Usenet Netiquette

Willie W. Webfoot guides you through newsgroups

Newsgroup Netiquette...
...or How to Avoid Those Pesky Flames and Mailbombs

"Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better."

—John Updike

One to Many Communication
When you send a message to a newsgroup or a mailing list, you are sending your words into a large and open forum. An awareness of this will help you avoid making a public faux-pas. Sometimes a person will post a general question and ask for a private response. If you only want to reply to that person, do not post to the list, mail a reply directly to the party you wish to communicate with. The same holds true if you notice that Kathy J. posted to the usenet group rec.arts.theatre.musicals. In her message she mentions that she saw a fabulous production of "Camelot" in Smithfield, Illinois. Now, Smithfield just happens to be your home town and you think this may be the same Kathy you went to high school with, and you would love to get back in touch with her. Do not send a post to the newsgroup asking Kathy where she went to highschool, send a message directly to Kathy. That way you do not interfere with the flow of information about musical theatre that is the appropriate topic for this particular group.

Which brings us to our next point, posting to the appropriate group. Like mailing lists, the variety of newsgroups available boggles the imagination. And most of them have pretty specific topics. So like mailing lists, the best way to learn is to lurk. One lurks by following the postings on a group without actively participating. By doing this you gain a feel for the appropriate kinds of postings before you send a message only to get thirty replies explaining that this is not the appropriate place to post.

There are some newsgroups that are specifically directed at new users. One of the more well known groups is:

news.announce.newusers

This group regularly posts FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) which explain netiquette and other new user common questions that people have about newsgroups.

There are many excellent resources for finding out more about Usenet Netiquette. Below you will find pointers to several of our favorites. Enjoy!

Usenet Info Center Launch Pad: This site provides links to information on etiquette, how to find newsgroups, how to create news groups, plus links to other Usenet Indexes. It is well organized and easy to use. You won't regret the visit.

Zen and the Art of the Internet - Usenet News: The chapter we link to here is highly recommended. The purpose is to give the reader a good feel for the general concepts of Usenet.

Electronic Communications: Miss Netiquette's brief list of tips on polite electronic communication will help you polish your electronic communication's style. (Note - for those who have read the e-mail netiquette page, this link is to a different section where she makes more really good points.)

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