.os.os2.advocacy Supporting and flaming OS/2.
comp.os.os2.announce Notable news and announcements related to OS/2.
(Moderated)
comp.os.os2.apps Discussions of applications under OS/2.
comp.os.os2.beta All aspects of beta releases of OS/2 systems software.
comp.os.os2.bugs OS/2 system bug reports, fixes and work-arounds.
comp.os.os2.comm Modem/Fax hardware/drivers/apps/utils under OS/2.
comp.os.os2.games Running games under OS/2.
comp.os.os2.mail-news Mail and news apps/utils (on- & offline) under OS/2.
comp.os.os2.marketplace Forsale/wanted; shopping; commercial ads; job postings.
comp.os.os2.misc Miscellaneous topics about the OS/2 system.
comp.os.os2.moderated OS/2 usage tips, info, discussion. (Moderated)
comp.os.os2.multimedia Multi-media on OS/2 systems.
comp.os.os2.networking.misc Miscellaneous networking issues of OS/2.
comp.os.os2.networking.server Administration of NetWare, Warp Server, etc.
comp.os.os2.networking.tcp-ip TCP/IP under OS/2.
comp.os.os2.networking.www World Wide Web (WWW) apps/utils under OS/2.
comp.os.os2.programmer.misc Programming OS/2 machines.
comp.os.os2.programmer.oop Programming system objects (SOM, WPS, etc).
comp.os.os2.programmer.porting Porting software to OS/2 machines.
comp.os.os2.programmer.tools Compilers, assemblers, interpreters under OS/2.
comp.os.os2.scitech Real-time, engineering/CAD, sciences, etc.
comp.os.os2.setup.misc Installing/configuring OS/2; misc. hardware/drivers.
comp.os.os2.setup.storage Disk/Tape/CD-ROM hardware/drivers under OS/2.
comp.os.os2.setup.video Base video hardware/drivers under OS/2.
comp.os.os2.utilities General purpose utils (shells/backup/compression/etc).
3.0 Charters
============
The date of adoption of the charter precedes the newsgroup name. The date
format is YYMMDD.
930321 comp.binaries.os2 **MODERATED**
(Moderated by Mick Brown lfirrantello@bix.com)
This moderated group will be used for distribution of binaries for the
OS/2 operating system.
The moderation will consist primarily of limiting postings to binaries
only, and weeding out any discussion. The moderator will ensure that
binaries are suitably packaged, but will not, in general, do any testing
of the submissions. Commercial software and demos will not be posted.
960815 comp.org.team-os2 **MODERATED**
(see the group's FAQ for moderator information)
1) comp.org.team-os2 is a moderated newsgroup for the discussion of
information relating to the informal organisiation Team OS/2. This
includes, but is not limited to, OS/2 demos, product announcements,
networking between members, OS/2 user groups, discussion of IBM
marketing of OS/2 and ideas for promoting a wider acceptance of OS/2.
2) The focus of messages posted to the group should be OS/2 and/or Team
OS/2.
3) The following are not appropriate within this group: operating system
advocacy, product advertisements, private "for sale" messages,
technical questions, or personal attacks.
4) The moderator will accept all articles complying with this charter,
Cross posted articles will be posted to all groups listed. The
moderator may, at her discretion, alter the layout of an article to
improve readability, or trim signatures over four lines in length. She
may NOT alter the text of an article deemed to be in compliance with the
charter.
920501 comp.os.os2.advocacy
This unmoderated newsgroup will be similar in purpose and character to
the comp.sys.amiga.advocacy newsgroup, except that it will cover OS/2
opinions, comparisons with other products, flames, future directions, and
advocacy.
930326 comp.os.os2.announce **MODERATED**
(moderated by Mick Brown os2_ann_req@bix.com) (Dave Tholen was the original
moderator)
will carry news and announcements related to OS/2:
(1) FAQ Lists
(2) new applications
(3) new releases of OS/2 and accessories, including beta
(4) CSD announcements
(5) summaries of APARs opened
(6) OS/2 Worldwide BBS List
(7) Miscellaneous material
xxxxxx comp.os.os2.apps
(unmoderated) I couldn't locate an official or unofficial copy of the
charter for this group.
