Current nf.wanted Mandate/FAQ
=============================

This article will be posted on a regular basis to nf.wanted in an effort
to maintain the newsgroups' adherence to its mandate for the benefit of all
users. Please direct any comments, suggestions or questions about this
article ONLY to the nf.config newsgroup. If your ISP doesn't carry the
nf.config newsgroup, please ask them to add it.

Articles not in adherence to the mandate of nf.wanted will be cancelled
without prior notification. Users who persist in posting against the mandate
will be sanctioned. The most common reasons for article cancellation are

- binary postings
- discussion in a non-discussion group
- replies that should have been email - I'll offer you $5 for that thingie.
- commercial/for-profit postings

========================= FAQ for nf.wanted ================================

Mandate

Welcome to the Newfoundland news network want-ads group. Both "wanted"
and "for sale" articles are appropriate here. Please keep in mind that
this is *not* an advertising forum. It is intended for INFREQUENT
postings by individuals, of the sort you'd find in the a newspaper's
classified ads, not for advertising by businesses. Please use
"Distribution:" lines in the headers of your articles if they are
appropriate only to your area or institution.

====

1) What can be posted to nf.wanted ?

This group is

- for individuals
- not for business advertising (This includes Home Businnes operations)
* nf.jobs charter was recently changed to allow weekly postings
* for in-home small-scale businesses
- not an advertising forum
*** - for infrequent postings - once per week at most
- for articles of the type found in classified ads
- for want-ads, ie not discussions

Guidelines (each ISP is free to use their own, of course)
==========

- No cross-postings. Articles meant for nf.wanted should be posted only
to nf.wanted.

- No binary postings.

- No discussion unless it's an amendment by the owner. Discussions can
easily be moved to a more appropriate group. Use email reply rather
than newsgroup followup. Email should always be the default reply
mechanism, NOT a news posting. Articles such as "I'll give you $5 for
that thingy" should NEVER be posted in nf.wanted

- Personal, not-for profit ads only. That means NO service ads or ads
intended to be a continuing income source (piano lessions, or driveway
plowing for example), with the possible exception of non-profit public
service ads. I can sell my CDs but if I buy CDs to resell, that's a
business. Mention where you got the item, the reason for selling and
your physical location (an item for sale in St. John's may NOT be of
interest to someone in Goose Bay unless you're willing and able to ship)


- No technical questions without the intent being a personal ad.

- No posting the same article more than once per week, unless there's been a
substantive change in description or price. One posting with several
items for sale/wanted is preferable to multiple single postings.

- Expect to be challenged on your asking price, sometimes by people with
nothing better to do than to annoy you, other times by legitimate
users with a valid objection. Computers and parts are notorious for
generating questions regarding pricing. Items for sale are typically
as-is, so know what you're buying and a reasonable price. Just because
you paid $2,000 for an item doesn't make it WORTH $1,800 three years
later because that's how much you NEED - if someone's willing to pay it
though, that's nobody else's business. When comparing prices, make
sure you compare EXACT items.

2) How can users know what a newsgroup charter is?

Most newsgroups have periodic postings about such things.
ISPs can certainly make Usenet guidelines available to their users. My
news browser shows the 'purpose' line at the top of the screen whenever
I enter a newsgroup, your mileage may vary.

A periodic posting FAQ will be posted. No discussion of the FAQ should
be made in nf.wanted, instead discussion should be in nf.config.

New users to Usenet newsgroups should peruse the news.* hierarchy for
information about newsgroups, particularly news.news.newusers.questions

3) How do guidelines get enforced ?

Every Usenet ISP can control what articles they accept, keep or cancel.
Part of their Usenet config will allow filtering based on size, number
of articles, article content, article origin, etc... ISPs with talent
can also implement other types of filters or act as a manual filter.
Please report newsgroup abusers by sending a copy of offending
article(s) to the ISP abuse address of the poster, indicating that you
believe the article is not permitted by the newsgroup charter.

Manual filtering consumes valuable people-time and isn't used at many
sites. Making judgement calls about an article is a tricky business and
personal bias can easily become evident. A clear set of guidelines help
remove bias - all binary articles are cancelled, as a guideline for
example means there's no interpretation or second-guessing. Notification
of article cancellation isn't normally made. All cancellations are
posted to control.cancel with the explanation. Posters who continue to
disregard the group mandate will be sanctioned.

4) How does a newsgroups' charter get amended?

Start a discussion in nf.config regarding the proposed changes.