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Archive-name: radio/ham-radio/moderated/guidelines Revision: 1.10 2009/05/27 12:04:49 Posting-Frequency: posted monthly URL: http://www.panix.com/~rram/usenet/rram/index.html See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge Changes followed by "|". Welcome to rec.radio.amateur.moderated! This is a moderated newsgroup for amateur radio operators and other people having an interest in the Amateur Radio Service, as defined by national regulations and international treaties. Following are the posting guidelines for this newsgroup. This message includes the following sections: 1. Topics and posting policies from the rec.radio.amateur.moderated Charter 2. Additional posting guidelines 2.1 Netiquette guidelines 2.2 Posting form requirements 2.3 Guidelines on signature (.sig) files 2.4 Guidelines on excessive quoting 2.5 Guidelines on pointers to outside sources 2.6 Guidelines regarding questioning someone's suitability to hold an amateur radio license 2.7 Guidelines regarding name-calling 2.8 Guidelines regarding civility 2.9 Other unacceptable topics ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Topics and posting policies from the rec.radio.amateur.moderated Charter rec.radio.amateur.moderated is an inclusive on-line community of amateur radio operators and other people having an interest in the Amateur Radio Service. Participants are invited to engage in open discussion of amateur radio issues and exchange information about participating in the hobby/service, in an atmosphere of civility, friendship, and fun. Acceptable topics include but, are not necessarily limited to, questions and discussions about amateur radio licensing, regulations, tips on various aspects of setting up an amateur radio station, and sharing operating experiences and insights. Unacceptable posts include, but are not limited to, buy/sell/trade posts, posts that are off-topic to the Amateur Radio Service, posts promoting or defending unlawful activities, etc. Frequently-Asked-Questions lists and other information/bulletin/ announcement postings may be crossposted to rec.radio.info, rec.answers, and news.answers only with prior approval of the moderators of those newsgroups. In all such cases, an appropriate "Followup-To" header, containing only rec.radio.amateur.moderated, will be added by the moderators if one is not already provided. After a 30-day public discussion and feedback period to gauge reader opinions in March of 2009: http://groups.google.com/group/rec.radio.amateur.moderated/browse_thread/thread/d7d337db35f23326 the rec.radio.amateur.moderated Moderation Team has decided to consider amending its charter, and permit limited simultaneous crossposting to rec.radio.amateur.moderated and one other unmoderated amateur-radio-related discussion newsgroup. We are currently trying this on a temporary basis (90 days, through early July 2009), and adopt it permanently if successful. Approved rec.radio.amateur.* newsgroups are those that are currently listed in the latest version of the "List of Big Eight Newsgroups" which is crossposted monthly to news.announce.newgroups, news.groups, and news.lists.misc. Approved alt.radio.amateur.* and alt.ham-radio.* newsgroups are those that have been created consistent with the suggestions in "So You Want to Create an Alt Newsgroup" at: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/alt-creation-guide/ Approved regional hierarchy newsgroups are those that contain either "radio.amateur" or "ham-radio" in their names, including uk.radio.amateur and aus.radio.amateur.misc. We will make every reasonable effort to keep our list of approved newsgroups up-to-date. In case we have overlooked any, and a submission is rejected in error as a result, the rejected submitter can E-mail us at our administrative contact address (in the signature at the bottom of this article, and the default Reply-To for the rejection message) requesting that it be added, and that the article be approved. We may still choose to reject articles crossposted to any alt.* newsgroup with an inappropriate name, including obscene language, embedded name-calling, or encouragement of unlawful conduct. Posters are encouraged to state their own views and share their experiences, but to refrain from making assumptions about the motivations of other newsgroup participants. Posters are expected to maintain a basic tone of civility. Prohibited uncivil discourse includes, but is not limited to, name calling. Posts containing unsolicited advice questioning the right, worthiness, suitability and/or readiness of any individual (or members of any group) to be an amateur radio operator are unacceptable in this newsgroup. If an individual chooses to post asking for advice on when or whether to obtain an amateur radio license, or to participate in any type of lawful activity in the Amateur Radio Service, respondents should be careful to address their comments only to the original poster and not explicitly generalize to others in similar situations. Similarly, posts that arbitrarily declare certain classes of amateur radio licenses, or certain members of national amateur radio societies (e.g., American Radio Relay League, Radio Amateurs of Canada, Radio Society of Great Britain, Wireless