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1994-04-08
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Path: bloom-beacon.mit.edu!hookup!yeshua.marcam.com!MathWorks.Com!panix!zip.eecs.umich.edu!quip.eecs.umich.edu!jimj
From: jewett+@pitt.edu (Jim Jewett)
Newsgroups: news.groups.reviews,news.groups.questions,news.answers
Subject: news.groups.reviews guidelines
Supersedes: <2mq1ee$otd@zip.eecs.umich.edu>
Followup-To: poster
Date: 8 Apr 1994 18:32:21 GMT
Organization: University of Michigan EECS Dept.
Lines: 103
Approved: grouprev+@pitt.edu, news-answers-request
Expires: 8 Jun 1994 23:15:29 GMT
Message-ID: <2o47vl$r4p@zip.eecs.umich.edu>
Reply-To: grouprev+@pitt.edu
NNTP-Posting-Host: quip.eecs.umich.edu
Summary: Please describe your favorite group or mailing list
to grouprev+@pitt.edu.
Please look for other groups in news.groups.questions.
Keywords: submissions guidelines charter FAQ newsgroups
Originator: jimj@quip.eecs.umich.edu
Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu news.groups.reviews:11 news.groups.questions:432 news.answers:17833
Archive-name: newsgroups-reviews
Last-modified: 1992/04/01
Version: 0.1
The unmoderated group news.groups.questions is an appropriate
place to ask (and answer) questions about newsgroups, such as
which topics are discussed where, and how to start, find or
create groups or mailing lists for specific interests.
The moderated group news.groups.reviews features reviews of
other newsgroups and mailing lists. You don't have to wait
until someone asks -- just go ahead and write a review of your
favorite newsgroup or mailing list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The short answer is to assume that the readers have never
heard of your group. Tell them why it is interesting.
Because many of the readers will still be new to netnews, it
is important that the reviews contain enough information to
describe the group even to a newbie. In general, I would
appreciate it if reviews followed these guidelines:
Reviews should be written by people who read and enjoy the group in
question. If the reviewed group isn't worth reading, then ignorance
is indeed bliss.
[Yes, it might feel good to write a negative review, but who
will it help? Please remember that there are enough newsgroups
that people won't be trying them all. If they wander in on their
own, your review isn't going to discourage them, and if they
don't, why waste their time?]
Reviews should be one-time things. In a year, it might be worth
reviewing again, but the group shouldn't change very much in a week.
I will accept alternate reviews from different reviewers, if they
are substantially different, but I would prefer to review another
as-yet-unreviewed group. news.groups.reviews will not be a
discussion forum, so it may be worth running your review by
other readers first -- particularly if it is a second review.
Questions about "Where can I find a group about X?" should be sent
to news.groups.questions. Discussion of the review should normally
take place in the reviewed group itself. As these types of
followups are very different, followups will normally come to
me if you haven't specified a group. Generally, I'll send the
mail back with my best guess and a suggestion on where to post it.
Reviews of (publicly accessible) mailing lists are encouraged, but
interested readers are also directed to the short summaries available
elsewhere. If you would like one of these lists of lists, Stephanie da
Silva, arielle@taronga.com posts one to news.lists. If it has expired
on your site, you can get it by anonymous ftp to rtfm.mit.edu from
/pub/usenet/news.lists/P_A_M_L,_P_*_8 where * represents each of the
numbers 1 through 8. [I am willing to add pointers to other lists of
lists, if someone gives me step-by-step instructions for getting them.]
In your review, please try to express the flavor of the group as a
whole. Ideally, this will involve summarizing some recent threads,
so that potential readers will have an example as well as a description.
Reviews need not be restricted to the big 7 -- if the group is widely
available (eg, bionet, or eunet) that is sufficient. Reviewed mailing
lists should be open to all readers without restriction.
Here is a sample review, written by Vance Kochenderfer.
Note that the Description: line is copied straight from
/usr/lib/news/newsgroups, and the FAQ-Location: line is
in URL format. While not mandatory, this is certainly
encouraged.
--------------------
Newsgroup: alt.folklore.urban
Moderator: none
Description: Urban legends, ala Jan Harold Brunvand
Keywords: urban legends, rumors, craig shergold
Related-Groups: alt.folklore.info,alt.folklore.computers,alt.folklore.college,
alt.folklore.ghost-stories,alt.folklore.military,alt.folklore.science
FAQ-Location: file://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/folklore-faq
Reviewer: Vance Kochenderfer vkochend@nyx.cs.du.edu
Review-Date: 1 Jan 94
Have you ever wondered about that dying boy in England who wants get-well
cards? Or about lick-and-stick tattoos laced with LSD? Or about all of
those soda can tabs you've been donating for kidney patients? Read a.f.u
and wonder no more. This group is dedicated to discussing and often
debunking pervasive rumors and half-truths known collectively as urban
legends. Humorous and informative, the group also talks about the works
of urban legend researchers such as Cecil Adams and Jan Harold Brunvand.
Posters often ask innocuous-looking questions in order to bait newbies, so
followup with care and read the FAQ list before posting; it is very wide-
ranging and will answer most of your questions.
=========
Mail questions and comments about this review to the reviewer, or
post them to alt.folklore.urban. Ask about other groups in
news.groups.questions. Mail submissions, questions and comments
about news.groups.reviews to grouprev+@pitt.edu.
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