Read Before Posting --
alt.mauritius Netiquette FAQ

A Guide to Posting to alt.mauritius
Version 1.2, last updated 14th February, 2003.

alt.mauritius is a newsgroup devoted to anything linked to Mauritius,
or Mauritian aspects of life. This FAQ is posted regularly to
alt.mauritius .
If you have any questions that aren't answered here, and you think
ought to be, feel free to email me at mtd@bow.intnet.mu

Contents:

Getting Started
---------------
1. Hello! I'm new to Usenet/alt.mauritius. Anything in particular I
need to know?
2. Are there any other Mauritius newsgroups on Usenet?
3. How do I post?
4. Can I just post a test message to see if my news software works?
5. In what situations should I e-mail an individual instead of
posting to the group?

Topic Conventions
-----------------
6. This thread has changed topics completely. Is there anything I
should do?
7. This thread started out Mauritius-related, but really doesn't have
anything to do with the country anymore. Is is OK to continue it?

Things To Avoid
---------------
8. I've got some great pictures. Should I post them
here?
9. Anyone want to know how to make $50,000 in 30 days?

Getting Along
-------------
10. Some people seem to get too much "into" a topic... they take it
way too seriously! Shouldn't they just relax?
11. I just read a post about <fill in your favorite controversial
topic> that really made me mad. Can I tell the poster how stupid he
or she is?
12. I just read a *really* *really* offensive post. What should I do
about it?

GETTING STARTED
---------------

Q1: Hello! I'm new to Usenet/alt.mauritius. Anything in particular
I need to know?

A1: Hello, and welcome to alt.mauritius, a newsgroup devoted to
anything linked to Mauritius, or Mauritian aspects of life.

If you're new to Usenet, the first thing you should do is subscribe to
the newsgroup news.announce.newusers and read the posts there.
They'll tell you a good deal of what you need to know about Usenet in
general. In particular, the following articles will be immediately
helpful to a newcomer to Usenet:

- A Primer on How to Work With the Usenet Community
- Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Usenet
- Emily Postnews Answers Your Questions on Netiquette
- Rules for posting to Usenet
- Quoting Style (http://www.greenend.org.uk/rjk/2000/06/14/quoting (Who's computer is this?) )
**NEW**

If you're new to alt.mauritius, first thing you should do is read the
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list, which will answer most of the
burning questions you have. After you've read the FAQ, you should
lurk (read without posting) on the group for a couple of days, to get
a feel for how this particular newsgroup works.

Q2: Are there any other Mauritius newsgroups on Usenet?

A2: Yes, about a dozen others, but only accessible to local Mauritius
Telecom subscribers.

Q3: How do I post? **REVISED**

A3: The exact procedure for posting a message will, of course, depend
on your newsreader. However, here are some general guidelines for
writing and formatting your post... keeping these things in mind will
make your post easier and more enjoyable to read:

- Don't type in all-caps (IN OTHER WORDS, DON'T SHOUT)... it's
difficult to read.

- Do use punctuation, sentences, paragraphs, correct spelling, and
good grammar when writing your post. Proofread your post before you
send it.

- Don't, however, flame (verbally abuse) someone for spelling or
grammar mistakes... we all make them, and it can come back to haunt
you. Besides, it's rude and more than a little petty.

- Don't flame, period. For some reason, people are usually willing to
read and consider polite disagreements of opinion. Conversely,
responses like "You're an idiotic moron!" only seem to anger them,
make them laugh at you, and/or cause them to ignore you. People are
strange like that. :>

- Do insert a carriage return every 75 characters or so (by pressing
Enter or configuring your newsreader to do it for you). If your lines
run over 80 characters, other people's newsreaders will either wrap
your lines strangely or cut the ends off your lines, which makes your
post difficult to impossible to read. Keeping the line length at
about 75 characters also leaves room for attribution marks, if people
quote your message in followups.

- Do use a meaningful Subject line. Believe it or not, posts that
have Subject lines such as "READ THIS NOW!" are the most likely posts
to be ignored by everyone, because they tell nothing about the content
of the post.

- Do quote posts that you respond to. Don't, however, quote the
entire post if it's not necessary... just include the minimum amount
of text required to let us know what the previous posters were talking
about. Don't quote people's ".sig"s (or signatures... lines of text
that most posters add to the ends of each of their posts), unless your
specifically commenting on something in the .sig.

- Do keep your own .sig short. Four lines is considered an adequate
line length for a .sig. Especially if your .sig only contains the
words "You suck."
If that's the case, we don't need to see it for 20 lines. We got the
message the first time.

- Do not use RTF and HTML when composing your messages. Only use plain
text as there have been problems in the past involving worm viruses.
**NEW**

Q4: Can I just post a test message to see if my news software works?

A4: Yes, but *don't* post it to alt.mauritius. Any and all test
posts should be posted to one of the many designated "test"
newsgroups, such as alt.test.

Q5: In what situations should I e-mail an individual instead of
posting to the group?

A5: If you wish to respond to a post, but know that your response is
only going to be of use to one or two people, then *don't* post it...
send it via e-mail.

This goes double for requests for items (or anything else) offered on
the group... if someone offers something on the newsgroup, *don't*
post "Send it to me!" or "Me, too!" Send the *original* poster your
request via e-mail. If the original poster asked that responses be
posted to the newsgroup, then he or she most likely does not even have
what was offered and is just looking to create a
big, annoying thread full of "Me, too" posts. Don't fall for it.

This also applies to surveys, to a point. If someone is conducting a
survey that doesn't involve any discussion ("Vote for your favorite
episode of "Friends"!", for example), answers should ideally be sent
to the person conducting the survey, and that person should post the
results when finished. A long thread full of posts that contain
nothing but similar titles gets very boring very quickly.


