[FAQ] rec.games.trading-cards.jyhad FAQ
Peter D Bakija
Contents:
1. What is this newsgroup for?
2. How do I set up an account?
3. Why is the group called rec.games.trading-cards.jyhad?
4. Why can't I post trades or sales here?
5. Where can I post trades or sales?
6. How do I behave as a model newsgroup citizen?
7. What does this abbreviation mean?
8. What are clan newsletters?
1. What is this newsgroup for?
rec.games.trading-cards.jyhad is an unmoderated usenet discussion group
dedicated to the discussion of the collectible card game Vampire: The
Eternal Struggle (VTES). rec.games.trading-cards.jyhad can be read and
posted on through any usenet capable newsreader program or on the web at
http://groups.google.com. Google Groups is currently beta testing Google
Groups 2, which responds much quicker than regular Google Groups (i.e. your
posts show up in minutes, rather than hours), which can be accessed at
http://groups-beta.google.com
On either version of Google Groups, search for rec.games.trading-cards.jyhad
and you'll link to the VTES newsgroup. Be sure to realize, however, that
when you are using Google Groups, you are using a web interface for a Usenet
newsgroup, and that not everyone is using Goggle Groups (most folks use a
newsreader), and if you are having trouble on Goggle Groups and ask for help
on the newsgroup, make sure to point out that you are using Google Groups.
Appropriate topics of discussion include, but are not limited to, strategy,
deck design, game design, game balance, tournament announcements and
reports, and pretty much anything else related to the playing of VTES. By
virtue of the group's original charter, posts about trades, auctions and
sales of VTES cards are not allowed in this group.
The group was created in 1994. The original charter of the group is as
follows:
Discussion of the trading card game "Jyhad". Topics will include the rules
of the game, strategies for playing the game and information about the
various cards and expansions sets for the game, as well as other topics
deemed to be specific to Jyhad. Postings regarding sales, auctions, or
trades of Jyhad cards are not permitted in this group, as they belong in the
companion newsgroup r.g.?.marketplace.
The original charter is archived at:
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=rec.games.deckmaster-reorg-RESULT%40uun
et.uu.net
2. How do I set up an account?
Instructions for using google groups or configuring outlook express to read
the newsgroup can be found at:
http://www.thelasombra.com/how_to_access_newsgroup.txt
If your isp does not carry rec.games.trading-cards.jyhad, and you do not
like using google groups, visit http://news.individual.net/register.html for
other ideas for access to the newsgroup.
3. Why is the group called rec.games.trading-cards.jyhad?
When VTES was originally released, it was called Jyhad. Its name was changed
to Vampire: The Eternal Struggle not too long after. No one has ever gone
through the effort to start a new group called rec.games.trading-cards.vtes.
4. Why can't I post trades or sales here?
The original charter of the group prohibited it, presumably to avoid the
group being flooded with trade/sales/auction posts, making the actual
discussion of the game difficult. There are many other avenues for
trading/selling/buying cards online.
5. Where can I post trades or sales?
Originally, a specific newsgroup for this was created
(rec.games.trading-cards.marketplace.misc). Currently, that newsgroup is
mostly (although not completely) full of sales posts and e-bay auctions,
with very little actual trading (although if you look a lot, you might find
some VTES trading occasionally). Most trading seems to be done on specific
trade websites:
-The Communal Haven at http://www.communal-haven.com ,
- http://trade.mahasamatman.com/VTES/
or on the yahoogroups VTES trading listserve ( VTES_T...@yahoogroups.com
).
If you are looking to buy boxes or singles, some good places to check
include:
-The Lasombra (Jeff Thompson) sells boxes at competetive prices as well as
singles at http://www.thelasombra.com.
-Potomac distribution sells boxes and packs, but not singles at
http://www.potomacdist.com.
-e-bay is always a good place to look for good deals, as well as sell your
cards.
