Rec.Audio.High-End Newsgroup Guidelines
RAHE Moderator
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\ | Rec.Audio.High-End | /
\ | Newsgroup Guidelines | /
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/___________) . revision date 96/02/27 . (__________\
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Table Of Contents:
1.0 Newsgroup Moderation
1.1 Moderating Team
1.2 Moderator Rules
1.3 Article Processing Time
2.0 Definition of High-End Audio
3.0 Topics Appropriate for rec.audio.high-end
4.0 Posting Guidelines
4.1 Posts Lacking Substance
4.2 Posts with a Limited Audience
4.3 Basic Questions
4.4 'For Sale' and 'Wanted To Buy' Messages
4.5 Duplicate Posts
4.6 Cross-posting
4.7 Inflammatory Posts
4.8 Commercial Posts
4.9 Announcements
4.10 Music-related Posts
4.11 Formatting of Posts
4.12 Quoted Text
4.13 Signature Files
| 4.14 Meta-discussions
5.0 Administrivia
[ Changes in this revision are denoted by a `|' in the first column. ]
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1.0 -- Newsgroup Moderation
rec.audio.high-end is a moderated Usenet newsgroup. All articles
posted to the newsgroup are first reviewed by a moderator to verify
that they are suitable for publication. The guidelines defining what
is appropriate are set out in subsequent sections of this document.
1.1 - Moderating Team
The newsgroup currently operates with a team of moderators. The
present members of that team are:
Russell DeAnna
Renaud Dreyer
James Durkin
William Ryu
The moderating team may be contacted by sending e-mail to the
address <rahe-mo...@graphics.cornell.edu>.
1.2 - Moderator Rules
Moderators will subject their own posts to the same moderation
procedures applied to other posters to the newsgroup. The lone
exception being for posts of an administrative nature.
Moderators will not edit any new text in articles. They may delete
or edit quoted text or gratuitous signatures. They may also add a
comment to, for instance, provide information that will limit
unnecessary follow-up posts. Moderators may reformat new or quoted
text to improve readability.
All moderator alterations, with the exception of reformatting, will
be identified according to the following convention (where 'xyz' are
the moderator's initials):
[ ..... -- xyz ]
1.3 - Article Processing Time
There will be a delay between the time when you post an article to
the newsgroup and when that article actually appears on your local
news server (or you receive a rejection notice). This delay will
usually be no more than 24 hours. Posts submitted late on Friday
and on weekends may not be processed until sometime on Monday,
resulting in delays of up to 72 hours. The moderators do try very
hard to process your submissions as promptly as possible.
Please realize that when a moderator approves a post to the
newsgroup it goes to their local news server first, and must then
propagate from that server (across the net) to your local news
server. This process usually takes from several minutes to a few
hours, although it may take up to a day if network traffic is heavy
or key systems (like your own) are down.
As different moderators process posts at different times, posts may
occasionally appear out of sequence from when they were actually
submitted. This should cause no appreciable problems for posts
containing reasonable 'Subject' and 'Reference' headers.
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2.0 -- Definition of High-End Audio
The working definition of 'high-end audio' under which this newsgroup
operates is
a) audio equipment whose primary and fundamental design goal is to
reproduce a musical event as faithfully as possible; or
b) audio equipment which attempts to provide an electromechanical
realization of the emotional experience commonly called music; or
c) any relevant issues related to the use, design or theory about a)
or b).
Price is generally not significant in determining whether or not a
given component may be considered 'high-end'.
Products from mass-market corporations are less likely to be
considered high end insofar as such mass-market gear is designed with
apparent priority on things other than absolute sound quality.
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3.0 -- Topics Appropriate for rec.audio.high-end
Within the realm of high-end audio, as defined previously, any topic
is permitted. Theories, opinions, and questions are all appropriate
if they are concerned with the reproduction of music.
Please realize that the objective of this newsgroup is the substantive
discussion and exchange of information related to high-end audio.
Posts that do not further this objective, even if peripherally related
to an appropriate topic, will not be approved.
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4.0 -- Posting Guidelines
Beyond addressing appropriate topics, articles must also conform to
the restrictions listed below. Please keep in mind that all approved
posts are sent to the newsgroup's archive for permanent keeping.
4.1 - Posts Lacking in Substance
In submitting a new post or following up on a previous post, attempt
to provide as much concrete substance as possible, in order to make
your post most useful to the readers. This also applies to requests
for opinion and to technical questions; queries that are vague or
offer no content will not be accepted for rec.audio.high-end.
