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Netiquette in the SCOUT.* hierarchy

As well as general Usenet and other hierarchy netiquettes the scout.* groups has their own particular guidelines for posters.

This is a general netiquette and should suit the needs of sub-hierarchies. We are a network of networks and if a sub-hierarchy has a different netiquette, then the netiquette of the sub-hierarchy is valid. Please check also the charter of a newsgroup for posting rules.

Finding the right group

Check through the list of scout.* newsgroups for an idea of what groups there are and where best to post your article. There are two main sets of newsgroups:

• Country- and organisation based newsgroups
• Language based newsgroups

Real name vs. scouting name

In some countries the scouts get a scouting name when they are joining a scout group. In our hierarchy it is allowed to use the scouting name instead of the real name.

Crossposts & Multiposts

Avoid these if possible, if you crosspost your message to more than four groups or send the same message several times then it will most likely violate the charter of the group(s) and annoy people. This could result in the articles being deleted, people posting rude messages (flames) to or about you and complaints being made to your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Depending on your ISP this may result in you losing your account.

If you *must* crosspost an article you should set the follow-ups to only one or two groups at maximum. Discussions crossposted to more than a couple of
groups quickly become off-topic for some of them.

Binaries

Binaries are forbidden in the scout.* hierarchy except for groups which allows them. The large number of small sites that get scout.* groups and high costs of phone calls for many are the main reason behind this. Some of these groups are also gated to mailing lists or BBS's. A single picture can take up more space than a day's worth of scout.* posts. If you post a binary attachment to your post such as a picture, sound, movie or "Microsoft Word" file you will be violating this rule. The result will be that the article will be deleted and if it happens often, a complaint will be sent to your ISP. This may result in you losing your account.

Commercial posts / Advertisement

It is strictly forbidden to post any commercial posts. This is a network for boy scouts and girl guides, their leaders and people who share the same thoughts as our founder. Advertisements are in the most cases off-topic and will be automatically deleted by our cancel bot. We don't share the view about "Free Speech for everything" as other hierarchies do. To be on-topic write about scouting.

If a newsgroup wishes to receive advertisements it is written in their charter.

Test Messages

Don't post test messages to discussion groups, use scout.test instead. Several sites will send you email letting you know that your post has reached them (this may take from seconds to a day or so). If you don't wish to receive email include the word "ignore" in the subject of your tests.

General Guidelines

• Try to write your posts in a clear language, which is used in the newsgroup. Don't forget to use a spell-checking program on your post before you send it.
• Don't use HTML, and format each line to 75 characters
• Be accommodating to other posters, remember that not everybody may share your beliefs, experiences or lifestyle.
• Think before you flame someone or post when angry, remember that all posts are archived and something you post now can come back to haunt you in years time.
  
• Respond via email if what you have to say is mostly of interest to the author of the original post.
  
• Ensure that the newsreader you use generates standard conforming posts but remember that others may use newsreaders that lack useful features such as killfiles and threading.
  
• Read a newsgroup for a week or two before you post anything. This helps you to get an understanding of the culture of the group. Read the charter and FAQ (if it exists) for the group as well.
  
• Avoid sending messages or posting articles that are no more than gratuitous replies to replies.
  
• Read all of a discussion in progress (thread) before posting replies. Avoid posting "Me Too" messages, where content is limited to agreement with previous posts. Content of a follow-up post should exceed quoted content.
  
• If you've posted something and don't see it immediately, don't assume it's failed and re-post it.
  
• If you post to a moderated scout.* group remember that it may take a day or more before the moderator processes your article.
  
• Keep your signature file short, about 2-4 lines. You can use this space to tell a little more about yourself, to add witty sayings to your articles, or to advertise your homepage or instant messaging number.

Links to other good resources about this topic

• A Primer on How to Work With the Usenet Community
• Emily Postnews Answers Your Questions on Netiquette
• RFC 1855 - Netiquette Guidelines
• Configuring your news reader to post to scout.* - an article from uk.* but is valid also for our hierarchy

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