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Archive-name: organizations/union/natl-writers/part4
Posting-frequency: monthly Last-modified: 2004 Oct 31 Version: 7.1.9 7.1.9vr-usenet See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS & CHARTER National Writers Union Usenet newsgroup: alt.union.natl-writers Maintained by: nwufaq@vicric.com (Vicki Richman) URL: http://vicric.com/ NWU staff: nwu@nwu.org NWU URL: http://www.nwu.org/ PART FOUR Quick Hints: This FAQ is divided into four parts. You are reading Part Four. The complete contents are in the first part. This part has only its own contents. Question 5.1 is the Charter to alt.union.natl-writers, with guidelines on posting and advice from Emily Postliterate. Please read the Charter before you post. For an NWU membership application, go to http://www.nwu.org/ or read Part Three. Note the Last-Modified date above. If this version is more than 45 days old, it is obsolete and should be discarded. NWU-FAQ v. 7.1.9 7.1.9vr-usenet Copyright 2000 Vicki Richman. All rights reserved. ****************************************************************** ** ** ** Permission is hereby granted to copy, reprint and dis- ** ** tribute this document without payment or recompense, for ** ** noncommercial purposes only. But permission is so granted ** ** only for copying the entire text, without changes, dele- ** ** tions, editing or cutting. Permission must be sought and ** ** received for any commercial use of this text. Any copy ** ** must retain the copyright line and this permission notice. ** ** ** ****************************************************************** PART FOUR o Section 5: NWU Groups on the Net 5.0. What are the online NWU groups? 5.0.1. What is alt.union.natl-writers? 5.0.2. Vicki again! Don't tell me that any rank-and-filer may run a BBS forum in the name of the NWU. 5.1. What is the charter of alt.union.natl-writers? Section 5: NWU Groups on the Net ------------------------------------ 5.0. What are the online NWU groups? ------------------------------------ o Usenet alt.union.natl-writers The labor movement and the publishing industry; civil liberties; opposition to censorship; diversity; the art and business of writing; trade-unionism. o E-Mail-List nwu-chat The art and business of writing; internal NWU business; the publishing industry; copyright law; protection of writing income; job offerings; grievances; press releases from NWU and sibling groups. Civil liberties; opposition to censorship; diversity and support for writers of color, queer writers; the labor movement in general; announcements of events and conferences. To subscribe: E-mail to: <nwu-chat-subscribe@igc.topica.com> Leave the subject line and text blank. To unsubscribe: E-mail to: <nwu-chat-unsubscribe@igc.topica.com> Leave the subject line and text blank. For more information: //igc.topica.com/lists/nwu-chat@igc.topica.com">http://igc.topica.com/lists/nwu-chat@igc.topica.com -------------------------------------- 5.0.1. What is alt.union.natl-writers? -------------------------------------- Well, if you continue to Question 5.1, you'll have the charter for alt.union.natl-writers. But if you're asking what a Usenet newsgroup is, and what connection this one has to the union, read on. The Usenet newsgroup a.u.n-w is by and for members of the National Writers Union, for other publishing professionals, for labor unionists and for civil libertarians. It was created by Vicki Richman, following the example of Allen Schaaf and his colleagues, who created alt.union.iatse for the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees. The charter for a.u.n-w is the answer to Question 5.1 of this FAQ. --------------------------------------------------------- 5.0.2. Vicki again! Don't tell me that any rank-and-filer may run a BBS forum in the name of the NWU. --------------------------------------------------------- No, of course not. But a.u.n-w is a Usenet newsgroup, and Usenet is not a BBS forum. Usenet is just another kind of Internet connection, much like E-mail. The difference is, instead of delivery to a private mailbox, Usenet messages are stored in public directories, where any user on any system may retrieve them. In practice, of course, there is newsreading software that sorts the messages according to group, subject, date and other headers, before displaying them to the curious user. In look and feel, the newsreader seems to be a proprietary BBS forum. But the newsreader is not Usenet. Newsreaders vary from user to user and from site to site. The messages are passed from site to site. Some are posted almost instantly. Others may take days to circle the planet. Some sites save some messages and junk others, but all messages manage to make their way around the planet. Just as anyone can send a message, anyone can create a newsgroup. Anyone can remove a newsgroup. Any site can accept or reject a newsgroup. Any person who frivolously creates a newsgroup incurs the wrath of serious Usenet users, who will outnumber pranksters and remove the mischievous group. So, for a newsgroup to survive, it has to be created according to rules accepted by almost all serious users. ---------------------------------------------------------- 5.1. What is the charter of alt.union.natl-writers? ---------------------------------------------------------- CHARTER Usenet newsgroup, alt.union.natl-writers Copyright 2000 Vicki Richman. All rights reserved. ****************************************************************** ** ** ** Permission is hereby granted to copy, reprint and dis- ** ** tribute this document without payment or recompense, for ** ** noncommercial purposes only. But permission is so granted ** ** only for copying the entire text, without changes, dele- ** ** tions, editing or cutting. Permission must be sought and ** ** received for any commercial use of this text. Any copy ** ** must retain the copyright line and this permission notice. ** ** ** ****************************************************************** Contents o Purpose & Mission o Preferred Netiquette; or