Examples of complete posts not adhering to this guideline are:
- "Tube amps are best."
[ No basis given. Please state *why*. ]
- "I don't agree."
[ Why not? Offer alternative or complementary info. ]
- "What do you think of xyz?"
[ Please include the context of the rest of your system, your
taste in music, and aspects of reproduced sound that are
important to you. ]
Admittedly, this can be a grey area. Moderators will deal with
posts on a case-by-case basis. A moderator may suggest that the
article be directed as private e-mail to a previous poster in the
thread, posted to another newsgroup instead, or be revised and
resubmitted here.
4.2 - Posts with a Limited Audience
Posts that request highly specific information that is likely of
interest to few readers other than the poster, are best directed to
one of the other, more topic-specific, rec.audio newsgroups. Such
posts include (along with the more appropriate newsgroup): requests
for addresses and phone numbers (r.a.misc); queries for equipment
pricing and sources (r.a.marketplace); references to product reviews
(r.a.opinion); and calls for spec sheets, schematics, and circuit
diagrams (r.a.tech).
Responses to posts appearing in rec.audio.high-end that would be of
interest only to the original poster and not to the group as a
whole, should be directed to that poster as private e-mail. This
provides a more efficient way to deliver the information to those
who are most interested.
4.3 - Basic Questions
Very basic audio questions that likely can be answered quickly by
any number of readers are best posed elsewhere: technical queries
should go to rec.audio.tech and more general ones to rec.audio.misc.
More complex technical issues, along with other substantive
audio-related questions, are certainly welcome here.
4.4. 'For Sale' and 'Wanted To Buy' Messages
'For-Sale' and 'Wanted To Buy' messages will be approved, if
relating to high-end components, for the Digest (e-mail based)
version of the newsgroup only. They will not appear in the Usenet
newsgroup itself. For a wider audience, you should also post to the
newsgroup rec.audio.marketplace.
This handling of this category type of posts is not arbitrary. The
rec.audio.marketplace newsgroup was created for this purpose by the
overwhelming vote taken during the rec.audio reorganization in 1994.
This included an officially conducted comment period, followed by
the normal voting process, resulting in the reorganization being
passed according to official Usenet guidelines.
4.5 - Duplicate Posts
Do not submit a post more than once. Duplicate posts will likely go
to different moderators, causing unnecessary headaches in the
moderation process.
As we realize there may be glitches in some news readers, when an
individual first submits duplicates, all but the first copy will be
removed. Repeat offenders, however, will have *all* copies of
duplicated postings removed from the group.
Sometimes, due to system problems anywhere between the poster's
system and the moderator's, submissions may get lost. This does not
happen very often, but the potential exists. We thus encourage
posters to save copies of their submissions, particularly if they
are long articles that were time consuming to write. If you believe
that a post was somehow lost, please send e-mail to the moderators
(at the address <rahe-mo...@graphics.cornell.edu>) describing
the problem *prior* to submitting another copy of the article. It
may simply be that the post has not yet been processed. Please see
the section "1.3 - Article Processing Time" for a description of the
typical time required for a post to go through the moderation
process.
4.6 - Cross-posting
In general, any post which has been, or is being, posted to other
newsgroups is not eligible for inclusion in rec.audio.high-end.
Please do not use the cross-post feature in your news reader for
submissions to this group. Cross-posted articles will be canceled
from this newsgroup (removed from rec.audio.high-end on *all* Usenet
news servers) by the moderators.
Exceptions to the guidelines against cross-posting will be made for
announcement posts that are of interest to the rec.audio readership
at large and that unlikely to develop into lengthy discussion
threads. Refer to section "4.9 - Announcements" for further
information. If you have an post other than an announcement that
you feel warrants cross-posting, contact the moderators directly to
discuss the situation.
4.7 - Inflammatory Posts
Any content-free, personal-attack article will be rejected. Flames
must be directed toward the substance of an article and not the
author of the article. Posts containing appreciable content and
personal attacks will be returned to the author for removal of the
latter.
4.8 - Commercial Posts
Posts of a commercial nature are prohibited. Do not use this
newsgroup as a forum for propaganda or promotion of a product or
service. Usenet is not intended as a vehicle for free advertising.
Such a practice is harshly frowned upon and will not be tolerated in
rec.audio.high-end.
