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USENET.003
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1993-06-26
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Added to archive on 6/26/93
USENET ETIQUETTE AND STYLE
==========================
How to send Public & Private Messages:
All of the systems being gatewayed are of a world-wide nature and
message content (in the USENET echos) must be geared towards a large
world wide audience. All "replies" which would only be useful or
applicable to the original sender should be sent as a PRIVATE reply
which will get sent as Electronic Mail (EMail). Private mail is
documented later in this bulletin.
Public "echomail" HINTS
-----------------------
WRITING STYLE:
Never forget that the person on the other side is human.
Your postings reflect upon you; be proud of them.
Think about your audience.
Only post a message once.
Summarize what you are following up.
Use mail, don't post a follow-up.
Read all follow-ups and don't repeat what has already been said.
Be careful about copyrights and licenses.
Cite appropriate references.
When summarizing, summarize.
Write *below* the readers' reading level.
The average person reads at a 5th grade level (11 years of
age). The average professional reads at about the 12th grade
level (18 years of age).
Keep paragraphs short and sweet. Keep sentences shorter and
sweeter. This means "concise", not cryptic.
White space is not wasted space -- it greatly improves clarity. A
blank line only adds a few bytes to the article length, so don't be
stingy if it will help make your meaning clearer.
Pick your words to have only *one* meaning. Vagueness is
considered artistic by literary critics. We are not being literary
here.
People can only grasp about seven things at once. This means ideas
in a paragraph, major sections, etc..
Avoid abbreviations and acronyms, if possible, and define the ones
you use.
There are several variations on any one sentence. A passive,
questioning or negative sentence takes longer to read.
NET STYLE:
Subtlety is not communicated well in written form - especially over
a computer.
The above applies to humor as well. (rec.humor, of course, not
included.)
When being especially "flame-boyant", I find it helpful to go to
the bathroom before actually sending. Then, I often change the
tone considerably. Take a break before posting something in anger
or that might hurt or anger others.
Subject lines should be used very carefully. How much time have
you wasted reading articles with a misleadifg subject line?
References need to be made. When you answer mail, you have the
original message fresh in your mind. When I receive your answer,
I don't.
It's *much* easier to read a mixture of upper and lower case
letters.
Leaving out articles (such as "the," "a," "an," etc.) for "brevity"
mangles the meaning of your sentences and takes longer to read. It
saves you time at the expense of your"reader.
Be careful of contextual meanings of words. For instance, I used
"articles" just now. In the context of netnews, it has a different
meaning than I intended.
Make an effort to spell words correctly. Obvious misspellings are
jarring and distract the reader. Every news posting program allows
you to edit your article before posting, and most systems have some
kind of spelling checker program that you can use on your article.
Remember - this is an international network.
Remember - your future employers may be reading your articles.