TOPIC CONVENTIONS
-----------------

Q6: This thread has changed topics completely. Is there anything I
should do?

A6: You might want to change the Subject line to reflect the new
thread topic, while including the original thread title so people know
where the conversation came from. So, if the thread "M.T.D. Bulletin"
has drifted into a discussion about all politicians being crooks,
change the Subject line to "All politicians are crooks (was: M.T.D.
Bulletin)."


Q7: This thread started out Mauritius-related, but really doesn't
have anything to do with the country anymore. Is is OK to continue
it?

A7: Here's where we stride into the murky grey area between being
on-topic, being off-topic, and being a community whose interests
sometimes wander. :>

A discussion about "Gays in Mauritius" can quickly turn into a
discussion of homosexuality in general, which really doesn't have
anything to do with Mauritius. :> This isn't a problem, as long as
the group as a whole doesn't seem to mind this off-track discussion.

However, to help out those people who don't want to be distracted by
non-Mauritius topics, please use the subject tag "TAN" (for "tangent")
in the post. By marking off-topic threads TAN, people who don't want
to read them can easily skip them or killfile them. So, if the thread
"Gays in Mauritius" turns into a discussion about homosexuality, then
change the Subject line to "TAN: Homosexuality (was: Gays in
Mauritius)".

However, even when they're marked, TANs *can* get out of hand. If a
TAN thread is becoming extremely long, or if other posters request
that the discussion be taken to e-mail or a more appropriate
newsgroup, try to do so. It's always nice to discover that we have
other common interests, but we are here to discuss Mauritius, after
all. :>



THINGS TO AVOID
---------------

Q8: I've got some great pictures. Should I post them here?

A8: No. Because of their sheer size, posting binary files to
discussion newsgroups is a *big* faux-pas.

Q9: Anyone want to know how to make $50,000 in 30 days?

A9: *No*. The various "Fast Cash" schemes are all just rewordings of
the old cash pyramid scam, which (despite any false claims to the
contrary) *is* illegal because it does *not* work... if you end up at
the bottom of the pyramid (which is, remember, the biggest *part* of a
pyramid), you end up with nothing. If you are still tempted by one of
these posts, you should first consider the following:

- People are not going to like you if you post Fast Cash scams to the
newsgroups they read. If you do, you will likely open your in-box the
next day and find a mass of angry letters flaming you to a crisp.

- Most access providers *will* cancel your account if you distribute
these posts.

If you see a "Fast Cash" post on the newsgroup, *do not* post a
followup.
People who post these scams rarely check the newsgroups for responses,
especially if the post has been spammed to multiple groups, and you'll
just end up adding to the spam.

GETTING ALONG
-------------

Q10: Some people seem to get too much "into" a topic... they take it
way too seriously! Shouldn't they just relax?

A10: No... because "too seriously" is an awfully subjective phrase,

This newsgroup is here for the purpose of discussing *all* aspects of
Mauritius.

There's a very broad range of discussions going on here, and chances
are you're not going to be interested in all of them. You might even
find some that you personally think are silly or a waste of time. No
problem... but do be polite and just *ignore* the ones you're not
interested in. All the topics here are being discussed for one
reason... the posters who participate in them think they're enjoyable
and interesting. No one appreciates being patronized and told what
should or should not be considered fun, and anyone who tries is just
setting him or herself up to be flamed or (more likely) ignored from
then on.
After all, if a person has no respect for what others are talking
about, he or she isn't likely to get any respect in return.

To summarize... be tolerant. If someone is digging deeper into a
topic than *you* prefer too... let them, and go on to a discussion
that you enjoy.


Q11: I just read a post about <fill in your favorite controversial
topic> that really made me mad. Should I tell the poster how stupid
he or she is?

A11: Well, you *could*, but it's really not very mature and isn't
going to do any good.

Like almost all other newsgroups, alt.mauritius has had its fair share
of flamewars involving religion, politics, race, homosexuality, sex,
morality, etc. Certain sensitive topics in particular seem to pop up
every couple months.

In the interests of the group, try to use these guidelines when
posting about sensitive issues:

- Keep the discussion centered around Mauritius. Topics can quickly
fly off the handle into very broad discussion that really doesn't have
anything to do with the country... and usually, there are more
appropriate newsgroups in which to talk about them, anyway.

- Respect other people's opinions. Everyone tends to have very
pointed feelings about controversial issues, and you aren't going to
change someone's mind based on how loudly you yell your opinion or how
many insults you can jam into your post. Stay polite when debating
sensitive topics, and don't try to force your viewpoint on someone
else... simply state what you think and why, or explain why you
disagree with someone else's viewpoint.

- Discuss the subject of a post, but refrain from attacking a poster
personally.


Q12: I just read a *really* *really* offensive post. What should I
do about it?

A12: Generally, ignore any post that seems specifically designed to
offend... because most likely, it *was* specifically designed to
offend. Many people like to cause chaos on a newsgroup by posting a
message that they know will be offensive to a large amount of people,
then hoping to sit back and watch everyone tear into each other.
Posts like these are called "trolls," and are responsible for a great
many unnecessary flamewars.

The best way to combat trolls is to ignore them. Completely. Pretend
like you never read them and that they don't exist. No matter how
angry or exasperated or speechless you are, no matter how many
excellent arguments or witty retorts you know you could make. Sit on
your hands and go on to the next post. The people that post these
messages thrive on attention... if that attention is denied them,
they'll go away, and we'll all be a lot happier.


Acknowledgements

Thanks to Brad Bethke, who's alt.tv.friends Netiquette FAQ was the
basis for this one.