Last modified on the 7th of November 2005

 * A kind reader noticed the mistake I'd made in the csa FAQ link that
   affected primarily the Usenet posted version of this document. Whups!
   Thought I'd checked that link too...

   This is a weekly introductory posting intended to aid newcomers to the
newsgroups in finding the right place to post, where the various FAQs lurk
and general conventions observed in the groups. For reader convenience this
document can be found on the WWW, in a hypertext format, at :-

http://www.khantazi.org/Archives/Welcome.html

   The Comp.Sys.Acorn newsgroups are dedicated to the discussion of all
matters Acorn. Before launching into the groups it is worthwhile spending a
moment or two identifying which newsgroup to post to, whether or not your
question has been answered already in one of the FAQ lists and whether or
not your post conforms to the general guidelines that constitute netiquette.
Failure to check on the appropriateness of your post generally results in
you being reminded, frequently politely, of your mistake - both publicly and
privately.

Newsgroups

   Here are the charters for each Acorn group, as defined when the group was
voted for and created. (These copies of the charters have been mildly edited
to ensure relevance.) The charters roughly define what constitutes
appropriate topics for discussion in the group. If none of the groups quite
fit, then it is possible your message is best suited to the misc group.

   comp.binaries.acorn

   Distribution of binaries for Acorn machines.

   This is a moderated newsgroup, posts should be sent to the moderator at
c...@bridge.wn.planet.gen.nz and not posted directly to the newsgroup. (Well
configured news software will do this automatically for you.)

   comp.sources.acorn

   Distribution of sources for Acorn machines.

   This is a moderated newsgroup, posts should be sent to the moderator at
c...@bridge.wn.planet.gen.nz and not posted directly to the newsgroup. (Well
configured news software will do this automatically for you.)

   comp.sys.acorn.advocacy

   Here you can hold long debates why the ARM610 is better than the 586, why
Translator's user interface is so very bad (or good!), or why Acorn should
lower their prices. If you hold your wars here, the people who want to
actually *do* things can get on with their work in the other Acorn groups.

   comp.sys.acorn.announce

   This will be a low-noise group in which announcements about (products
for) Acorn computers or the ARM can be made, as well as additions to public
archives, FAQ lists, virus alerts etc.

   This is a moderated newsgroup, posts should be sent to the moderators at
c...@owlart.net and not posted directly to the newsgroup. (Well configured
news software will do this redirection for you automatically.)

   comp.sys.acorn.apps

   For discussions of software packages and applications on Acorn machines
from a *user* viewpoint. There should be no programming discussions in this
group.

   comp.sys.acorn.extra-cpu

   Comp.sys.acorn.extra-cpu is open to discussion on all aspects of
processor cards for the Acorn range of computers. The scope of discussion
includes setting up problems, compatibility issues, hardware matters,
multiprocessing operating systems (e.g. TAOS) and anything else which
relates to these cards. The scope of discussion specifically excludes
matters which *solely* relate to the processor in question, which should be
discussed in the appropriate group.

   comp.sys.acorn.games

   comp.sys.acorn.games serves as a forum for the discussion of games on
Acorn machines. Topics that may be discussed include:

 * Announcements of new games releases
 * Original game reviews
 * Magazine game review summaries
 * Discussion of general aspects of Acorn games
 * Hints and cheats for games

   comp.sys.acorn.hardware

   For discussions of hardware on Acorn machines from both technical and
user viewpoints.

   comp.sys.acorn.misc

   For discussions which do not fit into any of the other categories. Please
try to put your post in the correct group, before you resort to posting here.

   comp.sys.acorn.networking

   For discussions of networking on Acorn machines, this includes modems,
tcp/ip software, WWW browsers, ethernet cards and other comms hardware and
software.

   comp.sys.acorn.programmer

   For discussions of Acorn related programming matters. This includes Acorn
specific C, BASIC, Assembler (6502 or ARM.) Generic ARM code should be
discussed in comp.sys.arm.

FAQ Lists

   Various FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) Lists abound for the Acorn world.
Their aim is to answer commonly asked questions before they get asked in the
newsgroup. Hopefully this will reduce both the redundant traffic and the
annoyance factor for long time readers, as well as helping the newcomer to
the group.

 * Acorn FTP and mail-server archives
   Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.announce, comp.sys.acorn.networking,
   comp.sys.acorn.misc.

      Comprehensive list of Acorn related FTP and mail server sites with a
   brief description for each site on its type of content.