If you are a dealer or manufacturer of audio equipment, it is
expected that you mention your affiliation in any post directly or
indirectly regarding a product you sell or manufacture (e.g., if a
post concerns a competing product to your own, it would be
appropriate to include your affiliation).
If in a moderator's opinion a post is intended more for promotion
than for information, that post will be rejected.
Please keep in mind: 'information not persuasion'.
4.9 - Announcements
Posts announcing events, services, or information that may be of
interest to the newsgroup's readers are encouraged. Examples of
this type of post include: the formation or meeting of an audio
club; a visit of a manufacturer to an audio store; the creation or
update of an audio-related web site; and the availability of
software, plans, or other information of interest to DIYers or
audiophiles in general. Such announcements are subject to the
following guidelines:
- Unlike other posts to the newsgroup, announcements *may* also
be cross-posted to other rec.audio newsgroups. Clearly, such
information may interest a wider audience than that served by
rec.audio.high-end. As these posts are unlikely to spawn
lengthy threads, the practical restrictions on cross-posting
to both moderated and unmoderated groups don't apply.
- In announcing meetings, public demonstrations, and the like,
please don't continually submit announcement posts. An
initial announcement of the event, along with a reminder a
week or so before the event itself, should be sufficient. If
you feel additional posts are required (e.g., significant
planning may needed in order for readers to attend), please
contact the moderators to arrange something appropriate.
- Web site announcements (i.e., WWW URL listings) should be
accompanied by a short description of what is contained in or
accessible from that site. Posts from commercial sources are
allowed, provided the site contains information, other than
strictly product promotion, that will be of use to the group's
readers. Sites with commercial content must be indicated as
such, including company and relevant affiliations (e.g., if
you're a dealer for a company's product, say so). Site
accessibility and content will be verified by the moderators
prior to approving the announcement.
Repeated announcements of a web site's availability are
discouraged. Please limit posts to an initial one announcing
the site, and follow-ups *only* when the site has moved or its
content significantly changed.
4.10 - Music-related Posts
Posts that discuss music (e.g., recommendations for particular
compositions or musical genres, discussions of the relationship
between music and high-end audio, and other music-related issues)
are welcome in rec.audio.high-end. The newsgroup's goal, however,
is not to replicate the content of the groups within the rec.music
newsgroup hierarchy. While such discussions outside of this
newsgroup may focus solely, or at least primarily, on the quality
of the music and its performance, music-related discussions within
rec.audio.high-end should consider the sound quality of the
recording as well.
The general guidelines regarding substantive posts apply equally
well to music-related discussions. It is fine to post a brief
query such as "Can anyone recommend a natural sounding recording
of Banglewinkler's 4th Symphony?" A reply that simply suggests
"Try The Musicmeister Philharmonic on Really Loud Records." isn't
sufficient. If you're suggesting the recording, there is
certainly a reason. Describe the attributes of the performance
and/or sonics that recommend the particular recording(s).
4.11 - Formatting of Posts
If an article requires formatting to be readable, it may returned to
the author to be reformatted. Formatting problems include: unclear
citation of quoted text, indistinct division between quoted text and
new text, and lines of new text longer than 70 characters. Try to
make each post esthetically pleasing; long, unruly letters are often
skipped by readers.
The 70 character limit is not arbitrary. Most news readers operate
within a real or virtual 80 column screen. Lines extending beyond
79 characters are typically wrapped or truncated, making posts
difficult to read as a result. Keeping new text to no more than 70
characters per line allows that text to be quoted and requoted
several times in follow-up posts without the quoted text extending
beyond the screen's boundaries.
The moderators reserve the right to reject posts for lack of
readability, even if said post technically conforms to this
guideline. As an example, a post consisting of alternating lines of
68 and 7 columns will be returned for reformatting, despite the fact
that no line is over 70 columns. Moderators may also choose to
accept posts that contain new text with lines longer than 70
characters if it is unlikely that the post's text will be cited in
followed-up articles (e.g., announcements for audio club meetings).
Moderators may, if the formatting problems are minor and if they
have the time, reformat the article themselves rather than return it
to the author. Please do not rely on this happening though (i.e.,
do not use the moderators as a text formatting filter).
4.12 - Quoted Text
In follow-up articles, please limit the amount of quoted text.
Excess quoting wastes bandwidth and makes an article difficult to
read. Additionally, some news software will not accept posts that
contain more quoted text than new. Do not quote 'signatures'.
In dealing with this situation, a moderator may either reject a post
with quoting problems or edit the article by deleting excess quoted
text.
