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[rec.autos.simulators] New Readers please read - Welcome!


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Archive-name: autos/simulators/introduction
Posting-Frequency: weekly
Last-modified: 1999/03/28
Version: 1.13
URL: ftp://ftp.teleport.com/users/mcarver/AutoSim/rasfaq.txt
Copyright: (c) 1997-1999 Michael E. Carver
Maintainer: Michael E. Carver <mcarver@teleport.com>

See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge
**** Please send any comments and feedback to mcarver@teleport.com ****


Welcome to rec.autos.simulators.  This is an unmoderated newsgroup for 
discussions of realistic computer simulations of automotive vehicles, 
irrespective of the platforms on which the simulations are supported. 
This includes simulations which have a competitive component (racing
simulations) and those which do not. Arcade racing simulators, which
give an overhead perspective and which do not attempt to provide realism 
of handling of the vehicle, would not be appropriate in this newsgroup, 
whilst discussion of Microprose's Formula 1 Grand Prix and Papyrus's 
IndyCar Racing would be appropriate. (From the original charter of 
r.a.s. -- rasfaq@bath.ac.uk)

[Editor:  While the original charter states that "Arcade racing
simulators" should not be discussed in r.a.s., the general consesus is
that they are welcome to participate in r.a.s.]

This message will be posted every 7 days to rec.autos.simulators.  It
has some guideline on posting to this newsgroup as well as instructions
on how to obtain the FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions) related to
topics discussed in this forum.

1.  NETTIQUETTE

A lot of people read these newsgroups - over 100,000 at the latest
estimate (that's newsgroups not people). Some readers are restricted to 
tortuously slow connections.  Some people pay for their connect time by 
the minute. Other people just like to read news when the Net is running 
slowly. 

If your article contains quoted text please take some time to pare it down
to just the key points to which you are responding, or people will think
you are a dweeb!  Many people have the habit of skipping any article whose
first page is largely quoted material.  Format your article to fit in 80
columns, since  that's the  conventional size.  If your lines are too long
they'll wrap  around  ugly and  people won't read what you  write.  If you
aren't  careful  and considerate  in  formatting  your posting, people  are
likely to ignore it completely.  It's a crowded net out there.


1.1 The Content and Style of Your Post

  o It is perfectly legal to reproduce short extracts of a copyrighted
    work for critical purposes, but reproduction in whole is strictly and
    explicitly forbidden by international and US copyright law
    unless given permission by the author.

  o Would you want to read what you are writing ? Might it be better to
    email a comment, or even make no comment ? Spelling and grammar
    flames are particularly dull for the rest of the world, as are posts
    which follow fifty lines of quoted text with "I agree".

  o On the Net, most people only know you by the words that you write.
    People will pay more attention to your thoughts if your writing is
    clear and easy to read.

  o Trim down your quotes. Delete parts of the article that you are not
    responding to such as other people's signatures. Its best to have as
    little as possible from previous posts.  However, do be careful when
    you "edit" a post.  Do not cut it so it appears that someone wrote
    something they did not.  

  o Humour, and particularly sarcasm, is often misunderstood over the Net
    with hilarious consequences. A smily, :-), may be advisable.

1.2 Practicalities

  o Is the subject line both descriptive and accurate ?

  o People can select the articles which most appeal to them if you
    include a keyword in your Subject Field with something about the 
    topic you are posting about.  Since many different simulators are
    discussed, it is highly suggested that you start off your Subject 
    Field with a "code" related to the topic you are posting. This 
    will make it easier for readers to choose the posts they wish to 
    read.  Also, some news readers can actually filter out specific 
    posts to be read or discarded based on keywords.
    Examples:
	Code		Simulation

	CMR		Collin McRae Rally
	CPR		CART Precision Racing
	DD2		Destruction Derby 2
	F1RS		F1 Racing Simulation
	GP1		Grand Prix 1 or World Circuit
	GP2		Grand Prix 2 
	GPL		Grand Prix Legends
	ICR1		Indycar Racing 1
	ICR2		IndyCar Racing 2
	MGPRS2		Monaco Grand Prix Racing Simulation 2
	MTM		Monster Truck Madness
	N1		Nascar Racing 1
	N2		Nascar Racing 2
	N99		Nascar Racing 1999 edition
	NFS		Need For Speed
	NFSSE		Need For Speed Special Edition
	S1		Screamer 1
	S2		Screamer 2
	SCGT		Sports Car GT
	SODA		SODA (Short-Course Offroad Drivers Association)
	TOCA		TOCA (Touring Car Contructors Association)
			Touring Car Championship

  o If you are following up an article to create a new article, please
    remember to delete the References: line in the header. This will help
    the readers who use a threaded news reader; otherwise your new topic
    will be mixed in with an old one.