Advice from Emily Postliterate o The NWU Mail-List: nwu-chat Purpose and Mission The Usenet newsgroup alt.union.natl-writers is created for and by members of the National Writers Union (NWU), which is Local 1981 of the United Automobile Workers (UAW), which is an affiliate of the American Federation of Labor and Cogress of Industrial Organizations (AFL/CIO). The newsgroup is open to all writers, editors, researchers, digital programmers, multimedia artists, Web authors and designers, literary agents, publishers, other workers in the industry, civil libertarians and labor unionists. It is not limited to NWU members, and no NWU officer or staff member has any more influence on the newsgroup exchange than any other Usenet user. There is no pressure or obligation to join the NWU, but users should expect NWU members to be in the majority. Users of alt.union.natl-writers seek to enlighten each other on the publishing industry, the business and art of writing, the electronic media, civil-liberty issues, the labor movement and NWU internal affairs. Posts may contain news, opinion, grievances, questions, success stories and personal observations on writing for a living and on union activities. Employment opportunities may appear from time to time. NWU officers or staff may also post official NWU press releases and announcements. Preferred Netiquette or Advice from Emily Postliterate The group alt.union.natl-writers is not moderated. Posts shall appear without human intervention. Therefore, CHECK YOUR HEADERS before you post. Your "Newsgroups:" header should never be longer than about 512 characters and should typically be no more than a quarter of that length. (That's *characters*, not words.) If you are replying to a post with a long "Newsgroups" header, delete the irrelevant groups. You should never repeatedly post the same text with different "Newsgroups:" headers; that's called multi-posting or spamming. Ask yourselves whether your text would be better privately E-mailed to one or two recipients than publicly posted for thousands to read. Users should avoid chastening an errant poster publicly. If someone is offensive or off-topic, please correct the offender by private E-mail. NWU actively supports freedom of speech and urges users to refrain from taking any other action against offensive posters than speech in rebuttal. Do not seek to deny Internet access to any user, as by appealing to the user's sysadmin, no matter how offensive the user's mere speech is. The group alt.union.natl-writers is not a good place to post samples of one's work or to ask for support in developing writing skills. There are several other fine Usenet newsgroups that serve that purpose. The law and our professional ethics restrain the NWU from recommending agents or publishers. Individuals should likewise be so restrained in their public posts to alt.union.natl-writers. Please use private E-mail for inquiries or advice on how to get published. However this group is a good place for posters to discuss promotion and distribution of works they have already published. When members, officers and staff discuss NWU internal business, they should avoid posting confidential matter, as there are no restrictions on who may read the message. Subscribers should avoid one- or two-line posts of congratulations or thanks. They are better sent privately. Any post should contribute to the general discussion. Do not post binary files. No graphics, sound clips or proprietary word-processor output that cannot be displayed in a human language by a generic ASCII text editor or reader. There may be very occasional retromoderating by Vicki Richman <nwufaq@vicric.com> and her associates or their successors to remove what they consider a fraudulent or specious appeal for funds directed to many disparate newsgroups. They shall also remove binary files. They shall try to resist the temptation to delete other useless, frivolous, fraudulent, mean-spirited, mindless or irrelevant ads and announcements, and they urge posters not to lead them into the hubris of their anti-libertarian impulses. Writers know how to make a telling point without noise. The NWU Mail-List nwu-chat The electronic mail-list nwu-chat is a _pro bono_ contribution to the online writing community from the National Writers Union (NWU). All writers, editors, researchers, digital programmers, multimedia artists, Web authors and designers, literary agents, publishers, civil libertarians and trade unionists are invited to subscribe. There is no pressure or obligation to join the NWU, but subscribers should expect NWU members to be in the majority. The list nwu-chat is on the daily business of writing and union activities. In contrast to the Usenet newsgroup alt.union.natl-writers, the mail-list nwu-chat is largely an official organ of the National Writers Union and of its locals, and is more likely to reflect policies and agenda of activists and leaders. The list nwu-chat is also on overcoming the political challenges faced by writers, as censorship, copyright law and retaliation against the written word. It is also a forum for writers of color and of the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered community. The list is unmoderated. o Subscriptions and Information Mail to: nwu-chat-subscribe@igc.topica.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * NATIONAL WRITERS UNION * * UAW Local 1981 AFL/CIO * * * * http://www.nwu.org/ nwu@nwu.org * * * * National Office East National Office West * * 113 University Place, 6th Floor 337 17th Street, Suite 101 * * New York NY 10003 Oakland CA 94612 * * 212.254.0279 voice 510.839.0110 voice * * 212.254.0673 fax 510.839.6097 fax * * * * "Freedom is not something anyone can be given. * * Freedom is something people take. . . ." * * -James Baldwin * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * User Contributions: |
Natl Writers Union FAQ, Part 4/4: Usenet & E-Mail
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Natl Writers Union FAQ, Part 4/4: Usenet & E-Mail
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