Institute of Australia, etc.), to be more or less worthy than others, are not permitted. Posts that politely encourage individuals to join their local amateur radio society, or to upgrade to higher classes of amateur radio license in order to enjoy greater operating privileges, are permitted, however. Posts that contain reasoned, civil, and fact-based discussion of the activities and internal politics of national amateur radio societies are also permitted. Buy/Sell/Trade and Commercial Policy: Posts containing offers to buy, sell, or trade are not permitted on rec.radio.amateur.moderated. The rec.radio.swap newsgroup was created for this purpose, and should be used instead. All such articles will be rejected by the moderators with the advice to re-post to that newsgroup. Postings that are entirely advertisements or other public relations campaigns will not be permitted. Relatively unbiased announcements or reviews of new amateur radio-related products or services may be permitted at the discretion of the moderators. Such posters are asked to disclose their financial or professional interest, if any, in such products or services. Mentions of small amounts of free items, including both parts and equipment, for giveaway will be permitted on an occasional basis from casual, non-commercial owners, and at the discretion of the moderators. The items should be free except for reasonable direct costs such as shipping, must be directly amateur-radio-related, must be in serviceable condition, and be practical to ship to a distant recipient. This is intended as a common-sense exception to our ban on forsale postings, provided that it doesn't overwhelm the basic character of our discussion newsgroup with classified ads or requests to haul off scrap or junk in salvage condition. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Additional Posting Guidelines 2.1 Netiquette guidelines Participants who are new to Usenet should familiarize themselves with the "netiquette" of Usenet as well as the particular posting guidelines for this group. Several useful posts for "newbies" can be found on the newsgroup news.announce.newusers or on the WWW at: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/by-newsgroup/news/news.announce.newusers.html Particularly helpful articles are: Welcome to Usenet! Rules for posting to Usenet Hints on writing style for Usenet A Primer on How to Work With the Usenet Community Emily Postnews Answers Your Questions on Netiquette Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Usenet Because rec.radio.amateur.moderated is a Usenet newsgroup, there are | implied or derived guidelines for participation that are drawn from the | above articles about overall Usenet culture and tradition. Two of these | implied or derived guidelines are encapsulated in two basic rules that | our moderation team uses to initially determine whether an article is | appropriate for our newsgroup. They are restated explicitly here for | clarification: | Basic Rule #1: The article must be on-topic for amateur radio. A | rule-of-thumb that our moderation team applies is whether the article | mentions amateur radio, ham radio, some synonym for amateur or ham | radio, some technique or practice of amateur or ham radio including | closely related technical topics such as antennas or portable power, or | regulatory politics that directly affect amateur radio. This | rule-of-thumb is also applied to determine if an article in a thread has | drifted too far off-topic. For example, articles that have drifted into | general rants or monologues will probably be returned with a polite | request to rewrite to include a reasonable amateur radio connection or | angle. | Basic Rule #2: The article must not have excessive spelling, grammar, or | logical argument errors affecting readability and understandability. | The moderation team understands that clear, understandable, technical or | expository writing is a skill that can only be perfected through a | lifetime of focused training and practice. Because the moderation team | does not want to hold submitters to a standard higher than what it can | achieve itself, nor disrupt the newsgroup and discourage submitters by | playing spelling or grammar police, it will only return for rewrite any | article that cannot be reasonably understood by multiple moderators. | If it is necessary to return any article for a rewrite because the | moderators have determined that it does not meet Basic Rule #1 or #2, | please accept this constructive feedback in the manner in which it is | intended. The moderation team offers its assistance to help rewrite any | submitted article into a form that preserves its original intent and | meaning, but is also on-topic, as well as readable and understandable by | others. | 2.2 Posting form requirements Any article that falls into any of the following categories will be automatically rejected: A) Articles that contain original text of more than 75 characters per line B) Crossposted articles to newsgroups not included in these Guidelines C) Articles that contain more than 400 lines D) Encoded binary files (except PGP and other short digital signatures) E) Attachments to posts F) Articles containing obscene language G) Articles from individuals who have been suspended or banned