The group covers discussions of general purpose applications and
application suites. This includes general graphics (scientific, animation &
multimedia have special newsgroups), spreadsheets, word processors, etc.
930326 comp.os.os2.beta
(unmoderated) will allow beta testers to discuss bugs, features,
suggestions, and availability of beta versions of OS/2, including both
OS/2 2.x and OS/2 3.x Mach. In addition, this newsgroup will also be
used for discussing desired features for future beta releases, especially
when a beta version is not an active topic of discussion.
930427 comp.os.os2.bugs
(unmoderated) It will provide a forum for OS/2 system bug reports, bug
diagnosis and work arounds, the availability of system patches and
corrective service disks, and so forth.
[Note that discussion of bugs in applications belong in other newsgroups,
and discussion of bugs in OS/2 betas belong in comp.os.os2.beta]
950512 comp.os.os2.comm
Unmoderated OS/2-related discussion of fax/modem hardware/drivers
(including UARTs), as well as running DOS, Windows and OS/2 fax/modem
apps and utilities (e.g. BBS, terminal emulators, "online service"
providers, non-networking file transfer such as IBM-to-Mac, etc.) under
OS/2.
Discussion can include:
- compatibility
- configuring and using
- new and upcoming releases
- bugs, work-arounds, and bug-fixes
940322 comp.os.os2.games
Unmoderated discussion of OS/2-specific games (e.g. pricing,
availability, features, reviews, previews, surveys, etc.), and discussion
of running DOS and Windows games under OS/2 (e.g. compatibility,
settings, etc.).
Note that discussion of DOS and Windows games not related to OS/2 belongs
in the proper games newsgroup.
950512 comp.os.os2.mail-news
Unmoderated discussion of running DOS, Windows and OS/2 email and news
apps and utilities, whether online or offline, under OS/2.
Discussion can include:
- compatibility
- configuring and using
- new and upcoming releases
- bugs, work-arounds, and bug-fixes
950512 comp.os.os2.marketplace
Unmoderated discussion of OS/2-related products and services:
- "forsale" and "wanted" of OS/2-related products (e.g. OS/2 books,
OS/2 software, OS/2 itself, OS/2-imprinted umbrellas, etc)
- Discussion of companies that offer OS/2 products/services
- Commercial product/service advertisements
- Posting of OS/2-related employment offerings and resumes
Note that discussion of *marketing* (e.g. "IBM should advertise OS/2 in
magazines whose audience is computer users with kids") belongs in
comp.os.os2.advocacy.
xxxxxx comp.os.os2.misc
I couldn't locate the charter for this newsgroup. But it seems to be
intended for general OS/2 discussions not covered by other groups.
960624 comp.os.os2.moderated
(see the group FAQ for moderators)
This newsgroup will provide a forum for moderated discussion of usage
tips, information, and issues related to the OS/2 operating system.
Moderators will eliminate
* All crossposts
* Posts that contain no information regarding the use of OS/2.
* Patently inflammatory posts
No attempt will be made to eliminate information that is incorrect, to
evaluate whether a particular post is "interesting enough", or to censor
discussions based on the opinions expressed. The only requirement will be
that the discussion continue to relate to OS/2 and that it continue to be
informative. The role of the moderators will be to create a newsgroup with
civil and informative discussion threads.
There will be a team of at least two, and not more than five, moderators.
Each moderator will forward each rejected post to one of the other
moderators, who will, at their option, either discard it or return it to
the poster. The identity of the moderators will be known, but the
moderator who rejected a particular post will not be revealed
The moderator team will, by vote, determine whether to redirect posts or
to request that the submitter resubmit the posts to the proper newsgroup.
The policy regarding redirection may be changed at any time and may be
temporarily changed for any reason.
