Notes for Newbies

1. There are no Rules.
2. If you need to ask, you are a newbie. It just means a newcomer to the Net or asd (this group). The Net is full of strange and often far from wonderful terms. If in doubt, ask, or just use english (see Rule 16).
3. Netiquette generally applies, but if in doubt, ask. This is a support group, and people will try to help. If you have a real problem (as opposed to a Net or group related one), ask and damn the netiquette! This is an unusual group anyway, so we don't always follow Net rules to the letter.
4. As to what Netiquette is, the newsgroup news.announce.newusers contains a lot of introductory information about Usenet. All new users should read and fully understand all the documents in news.announce.newusers. (Well, that's what it says if you go there!) Probably the most relevant document there is "A Primer on How to Work With the Usenet Community" (relevant to Netiquette, that is). I've included the Summary of Things to Remember from it at the end of these Notes, but the whole thing is well worth reading.
5. Feel free to loiter round the edges for as long as you like. With luck, you will get the answers and help you need without asking. There are FAQs posted at intervals (FAQ=frequently asked questions). They contain answers to common questions (hence the name). The main one is posted at fortnightly intervals; if it's not in the group at present, post a request for it. The mini-FAQ should be posted daily. Both are available on the Web at: http://www.duke.edu/~ntd/depression.html
6. If you do ask, say if you really NEED help. There is no rota of helpers who take it in turns to deal with posts. If you have an urgent problem, say so. You are unlikely to be ignored anyway, but if you make it clear you are having a major crisis, you will be up to your ears (eyes?) in responses. Use the header or subject and say URGENT or HELP or some such. Make us notice.
7. Don't be afraid to ask for help or information. This is a friendly, supportive group. We are here to help each other.
8. If asking for help, try not to invest too much emotional capital in it. While you are more likely to come up trumps, you may just get trumped. If you don't get a response after a while post again, WITH EVEN MORE CAPITALS! We all have off days. It is also worth-while considering that this is cyberspace. You may have posted, but we may not have received!
9. Headers or titles for posts are important. Try to give yours a short (some providers crop them) and descriptive title. Some particularly useful additions are the following:
   • If you aren't looking for help, but want a place to let off steam, label it RANT, and say whatever you like;
   • CUTTING; lots of people don't like to read about this;
   • HUMOUR; another one some people like, others don't;
   • Please remember that there are those here who have been hurt by religion, and those here who have been helped by it. Please try to be considerate of the feelings of each. If you need to post in this territory, put RELIGION in the subject.
   If you have a query about a specific medicine or therapy, please put it in the title;
10. You are likely to generate "me too" follow-ups; you may have a problem none of us has shared, but don't count on it!
11. If you need anonymity, both FAQs provide details. (Or follow the instructions at the bottom of an anonymous posting.)
12. This is a no-flame zone. Try not to flame even the most obvious trolls. It's usually worth asking why they did it. Even if you don't want to help them, trolls can have problems like ours. (A flame is criticising someone, or making a personal attack on them, rather than debating their ideas. Being a no-flame zone doesn't mean we have to agree with everyone else; being in asd means we try not to beat each other up!)
13. This is a no-flame zone, but other groups are not! Be careful when responding to posts which are made to more than asd (check the headers). If they are cross-posted (posted to more than one group) please reply only to this group (edit out the others). If you don't, you risk us getting strange and sometimes very unpleasant replies.
14. Allow for the fact that the Net is world-wide, though most of its users are still in N America. This is an English language group, in the main, and it has people reading from it and writing to it from all over the world, not all of whom have English as a first language.
15. It _is_ world wide, so bear that in mind when tempted to be parochial. Sometimes it is the right thing, when the problem is local, but don't expect your answer to apply across the world. It probably won't.
16. There is no standard, world-wide English. Don't quibble about spelling or grammar. (If in doubt, get an English-English dictionary. They do exist!) Spelling flames are a feature of Usenet we generally manage to avoid here.
17. If giving advice, don't be too dogmatic. Ardent or missionary zeal is unlikely to go down well, no matter what it is applied to. We are all different, we all react differently to the same drugs, therapies and situations, let alone different ones.
18. Occasionally, members of the group will try to redefine the world. These attempts are, at worst, harmless though irritating. At best they can throw up much enlightening information and different views of what you may not even have seen as a problem. Treat accordingly.
19. Stick to text! This is not a binaries news group. Posting a picture (other than ASCII art) or an executable file telling us how to make a million (insert local currency here) takes up a lot of bandwidth, and costs money to download.
20. See Rule 1.

Summary of Things to Remember

From "A Primer on How to Work With the Usenet Community"
news.announce.newusers

Never forget that the person on the other side is human.
Don't blame system admins for their users' behavior.
Never assume that a person is speaking for their organization.
Be careful what you say about others.
Be brief.
Your postings reflect upon you; be proud of them.
Use descriptive titles
Think about your audience.
Be careful with humor and sarcasm.
Only post a message once.
Please rotate material with questionable content.
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.
Double-check follow-up newsgroups and distributions.
Be careful about copyrights and licenses.
Cite appropriate references.
When summarizing, summarize.
Mark or rotate answers or spoilers.
Spelling flames considered harmful.
Don't overdo signatures.
Limit line length and avoid control characters.
Please do not use Usenet as a resource for homework assignments.
Please do not use Usenet as an advertising medium.
Avoid posting to multiple newsgroups.