soc.history.war.vietnam FAQ: Admin Info and Posting Guidelines

[John Tegtmeier, Moderator]

Archive-Name: vietnam/info-and-guidelines
Last-modified: 1996/05/02
Posting-Frequency: monthly

This announcement supersedes any previous ones.

General Information, Links and Posting Guidelines

Welcome. If your reading this, it's fair to guess that you have some
interest in the Vietnam/ Indochina Wars and their aftermath. This
document has been prepared to give you some idea of what
soc.history.war.vietnam is all about, how to post to the newsgroup,
and what resources are currently available. For more information and
links to all the resources listed here, please visit one of our
websites:

In Australia:
http://wwwgeog.ssn.flinders.edu.au/Indochina/Vietnam/History/shwvhome.
html
In the US: http://www.panix.com/~tegtmeie/shwvushp.html

Enjoy!
The SHWV Moderating Team

Table of Contents

1. What Is soc.history.war.vietnam and How It Came to Be.
2. Posting Guidelines.
3. Administrative Information
4. SHWV FAQs.
5. SHWV Bibliographies and Special Files
6. Archives
7. The Charter

Part 1. What Is soc.history.war.vietnam and How It Came to Be

Put simply, soc.history.war.vietnam is a moderated Usenet newsgroup in
the soc.history mainstream heirarchy. It was created to provide a
location for the exchange of ideas on the Vietnam / Indochina Wars in
an environment that would promote discourse. It was, and still is,
very important to this newsgroup at all sides of this conflict, be
they academics, anti-war activists, veterans or students, find SHWV a
suitable place.

In mid 1994, Brian Ross saw the need for a flame-free environment that
could facilitate understanding of the many position held concerning
these conflicts and promote the process of healing. The first idea
was to moderate the existing newsgroup, alt.war.vietnam, but this was
met by almost universal disapproval even from supporters of a
moderated group. From there, Brian decided to propose a new newsgroup
that would not only serve this end but would also be within the more
widely accessible mainstream heirarchies. Signing on Richard Rohde
and John Tegtmeier to be moderators, Brian wrote the proposal and
charter, and sheparded it through the RFD and CFV process. With a
passing vote by the Usenet community, the newsgroup was created on May
15, 1995.

Since then, the moderators have continued to seek ways to make the
newsgroup a more effective tool. From the onset, all the articles
have been archived, providing a valuable resources of oral history
from the participants in the events and a record of the discussions of
many of the aspects of the conflicts. Informative FAQs,
bibliographies and files of special interest material has been
developed and/or posted. All this is now available either through the
web or by ftp to the archive sites. A slow-reading discussion of the
books in the core section of the recommended reading list is being
held on the newsgroup. We are now looking into ways to make the oral
histories and personal narratives posted to the newsgroup more
organized and accessible for research purposes.

Part 2. Posting Guidelines

The criteria for postings are contained in the Charter. To assist
those who wish to post articles to the newsgroup, the posting
guidelines below were developed.

The submission of an article to this newsgroup implicitly gives
permission for that article to be archived for distribution, and for
quotation of that article within this newsgroup for the purpose of
discussion. All other rights are assumed to remain with the
contributor under the Berne convention.

Please remember that this is a moderated newsgroup. We are not
on-line all day long (this is all volunteer work) so there may be some
delay from the time you post to the time your article appears on the
newsgroup. We will try to get articles up as soon as is possible,
normally within a 24 hour time frame.

1. Topics.

The charter requires that postings deal with the Indochina Wars, their
antecedents and their aftermath. This is to include political
philosophy and social factors. This also means the mind set of all
the participants at the time, and in the present to the extent that
this reflects on the aftermath of the wars. It was made clear from
the outset that this was a multi-discipline newsgroup, not just
history. It is set up as such in the charter.