  o Please do not post large binary files like GIFs, JPEGs, MPEGs or WAVs
    to rec.autos.simulators.  They will fill the Usenet disk partitions at
    some sites. Some people cannot select which articles they want before 
    they have to download them. Post them to alt.binaries.simulators.autos 
    newsgroup with a short post to rec.autos.simulators to notify anyone 
    who is interested.

  o Please do not post "test" messages to rec.autos.simulators.  You 
    should *never* post a test article to a regular newsgroup, even to
    the "newusers" groups, even with a polite subject line like "test, 
    please ignore." It's an expensive waste of Usenet resources, and if 
    you do it, you're guaranteed to get lots of angry mail.

    Check for local test newsgroups first, if you have access to one, 
    it's strongly recommended that you use it rather than a global test 
    group.
  
    To test a world-distribution newsgroup, use rec.test, misc.test or 
    alt.test.  However, use these newsgroups only when you are testing 
    distribution, and not just for casually testing a newsreader.

    Various sites will "auto-respond" to any message posted to 
    misc.test, which is one way of knowing whether your message got 
    through or not.  But if that's not what you're testing, the auto-
    responses can be pretty annoying, and you should put the word 
    "ignore" in your subject line to suppress them. You can also try 
    restricting distribution on your test post by changing the 
    "Distribution" header on your post to "local".

1.3 Handling Frequently Asked Questions

  o If you are asking a basic question, please check the FAQ's first. If
    the FAQ is has expired on your system, see section 2 for information 
    on how to get a copy.

  o If someone posts a question about something that was resolved
    recently, please answer the poster via email. Rehashing something
    that was just discussed is a waste of bandwidth unless you have
    something new to add.  ("Please don't dominate the rap, Jack, if 
    you got nothing new to say" -- New Speedway Boogie, Robert Hunter)

  o Many news reading programs allow you to filter the articles in a
    newsgroup to ignore articles from a particular author or on certain
    subjects using a KILL file. If you're using rn or its brethren, see
    the rn KILL file FAQ in news.answers.  
   

2.1 Known FAQ's for Simulations discussed in rec.autos.simulators.

  o F1 Racing Simulation (F1RS) FAQ is available at:
    http://www.f1racingsim.com/faq.htm

  o Grand Prix I/World Circuit (GP1) FAQ is available at:
    http://www.grandprix1.com/tips/faq.shtml

  o Grand Prix II (GP2) FAQ's are available at:
    http://www.grandprix2.com/gp2faq.htm
    http://www.internet.dk/hjemmesider/petetoft/gp2faq.txt

  o Grand Prix Legends (GPL) FAQ is available at:
    General FAQ:
    http://www.nh.ultranet.com/~alison/gpl/faq.htm
    Hardware FAQ:
    http://www.nh.ultranet.com/~alison/gpl/faq-hw.htm 
    On-Line FAQ:
    http://www.nh.ultranet.com/~alison/gpl/faq-online.htm

  o IndyCar Racing II (ICR2) or CART Racing FAQ is available at:
    http://www.teleport.com/~mcarver/icr2faq.htm
    ftp://ftp.teleport.com/users/mcarver/AutoSim/icr2faq.txt

  o NASCAR Racing II (N2) FAQ is available at:
    http://www.sequoia-dev.com/Hawaii/Features/N2FAQ.txt


2.2 Contacting Auto Simulator vendors.

  o Bethesda Softworks
    http://www.bethsoft.com

  o Codemasters
    http://www.codemasters.com

  o Electronic Arts
    http://www.ea.com

  o Europress
    http://www.europress.co.uk

  o Extreme Competition Controls
    http://www.ecci.net

  o K2 Interactive (Verbal Commander)
    http://www.k2i.com/

  o Microprose
    http://www.microprose.com

  o Microsoft
    http://www.microsoft.com/games/

  o Papyrus/Sierra On-Line
    http://www.sierra.com/

  o Psygnosis
    http://www.psygnosis.com/

  o Thomas Enterprises
    http://soli.inav.net/~thomas

  o ThrustMaster
    http://www.thrustmaster.com

  o Ubi Soft
    http://www.ubisoft.com

  o Virgin Interactive Entertainment
    http://www.vie.com

  o Virtual Vehicles from Interactive I/O
    http://www.interactiveio.com

  o Visiware
    http://www.visiware.com


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