crafts - Posting FAQ

Welcome Sewists and new posters! Here are some guidelines to posting to the
sewing newsgroups. In case you are wondering where you are and how you got
here, you are in a newsgroup, AKA "usenet" which is a part of the internet
that has been around much much longer than the www, which it is not a part
of. These groups are not moderated.

This information is protocol and etiquette that has been in use for over
*20*
years on Usenet (newsgroups are Usenet) I have edited this from these
sites: http://metalab.unc.edu/usenet-i/usenet-help.html
http://www.aptalaska.net/~kmorgan/nnqlinks.html
Also, link to the news.newusers.questions web site,
http://www.geocities.com/nnqweb/nnqlinks.html ,

If you are seeking information on a common topic, try doing search at
http://www.google.com/advanced_group_search?hl=en Then, if you don't find
your
subject, post a basic question to the group.

Be precise in your requests for information. If you are seeking help on a
technique, or are having a problem, the more information you give, the more
someone will be likely to be able to help you with your request. Put some
thought into your header: "problem" or "I need help" are much more likely
to be ignored than a specific header such as " help: facing has wrinkles"
or "where can I find fine linen".

There is a "what machine should I buy" FAQ.
www.cet.com/~pennys/faq/smfaq.htm

NO Advertising. NONE. No commercial ads, no auction notices, no ebay
announcements, no "for sale" private party ads, no links to a commercial
site; nothing. There are
marketplace groups for ads.(rec.crafts.textiles.marketplace) Ever been to a
Usenet group that has more ads than posts? This also includes one line
posts announcing commercial sites. And yes, this is a grey area, but in
past discussions the overwhelming majority are in agreement that all ads
need to go to the marketplace. If you would like to know more about
advertising onUsenet, here's a link link to it: Advertising on Usenet: How
To Do It, How Not To Do It
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/advertising/how-to/part1/

Please don't argue with us about it should be OK for **you** to do it.

Edit your replies. If you are replying to a post that is rather lengthy,
use your editing functions to pare the message down. If you reply without
leaving a portion of the request in, and the header isn't clear, many people
will not know what you are posting about. If the subject changes in the
course of a reply, change your header so that people will know what your
post is about.

The sewing newsgroups are pretty chatty. Keep in mind that not everyone may
be interested in the non-sewing chatter about kids, cooking, pets,
parenting, religion, whatever. It's polite to put an OT for OFF TOPIC in
the header, either if
the thread has "derailed" to not be about sewing anymore, or if it's
obviously not sewing related.

Please do not top post: this is putting your anwwer above the comment you
are replying to. It's hard to track the conversation when you do this.

This is a public forum, and an international one. There may be hundreds of
people reading your posts. Many people have to pay for their download/online
time by the minute which is the main reason for keeping headers concise and
posts succinct. Also, don't assume that everyone is in the USA; they are
not!! There are hundreds of people reading these groups: your reply goes to
everyone, not just one person.

No photos. This is not a binary group. Please post photos to the web and put
up a link. NO HTML either, this is a text only forum.

Signature files: No more than 4 lines please. ( bandwidth again) If
someone is a participant in the group, it is considered acceptable to list
business information in the signature file.
No "me-too ism": it's a waste of bandwidth. So is, "I know I saw something
somewhere...."

Remember this is a public, unmoderated forum that reflects
each of us as individuals. If someone's posts really drive you nuts on a
regular basis, you can make them "go away" using a killfile. This is an
option in most newsreader software that will block any posts by a specified
sender. For the how on killfiles see:
Killfile and Anti Troll FAQs at http://www.hyphenologist.co.uk/killfile.

Spam is any form of unwanted posts or email, usually commercial and
unsolicited.

Please don't ask for an email only reply. DL put it very well:
"I don't normally send an email copy unless it's specifically requested, and
I usually won't respond at all to someone who says, "I don't normally read
this group, so please send me an email copy," but I don't mind at all
sending a copy to someone who says, "I read this group regularly, but a lot
of posts never make it to my server."

The difference is that the first person is basically saying, "I'm too busy
and too important to be bothered with checking in the newsgroup for answers.
I don't value your time in composing a response, and maybe spending some
time doing research to answer the question, but _my_ time is too valuable to
waste coming back here to read it. I also don't care if anyone else is able
to benefit from the responses--just send me the email."

Many many people have contributed to this over the years. Thanks to all for
links, editorial comments and input.