FAQ: The nz.* Usenet Hierarchy.
Simon Lyall
Posting-Frequency: Monthly (near start of month)
The nz.* Usenet Hierarchy FAQ
-----------------------------
Maintained by Simon Lyall (si...@darkmere.gen.nz).
FAQ version number 107
Created - Jul 5 2003
------------------------------------
Subject: 0.0 Table of Contents.
0.0 Table of Contents.
0.1 Recent Changes to this FAQ.
1.0 What is the nz.* hierarchy?
1.1 History of the nz.* hierarchy.
1.2 What nz.* groups are there?
1.3 Recent Traffic Statistics.
2.0 Recent Votes.
- nz.test
- nz.org.nzcs
- nz.org.net-society
- nz.org.isocnz
- nz.org.ipenz
- nz.soc.queer
- nz.net.*
- nz.reg.*
- nz.soc.religion
- nz.politics.announce
- nz.reg.canterbury.general
- nz.soc.maori
- nz.tech
3.0 Bogus groups
4.0 Creating a new nz.* group
5.0 Sample Configuration Files
7.0 Netiquette in the nz.* hierarchy
8.0 Other Frequently Asked Questions
- posting to nz.test
- nz.wanted vs nz.forsale
- Getting nz.* groups overseas
- IBM
- What is usenet.net.nz?
9.0 Credits for this FAQ.
------------------------------------
Subject: 0.1 Recent Changes to this FAQ.
In Feb 2003
- Updated for nz.soc.maori vote and addition
- Updated with nz.org.isocnz removal
- ro...@usenet.net.nz's pgp key no longer available via finger
- Fixed version number
- Fixed errors in Table of Contents
- Updated for nz.tech vote and addition
In Dec 2001
- Updated where to get access to nz.* groups
- Fixed up error with newsgroups stats.
- Added nz.reg.christchurch.general to bogus groups
- Updated wording on binary posts
In June 1998
- Removed nz.archives
In May 1998
- Added nz.politics.announce stuff
In Apr 1998
- Fixed nz.soc.queer charter
In Mar 1998
- removed reference to other hierarchies (most of them don't exist anymore).
- updated for removal of nz.biz.misc.discuss and creation of nz.soc.religion
In Feb 1998
- New section of stats, updated each month.
- New Netiquette section.
------------------------------------
Subject: 1.0 What is the nz.* hierarchy?
The nz.* hierarchy is a group of Usenet Newsgroups that are primarily
distributed within and to do with New Zealand, a country in the South
Pacific near Australia. While the groups are mainly for New Zealanders
at home they are also exported and can be read by people in other
countries if their site gets a feed of them.
This FAQ attempts to document various issues surrounding to nz.* groups
including voting procedures and charters of various groups.
This FAQ is also available from:
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/nz-news-hierarchy
------------------------------------
Subject: 1.1 History of the nz.* hierarchy.
Mark Davies posted the following message (slightly edited) outlining the
history of the current newsgroups up till March 95.
~From: ma...@comp.vuw.ac.nz (Mark Davies)
~Newsgroups: nz.org.net-society,nz.netstatus,nz.general
~Subject: Re: CFV process for creating NZ.* groups
~Date: 27 Mar 1995 23:06:30 GMT
~Message-ID: <3l7gdm$j...@st-james.comp.vuw.ac.nz>
OK, Here is the creation story for all NZ newsgroups:
nz.general
nz.netstatus
The original two. Created with no discussion (there was noone to discuss
with) when we first started getting news in the country. They will be 10
years old later this year (happy birthday to you ...)
nz.arts
nz.comp
nz.rec
nz.soc
nz.soc.green
nz.wanted
nz.archives
Created after a usenet BOF at a Uniforum NZ conference attended by many of
the then news administrators. We got flamed about creating these without
consulting the masses so introduced a voting scheme of two week period, 20+
votes required, simple majority (I think, something like that anyway).
nz.alex
The vote was rigged and the newgroup was ignored (you had to be there)
nz.molbio
voted for and passed under the above voting scheme. The group was
eventually removed due to lack of traffic.
nz.politics
nz.org.net-society
voted for and passed under revised voting schemes allowing for the growth
in the net population.
nz.test
A technical group created after discussion when a need was identified.
