Archive-name: nude-faq/part1 Posting-Frequency: monthly Version: 1-Jan-08 Copyright: (c) 1998-2008 Dennis Kirkpatrick Maintainer: D. Kirkpatrick < This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   REC.NUDE FAQ Part 1 of 5: The Newsgroup Itself - REV:  1-Jan-08   Maintainer - Dennis Kirkpatrick - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   ===============================================================   ** Rec.Nude is NOT Google Groups.  Google Groups is an interface   that can access Usenet Newsgroups (of which rec.nude is a part)   as well as Google's own private groups.  If you are reading this   file from Google Groups, please take a moment to educate yourself.   See this FAQ Part 1, Section 1.   This part of the rec.nude FAQ talks about the newsgroup itself and how   it works.   ______________________________________________________________________   Table of Contents:   1.      What is rec.nude?   1.1.    Rec.Nude is a Usenet Newsgroup   1.2.    Rec.Nude is not Google Groups   2.      rec.nude rules and etiquette   2.1.    Cross-posting   2.2.    Binary posts   2.3.    Posting format   2.4.    Replying to messages   2.5.    Harassment, threats, etc.   2.6.    Stay on topic   2.7.    This is not a pick-up joint   3.      What is RNEO?  (Section Deleted 1-Jul-02)   4.      What to do about spam?   5.      Is it possible to participate anonymously in rec.nude?   5.1.    Use alternate Internet access   5.2.    Use a rec.nude courier  (Section Deleted 1-Jul-02)   5.3.    Abuse of Anonymous Services   6.      Endmatter   6.1     Revision History   ______________________________________________________________________   1.  What is rec.nude?   rec.nude is the Usenet newsgroup dealing with naturism. From the   rec.nude charter: rec.nude serves as a medium for exchange of views,   news, philosophies, and ideologies relating to the nudist and naturist   life_style_s. Here you will find discussions of locations to enjoy   nature naturally, notifications of legal proceedings affecting   nudists/naturists, notices of gatherings and trips, and spirited   discourse on issues relating (most times) to nudism.   1.1.    Rec.Nude is a Usenet Newsgroup   Usenet is one of the oldest segments of the Internet, having been   developed as a way to offer mass communications via text through   interconnected computer systems throughout the world.  It first served   to share technical information between commercial entities and   educational institutions.  Its redundancy was developed with the idea   in mind that if one computer or a region's computers were disabled or   disconnected, the respository of information would be available and   propagate from elsewhere.  Over time Usenet expanded to include various   topics of interest to anyone and the number of topics now extends to   well over 150 thousand.  Usenet has been superceded in most cases by   the world wide web, commercial and private e-mail list servers, and   private message boards.  By design it is redundant and anarchistic with   few of its topical posting areas being moderated, thus assuring freedom   of speech.  However, as with any such system, freedom comes at a price   and Usenet can and is populated with everything from truth-sayers to   irresponsible fruitcakes.  The discerning reader will quickly determine   the reasonable from the crank (or kook).  As with any non-moderated   system, there will always be those with an agenda that is contrary to   the topic, as Usenet's topics are greatly a gentlemen's agreement.   1.2.    Rec.Nude is not Google Groups   Google (tm) is a commercial internet service that provides a number   of free and paid services with respect to on-line content.  After   purchase of a long-term data_base_ of historical Usenet posts from the   DejaNews service, Google created a web browser interface for purposes   of searching through, and reading these postings.  Soon after, Google   expanded that interface to allow posting to Usenet for those not   equipped with access to an NNTP (news) server system.  Further   expansion by Google saw the creation of Google Groups as a   competition to Yahoo Groups (tm) which used the same web browser   interface used to access Usenet groups.  Individuals may create private   moderated discussion groups using this interface.  While the Google   Groups never propagate outside of the Google systems (except by design   by e-mail using its mail list feature), posting via this interface to   Usenet groups is propagated around the world through the Usenet system.     Sadly, Google makes only passing mention within its interface to explain   when a person is accessing a Usenet group thus perpetuating confusion on   the part of its customer _base_, and outright annoyance to the Usenet   community.  If you access rec.nude through Google, you are NOT accessing   a Google Group.  You are accessing Usenet via their web browser interface.   2.  