Here's information on how to make submissions to this docuement, and
on the policy that we are using for postings to
comp.os.linux.announce
regarding commercial and mail-order announcements.
comp.os.linux.announce policy One of the purposes of this document is to present short summaries of the many Linux distributions in a compact form for new users to browse over. This document is not merely a concatenation of the various announcements of Linux distributions and the like.
Another purpose of this document is to remove some of the
`advertisement' traffic from the newsgroup
comp.os.linux.announce.
The moderators of c.o.l.a (as well as many of the readers) feel
that those people who are re-distributors of Linux distributions
which they do not maintain should not be allowed to post periodic
advertisements in c.o.l.a.... after all, c.o.l.a is for
announcements important to the Linux community; it is not a
moderated sales board.
Therefore, if you are distributing Linux software which you do not
maintain, the only way that you will be allowed to post information
to c.o.l.a is through this HOWTO. Information on submitting
entries to this HOWTO is given below. (To submit a posting for
c.o.l.a, mail it to linux-announce@tc.cornell.edu.
Exceptions are given below.
Here's an example. If you are, for example, reselling the SLS
distribution of Linux on floppies via mail order, the first
time that your mail-order service is available, you may post
an announcement to c.o.l.a. Thereafter, you must submit an
entry in this HOWTO, which will be periodically posted to the
newsgroup. Only in the event that you do something dramtically new
with your service will you be allowed to post to c.o.l.a about it.
(`Dramatically new' does not include changing your prices or the
versions of the software that you distribute. The moderators have
the final say on just what consititutes `dramatically new'. :) )
The purpose of this is to reduce the number of periodic postings
from people who are using c.o.l.a as an electronic billboard.
However, if you maintain and organize your own distribution of
Linux (whether it be available for anonymous FTP, mail order, or
both), then you will be allowed to post to c.o.l.a whenever you
release a new version. You will not be allowed to make periodic
postings about your distribution, in order to `advertise' it
every month; only when a new version is released will you be allowed
to post to c.o.l.a about it. Of course, you should include
information on your distribution in this HOWTO.
Hopefully this policy is not too confusing; the one basic rule
is that we won't permit postings to c.o.l.a which are merely
advertisements for your distribution or mail order service. The
posting must include new information which is of interest to the
Linux community at large. Remember that c.o.l.a postings are
archived on sunsite.unc.edu; once your posting is out of the
news spool it is not gone forever.
I encourage anyone and everyone who maintains a Linux distribution or mail order service (or consulting service, and the like), to submit information on their service to this HOWTO. It's easy and fun, and it's free advertising. This document is posted to many places and is archived (see the next section).
We are interested in submissions for:
If the number of submissions for services and layered products is large, I'll create a separate HOWTO for these items.
To submit an entry to this HOWTO, please send mail to
mdw@sunsite.unc.edu with the following information. This `format'
is not machine-parsable; any of the fields may be any length that
you wish, but I'd like to keep each entry down to, say, 50 lines.
Name of service or distribution
Name of company, person, etc. who distributes/maintains the service or distribution
Description of the distribution or service that you provide. If this is a software distribution, please include information such as what software is included, versions, general overview of installation, requirements, and so on.
Where your service or distribution is available. This can be an FTP site (including directory pathname, please), a mailing address, phone number, e-mail address, etc.
How to order your distribution or service, if applicable. Include prices, shipping information, methods of payment, etc.
Anything else that you find relevant.
Please keep your entry as short as possible. If you need to include extensive information, please make a reference to where one can FTP or mail to get more information on your distribution; these entries are only meant to be POINTERS to where one can find information on your service or distribution.
If you provide more than one service or distribution, please use SEPARATE ENTRIES for each.
Some things (such as books, t-shirts, etc.) won't fit exactly into this entry; just be sure to include all relevant information. In other words, this "entry form" is simply the bare minimum that you must include in your submission to the Distribution-HOWTO; feel free to change, add, or leave out "fields" as you see fit.
I will more than likely edit your entries to some degree if I find any irrelevant information, or if the entry is overly verbose. Otherwise the content should remain the same.
When making submissions to the Distribution-HOWTO, you grant implicit permission for me to use the entries in other materials, such as books from the LDP, and other online documents. For example, information from the Distribution-HOWTO may be included in a published Linux book. If you do not want me to include your entry in materials other than the Distribution-HOWTO, please say so.
Thanks to Bill Riemers, who produced the first version of the Distribution HOWTO and Matt Welsh who produced the second.. Also, thanks to all of the people who have contributed to this document. I hope that future releases of this HOWTO will be useful to the Linux community; unfortunately, gathering information on the many services out there is a difficult task. Your contributions make this task much easier.
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