------------------------------------
Subject: 1.2 What nz.* groups are there?
The following is a list of the currently recognized nz.* newsgroups. These
groups should be covered by all sites that claim to carry the nz.*
hierarchy.
nz.arts
=======
Discussion of television, exhibitions and books etc. Traffic is fairly
light and as with several of the smaller groups much of the traffic that
would normally be expected to take place in this group goes on in
nz.general instead.
nz.biz.misc
===========
This is a moderated forum for the posting of commercial messages including
those advertising Jobs. All messages must follow a set format (see the FAQ
posted to the group). The group is currently moderated by a team of
moderators. Submissions should be sent to n...@usenet.net.nz while the
moderators can be contacted via nbm...@usenet.net.nz.
nz.comp
=======
Anything computer related.
e.g. why modems need telepermits, Good computer companies.
For-sale and Jobs posts should go to nz.wanted or nz.biz.misc.
nz.general
==========
The cesspool of the nz.* hierarchy, Everything tends to be discussed
here with other groups only picking up the scraps.
Examples: speed cameras, Shortland Street, Current affairs.
If at all possible, you should use a more specialized nz.* group in order
to make sure your post stands out from the clutter.
nz.net.announce
===============
This is a moderated group for posting important announcements on Internet
links and services in New Zealand. The group is moderated to prevent chat
and to reduce the number of unwanted posts. All discussion on posts to this
group should take place elsewhere, usually nz.net.admin. The guidelines
for posting to the group are regularly posted and the moderators' address
is n...@usenet.net.nz.
nz.net.admin
============
This group provides a forum for the discussion of issues surrounding
the Internet in New Zealand. Queries as to the status of various services
should be posted to this group as well as follow-ups on posts to
nz.net.announce. Discussion of newsgroups reorganizations with the nz.*
hierarchy should also take place here.
nz.politics.announce
====================
nz.politics.announce is a moderated forum for the posting of official
press releases, election results and announcements by Government bodies and
other entities involved in the political process and government of New
Zealand.
Since the group is not intended as a discussion medium followups must be
directed to another newsgroup (usually nz.politics) or to the poster.
Articles will be crossposted only at the moderators' discretion and normal
official announcements should not be crossposted to nz.politics
The following (or their spokespersons) may post Official Information,
statements, announcements and releases to the group:
* Ministers of the Crown.
* Members of Parliament.
* Registered political parties.
* Candidates in General and by-elections.
* The Electoral Commission.
* The Chief Electoral Officer.
* The Registrar of Electors.
* The Clerk of the Writs.
* The Representation Commission.
In addition the following may be posted
* Administrative posts and Information about the Newsgroup
* FAQs related to politics in New Zealand.
* Announcements of online political resources, mailing lists, newsgroups
and web sites.
Posts must be in plain text and have a legitimate from address that will
reach the author. Anonymous post are not accepted.
Posts which contain substantially the same text may not be posted more
than once every two weeks and the moderators may place a limit on a
particular entity's posts provided this is not less than 10 posts and/or
30 kilobytes per day.
nz.politics
===========
All forms of political discussion relating to New Zealand.
nz.rec
======
Sports, games, and other outdoor and indoor activities.
nz.reg.*
========
Any posts which deal with things of interest to or about the area or
region are welcome and on-topic in this group. This includes discussions
of local activities and events, local non-commercial buy/sell/wanted
posts, local issues and personalities and anything else that relates to
the area covered by the group.
The following things are not welcome:
Binaries
Chain letters, including "Make Money Fast" articles
Known hoaxes (like the "Good Times Virus")
Articles posted as separate copies to several newsgroups (spam)
Articles excessively cross-posted (see below for details)
Articles containing significantly more quoted than new content
Duplicate/rapidly reposted messages
Commercial messages of any kind.