from the newsgroup 2.3 Guidelines on signature (.sig) files Many people close each article they write with a few lines of common text. This may be a cute quip or quote, or may include information about their family, contact information, or disclaimers required by their employer, for example. Signature files used on rec.radio.amateur.moderated posting must be no longer than 8 lines. The content of a poster's signature need not be relevant to amateur radio, but it must not violate any of the other posting guidelines. (For example, name-calling that would not be acceptable in the body of a message is also unacceptable in a signature.) Posters may include Uniform Resource Locators (URL's) and business addresses in signature files, provided they comply with all the other guidelines regarding signatures. 2.4 Guidelines on excessive quoting Posts more than 20 lines long that also have more than 75% quoted text will be carefully reviewed by a moderator to determine if that degree of quoting is warranted. Posts with excessive quoted text may be rejected. Posters must show a reasonable effort to trim the post they are replying to and to include just enough material to establish context. "Me too!" posts are discouraged, and, when posted, must edit the quoted material significantly. 2.5 Guidelines on pointers to outside sources Unsolicited announcements and pointers to web sites that are strictly advertisements or other public relations campaigns are not permitted. However, a pointer to a website or other external source of information is permitted and encouraged in cases where it is relevant to an existing thread, with appropriate context being given in the post. A URL with no information about what a user should expect to find there will be rejected. A pointer to information that is off-charter for rec.radio.amateur.moderated will be rejected, as will a pointer which itself does not meet the rec.radio.amateur.moderated guidelines (such as a URL containing embedded name-calling). Moderators are not responsible for verifying the contents of any external information source. 2.6 Guidelines regarding questioning someone's suitability hold an amateur radio license Identifiable groups and individuals may not be asked/told/etc. not to obtain an amateur radio license, or to only obtain certain classes of amateur radio license. It is not permissible to make statements that a person or members of a specific group "should" not, or should not be allowed to, become an amateur radio operator. Solicited advice of this type is permissible; however, posters must be careful not to explicitly generalize to others who are in some way "like" the poster asking the question. Stick to the individual asking for advice. It is acceptable to discuss verified violations, documented in criminal convictions or other government enforcement actions, by a person or members of a specific group. 2.7 Guidelines regarding name-calling Nastiness addressed at a person is considered name-calling. Criticizing a person's *actions* is not, provided that it is done in a civil manner. Attacks on an action which by their very nature include an accusation against the person's character are not acceptable. For example, "That's a lie" implies an intentional prevarication, and is considered name-calling. Acceptable ways of questioning the truth of a poster's statement include the more tactful "I don't think that's true," "I believe you are mistaken because..." or even simply "That's not true." "That's not true and you know it" crosses back over into name-calling, however. 2.8 Guidelines regarding civility By charter, posters are expected to maintain a civil tone in all their postings. The guidelines on name-calling cover part of that requirement, but not all of it. In general, posters are expected to consider the reputations of other participants, and refrain from making unnecessary accusations or assumptions about the motivations of others. A good rule of thumb is to phrase your comments as your opinion -- "I think..." "It seems to me that..." "This makes me wonder whether..." etc... Posters are expected to make factual claims, to debate topics openly and in good faith, and to accept honest criticism, all without provocation or prevarication. At least one professional organization, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), has recognized that such fair dealings are necessary components of ethical conduct, and has incorporated them into its Code of Ethics: http://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/iportals/aboutus/ethics/code.html Though the Amateur Radio Service is not a professional endeavor, the moderators strongly feel that the IEEE Code of Ethics is also a worthwhile set of guiding principles for participants in the rec.radio.amateur.moderated newsgroup. Posters are not required to support the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). However, they are expected to adhere to the spirit of the other parts of the ARRL's "Amateur's Code": http://www.arrl.org/acode.html 2.9 Other unacceptable topics Participants are reminded that the charter also prohibits posts promoting or defending unlawful operating practices. Posts may discuss whether operating practices are unlawful, or engage in reasoned debate over why certain operating