FAQ (4/5) - faq4.txt [01/01]
Stan Wonn
Part 4 of 5 follows.
Stan
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ASG-X: The FAQ (Pt. 4)
Xtopia: The Next Generation
(Also known as the alt.society.generation-x FAQ, v. 2.0)
IV. Twice-Told Tales: How to Post to ASG-X Successfully
Without Being Flamed, Trolled or Laughed At
As previously mentioned, legend has it that ASG-X was originally
newsgroupped as a forum for discussion of Generation X issues.
However, the group has gradually developed an environment where just
about anything is fair game for discussion.
Doug Lathrop perhaps summarized it best in the previous FAQ:
"A great diversity of subjects -- from politics to H.R. Pufnstuf,
from abortion to school cafeteria food, from the finer points of the
_Critique of Pure Reason_ to the contents of our junk drawers --
isn't likely to be found in many other places on USENET. Still, there
are taboos -- subjects or attitudes which *will* get you flamed
(or at least trolled mercilessly by Peter Dubuque). Some are obvious,
some not so obvious, and the list below doesn't pretend to include
all of them -- to avoid severe flamage you'd still do well to follow
standard netiquette and lurk extensively before actually posting."
That said, let's get on to it! Below are some of the common attitudinal
pitfalls we see here on ASG-X, with responses provided by Doug Lathrop
and Stan Wonn.
1. Posting messages along the lines of "Stop whining and get a life,
slackers."
Usually posted by irate Boomers or GenX don't-wanna-bes. The
flamebait potential here is self-explanatory, and our experience has
generally been that those who waste bandwidth telling others to
get a life are the ones desperately in need of lives themselves.
2. Posting messages along the lines of "Please define 'Generation X'."
This isn't as likely to induce flamage, but it reeks of cluelessness
and should be avoided. There are about as many different definitions
of Generation X as there are Generation Xers -- and if that answer's
not good enough for you, we suggest that you read this FAQ, read any or
all of the works suggested here, and if none of that helps you, then
get a life.
3. Posting messages claiming that "You're all too old/too young
to be GenX!"
In fact, this very pitfall just reoccurred on the newsgroup as this
FAQ was being written, and relates to the "Please define 'Generation
X'" discussion above. Generally posted by either college students who
don't want to identify with the old farts in their late 20s and
early 30s or oldsters who take Douglas Coupland's book as gospel. In
either case, posting such messages only starts flamewars and should
be avoided.
It bears restating that this newsgroup tends to define "Generation X"
in an inclusive manner: basically, if you identify with GenXers,
then you *are* GenX as far as most of us are concerned (unless,
of course, you're one of the sympathetic Boomers who post here
regularly). If this bothers you, and you feel the need to exclude
others either older or younger than you, then you're taking the
concept too seriously and need to get a life.
4. Posting a message along the lines of "I'm writing an article
on GenX, and..."
This is a tricky one -- a number of journalists have been known to
post regularly to the newsgroup and do often request quotes from
(or bounce ideas off of) the rest of us. This is fine. What isn't
fine, however, is when media types delurk without warning and ask
a lot of questions about our opinions, our personal lives, or
(this happened once) about whether they can bring a camera crew to
our next Tingle. If there's one thing most of us have in common,
it's an extreme media shyness. If you're going to use ASG-X as a
media resource, you'd either better let us get to know you before
flinging questions at us, or expect us to clam up or run the other
way as soon as your agenda is discovered.
5. Requesting our cooperation on a marketing survey.
In short, we are not a target market. Say it -- and repeat it,
again and again until the words are burned into your consciousness.
WE ARE NOT A TARGET MARKET.
6. Arguing that any individual (e.g., Kurt Cobain, Alanis Morissette)
is the Spokesperson for Our Generation(tm).
Doing this is just an open invitation for flames, derision and
ruthless trolling. To quote Bob Dole's anti-drug campaign slogan,
"Just don't do it."
7. Use of sound bites as a substitute for real argumentation.
By "sound bites," we are referring to superficial statements of
opinion similar to those spewed forth by politicians and other
talking heads on CNN and other media outlets. Although as a group
ASG-X is probably weighted somewhat left of center, the individual
political viewpoints found here cover the entire political spectrum,
and as a result the intellectual rigor of the current-events threads
is extremely high.
This isn't an alt.politics or talk.politics newsgroup, so half-truths,
misinformation, or statements better suited to a bumper sticker
will not persuade anyone around here. Regardless of whether you're
a liberal or a conservative, you will be called upon to present
sources, citations, evidence, etc. to back up your assertions.
Remember, you have been warned.
8. Posting messages expressing hatred of various genders, races,
sexual orientations, etc.
Although ASG-X is not a haven of political correctness (if our use
of terms like "gimp" didn't tip you off to that already), we are
a fairly diverse group in many regards and *like* it that way. If
you can't handle that, a newsgroup like alt.whitepower might be
more to your liking.
9. Requesting help with your term paper or some other school
assignment.
What do we look like, your mother? And despite the fact that some of
us here are librarians and teachers and the like, we aren't here to
replace your local/school library. So, as Doug Lathrop so sassily
says, "Do your own homework. Slacker."
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--
Stan Wonn | wo...@primenet.com | http://www.primenet.com/~wonn
"Ellen DeGeneres needs a clone -- then one Ellen can come out
of the closet and the other can stay in. She's taking longer
to come out than it took Michael Jackson to become white."
--Rob Morse, SF Examiner, 3/2/97