Also crossposts to any non-regional nz.* group are by definition off-topic
unless a follow-up to only one group is set. If you are posting
something in nz.general or nz.wanted then there is no need to post it in
say nz.reg.auckland.general
Crossposts to other regional groups may be appropriate if the post deals
with something that crosses some regional boundaries. An example may be a
post talking about using the Waikato River to supply water to Auckland.
This may be appropriate for both nz.reg.auckland.general and
nz.reg.hamilton.general.
If it is cross-posted to more than four regional groups then it should be
in nz.general/nz.politics/nz.wanted etc., as appropriate. Cross-posts to
every regional group will be regarded as spamming and abusive behavior.
Crossposts to other groups such as misc.transport.urban may be
appropriate but in any case cross posts to more than four groups are
considered unwelcome.
An exception may me made to the crosspost limit for FAQs, CFVs and other
administrative posts.
nz.soc
======
Social issues, traffic is very light.
nz.soc.green
============
All sorts of 'green' issues relating to the environment, many posts are
articles forwarded from other publications or electronic forums.
nz.soc.maori
============
Any posts which deal with things of interest to or about Maori are
welcome and on-topic in this group. This includes discussions of
local/national hui and events, international enquiries, translations
from and into Maori and English, promotion of Maori language, news and
views, Maori initiatives, and anything else that relates to the area
covered by the group."
nz.soc.queer
============
nz.soc.queer is a forum for the discussion of issues relating to the New
Zealand queer community. It is a discussion group to cater for people who
feel themselves to be excluded from the "straight" community because of
sexuality or gender orientation issues. This includes, but is not limited
to: gay men, lesbians, bisexual men and women, transgendered people,
people in multiple-partnered relationships, friends of any of the above,
and those who are curious or unsure.
This is NOT a valid forum for discussion of the "correctness" or otherwise,
of any of the previously mentioned orientations/preferences. Other
newsgroups exist where this discussion can occur.
This is NOT a valid forum for hate posts against the previously mentioned
orientations/preferences.
nz.soc.religion
===============
Any posts discussing religion generally, specific religions, faiths,
plus philosophy and ethics as it relates to religious backgrounds are
all on-topic for this group.
The following things are not welcome:
Binaries
Chain letters, including "Make Money Fast" articles
Known hoaxes (like the "Good Times Virus")
Articles posted as separate copies to several newsgroups (spam)
Articles excessively cross-posted
Articles containing significantly more quoted than new content
Duplicate/rapidly reposted messages
Commercial messages of any kind.
nz.tech
=======
This is an unmoderated newsgroup.
Examples of on-topic discussions could include:
Design & Creation
Implementation & Installation
Set-up & Configuration
Use & Abuse
Maintenance & Repair
Upgrading & Re-fitting
Decommissioning & Disposal
of technologies including, but not limited to:
Infrastructure (Railways, electric lines, fibre-optic cables, etc.)
Buildings (Houses, sky-scrapers, shopping-malls, space-stations, etc.)
Vehicles (Planes, trains, automobiles, submarines, rockets, etc.)
Home Appliances (Fridge-freezers, hair-dryers, dust-busters, etc.)
Business Machines (Photo-copiers, chainsaws, assembly-lines, etc.)
Leisure Equipment (Model railways, zambonis, fish-finders, etc.)
Entertainment Systems (Video games, audio-visual equipment, etc.)
In short, anything to which an electronics or engineering specialty
applies (practical applications of the physical sciences) is likely to
be an on-topic area.
The following topics may be tangentially relevant in nz.tech, but
should be taken elsewhere if they become central to a discussion:
Computers and related software and equipment (On-topic in nz.comp.*)
Artistic design (Fashion, advertising, cake-icing, landscaping, etc.)
(On-topic in nz.arts.*)
"Lifestyle" activities (Cooking, gardening, travel, etc.)
The normal use of Leisure equipment (On-topic in nz.rec.*)
What is not acceptable:
- HTML posting
- Binaries (post a URL instead)
- Crossposting to more than 2 other newsgroups
- Commercial advertisements
- Auction advertisements
- Flaming and ad-hominem attacks
- Spam and chain letters
nz.test
=======
For test posts. See Section 8.0 for more information.
nz.wanted
=========
The place to post non-commercial For-Sale, Wanted, Looking for people and
personals. See Section 8.0 for more information.
