FAQ - biz.marketplace.discussion -
Chris Gunn
(Moderated)
Frequently Asked Questions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Charter: biz.marketplace.discussion provides a forum for discussions about
issues related to the biz.marketplace hierarchy. This forum may
include topics related to the appropriateness of certain posts,
the
intricacies and nettiquette of posting advertisements, and
questions
about the UseNet marketplace. Commercial advertising is
prohibited. It is the moderators sole responsibility and
unquestioned authority to ensure that articles adhere to the
charter.
Q. Is advertising allowed on biz.marketplace.discussion?
A. Advertising is NOT allowed in biz.marketplace.discussion. The reason
for
the group is discussion of biz.marketplace issues and the appropriate
methods for putting the newsgroups to work. In severe cases, the
moderators may ask your Internet Provider (ISP) to cancel your account.
Anything that sounds remotely like it may be a Chain Letter, Ponzi, or
other unethical business practice may be selectively forwarded to NFIC
for investigation. If your message qualifies for alt.make.money.fast,
it
doesn't belong on the biz groups.
Although some groups may be for advertising, the best way to get a
reader's attention is through a good discussion thread. Very few will
buy a magazine just to read advertising. It's the interesting articles
and good bargains that get pages turned and TV channels tuned.
Q. What happens if I ignore the rules and try to post advertising to
biz.marketplace.discussion?
A. The biz.marketplace.services.discussion newsgroup is moderated, the
moderators being Christopher G. Gunn and Jeff Norton. The UseNet News
mechanism at both the user interface and transport level does not permit
posting or propagation of an article without the moderators approval.
Instead, it E-Mails them to the moderator's address for approval and
posting.
Q. If my messages are rejected, how will I know why?
A. Whenever possible, the moderators will respond to rejected messages
explaining the problem. If you use a fake or bogus address, obviously
the moderators cannot reach you.
If message posters demonstrate they won't voluntarily cooperate, they
will be placed on the blocking list for automatic rejection. That
results in your messages being blocked to all @bizynet.com addresses,
which includes moderated newsgroups and E-Mail. To have your access
restored, you may have a friend send a message to the moderator
explaining the problem.
Q. Do all messages have to be in English?
A. Although most of the messages you see on the biz groups are in English,
it's not a requirement. Messages in other languages are welcome as well
as using the entire IBM ASCII character set so you can spell your name
properly. Posting in your language, with a translation in English, will
give you the widest audience.
Q. Is it okay to advertise MLM opportunities?
A. Because of the tendency for MLM'rs to over saturate, make exaggerated
earning claims, and drive off newsgroup readers, Multi-Level Marketing
ads are discouraged and belong only on newsgroups which are chartered
for
MLM purposes.
Q. What's the best way to present my business on the newsgroups?
A. Folks you'd like to be doing business with will make their decisions
based on their impression of your messages. During a discussion, you
may
read messages from someone who has an opinion totally different from
yours. Feel free to discuss the difference of opinion but try to avoid
getting hurt feelings involved. You will be asked to use E-Mail if
messages are personal attacks or the language belongs elsewhere.
Messages are expected to come from legitimate addresses. Attempts to
avoid E-Mail responses and anonymous messages will be rejected. We
realize it's nice to avoid getting on E-Mail lists but it also makes the
moderator's job harder. We also encourage the use of real names in
From:
lines rather than funny handles or trying use it as advertising.
Q. Is there any specific format which messages should follow?
A. Articles should reflect a professional and business like attitude and be
limited to plain text and the upper 128 IBM ASCII characters. Messages
that contain HTML or MIME encoding will be rejected. Set your margins
for a maximum of 80 characters per line so everyone can easily read your
posting.
Q. Why do my messages sometimes not appear in the newsgroups?
A. If you cross-post to a "(Moderated)" newsgroup such as biz.general, the
message is sent to the Moderator as E-Mail instead of being posted to
the newsgroups. The Moderator then decides what will appear in the
newsgroup itself. If accepted, you may not see your message until the
next day or so. Please do not cross-post to Moderated newsgroups and
post to them only as individual messages.
Q. What if I want to avoid the E-Mail spammers?
A. Messages are expected to come from legitimate addresses. Attempts to
avoid E-Mail responses and anonymous messages may be rejected. We
realize it's nice to avoid getting on E-Mail lists but it also makes the
moderator's job harder. More important, it's like trying to do business
with an unlisted phone number. We also encourage the use of real names
in From: lines rather than funny handles or trying use it as
advertising.
Q. If my messages are cancelled, how will I know why?
A. Whenever possible, the moderators will respond to rejected messages
explaining the problem. Your voluntary cooperation will usually be
requested before cancels are issued.
Q. How can I advertise without getting into trouble?
A. Some newsgroups do accept advertising. Don't go by the messages you
see.
Check the charters to be sure and what you wish to promote fits within
the topic area before posting. For the "biz" hierarchy in general,
please refer to the biz meta-FAQ posted on biz.config periodically by Ed
Hew, the biz Newsgroup Authority.
Please feel free to ask for additional details. The BIZynet network
<http://www.bizynet.com> offers a variety of services for advertising
and conducting business via the E-Ways (Electronic Highways).
Drop by http://www.bizynet.com/faq-news.htm to access all of the biz
newsgroups FAQ's. Click the [Return to Index] button to find even
more information on how to get the most from the newsgroups. Our
@bizynet.com domain is a respected E-Mail address for business folks
for many reasons.
We hope you'll find biz.marketplace.discussion both enjoyable and
profitable,
Chris Gunn
<cg...@bizynet.com>
www.bizynet.com and www.bizycart.com