rec.nude rules and etiquette   Observing the following guidelines will make rec.nude a worthwhile   pursuit for all involved.   2.1.  Cross-posting   Cross-posting of messages between rec.nude and non-naturist newsgroups   is almost always a bad idea. (See Part 5 for a list of other naturist   newsgroups.)  Cross-posting between rec.nude and the various alt.sex.*   newsgroups is unacceptable. Threads get confused and the discussion   quickly gets off track as well as draing in posts and posters that   are far off topic. You should only cross-post between   rec.nude and another newsgroup if the discussion at hand is really,   truly relevant to both groups. This is rarely the case!   Note:  Cross-posting to a moderated newsgroup will place the post   under the control of the moderated group's moderation team.  If the   post is rejected by the moderated group, it will not display to   rec.nude.  As such, when posting, create separate messages for   moderated groups.   2.2.  Binary posts   Posting of binary files ( binary = not text, e.g. pictures) is not   allowed. This is more of a general Usenet rule, rather than a rec.nude   rule; binary posts are only allowed on Usenet in groups specifically   intended for that purpose (which have the word binaries in their   names.) Binary posts made to non-binary groups (such as rec.nude) are   often canceled by spam cancelers without notice.   2.3.  Posting format   Some recently-released news programs allow you to post messages in   formats other than plain text, such as HTML. Don't do this - not   everyone is blessed (some would say cursed ) with these programs,   and your messages will appear unintelligible or worse to these people.   rec.nude posts should be made in plain text to be of benefit to the   most readers. (Some programs allow you to post in both plain text and   HTML in the same message - this is a waste of bandwidth and should be   avoided as well.)   2.4.  Replying to messages   When following up or replying to posts on rec.nude, it is usually a   good idea to quote a few lines from the original message, in order to   establish the context. For example, when asking a rec.nude poster for   directions to some place the poster has mentioned, you should quote a   few lines from the post so that the original poster knows which place   you're talking about. But - do not quote the entire original message!   Only quote as much as is necessary to let everyone involved know   what's being discussed. And don't quote things like signatures,   headers etc.   2.5.  Harassment, threats, etc.   Do not make harassing, threatening, or otherwise inappropriate posts   to rec.nude, or follow-up/reply in that manner. Don't say anything in a   news post or a mail message that you wouldn't say to that person's   face. Let's try to keep a civil and friendly atmosphere on rec.nude.   Many people who are completely new to naturism read rec.nude, and we'd   hate for them to get the impression that naturists just bicker and   fight and call each other names. (Many would-be naturists have already   left rec.nude in disgust over this very problem, most of them never to   consider naturism again - and that's really too bad.)   Note:  Some states now carry laws against threats against bodily harm   via the on-line medium.  As such posters should moderate themselves in   this area or you may be subject to due process by the authorities.   2.6.  Stay on topic   Discussion which is not germane to the topic of naturism should be   avoided. It is not my duty as FAQ author to dictate which topics are   acceptable and which are not. I suggest that you read rec.nude   carefully for several days before posting, to get a feel for what the   group considers to be proper discussion.  Posting off topic materials   or engaging in off topic discussions detracts from the topic of the   group and is simply both ignorant and rude.   2.7.  This is not a pick-up joint   rec.nude is not a place to pick up someone. Personal ads and the like   are not appropriate for this group; please investigate the   alt.personals.* groups if such is your desire.   3.  What is RNEO?  (Section deleted 1-Jul-02)   (Adding the tag RNEO (rec.nude eyes only) within the subject line was   an attempt to offer readers a method of identifying postings that were   on topic as well as non-spam.  However after an initial period of usage   it was found this did not work in this newsgroup for many reasons.     Among these were varied types of news programs that did not sort such   messages into one location or the lack of news reader filters to locate   these messages or ignore others.  Since this has not been used to any   extent in over a year this section has been deleted by the FAQ author.)   4.  What to do about spam?   First, never respond to spam by posting hate mail to rec.nude. Ever.   In 99.9999% of cases, the spammer will never see your post, and you   will only serve to increase the amount of off-topic posts. (Especially   if you
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