------------------------------------
Subject: 1.3 Recent Traffic Statistics.
June 2003 nz.* Hierarchy Postings Statistics
Newsgroup Articles Kilobytes
==================================================================
nz.arts 14 26
nz.biz.misc 0
nz.comp 3457 6019
nz.general 8221 18600
nz.net.announce 5 59
nz.net.admin 17 89
nz.politics.announce 290 2039
nz.politics 6045 15911
nz.rec 16 21
nz.soc 8 28
nz.soc.green 34 114
nz.soc.maori 120 285
nz.soc.religion 202 1069
nz.soc.queer 1166 3254
nz.reg.bay-of-plenty.general 17 33
nz.reg.auckland.general 173 356
nz.reg.dunedin.general 348 599
nz.reg.canterbury.general 409 943
nz.reg.hawkes-bay.general 5 14
nz.reg.northland.general 13 22
nz.reg.manawatu.general 4 12
nz.reg.hamilton.general 33 52
nz.reg.nelson.general 7 16
nz.reg.gisborne.general 5 15
nz.reg.taranaki.general 39 71
nz.reg.west-coast.general 7 19
nz.reg.southland.general 21 34
nz.reg.wellington.general 246 422
nz.tech 372 679
nz.test 39 37
nz.wanted 359 562
Total for all groups: 16560 38433
Note: Each group's total counts all articles posted to that group, but
crossposted articles are only counted once towards the overall total
------------------------------------
Subject: 2.0 Recent Votes.
nz.org.net-society
==================
This group was proposed by Simon Lyall <si...@darkmere.gen.nz> in late 1994
to cover non-technical Net issues and also to provide a forum for the newly
created Network Society. The number of votes required for it to pass was set
at at least 50 total and of these two thirds had to be yes. The group easily
gained this and passed by 106 to 6.
nz.org.isocnz
=============
Don Neal <dn...@waikato.ac.nz> proposed this group in early 1995 to cover
the New Zealand chapter of the Internet Society that was being setup at the
time. It's vote was conducted under the same rules as the previous
nz.org.net-society vote. It failed to be created when despite the large
majority in favor ( 37:2 ) the minimum number of total votes (50) was not
reached.
Another vote was held a few months later and the groups was created after
the vote passed 45:0
nz.biz.misc & nz.biz.misc.discuss
=================================
These were created under a 2:1 & majority of 20 rule. Both just passed
by 22:2.
nz.org.ipenz
============
This vote caused some problems. The proponent <Pe...@nzeipenz.co.nz>
posted a non-standard CFV after very little discussion and mostly
negative feedback. There were several problems with the voting address
with several people claiming that their votes did not get through. When
the result was published there were also several votes from overseas
addresses and one on behalf of someone else. General dissatisfaction has
meant that the group has not been created.
nz.soc.queer
============
Mark Proffit <prof...@iprolink.co.nz> proposed this group in late 1995
after strong success of a similar mailing list. The vote was under a 2/3
and 25 rules and passed by 53 to 2.
nz.net.announce & nz.net.admin
==============================
Simon Lyall <si...@darkmere.gen.nz> proposed these to replace
nz.netstatus which many felt was becoming to cluttered with chatter
which made it difficult to find important posts. After much discussion a
two part vote was held. The first part was to split nz.netstatus into the
two new groups and passed 58 to 5 while the second part was to moderate
nz.net.announce and this passed 46 to 13. Both votes were under a 2/3rds
yes and 25 difference rule.
nz.reg.*
========
The groups were proposed by David Farrar <da...@home.net.nz> during late
1997 in order to give a place for local discussion and to replace several
ad-hoc and poorly distributed local hierarchies. All groups passed under a
a 2/3rds yes and 25 difference rule.
nz.soc.religion
===============
Proposed by Patrick Dunford <patrick...@xtra.co.nz> and David Farrar
<da...@home.net.nz> in early to hold the large amount of religious
discussion that was dominating nz.general. It passed under the 2/3rds yes
and 25 difference rule.
