FAQ: Introduction to rec.arts.comics.dc.lsh
racdl FAQ Committee
Welcome to rec.arts.comics.dc.lsh, the newsgroup devoted to the discussion of
the Legion of Super-Heroes, published by DC Comics. This document is intended
to provide an overview of the netiquette of posting to the newsgroup and
common abbreviations used here.
There is a companion to this post entitled "INTRODUCTION TO THE LEGION OF
SUPER-HEROES" that can be used as a resource to introduce you to the comic
books that are discussed on this newsgroup.
This introduction was prepared by the racdl FAQ committee. The committee is
composed of (alphabetically) Michael R. Grabois [$pac...@wt.net] (replace $
with s), T. Troy McNemar [tro...@primenet.com], Sidne Gail Ward
[sw...@primenet.com], and Andrew D. Woodard [wood...@acf2.NYU.EDU].
This version was last updated on October 25, 1998.
This introduction is copyright 1998 by Michael Grabois, Troy McNemar, Sidne
Ward, and Andrew Woodard. It may be reused only with permission. Violators
must hunt down irradiated, flying space whales and bring them to justice.
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NOTE: Entries changed since the last version of this document are
marked with a "+".
1. What is the purpose of rec.arts.comics.dc.lsh?
2. What is netiquette, and how do I observe it?
+ 3. What abbreviations should I know before diving in?
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1. What is the purpose of rec.arts.comics.dc.lsh?
The Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.comics.dc.lsh passed on June 27, 1995.
Its purpose is set forth in the newgroup's charter, which states:
For posts about the Legion of Super-Heroes in all its
incarnations and its related characters and situations.
2. What is netiquette, and how do I observe it?
If you're not familiar with Usenet, you should spend some time
perusing the news.announce.newusers newsgroup. Valuable information
can be found there that will inform you how to become a productive
net.citizen. However, here are a few specific ideas that may assist
you:
* Use Spoiler Space when appropriate. Spoiler Space consists of
approximately 24 blank lines that posters insert into their
comments to prevent other readers from accidentally reading
information about comics that they haven't yet read. A good rule
of thumb is to continue to use Spoiler Space for at least two or
three weeks after a comic is released. On this newsgroup, that
generally means that spoiler space should be used until the next
Legion title is released.
* Spoiler information should never be included in a subject
header. Most newsreaders automatically show subject headers,
and you will inadvertently reveal the spoiler information to
everyone who reads the newsgroup.
* Spoiler information about upcoming comics can occasionally be
discovered from PREVIEWS, chat reports, conventions, or other
sources. Such information should be protected until two or
three weeks after the comic that presents the information is
released.
* Don't use a "Control+L" to replace spoiler space. That doesn't
work on many systems, and will result in revealing the
information that you intended to conceal to many readers. The
only method that works for all newsreaders is the blank lines.
* Always remain civil. Never forget that real people with real
feelings read this newsgroup. It's okay to disagree with someone
else, but try to keep the insults to yourself.
* Avoid unnecessarily negative comments about creative teams or
eras. It's okay to discuss storylines that you didn't like, but
try to do so in a way that isn't insulting to those people who
are fans of the particular era that you're opining about.
* Use smileys when appropriate. A smiley is a colon followed by a
close paren ':)'--view it on its side. A smiley lets your reader
know that you intend your comments to be humorous or sarcastic.
Usenet tends to use a conversational tone of voice, and a smiley
can prevent misinterpretation of comments that you intend to be
amusing.
* Reread your comments before you send them. Do you really want to
say that to an audience of hundreds or thousands of people?
* Corrections of spelling or grammar should only be offered if
it's very important to the original poster's point.
* Always make sure your comments are on-topic for the newsgroup.
For example, if you want to discuss Generation X, you'll find a
group of people in rec.arts.comics.marvel.xbooks that will be
more interested in discussing that team. In particular, you
should use rec.arts.comics.dc.universe for posts about the
general DC line, and rec.arts.comics.dc.vertigo for posts about
comics with the Vertigo imprint.
* If you're looking to buy or sell Legion comic books or
merchandise, the appropriate newsgroup is
rec.arts.comics.marketplace. Please do all of your Legion
business on that group.