practices should or should not be unlawful. Posts may discuss enforcement actions, such as by the Federal Communications Commission in the United States or similar government agencies in other countries, and evidence gathered by parties such as Official Observers in support of complaints about unlawful operation. Discussions of what practices constitute unlawful operation in the Amateur Radio Service should be limited to *factual* descriptions of the laws in various jurisdictions. Posters' *opinions* as to what practices they consider unlawful are not permitted. In particular, posters are cautioned not to extrapolate their country's laws and regulations to those in other parts of the world, as they may be quite different. Posts that entirely concern themselves with other radio services or hobbies, such as Citizen's Band, General Mobile Radio Service/Family Radio Service, and Scanner or Shortwave Listening, are considered off-topic to the rec.radio.amateur.moderated newsgroup. Newsgroups such as rec.radio.cb, rec.radio.scanner, and/or rec.radio.shortwave may be more appropriate venues for such posts. Posts that attempt to publicly criticize moderators or moderation decisions in the newsgroup itself are also not permitted, as stated in our original newsgroup charter. Please direct any such critical feedback to our administrative contact address at the bottom of this article, where it will be carefully considered by an appeals team of moderators. This team is distinct from the initial team of moderators that approves or disapproves article submissions, and thus can provide independent oversight of moderation decisions. Similarly, if you see an obviously inappropriate article in our newsgroup, please assume that it was a mistake or a direct forgery. The moderation team makes every effort to protect the newsgroup from such incidents, but they do happen, albeit rarely. You may also submit feedback to the same address regarding such articles in our newsgroup, but it is likely that our monitoring software and procedures have already detected it, and we are actively handling the problem. Please resist "piling on" with followups to the newsgroup when these incidents occur, so that we don't have to reject such articles. Due to Usenet newgroup access being eliminated at many ISP's, including MSN, AOL, RoadRunner, Time Warner, Verizon, and Comcast, we are starting to receive many article submissions asking about free or low-cost alternatives for accessing Usenet newsgroups such as ours. We initially permitted this topic in light of the significant impact to many of our readers due to this loss of access through their ISP's. However, this subject is arguably off-topic for our newsgroup, is better answered by other sources, and better discussed in other venues. Because of this, we will no longer approve submissions that request or suggest where to obtain access to Usenet newsgroups. For more information about this topic, please consult the following: - The last approved thread of discussion about this topic on our newsgroup from October 2008: http://groups.google.com/group/rec.radio.amateur.moderated/browse_thread/thread/19770b88ec527aff/8dcee92de293f615?hl=en#8dcee92de293f615 - A list of News Service Providers maintained by the Big-8 Management Board: http://www.big-8.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=faqs:news_providers&s=news%20service%20providers - A list of Public News Servers at the Open Directory Project: http://www.dmoz.org/Computers/Usenet/Public_News_Servers/ - An article with links and reader suggestions at Broadband Reports: http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/96318 - Google Groups: http://groups.google.com The rec.radio.amateur.moderated Moderation Team does not endorse or recommend any particular News Service Provider (NSP). We encourage our readers to choose the free or subscription service that best meets their own personal needs based on their own evaluation of the available alternatives. Please direct any comments, questions, or criticisms about this article to rec-radio-amateur-moderated-request@panix.com. (Adapted, with permission, from the misc.kids.moderated Posting Guidelines.) rnatives. Please direct any comments, questions, or criticisms about this article to rec-radio-amateur-moderated-request@panix.com. (Adapted, with permission, from the misc.kids.moderated Posting Guidelines.) om. (Adapted, with permission, from the misc.kids.moderated Posting Guidelines.) e Open Directory Project: http://www.dmoz.org/Computers/Usenet/Public_News_Servers/ - An article with links and reader suggestions at Broadband Reports: http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/96318 - Google Groups: http://groups.google.com The rec.radio.amateur.moderated Moderation Team does not endorse or recommend any particular News Service Provider (NSP). We encourage our readers to choose the free or subscription service that best meets their own personal needs based on their own evaluation of the available alternatives. Please direct any comments, questions, or criticisms about this article to rec-radio-amateur-moderated-request@panix.com. (Adapted, with permission, from the misc.kids.moderated Posting Guidelines.) User Contributions:
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