nz.politics.announce
====================
This group passed 42:4 in early 1998.
nz.reg.canterbury.general
=========================
Following complaints regarding religion spam nz.reg.christchurch.general
was renamed to nz.reg.canterbury.general in April 1999. The vote was
proposed by Duncan McCormack and Luke Pickering and passed 57 to 18.
nz.soc.maori
============
Was propose by Karaitiana Taiuru in late 2002 and passed 35 to 3.
nz.tech
=======
Dane Hawker proposed the group in late 2002 (originally as nz.audio-visual)
since non-computer technology was off topic for nz.comp. It was voted on
in Feburary 2003 and passes 39:0
------------------------------------
Subject: 3.0 Bogus Groups
The following groups may be present at some sites or may occasionally
appear in the "Newsgroups:" header. However none of them are currently
regarded as legitimate nz.* groups and should be ignored/removed.
If you are aware of an ISP that carries these groups please ask them to
remove them.
nz.archives
===========
Removed in mid 98 due to lack of on-topic traffic
nz.biz.misc.discuss
===================
Removed in early 98 due to lack of on-topic traffic
nz.forsale
==========
This group is not widely propagated and does not appear on the some of the
official lists of groups. Most of the traffic in the group is international
advertisers crossposting to *.forsale, use nz.wanted instead.
nz.gen.kiwi.3tt
===============
This group exists in the imagination of Neville D <n...@3tt.kiwi.gen.nz>
who has in the past put forward a belief that sites should have a
corresponding newsgroup. This idea has not been well supported among the
New Zealand Usenet community and Neville is regularly flamed when he
crossposts his messages to this group.
nz.molbio
=========
This group was originally created to deal with the subject of 'Molecular
Biology' but it seems nobody was much interested in that subject so after
a couple of years and almost no posts it was removed in early 1995.
nz.netstatus
============
Replaced with nz.net.*, see Section 2.0
nz.org.ipenz
============
Several problems with the vote, see Section 2.0.
nz.org.nzcs
===========
Failed vote, see Section 2.0.
nz.org.net-society
==================
Removed in late 97 due to lack of on-topic traffic
nz.reg.christchurch.general
===========================
Replaced with nz.reg.canterbury.general, See Section 2.0
nz.org.isocnz
=============
Following the renaming of the Internet Society of New Zealand to
InternetNZ this group and other forums being available for non-members to
discuss it's activities this group became inactive. It was removed in
early 2003 with the approval of InternetNZ.
------------------------------------
Subject: 4.0 Creating a new nz.* group
The procedures for creating a new nz.* group are similar to that of
creating a 'Big Eight' (ie news.*,comp.*,soc.*..) group except they are on
a smaller scale and less formal. Below is a recommended procedure for
creating a new group.
NOTE: This is only a recommendation, their are *no* formal rules, however
a group that passes using these procedures has a good chance of being
accepted by administrators.
I would be very happy to help you if you have any questions.
(Borrowed from the Introduction to rec.arts.comics Newsgroups FAQ)
Any proposed split or new group will have to be well justified:
A. Is the group easily and clearly defined? Given any post, would it
go in the new group or an existing one?
B. Is current group traffic too high? Will the split reduce it?
C. Will the split save time? There's no point in splitting if most
people will read both the old group and the new group.
D. Is there sufficient traffic already about the topic? Usenet is not
"Field of Dreams".
E. Will the topic exist for years to come? Newsgroups don't die so easily.
F. Will at least a 2/3rds super-majority of voters want to create it?
1) Decide what you want exactly.
================================
This means you should think about what sort of group you are after,
answer to yourself questions like:
* Does it need to be moderated?
* Would a mailing list be a better idea?
* Does the traffic justify it?
* Would an International group serve the topic better?
* Where should it roughly go?
2) Post a Request for Discussion (RFD)
=======================================
This should be crossposted to at least nz.net.announce, nz.net.admin and
nz.general to insure that everybody will see it. Try an include as much
information about the group as you can including a possible charter. If
you want ideas on what to write take a look at news.announce.newsgroups
and read the various RFDs and CFVs that are posted there.