* If you want to discuss a proposed cast for a Legion movie or
TV series, this isn't the right place for the discussion. The
only appropriate newsgroup for proposed cast discussions is
rec.arts.comics.other-media, which was set up to handle
casting calls and other non-comics versions of comic book
characters. We've done that to death here; please do not post
proposed cast suggestions to this group.
* Binaries should not be posted to this group. Use one of the
alt.binaries.* groups.
* Avoid "me too" posts. Don't reply to someone else's post only to
tack an "I agree" or "Me, too" after the other person's
comments. Replies that simply state "Thanks for the
information" are also bad form. You should only post to the
group if you have something new to contribute to the overall
discussion.
* If you want to make a comment that is likely to only be of
interest to the original poster, consider e-mailing the poster
directly rather than posting a message to the newsgroup. Most
newsreaders permit replies by e-mail.
* When responding to someone else's message, only repost that
portion of the original message that is necessary for others to
understand what you are responding to. If you're only responding
to one line of a 38 line message, clip out everything but the
one line that you are responding to. But do leave in that one
line. Messages appear on different systems in different orders.
That line will be helpful for others who want to follow the
discussion.
* Also, when responding to someone else's message, be sure that
you properly attribute the original poster. The attribution
permits others to determine who wrote the post to which you are
responding. Most newsreaders automatically attribute text when
you respond to another post, but you should determine whether
your newsreader automatically attributes or not.
* Change the subject line if it no longer describes what you're
preparing to post. Many readers browse through the newsgroup and
read only those threads that sound interesting to them. You
risk losing a potential audience if the subject line doesn't
describe what you're writing about in your post.
* Make sure that you are restricting each line of your post to 80
characters or less. If your post has more than 80 characters,
per line it will be difficult or impossible for others to read.
A good rule of thumb is to set your newsreader for 75 characters
per line or fewer to allow others to attribute your posts in
replies.
3. What abbreviations should I know before diving in?
Here is a list of the most commonly seen abbreviations and terms:
* ACT: Action Comics, the Legion's home in 1969-1970
* ADL: Anti-Defamation League, a net.joke group that puts
offenders of a person or group on "The List".
* ADV: Adventure Comics, regular home of the Legion from 1962-1969
(and occasional home from 1958-1962).
* AFFILIATED PLANETS: an interplanetary governing body that was
originally founded by the Dark Circle as a competing
organization to the United Planets and which includes several of
the Legionnaires' home planets.
* AP: See "Affiliated Planets."
* AR: Anal-retentive, when used in conjunction with a Legion
appearance, it usually refers to an appearance that only a true
LSH completist would find it necessary to own. Michael Grabois'
AR checklists can be found at
http://www.geocities.com/timessquare/dungeon/1300/lsh/lsh.htm
* BTW: By The Way (net.shorthand)
* DCU: DC Universe, the setting where all of the mainstream books
published by DC take place
* DOA: Dead On Arrival, an important arc in the Valor series
before Zero Hour
* FALSE PRETENSES LAD: Internet fandom nickname for unnamed
character that was shown being transported to prison in ADV
#327. He claimed that he had joined the Legion under false
pretenses to access their mission monitor board and, therefore,
must have been a Legionnaire for a brief period.
* FTL: Faster than Light, referring to speed
* FWIW: For What It's Worth (net.shorthand)
* GL: Green Lantern
* IIRC: If I Recall Correctly (net.shorthand)
* L*: Legionnaires, the comic
* L.E.G.I.O.N.: Licensed Extra-Galactic Intelligence Operatives
Network, a 20th century galactic super-hero team
* LLL: "Long Live the Legion!", a battle cry as well as the
lettercolumn signoff
* LSH: Legion of Super-Heroes, either the group itself or the
title of their comic
* LSH-L: The LSH-List, a mailing list where participants discuss
the Legion via e-mail.
