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How do I use the "Distribution" feature?


     When your posting software (e.g., Pnews or postnews) prompts you
     for a distribution, it's asking how widely distributed you want
     your article.  The set of possible replies is different,
     depending on where you are, but at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New
     Jersey, possibilities include (for example):
	local	local to this machine
	mh	Bell Labs, Murray Hill Branch
	nj	all sites in New Jersey
	btl	All Bell Labs machines
	att	All AT&T machines
	usa	Everywhere in the USA
	na	Everywhere in North America
	world	Everywhere on Usenet in the world 
     Many of the posting programs will provide a list of
     distributions, if your site admin has kept the files up-to-date.

     If you hit return, you'll get the default, which is usually
     "world.".  This default is often not appropriate -- PLEASE take a
     moment to think about how far away people are likely to be
     interested in what you have to say.  Used car ads, housing wanted
     ads, and things for sale other than specialized equipment like
     computers certainly shouldn't be distributed to Europe and Korea,
     or even to the next state.

     It is generally not possible to post an article to a distribution
     that your own machine does not receive.  For instance, if you
     live in Indiana, you can't post an article for distribution only
     in New Jersey or Germany unless your site happens to exchange
     those particular distributions with another site.  Try mailing
     the article to someone in the appropriate area and asking them to
     post it for you.

     If you cannot determine what distributions are valid for your
     site, ask someone locally rather than posting a query to the
     whole network!



Top Document: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Usenet
Previous Document: sci.space.shuttle: Shouldn't this group be merged with sci.space?
Next Document: Why do some people put funny lines ("bug killers") at the beginning of their articles?

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