Note: nz.net.announce is moderated so there may be a delay of a couple
of days before your RFD is sent, the moderators of the group may also
contact you about the RFD to check some points.
Don't forget to set your follow-ups to nz.net.admin since all discussion
should take place there
With a bit of luck you will get half a dozen people following up your
RFD with "good idea, go for it" type messages and no critism whatsoever.
However in the real world (or real Usenet in this case) you are likely to
get several people questioning points you raise, pointing out silly
spelling mistakes and generally trying to pick holes in your proposal.
The thing to remember is to take account of what these people say. If
they suggest another name consider the possibility. If they say that your
charter is not clear enough on some point then try to make it clearer.
Remember some people are naturally suspicious and will make the strangest
assumptions from they see written in your RFD. The most important thing
to remember is that the RFD has to stand by itself without any other
explanations needed.
At this point you might also like to consider finding some one to count
the vote if you proposal goes that far. Ideally the person should be
neutral on the topic(or at least seen to be), known to a few people other
than yourself (a academic staff member is a good choice if you are at
university) and familiar with the basic processes of Usenet and group
votes.
To assist in deciding what to put in your RFD you might like to check out
the documents at:
3) 2nd RFD
==========
If your proposal is pretty much accepted by everybody then you can skip
this step and go straight onto the CFV. However usually you will have a
few changes as a result of feedback from your first RFD. These should be
incorporated in a 2ndRFD which is posted in much the same way as the first.
Once again take account of any feedback and if need be you might even
want to do a 3rd RFD if there are lots of changes in your proposal.
4) 1st Call For Votes (CFV)
===========================
Once you have arranged everything with your vote-taker you should issue
the first Call for Votes or CFV. Like the RFD(s) this should be
cross-posted to nz.general,nz.net.announce and nz.net.admin (and other
groups as necessary) with follow-ups directed to nz.net.admin. In
addition the "Reply-To:" header should have the address of the
vote-taker so people can send in their votes just be replying to the
message. Take a look in news.announce.newgroups for examples of CFVs and
how to structure them.
5) 2nd CFV
==========
This should be sent out about a week after the first CFV and be pretty
much identical. It is merely to ensure that people who missed the first
CFV have a chance to vote.
6) Important points for the vote-taker
======================================
* All votes should be acknowledged by Email, this is so that the voter
knows that his/her vote has got through and been counted by the vote-taker.
If a vote is not acknowledged within a day or two by the vote-taker the
voter *must* assume that the vote has failed to get through and should
re-vote. This should be spelled out in the CFV.
* The vote-taker must not tell anyone (including the proponent) about the
number or nature of the votes received while the vote is taking place. If
this is done so the vote is immediately null and void. Obviously is
some circumstances it may be necessary to discuss the vote with other
people (such as ones system administrator if possible forged votes are
being administrated) but in all these cases no indication of the overall
result should be given.
* Only one vote per person and one vote per account. Anonymous votes
should not be accepted, nor proxies or votes from 'system' accounts (such
as root or postmaster) unless a name is attached. Also votes where the
acknowledgement bounces should be treated with suspicion.
* It should be stated before-hand if votes from outside *.nz will be
accepted.
7) The Result
=============
After voting has closed the the vote-taker is satisfied as to the
legality of the votes received (and discarded any illegal ones) he/she
should determine the result.
Please note: The exact number of votes needed to create and nz.* group is
currently still under debate. These numbers given below are around those
that have been suggested. In any case the exact numbers for needed for a
particular vote to succeed should be listed in the CFV.
The vote should be counted as having passed if the number of YES votes is
at least twice the number of NO votes *and* there are at least 25 more
YES than NO votes.
After the result has been determined the vote-taker should post it to all
the groups the the CFV was posted to (with appropriate follow ups) and
list the names of all the voters and which way they voted.
If there are no major disputes the group(s) voted in favor of should be
created.
To make sure you vote has the best chance of being created after a
successful vote has occurred you should get Mark Davies
<ma...@comp.vuw.ac.nz> and ro...@usenet.net.nz to both send out messages
to create the group.