* LSV: Legion of Super-Villains
* PAD: Peter A. David, a writer of stuff
* postboot: After the reboot (i.e., now)
* post-Zero (or post-ZH): After the reboot (i.e., now)
* preboot: Before the reboot (i.e., before Zero Hour)
* pre-Zero (or pre-ZH): Before the reboot (i.e., before Zero
Hour)
* PTB: Powers That Be, the high-up managers who make the ultimate
decisions
* rac: rec.arts.comics.*, the overall hierarchy for discussing
comics on the internet newsgroups
* racdclsh:: the rec.arts.comics.dc.lsh newsgroup
* racdcu: the rec.arts.comics.dc.universe newsgroup
* racdl: the rec.arts.comics.dc.lsh newsgroup
* racdlsh: the rec.arts.comics.dc.lsh newsgroup
* reboot: A restarting of a comic series from scratch by
discarding all or most of the title's previous continuity.
Various comics reboots include Superman, Wonder Woman, and the
Legion of Super-Heroes.
* retcon: originally "retroactive continuity", meaning a new
story that explained a previous event or an untold story; now,
any new story that invalidates anything previously published
* SCPA: the Space Canine Patrol Agents, a group of dogs with
super-powers, among whom was Krypto (pre-Crisis)
* S/LSH: Superboy Starring the Legion of Super-Heroes or
Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes. This title took
over the Superboy title and eventually became v2. (Also SLSH
or S&tLSH).
* SW6: the "Kid Legionnaires" who came from the Weisinger chambers
in late v4, and originally starred in the Legionnaires book.
The name is derived from the postal code of a London fan.
* TDT: See "That Damned Tabloid."
* Team 20: the group of Legionnaires and supporting characters
that were stranded in the 20th century staring in LSH #85.
* Team 30: the Legionnaires who remained in the 30th century
after some of their teammates were stranded in the 30th
century.
* THAT DAMNED TABLOID: Fandom nickname for ALL-NEW COLLECTORS'
EDITION No. C-55, an oversized comic book that tells the story
of Saturn Girl's and Lightning Lad's wedding. Many fans have
trouble finding the issue, resulting in the name.
* THAT OTHER DAMNED TABLOID: Fandom nickname for LIMITED
COLLECTORS' EDITION No. C-49, an oversized comic book that
reprinted the Mordru story from ADVENTURE COMICS Nos.369-70.
* TK: telekinesis, or moving things with the mind
* TLSH: Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes, either the feature
name in the Adventure Comics strip or the comic of that name
* TMB: Tom and Mary Bierbaum, co-writers of the first 50 issues
of v4.
* TMK: Tom and Mary Bierbaum and Keith Giffen, co-creators of a
substantial portion of the first 38 issues of v4.
* TODT: See "That Other Damned Tabloid."
* TPTB: The Powers That Be (see PTB)
* TT: Time Trapper, a long-time LSH opponent
* UNITED PLANETS: An interplanetary governing body that includes
many of the Legionnaires' home planets.
* UP: See "United Planets."
* v1: "volume 1", the first series with the name Legion of
Super-Heroes, which was all reprints (issues 1-4, 1973)
* v2: "volume 2", the second series with the name Legion of
Super-Heroes, which took over from the Superboy series (issues
259-313 + annuals 1-3, 1980-1984)
* v3: "volume 3", the third series with the name Legion of
Super-Heroes, which started when v2 changed to Tales of the LSH
(issues 1-63 + annuals 1-4, 1984-1989)
* v4: "volume 4", the fourth series with the name Legion of
Super-Heroes, which began with the Five Year Gap and continues
to today (beginning 1989)
* v4.5: Nickname sometimes given to the Legion stories that take
place after the postboot.
* WWitLSH: Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes, a 7-issue
1988 miniseries devoted to telling about the Legion.
* WT: White Triangle, a group of xenophobes primarily from Daxam.
* XS: doesn't stand for anything; this is her code name (say it
out loud: "excess")
* ZH: Zero Hour, a DC crossover series in 1994 which resulted in
the reboot
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______
/ __ \ The rec.arts.comics.dc.lsh FAQ Committee
| / / * | Michael Grabois ($pac...@wt.net) [replace $ w/ s]
| / /___ | T. Troy McNemar (tro...@primenet.com)
|(_____/ | Sidne Gail Ward (sw...@primenet.com)
\______/ Andrew Woodard (wood...@acf2.nyu.edu)
"The ritual Klordny toast: To Freedom, Friendship, and Frunt!"