The Do's and Don'ts of Posting on Google Groups
The easiest way to learn what's acceptable on Usenet is by watching how others use it. Once you've read a few hundred posts and witnessed a few flame wars erupt, you should get a feel for what's appropriate and what's not. To help you get there a bit faster (and to make sure you don't unintentionally set off a flame war of your own), we've included some basic tips that will help you fit into the Usenet community more easily. This guide is adapted from the very helpful "A Primer on How to Work With the Usenet Community" by Chuq Von Rospach. For a more complete guide to Usenet posting rules, search on Google Groups for "usenet posting rules."
Never forget that the person on the other side is human.
Because your interaction is through a computer it is easy to forget that there are people "out there." Situations arise in which emotions erupt into a verbal free-for-all that can lead to hurt feelings. Please remember that people all over the world are reading your words. Don't attack people if you can't persuade them with your presentation of the facts. If you're upset at something or someone, wait until you've had a chance to calm down and think about it. Try not to say anything to others you would not say to them in person in a room full of people.
Don't assume that a person is speaking for their organization.
Many people who post to Usenet do so from machines at their office or school. Despite that, never assume that the person is speaking for the organization that they're posting their articles from (unless the person explicitly says so). Some people put explicit disclaimers to this effect in their messages, but this is a good general rule. If you find an article offensive, consider taking it up with the person directly, or ignoring it.
Be careful what you say about others.
You read these posts; so do millions of other people. This group quite possibly includes people you know and care about. Information posted on the net can come back to haunt you or the person you're talking about. Think twice before you post personal information about yourself or others. Posting personal information even in the most innocuous groups can be extremely hazardous. If you don't want it known by a large segment of the world's population, don't post it.
Be brief.
Never say in ten words what you can say in fewer. The longer you make your article, the fewer people will bother to read it.
Write well.
Most people on Usenet will know you only by what you say and how well you say it. Take the time to make sure your posting won't embarrass you later. Minimize spelling errors and make sure the article is easy to read and understand. Avoid the temptation to WRITE IN ALL CAPS when you want to make a point. Writing is an art that requires practice. On Usenet, you are your words. Choose them carefully.
Use descriptive subject lines.
The subject line helps a person with limited time decide whether or not to read your article. A title like "Car for Sale" posted to rec.autos doesn't convey as much as "66 MG Midget for sale: Campbell CA." Keep your subjects short and to the point.
Think about your audience.
When you post an article, think about the people you're trying to reach. Asking UNIX questions on rec.autos won't reach as many of the people you want to reach as if you asked them on comp.unix.questions or comp.unix.internals. Try to get the most appropriate audience for your message, not the widest.
Similarly, it's considered bad form to post to a general interest group like misc.misc, soc.net-people, or misc.wanted and then post the same message to some other, more targeted newsgroup. If it belongs in the targeted newsgroup, it doesn't belong in the broader one.
If your message is of interest to a limited geographic area (apartments, car sales, meetings, concerts, etc...), restrict the distribution of the message to your local area. Look for newsgroups targeting users interested in your particular geographic region.
Be familiar with a group before you post to it. You shouldn't post to groups you don't read, or post to groups you've only read a few articles from - you may not be familiar with the groups's ongoing conventions and themes. One normally doesn't join a conversation by just walking up and talking. Instead, listen first and then join in if you have something pertinent to contribute.
Be careful with humor and sarcasm.
Without the voice inflections and body language of personal communications, it's easy for a remark meant to be funny to be misinterpreted. Subtle humor tends to get lost, so take steps to make sure that people realize you are trying to be funny. The net has developed symbols called emoticons to help convey emotions. A common one is :-) for a smiley face (look at it sideways) which generally means "this is meant to be funny."
Be aware that satire is often posted without any explicit warnings. If you find an article outrageous, ask yourself if it may be intentionally inflammatory. Don't post a self-righteous rebuttal if you suspect someone is just fishing for users with low humor thresholds.
Only post a message once.
Avoid posting messages to more than one newsgroup unless you're sure it's appropriate. If you do post to multiple newsgroups, don't post to each group separately. Instead, specify all the groups on a single copy of the message. This reduces network overhead and lets people who subscribe to more than one group see the message once instead of having to wade through each copy.
Use mail instead of posting a follow-up.
Frequently, when someone asks a question, many people send out identical answers. This leads to congestion and confusion. It's better to email your answer directly to the poster and suggest they summarize to the network. That way, others only see a single copy of the answer, no matter how many people respond.
Summarize what you're following up.
When you click "Reply" at the bottom of any post to follow up an existing article, Google Groups includes the full article in quotes, with the cursor at the top of the article. Tempting though it is to just start typing your message, please STOP and do two things first. Look at the quoted text and remove parts that are irrelevant. Then, go to the BOTTOM of the article and start typing there. Doing this makes it much easier for your readers to get through your post. They'll have a reminder of the relevant text before your comment, but won't have to re-read the entire article. And if your reply appears on a site before the original article does, they'll get the gist of what you're talking about.
Cite appropriate references.
If you're using facts to support your point, state where they came from. Don't take someone else's ideas and use them as your own. You don't want someone pretending that your ideas are theirs; show them the same respect. For example, much of this FAQ was derived from a post that has been widely disseminated across Usenet. You can find that post by searching for [usenet primer author:netannounce@deshaw.com] on Google Groups.
Mark answers and spoilers.
When you post something that might spoil a surprise for other people (like a movie review that gives away the ending), please mark your message with a warning so that readers can skip the message if they don't want to know that particular detail.
Limit line length and avoid control characters.
Try to keep your lines of text to less than 80 characters for optimal readability. If people quote part of your article in a followup, short lines will show up better. Hitting return when you get to the end of the Google Groups entry form will put a line break after each 80 characters.
Please don't use Usenet as an advertising medium.
Advertisements on Usenet are rarely appreciated. In general, the louder or more inappropriate the ad is, the more antagonism it stirs up. Just think how annoying it is to you to have your evening meal interrupted by a telemarketer. The feeling is the same when someone posts inappropriate commercial messages in a newsgroup. If in doubt, don't do it.
Avoid posting to multiple newsgroups.
Few things annoy Usenet readers as much as multiple copies of a posting appearing in multiple newsgroups (called "spamming"). A posting that is cross-posted (i.e. lists multiple newsgroups on the Newsgroups: header line) to a few appropriate newsgroups is fine, but even with cross-posts, restraint is advised.