------------------------------------
Subject: 5.0 Sample Configuration Files
This section is for news administrators to enable them to carry the correct
nz.* groups. It contains a checkgroups file and for those sites that run INN
control.ctl and moderators file entries are included as well as the PGP key
used to issue control messages for nz.* groups.
The checkgroups entry for nz.* is as follows, in order to run this by hand
you can use the "docheckgroups" program included in the INN distribution.
--cut-here--
nz.arts Discussion on the Arts.
nz.biz.misc Moderated group for commercial postings. (Moderated)
nz.comp Computing and computers.
nz.general General information, announcements, etc
nz.net.announce Status of Local & International Networks (Moderated)
nz.net.admin Administrative issues to do with the National Network.
nz.politics.announce Political and government announcements. (Moderated)
nz.politics Politics
nz.rec Recreation.
nz.soc Social issues.
nz.soc.green Environmental issues.
nz.soc.maori Discussion of Maori related topics and issues.
nz.soc.queer Discussion of issues related to the NZ queer community.
nz.soc.religion Eternal debates and discussion
nz.tech Gadgets, electronics and technology in New Zealand
nz.test NZ hierarchy test messages.
nz.wanted Requests for sources, information, ...
nz.reg.bay-of-plenty.general Plenty to talk about in the BoP
nz.reg.auckland.general All about the City of Sails and Region
nz.reg.dunedin.general NZ's Edinburgh is discussed all right here
nz.reg.canterbury.general Tales from the Garden City & Canterbury
nz.reg.hawkes-bay.general The sunny wine capital of NZ
nz.reg.northland.general Cyberdiscussion of the far North
nz.reg.manawatu.general Palmie North and Wanganui on-topic here
nz.reg.hamilton.general Where it's happening.
nz.reg.nelson.general The top talk of the South Island
nz.reg.gisborne.general First to see the sun each day
nz.reg.taranaki.general Taranaki - the energy province
nz.reg.west-coast.general There's gold in those postings
nz.reg.southland.general Net Discussions frrrom the deep south
nz.reg.wellington.general Absolutely positively capital posts
--cut-here--
The following are extracts from files used by the INN news-server.
The following should be placed in the "control.ctl" file. This ensures that
groups will only be created or removed if signed by ro...@usenet.net.nz.
--cut-here--
## NZ (New Zealand)
# Contact ro...@usenet.net.nz
# PGP fingerprint: 07 DF 48 AA D0 ED AA 88 16 70 C5 91 65 3D 1A 28
newgroup:ro...@usenet.net.nz:nz.*:verify-nz-hir-control
rmgroup:ro...@usenet.net.nz:nz.*:verify-nz-hir-control
checkgroups:ro...@usenet.net.nz:nz.*:verify-nz-hir-control
--cut-here--
The following key (identified as "nz-hir-control" ) should be added to the
pgpring that your software uses:
-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
Version: 2.6.3i
mQCNAzNYhVkAAAEEAMtQi97id2CiV5TFAqB0xWP2S+4+dEx7lqvh/yXdAmMKHgUH
UFckf6+Nm62JGjzAvInoKdRN59zL1dYoAB/ZHzthWOlOaleGWM729txFlk6JBuoW
A/esv+P0BmG/RslIhp7Cyi9oySdFdQvUzd6RFBybJEC+Q0DCvvsII0K45VLFAAUR
tA5uei1oaXItY29udHJvbIkAlQMFEDNYhVn7CCNCuOVSxQEBi/ED/3eZE6LDVYgA
IlGgKn3jXK/vECvE3URq9XKdsBQovxEJz1AQEvhJuHzjap5JfbUTqqITZMfmqL6Z
IOZeCdGGrKw/SqFRM5Knq1Km6uK2D84m2n2zepsvqHb4IDY6j03pZJAd0r2EAMV+
QOVP7HJ8qn7hgFSiZUuu4Afr7v3K2qfb
=aND1
-----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
You can also place the following entry in your "moderators" file if you wish.