If you are quoting a person to build an argument, please quote that
person verbatim. Do not merely rely on memory.
4.13 - Signature Files
Article 'signatures' (of the type automatically appended to a post
from a 'signature file') can serve a variety of purposes. They may
provide reliable contact information (particularly for e-mail), list
an affiliation with some organization or company, serve as a
copyright notice, say something interesting about the poster, or any
of a half dozen other tasks of note. However nice or useful
signatures may be in the abstract, they get tremendously tedious in
practice when they grow needlessly long. This is particularly true
when you consider that they are appended to each and every article,
and are placed (along with the article) in expensive permanent
storage in the rec.audio.high-end archives.
You are *strongly* encouraged to exercise restraint in 'signing'
your posts to this newsgroup. Even though it may interest you, no
one else wants to look at your ASCII rendition of the Starship
Enterprise or read the entire lyrics to Stairway to Heaven. Please
keep your signatures to no more than four lines in length (for most
purposes, one or two lines should easily suffice).
Articles with excessively long signatures will either have the
signatures deleted outright by the moderators prior to approval or
will be returned to the author for revision.
Exceptions to the signature restrictions will be made, provided that
the poster has a very good reason for the format of their particular
signature and that they communicate that reason to the moderators.
One example of such an acceptable reason would be legal disclaimers
required by the poster's organization (company, university, or
facility providing their Internet access).
4.14 - Meta-discussions
The focus of the newsgroup is the discussion of issues related to
high-end audio. A 'meta-discussion', within the context of
rec.audio.high-end, refers to the discussion of how these central
issues are themselves discussed within the newsgroup. In a sense,
they are analogous to the "Letters" (to the editor) section of a
magazine.
To the extent that such meta-discussions further the understanding
of the group's operating practices or attempt to enhance its ability
to serve the needs of the readership, they are welcome. Among the
topics appropriate for meta-discussions are comments on the
newsgroup's guidelines, questions regarding the inclusion/exclusion
of certain categories of articles, and suggestions as to how the
substance and/or style of the audio-related discussions might be
improved. Not all topics, however, are appropriate. Among the
topics best dealt with outside the newsgroup (e.g., via private
email to the moderators) are complaints about the handling of a
specific post, and inflammatory remarks about the conduct or
motivations of a specific poster or a group of posters.
The moderators will necessarily need to exercise some degree of
editorial discretion in deciding which meta-discussion posts are
acceptable. Posters will certainly be provided a reasonable degree
of latitude to express themselves. The moderators do reserve the
right to reject posts that are highly unlikely to further the goals
described above. Posts should not mix audio-related discussions and
meta-discussions, unless the the former is included for the purpose
of illustration. Posts received that do mix discussion categories
will be returned to their authors to split into separate posts.
| Articles in this category must adhere both to the above guidelines
| for meta-discussions and to the newsgroup's general guidelines.
| The category is not intended as a mechanism for openly attacking
| other posters, circumventing posting policies, or other goals that
| run counter to the productive discussion of high-end audio topics.
| As meta-discussions have demonstrated a propensity to rapidly
| escalate, the moderators reserve the right to terminate these
| threads if they fail to maintain a minimum level of civility or if
| the volume of posts becomes excessive.
So that readers may conveniently deal with meta-discussion posts as
they see fit, these posts will include a common, easily identifiable
marker. New meta-discussion posts (i.e., the first in a thread)
should include "[Meta-discussion]" as the first word in their
'Subject' header field. Posts lacking this marker will be modified
as necessary by the moderators prior to approving the article. Any
follow-up posts should be handled correctly by the poster's news
software without special intervention.
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5.0 -- Administrivia
To submit an article to rec.audio.high-end, either
a) post to the newsgroup using your local news reading software; or
b) send e-mail to
<rahe-...@graphics.cornell.edu>.
To subscribe or unsubscribe to the Digest, send e-mail stating the
nature of your request and listing your preferred e-mail address
(both, preferably, in the body of the message) to
<rahe-dige...@graphics.cornell.edu>.
To contact the newsgroup's moderators, send e-mail to
<rahe-mo...@graphics.cornell.edu>.
The archives for rec.audio.high-end (containing all articles appearing
in the newsgroup in the past, the newsgroup guidelines, and additional
high-end related information and software) are accessible via
anonymous ftp at
in the directory
<pub/rahe>.
These archives are also accessible via the World Wide Web (WWW) using
the URL
<ftp://ftp.graphics.cornell.edu/pub/rahe>.
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