Anyone may post a "call for votes" in an effort to join the moderator
team. Not more than once per quarter, a slate of candidates will be posted
in response, which lists the current moderators and the new candidates
(identified as such). If a candidate receives at least 100 votes and
receives more votes than an incumbent, then the candidate will replace the
incumbent. If there are less than five moderators, the moderators will
decide, by vote, whether to post a "call for votes" or to just vote on the
candidate themselves. The coordinator will break ties.
Moderators will choose, by vote, a coordinator. This coordinator may, but
need not, be a moderator.
930427 comp.os.os2.multimedia
(unmoderated) It will provide a forum for discussion of multimedia
issues.
920501 comp.os.os2.networking ** SPLIT ** (Please see following entries)
This unmoderated newsgroup will provide a forum for all OS/2 networking
issues, including Novell, TCP/IP, LAN Manager, LAN Server, peer-to-peer,
DEC Pathworks, and so forth. It will also cover OS/2 compatible network
adapters, OS/2 network drivers, and running DOS/Windows networking
environments under OS/2 2.0.
940322 comp.os.os2.networking to comp.os.os2.networking.misc
comp.os.os2.networking.misc will continue to be the newsgroup to discuss
miscellaneous OS/2-related networking issues in an unmoderated setting.
960613 comp.os.os2.networking.server
Unmoderated discussion of OS/2 server administration (e.g. NetWare, LAN
Server, Warp Server, etc). Such discussion can include:
* file and print sharing
* app serving
* disk mirroring, disk duplexing
* user limits
* security
* etc.
940322 comp.os.os2.networking.tcp-ip
Unmoderated discussion of TCP/IP (e.g. hardware, drivers, setup, problems,
bugs, etc.) under all versions of OS/2.
950512 comp.os.os2.networking.www
Unmoderated discussion of running DOS, Windows, and OS/2 World Wide Web
(WWW) apps and utilities under OS/2. Discussion can include:
- compatibility
- configuring and using
- new and upcoming releases
- bugs, work-arounds, and bug-fixes
Note that discussion of WWW sites containing OS/2 information/software
would belong in the appropriate OS/2 newsgroup (e.g. discussion of a WWW
site containing info about an OS/2 beta would belong in comp.os.os2.beta)
because some/many OS/2 users with WWW access may be using a Unix-based
browser, for example, and therefore might not be reading this newsgroup.
930427 comp.os.os2.programmer.misc
(unmoderated) comp.os.os2.programmer.misc will still be the newsgroup for
OS/2 programmers to discuss programming issues and technical aspects of
OS/2 in an unmoderated setting.
940322 comp.os.os2.programmer.oop
Unmoderated discussion of programming for OS/2's object- oriented
subsystem, including SOM, DSOM, OpenDoc, and Taligent Frameworks.
Note that discussion of object-oriented languages (e.g. C++, Smalltalk)
belongs in the proper language newsgroup.
930427 comp.os.os2.programmer.porting
(unmoderated) It will provide a forum for developers of ported software so
as to coordinate efforts, avoid duplication of effort, and spur additional
development. The group will also cover topics such as porting from other
platforms (such as DOS, Windows, UNIX, etc), toolkits which aid in program
portability (including porting tools such as Mirrors), and so forth.
940322 comp.os.os2.programmer.tools
Unmoderated discussion of programming tools (compilers, interpreters,
assemblers) that generates or executes OS/2 code, and discussion of
running DOS and Windows programming tools under OS/2.
Note that discussion of DOS and Windows programming tools not related to
OS/2 (e.g. how much does `<xyz> for DOS' cost) belongs in the proper
programming newsgroup.
960613 comp.os.os2.scitech
Unmoderated discussion by scientists (and students studying to become
scientists) of using OS/2 in scientific-related (e.g. engineering,
astronomy, statistics, medical, etc.) software and hardware issues.
Such issues can include:
* computer-aided drawing/engineering
* real-time processing
* image processing
* statistics
* modeling
* simulation
* technical writing/publishing
* etc.
Discussion can include:
* "What is the best equation editor for OS/2?"
* "Is there an OS/2 programmer's library to calculate statistics?"
* "What is the best way to configure OS/2 to handle real-time data?"
* etc.