It ensures that all posts to moderated nz.* groups are forwarded to the
correct moderator at usenet.net.nz.
--cut-here--
nz.*:%s...@usenet.net.nz
--cut-here--
This entry should be placed *before* a default entry at the end of the file.
------------------------------------
Subject: 7.0 Netiquette in the nz.* hierarchy.
As well as general Usenet netiquette (see the introductory posts in
news.announce.newusers) the nz.* groups have their own particular
guidelines for posters.
Finding the right group
=======================
Check through the list of nz.* groups (see section 1.2) for an idea of
what groups there are and where best to post your article. Avoid
crossposting if possible and go for the group most specific to your post,
you should only post to nz.general if no other group covers the subject of
your post.
Crossposts & Multiposts
=======================
Avoid these if possible, if you crosspost your message to more than a
four groups or send the same message several time 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 you 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 followups 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 nz.* hierarchy. The large number of small
sites that get nz.* groups and high costs of phone calls for many are the
main reason behind this. A single picture can take up more space than a
day's worth of nz.* posts . If you post a binary attachment to your post
such as a picture, sound, movie orother file you will be violating this rule.
Most ISPs will filter out the post and complaints may be sent to your ISP.
If you wish to distribute a binary you should use an alt.binaries.* group or
put it on a Web site.
Commercial posts.
=================
These should be restricted to nz.biz.* groups. All other groups forbid
these being posted. nz.wanted should be used for non-commercial
advertising only.
Test Messages
=============
Don't post test messages to discussion groups, use nz.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 clear english, 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 if interest to the
author of the original post. To that end you should post using your real
email address.
* 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 newsgroups 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 nz.* 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 web site or business.
------------------------------------
Subject: 8.0 Other Frequently Asked Questions
Here are a few FAQs relating to Usenet in New Zealand, please let me
know if you are aware of any others or have additional info on the ones
already listed.
How do I post to nz.test?
=========================
nz.test may be posted to the same way as another unmoderated nz.* group,
however there are several sites ( Waikato, Victoria & Auckland
Universities plus others) that automaticly send you a message so that
you know that your posting software/newsfeed is working. To prevent
these sites from responding to your posts include the word "ignore" in
the Subject.
If the article leaks overseas you might also get responses from many
sites around the world to you post. To prevent this you could try setting
the distribution of your article to "nz".
Should I used nz.wanted or nz.forsale?
======================================
You should use nz.wanted for all posts including 'For-Sale' notices.
nz.forsale is a bogus group is carried on very few sites. Messages of a
commercial nature should be avoided in nz.wanted. The nz.biz.misc group was
created for these.
How do I get nz.* groups outside of New Zealand?
================================================
Google provide a web based interface to most newsgroups via
http://groups.google.com/ , The nz.* groups are under:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&group=nz
Most pay Usenet providers carry the nz.* newsgroups, A list of them
and a guide to using them is provided by Jeremy Nixon at:
http://www.exit109.com/~jeremy/news/providers/
The Open Directory also has another list at:
http://dmoz.org/Computers/Usenet/Feed_Services/
Usenet New Zealand will also provide cheap/free read access or feeds of the
nz.* hierarchy (and others), contact Simon Lyall <si...@darkmere.gen.nz> for
details.
What is usenet.net.nz?
======================
The alias usenet.net.nz has been created to help with some admin issues
with nz.* groups. So far it is only used for moderated nz.* groups but
in the future other services will hopefully be based from it.
------------------------------------
Subject: 9.0 Credits for this FAQ.
* Simon Lyall <si...@darkmere.gen.nz>
Maintainer and misc text.
* Mark Davies <ma...@comp.vuw.ac.nz>
Providing a history and statistics also helping to get Usenet started in
New Zealand in the first place.
* Lin Nah <l....@auckland.ac.nz>
General comments.
Other Information from:
David Chamberlain <da...@leguer.demon.co.uk>
Ash Nallawalla <a...@home.melbpc.org.au>
Terry Bowden <bow...@vnet.IBM.COM>
Alan Brown <al...@manawatu.planet.co.nz>