 * Comp.{Binaries,Sources}.Acorn FAQ
   Newsgroups: comp.binaries.acorn, comp.sources.acorn,
   comp.sys.acorn.announce

      Details on policy regarding the moderation of comp.binaries.acorn and
   comp.sources.acorn as well as submission details.

 * Comp.Sys.Acorn FAQ List
   Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.announce, comp.sys.acorn.misc.
   WWW: http://www.vigay.com/csafaq/index.html

      A general FAQ that covers the ground that more specific FAQs don't, as
   befitting its home newsgroup of comp.sys.acorn.misc. General information
   about Acorn machines (hardware, OS, software etc...) as well as an email
   list of Acorn companies on the net and a smattering of Acorn related web
   pages.

 * Comp.Sys.Acorn.Announce Charter
   Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.announce.
   WWW: http://www.owlart.net/csaa/

      Detailed charter document on what is, and is not, acceptable for
   submission to be posted on the newsgroup comp.sys.acorn.announce.

 * comp.sys.acorn.games FAQ
   Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.announce, comp.sys.acorn.games.

      Accumulated answers about Acorn games in development, tips for coding
   games and general advice on games for Acorn machines.

 * comp.sys.acorn.networking Frequently Asked Questions
   Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.networking.
   WWW: http://www.mjpye.org.uk/networking/?p=csan

      Accumulated answers and wisdom on the networking of Acorn computers.
   Included is information on setting up TCP/IP and Ethernet networks, AUN
   and the companies involved in the Acorn networking scene.

Netiquette

   As with any social group there is a basic standard of behaviour expected
of group members. This is primarily intended to facilitate easy, relaxed and
fruitful discussion amongst members with a minimum of conflict and strife.
If entirely new to Usenet, then subscribing to news.announce.newusers and
reading the FAQs there is an extremely good idea. However general advice
includes :-

 * Before posting consult the relevant FAQs to see if your question is
   answered there. Asking questions already in the FAQ tends to irritate the
   FAQ maintainer at the very least and often also annoys long term readers
   of the group who have probably seen and answered your question several
   times before.
 * If none of the FAQs answer your question then it is frequently worthwhile
   consulting a news archive service like DejaNews and searching for the
   topic of interest.
 * Money making schemes, chain letters and similarly intrusive off-topic
   posts are not welcome.
 * Advertising a commercial service or product is not welcome anywhere
   except the comp.sys.acorn.announce group, submit your advertising to the
   moderators of that group. But referring a poster on to a commercial
   product or service that solves their problem is generally okay.
 * If new to the groups read them for a week or two first, to get a feel for
   the topics and conventions the group members talk about and use.
 * Don't cross-post unless you really need to. It breaches the separation of
   topics that the newsgroup hierarchy provides.
 * If you must cross-post, or are following up to a cross-posted article,
   check the groups being cross-posted to. Don't be afraid to remove groups
   that are not relevant to the contents of your post.
 * When cross-posting then do not post multiple identical articles to each
   different newsgroup. Use the Newsgroups header and post the article just
   once, that way readers will only have to download the article once and
   often only read it once.
 * Don't post binaries or source files, submit them to the moderator of
   comp.{binaries,sources}.acorn instead. People frequently pay to download
   news and binaries can get expensive quickly, not to mention annoying,
   when unwanted.
 * If you feel a discussion has now changed topic sufficiently to now be
   best suited to another group, consider using the Followup-To: header to
   redirect the discussion to that group. When doing that it is polite to
   say as much in the post itself.
 * When posting a private advertisement place at the start of the subject
   line either 'WTD:', for a wanted to buy advert, or 'FS:', for a for sale
   advert. That way people who wish to ignore adverts can easily filter them
   out.
 * When posting please trim your reply and keep line lengths to less than 80
   characters. Not everyone has high resolution displays, fast connections
   or the latest software to read your postings. Try to be as concise and
   brief as possible.
 * Replying is generally best done by putting your answer directly below the
   segment you are replying to. That way people can read the previous
   posters comments and see what you are replying to without having to
   backtrack and read older postings. If you aren't directly replying to it
   then trim it.

   Other than that just being generally polite is a good rule of thumb. That
and enjoy yourself, the newsgroups are here for you to enjoy just as much as
anyone else.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- -
All additions, corrections & suggestions for this document should be sent to
bank...@paradise.net.nz. Being the maintainer of this document I reserve the
right to be wrong, incorrect, slow, out of date and generally how I please
with it.