Posters should restrict their comments to the above. Posts
containing ANY material not included within the scope of the
newsgroup, or legitimate rebuttal to material already posted, will be
returned. The decision as to an article being admissible resides with
the moderators, who were named as part of the voting process for the
newsgroup, and their successors, as provided in the charter. Further
comments on the propriety of material shall be deemed as flames, and
rejected.

2. Personal Comments.

Articles must be free of personal attacks on individuals or groups of
individuals in the readership on the newsgroup. The public acts of
public figures are, of course, open to critique. The same is true of
organizations which similiarly are also open to a higher level of
critique. Posters should restrict their comments to the material and
the discourse surrounding the material. ANY COMMENTS OF A PERSONAL
NATURE REGARDING ANOTHER POSTERS INTENTIONS, MOTIVES, BELIEFS, ETC.
SHALL BE DEEMED A PERSONAL ATTACK, AND REJECTED.

Characterizations of another individual's beliefs or views as
"ridiculous", "stupid", "lies" or any similar label shall be deemed
not as a critique of the material, but a personal attack, and
therefore rejected. Posters will restrict themselves to a rebuttal of
the material in an article without including derogatory or
condescending insults.

3. The Goal of the Newsgroup

The goal of this newsgroup, as outlined at the time of the voting for
its creation, was to promote a flame-free environment for discourse
and to provide a forum in which various sides of the debate, coming
from differing backgrounds, could exchange ideas. Posters are asked
to bear this in mind. Posts seeking to restrict this open
availability to all sides of the debate shall be considered flames,
and will be rejected.

4. Commercial

No articles of a commercial nature will be posted, with the exception
of informational sources of not-for-profit groups which, at the
discretion of the moderators, offer important benefits. Announcements
of forthcoming or recent publications in the field will also be
allowed on a informational basis. Any articles containing advertising
of any services for fee must conform to the above to be eligible for
posting.

5. Copyright

Please be aware of the copyright laws as they pertain to your
submissions. They are a lot stricter than you may think. Under the
Berne convention, just about everything is presumed to be protected,
even if not expressly stated. The rule of thumb is simply that unless
the person has expressly put the material in the public domain, it
should be treated as protected. As stated above, articles posted to
soc.history.war.vietnam may be quoted for the purpose of discussion on
this newsgroup. If you need more complete information, please look at
the copyright myth FAQ on the news.answers newsgroup.

Quotations from published sources for the purposes of discussion or
illumination are acceptable, as long as those quotations fall within
the fair use provisions of the copyright laws.

6. Net etiquette

Posters are asked to voluntarily adhere to common practice in regard
to net etiquette and the posting of articles. Quotes from prior posts
should not be more than 50% of a posting, and those sections quoted
should have a direct bearing on the commentary in the new article.
Signature files should be restricted to 4 lines. The expansion of the
number of Usenet newsgroups, as well as the number of sites getting
news feeds, have increased dramatically, taxing the net's ability to
carry the load. Quoting a forty line article to say "I agree" is
selfish. Please use the editing features of your newsreaders and
stick to the essentials. The moderators reserve the right to edit
excessive quotation from submitted articles.

7. Cross-posting Articles.

Request to cross-post articles will be honored with the following
exceptions:

A. Other Moderated Newsgroups. You should submit those individually to
each moderator.

B. alt.war.vietnam. The moderators may not honor requests to cross-
post to alt.war.vietnam if such cross-posting could cause excessive
burden on the newsgroup. The reasons behind this lie in the confusion
some readers are having concerning which newsgroup they are posting
to, and consequently, the allowable language in those articles. This
has resulted in an excessive number of rejected articles, and delays
in posting for those only wishing to post to awv.

Posters who ar replying to articles posted on other newsgroups must
cross-post the original article to soc.history.war.vietnam, and post
their replies to all original newsgroups named in the article to which
they are responding. This is to insure that articles are not taken
out of context, and that the author of the original article has an
opportunity to respond.