Note that discussion on writing OS/2 software (e.g. "how do I write a
DLL", "should I use one background thread or many", etc) belongs in the
appropriate comp.os.os2.programmer.* newsgroup, but discussion of
scientific-based programmer's library in comp.os.os2.scitech is allowed
(just like discussion scientific-based applications is allowed).
930427 comp.os.os2.setup [defunct -- split into the following]
(unmoderated) It will be devoted to OS/2 system setup topics, including
the availability of device drivers, compatibility information,
installation procedures, system requirements, and overall performance
optimization.
950512 comp.os.os2.setup.misc (replaces comp.os.os2.setup)
Unmoderated OS/2-related discussion of installing and configuring OS/2, as
well as discussion of hardware/drivers not covered in other OS/2
newsgroups (e.g., printers, keyboards, mice, BIOSes, CPU upgrades, RAM,
single-CPU and SMP motherboards, etc). Installation issues can include:
- Discussing the compatibility of complete computer systems, including
minimum system requirements.
- Installation tips and problem solving.
- Disk partitioning (including Boot Manager, Dual Boot, HPFS vs.
FAT FS, coexistence of other operating systems, etc).
- "Tweaking" OS/2's performance (e.g. swap file location and size,
system startup values such as MAXWAIT, etc.)
Discussion of miscellaneous hardware can include:
- compatibility
- configuring
- new and upcoming releases
- bugs, work-arounds, and bug-fixes
950512 comp.os.os2.setup.storage
Unmoderated OS/2-related discussion of floppy, hard disk, CD-ROM drive,
and tape-backup hardware/drivers (including drive controllers).
Discussion can include:
- compatibility
- configuring
- new and upcoming releases
- bugs, work-arounds, and bug-fixes
950512 comp.os.os2.setup.video
Unmoderated OS/2-related discussion of base video hardware/drivers.
Discussion can include:
- compatibility
- configuring
- new and upcoming releases
- bugs, work-arounds, and bug-fixes
Note that discussion of multimedia-related hardware/drivers still belongs
in comp.os.os2.multimedia.
950512 comp.os.os2.utilities
Unmoderated discussion of running DOS, Windows, and OS/2 general-purpose
utilities (e.g. backup, archivers, compression, screen savers, virus
scanners, shells and disk/file/program/task managers, defraggers, INI and
specialized CONFIG.SYS editors, etc) under OS/2. A loose definition of a
utility is software that protects your data, makes your computer run
better, lets you use your computer more efficiently, or helps to resolve
computer problems.
Note that topic-specific utilities (e.g. networking-specific,
programming-specific, game-specific, etc such as ping, source code
revision controllers, Doom patchers/editors, etc) do not belong here.
Note that apps such as word processors, text editors, spreadsheets, PIMs,
etc. belong in comp.os.os2.apps.
Discussion of general-purpose utilities can include:
- compatibility
- configuring and using
- new and upcoming releases
- bugs, work-arounds, and bug-fixes
940322 comp.os.os2.ver1x (removed)
Reason: OS/2 1.3 is now used mostly by companies (such as in
networking environments or ATMs) managed by long-time experts
rather than by regular people (i.e. Usenet readers).
930326 comp.os.os2.ver1x **DEFUNCT** removed 22 Mar 1994
(unmoderated) will allow users of OS/2 1.x to discuss all types of issues
regarding OS/2 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: There are some new groups proposed in news:news.groups which will change
which group is appropriate for some posts -- provided the proposals pass
their votes.
This is a preliminary posting. I have tried to be as accurate as possible,
however, there is a possibility that I have made a mistake, or omitted
something important. Feel free to send comments to lfirrantello@bix.com.
Also if you locate the charters for comp.os.os2.apps or comp.os.os2.misc
please send copies and information on how to obtain them.
=====================================================================
| c.o.o.announce submissions: POST [or email comp-os-os2-announce@uunet.uu.net]
| Please address other correspondence to lfirrantello@bix.com .
| Please see: http://www.bix.com/pub/os2ann/pindex.htm for posting guidelines
