demon.local

The Official FAQ




Welcome to the demon.local FAQ. It's only a brief guide to the newsgroup
demon.local -- if there's something you want to see here, or something
you do see here that you want to take issue with, then please post your
comments in the newsgroup.

[1] What is demon.local?

[2] What's on topic there?

[3] What's off topic there?

[4] Are there any rules?

[5] What's it like there?

[6] Who posts there?

[7] Can I post there?

[8] What's this stuff about .sigs that I keep seeing?

[9] Why do some people call it a 'robust' group?

[10] I've just been sworn at -- what should I do?

[11] I've just been vilely abused -- what should I do?

[12] Who made this FAQ?

[13] Is Mabbettry allowed?

[14] Is Craig Oldfield fat?

[15] Is James Follett a lying fuckface?

So...


[1] What is demon.local?
========================

It's a newsgroup a bit like any other, except that it belongs to the demon
hierarchy rather than any of the big Usenet ones. It's a place to come and
chat about anything and everything, almost.

[2] What's on topic there?
==========================

Anything and everything, almost. We don't have a charter, and this is the
nearest thing we have to an official FAQ. Being 'on topic' is not
difficult
to achieve. Strictly, discussion of .sigs (see below) belongs elsewhere,
though for historical reasons a bit of this nonsense still continues here.

[3] What's off topic there?
===========================

Anything that's not on topic -- see above.

[4] Are there any rules?
========================

No -- other than the usual ones pertaining to binaries and html.

[5] What's it like there?
=========================

It's an interesting place. Sometimes it's very friendly, other times it's
cold and forbidding. It doesn't have any of that 'cosy' rubbish that you
get in some places ('Come in and pull up a chair', 'Have a biccie', or
other such crap). If that's your thing you'd be better off elsewhere: this
is a 'robust' group (see below).

[6] Who posts there?
====================

We have a considerable mixture, socially, intellectually, and in terms of
knowledge and experience, right through the whole imaginable range. There
is a good number of people who are technically knowledgeable about
computing, Usenet, the Internet etc; several PhDs; at least three
published authors; students; several media types; plenty of musical types;
housewives; idiots; foreign people; complete thickos; the young and the
geriatric... you name it, we've got it.

[7] Can I post there?
=====================

Yes, of course you can! There are no membership criteria, and you are
welcome even if you don't know an apostrophe from an apocalypse, unless
you happen to be called Keith.

[8] What's this stuff about .sigs that I keep seeing?
=====================================================

Although it's not really on topic here, discussion of .sigs has a bit of a
history, stemming from the time when a bunch of puritan hooligans
attempted a group takeover with the intention of forcing people (through
abuse) to
conform to an ideal sig-format. Feel free to ignore this stuff.

[9] Why do some people call it a 'robust' group?
================================================

Because they like to swear, of course! But also because it's not a place
you should linger in if you are easily offended by strong opinions.

[10] I've just been sworn at -- what should I do?
=================================================

Why would you want to do anything?

[11] I've just been vilely abused -- what should I do?
======================================================

Ask someone else -- that's outside my field.

[12] Who made this FAQ?
=======================

It's the result of collaboration by a representative sample of demon.local
regulars. If you don't like it or don't find it useful, please say so in
the group.

[13] Is Mabbettry allowed?
==========================

Absolutely and unequivocally not.

[14] Is Craig Oldfield fat?
===========================

Why not post and ask him?

[15] Is James Follett a lying fuckface?
=======================================

It's all a question of spin. What is "truth"?