8. Personal Narratives

It has been our policy for quite some time to treat personal
narratives - articles marked "PER NAR" in the subject header - as oral
history.

Respondents may ask appropriate questions, but the content of the
articles is considered privileged, and may not be attacked. This
holds true not only for vets, but for those who were active in the
anti-war movement.

The rationale behind this is simple - it is more beneficial to the
newsgroup to have oral history posted than it is for potential posters
to refrain for fear of confrontation and critique of their actions 20+
years ago.

9. Appeal Process

There is an appeal process if you believe that your article was
unfairly rejection. Please refer to the Charter for full information.
Essentially, all that is required to appeal is to send an e-mail reply
of the rejection notice to all moderators (all active moderators will
be in the rejected message's header) requesting an appeal review of
the article.

Part 3. Administrative Information:

The moderated newsgroup soc.history.war.vietnam is dedicated to the
discussion of the Vietnam / Indochina wars, their antecedents and
their aftermath. All points of view and disciplines are welcome. It
is our hope to create a "flame-free" environment in which discourse is
possible, and perhaps even some healing and understanding.

Articles may be submitted in two ways. You can use normal newsreaders
to post to the list. These will then forward your article to the
submission address for approval. Or you may send e-mail directly to
the submission address: vie...@panix.com. The second way actually
should be faster.

The current moderator and co-moderators for soc.history.war.vietnam
are:

Current Moderator:
John Tegtmeier (tegt...@panix.com)

Co-moderators:
Edwin E. Moise (EEM...@CLEMSON.EDU)
History/Faq Advisor

Richard Rohde (ro...@uhunix.uhcc.hawaii.edu)
Anthropology/FAQ Advisor

Brian Ross (br...@coombs.anu.edu.au)
Archivist and Backup Moderator

Craig E. Thompson (thom...@super.zippo.com)
Veterans Contact and Backup Moderator

Requests for information concerning the newsgroup should be addressed
at to the contact address: vietnam...@panix.com

Please feel free to contact us with any question or suggestion. We
hope that you all will enjoy and profit from the newsgroup.

Part 4. SHWV FAQs

The SHWV are designed to be concise references on topics that are of
general interest or are reoccuring themes on the newsgroup. The
following FAQs are currently available:

SHWV Recommended Reading List.
...A listing of recommended readings covering many aspects of the
Indochina Warsresearched and compiled by John Tegtmeier. The reading
list is composed of three major parts: first, a small core list which
contains works of exceptional merit that in their totality will give
the reader a good grounding; second, an extensive selection of
historical and social science analysis and non-fiction narratives,
divided into topics to provide further in depth reading; and third, a
section deals with cultural representations of the wars and their
aftermath, including analysis and criticism, fiction, poetry, film and
folklore.
Archive filename: shwv.faq.recommended-reading-list

Australian Military Involvement.
...An analysis by Brian Ross of the military aspects of Australia's
involvement in the Vietnam War.
Archive filename: shwv.faq.australia-part1

Australian Political Involvement.
...An analysis by Brian Ross of the political dimensions of
Australia's involve in the Vietnam War. Because of the lenght of this
FAQ, it has been posted to the newsgroup and archived in two parts.
Archive filenames: shwv.faq.australia-part2; shwv.faq.australia-part3

Tonkin Gulf Incident.
...A concise analysis, with bibliography, of the events in the Tonkin
Gulf in August 1964 that led to direct US combat involvement. This
FAQ is written by Edwin Moise.
Archive filename: shwv.faq.tonkin

Use of Armoured Vehicles in the Vietnam War.
...A discussion of the use of armored vehicles by all sides in the
Vietnam War, written by Brian Ross.
Archive filename: shwv.faq.armor

Vietnam Related Internet Resources.
...An extensive listing of resources available on the world wide web
that are related to the Vietnam / Indochina Wars and their aftermath
compiled by John Tegtmeier. Because of its lenght, this faq has been
posted and archived in two parts.
Archive filenames: shwv.faq.inet-resources-part1; shev.faq.internet-
resources-part2

The process of developing FAQs is ongoing. Others on people, places
and events of the various Indochina Wars are being worked on, and will
be posted as available.

The moderators of the newsgroup, in accordance with the Charter, have
the sole responsibility for the development and content of any
newsgroup FAQs. Any person who believes that they have specialized in-
depth knowledge of a topic that wishes to submit a FAQ for review is
encouraged to do so by sending it to vietnam...@panix.com.

FAQs will be posted for comment on the newsgroup for a period of at
least one month. More time maybe allocated at the discretion of the
moderators. During this period, the designation [RFD] will precede
the subject in the header. FAQs will be submitted to news.answers and
soc.answers upon completion of this process.

All FAQs are available at the www Home Pages, and archived at the
newgroup's ftp archive sites (see below).

Part 5. SHWV Bibliographies and Special Files.

In addition to the FAQs, SHWV seeks to post or develop bibliographic
resources. In addition to being archived in the log files, these
bibliographies are available separately either at the newsgroup's
websites or ftp archives (archive filenames provided at the end of the
description).

Prof. Edwin E. Moise's General Bibiliography
...An extremely comprehensive bibliography dealing with all aspects of
the Indochina Wars by a professor of history at Clemson University who
both teachs and writes on the subject. Prof. Moise is also a co-
moderator of this newsgroup it was posted to the newsgroup in over
sixty parts in June 1995.
Archive filename: shwv.biblio-moise.jun95

Prof. Lydia M. Fish's Folklore Bibliography
... A specialized bibliography dedicated to the folkore and US veteran
folksongs of the Vietnam War. Prof. Fish is the director of the
Vietnam Veteran Oral History and Folklore Project at Buffalo State
College.
It was posted to the newsgroup in August 1995.
Archive filename: shwv.biblio-folklore.fish.aug95

Brian Ross's Australian Involvement Bibliography
...Specialized bibliographic resource on the Australian involvement in
the Vietnam War by one of the newsgroup's co-moderators. Posted to
the newsgroup in September 1995.
Archive filename: shwv.biblio-australia.ross.sep95

John Tegtmeier's My Lai Bibliography
...Short specialized bibliographic reference to works that deal with
the My Lai massacre of March 1968 by the moderator of SHWV. It was
posted to the newsgroup in March 1996.
Archive filename:shwv.biblio-mylai.mar96

John Tegtmeier's US Veterans Post-service Mortality Bibliography
...Short specialized bibliographic reference to material concerning US
veterans suicide and post-service mortality rates. Posted to the
newsgroup in April 1996.
Archive filename: shwv.biblio-mortality.apr96

Australian Victoria Cross Recipients
...Brian Ross's compilation of the citations for the Victoria Cross
recipients during the Vietnam War.
Archive filename: shwv.victoria-cross-recipients

Part 6. Archives:

All articles posted to soc.history.war.vietnam are archived in log
files appropriately weekly. Thanks to Larry Jewell and the folks at
Byrd, and Brian Ross, one of our co-moderator in Australia, these
archives are available via FTP. Tose interested in retrieving or
searching the SHWV article archives should look at the "read me" file
for further information.

The newsgroup logs, along with the bibliographies, and the most recent
copies of all FAQS are available at the following sites:

byrd.mu.wvnet.edu in the directory
pub/history/military/vietnam/soc.history.war.vietnam.
or on the www at:
ftp://byrd.mu.wvnet.edu/pub/history/military/vietnam/soc.history.
war.vietnam
...Archives at Byrd are in plain ascii text files

mccaskill.ssn.flinders.edu.au in pub/history/Vietnam-war
or on the www at:
ftp://mccaskill.ssn.flinders.edu.au/pub/history/Vietnam-war
...Archives at McCaskill are in compressed .Z files. Also at this
site are Tom Holloway's American casualty database.

In addition, FAQs are also available at:
rtfm.mit.edu in pub/usenet/soc.history.war.vietnam
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/soc.history.war.vietnam

Part 7. The Charter.

CHARTER

1. Aim & Purpose of Soc.History.War.Vietnam

This newsgroup will provide an open forum for the objective discussion
of the Vietnam and Indochinese wars, their causes, aftermath, and
effect on the people and societies which took part in them. The use
of a moderator is intended to provide an environment that is conducive
to this discussion, and open to all categories of potential readers/
contributors - academics, veterans, members of the anti-war movement,
students, and anyone else with an interest - without regard to
ideological or political positions.

The wars in Vietnam and Indochina in the middle of the twentieth
century not only bred armed conflict between combatants, but also
divisiveness and social conflict within the societies of some of the
participicants in the conflicts. In the United States, some believe
that the war has transcended its historical moment to become a culture
icon for the turbulence of the sixties. At any rate, there still
exists a great desparity in the understandings of the social,
political and historic circumstances of the war, and its continued
influence on various societies. Soc.history.war.vietnam will seek to
promote a discourse which will allow these positions to be explored.
Perhaps, in this way, the newsgroup may be instrumental in achieving a
better understanding of the events, and may even assist in the process
of healing.

2. The Function of the Moderators

This newsgroup shall have an active moderator, and at least two
co-moderators. It shall be the responsibility of the active moderator
to screen postings to the newsgroup, and elimante those which are: a.
flames, insults and attacks directed at a person rather than a
position; b. flames that use derogatory labels to depict whole
categories of people, such as veterans or members of the anti-war
movement, etc.; c. articles that have no connection to the Vietnam or
Indochina wars, their causes, effects or aftermath; and d. any message
of a commercial nature. The active moderator may not screen postings
for merit of argument, nor for their political or ideological content.
All articles that are rejected will be sent back to the contributor
with a short message explaning the reason for rejection. Such
rejections may be appealed as outlined below.

The co-moderators serve in a back-up capacity, so as to insure
continuity during either a temporary or permanent change in the status
of the active moderator. In addition, the co-moderators will have the
responsibility, along with the active moderator, for voting on appeals
of rejected posts, the appointment of new moderators, and the possible
removal of a current moderator as outlined below.

3. Appeal of Rejection of Posts

If a contributor whose post has been rejected wishes to appeal this
action, the current active moderator will forward this request and the
post in question to all co-moderators for a vote. If the majority of
all moderators votes to overrule the rejection, the article will be
sent to the newsgroup. If the post is rejected, the person appealling
the rejection will be sent a summary of the votes by the moderators.

4. Appointment of New Moderators

New co-moderators will be appointed as necessary through the
nomination of an individual by the other moderators. The appointment
will require a unanimous vote of the current moderators to pass. The
new co-moderator's name will then be submitted to the newsgroup for a
five day discussion period. During these five days, any of the
current moderators may change their vote in response to this
discussion. At the end of the five days, if all the moderators are
still in agreement, the nominee becomes a co-moderator.

5. Removal of a Moderator

A moderator may be removed for the following causes: a. failure to
perform the outlined duties of the position, 2. a pattern of biased or
discriminatory rejections of postings. Such removal will be made by
the formal vote of all current moderators. A 2/3rds vote in favor of
such action will be required for removal. The reasons for, and results
of, all such votes will be posted to the newsgroup.

6. FAQ

The moderators, as a group, will be responsible for the development
and posting of a frequently asked question (FAQ) file for this
newsgroup.

7. Posting of Charter and Moderators List

This charter will be reposted, along with the list of current
moderators to the newsgroup every month.

Part 8. Conclusion

It is our hope that you will find the resources that are listed here
as useful and thought provoking. Please feel free to send us any
suggestions that you might have on how to make them better.

John Tegtmeier, moderator - shwv
for the SHWV Moderating Team