6. How do I behave as a model newsgroup citizen?
rec.games.trading-cards.jyhad is an unmoderated newsgroup. This means that
there is no one who specifically exists to make sure the place runs
smoothly, and that everyone needs to police themselves and their neighbors.
To this end, here are a few pointers on how to get along with everyone
nicely on the newsgroup:
A. Lurk before you post. If you are new, watch the newsgroup for a few
days/weeks before you jump in with lengthy discussions/arguments. You'll get
a sense of how folks behave and interact, which is handy.
B. Stay on topic. We are all here to discuss the game VTES. There is a lot
of latitude as to what this means, but if you are posting messages that
aren't even remotely related to VTES, you are probably not doing what you
should be. The occasional completely off topic personal announcement
(births, deaths, marriages, whatever) comes up, as we are a community, and
these are usually greeted with good humor or appropriate response, but you
should probably shy away from starting lengthy discussions about your
favorite video game, movie, or other interests. The occasional off topic
post is generally tolerated by the group as a whole, but if someone
regularly goes way off topic they will usually be called on it and asked to
stop.
C. Quote relevant text that you are responding to. If you are writing a
follow up to someone's post, quote the important parts that you are
responding to--either sentences or paragraphs. Many newsreaders will quote
and indicate quoted text for you, but if you can't figure out how to do
this, you can, at the very least, use >> or << marks at the beginning and
ending of the quoted text. Standard procedure is to place a quote in your
message, and then follow it with your response. No one likes it when people
"top post" (quote an entire message, and then just put your response at the
top of the post) or "me too post" (quote an entire message, and just put at
the top or the bottom "I agree!" or something). If you are going to put the
effort into responding, make it worth everyone's time to read it.
D. Try and use appropriate punctuation and spelling. You are here trying to
communicate with other people, and maybe even defend an argument. While no
one will generally attack you for the occasional typo/misspelling, run-on
sentence, or dangling participle, people like to see an attempt to use
capital letters, correct spelling, and punctuation. Generally, if you write
without these things, your messages will be ignored.
E. Title your posts correctly. People like to be able to sift through posts
by title, so make sure your title is appropriate. It is also nice, if you
are starting a thread of a type that comes up a lot, you put a tag at the
start of your title in brackets. Some of the common tags are [DECK] for a
deck post, [REPORT] for a tournament report, [TOURNAMENT] for a tournament
announcement.
7. What does this abbreviation mean?
rec.games.trading-cards.jyhad, being a discussion forum with a specific
focus (VTES), tends to refer to the same things over and over again, and to
this end, there are many common acronyms or abbreviations that you might
come across. Some of the more common ones include:
Clans: Most clan names are shortened to some abbreviation (Bru = Brujah; Tre
= Tremere, etc.), but there aren't really hard fast rules.
Anti-Clans: Often, antitribu clans will be abbreviated with an "!" at the
start of the name (!Bru or !Brujah for the Brujah Antitribu). It is some
math shorthand that someone decided was a good way to indicate antitribu
clans.
Disciplines: Disciplines are abbreviated as the first three letters of that
discipline, either in all lower case (for the inferior version) or all
capital (for the superior), i.e. POT is superior Potence where pot is
inferior Potence.
CL: Card Limit. Often preceded with a number (4CL). VTES does not use a per
card card limit (i.e. your deck can consist of, like, 90 of the same card if
you really want), but the occasional discussion of card limits comes up (and
usually ends in flames).
S:CE: Strike: Combat Ends.
IG: Immortal Grapple
PTO: Protect Thine Own
SC: Succubus Club
KR: Kindred Restructure
DU: Dramatic Upheaval
DotB: Drawing out the Beast
PF: Pulled Fangs
TB: Thoughts Betrayed
NRA: No Repeat Actions
LSJ: L. Scott Johnson, the official Net Rep/Rules guy
VEKN: Vampire Elder Kindred Network, the official player's organization.
A great deal more of newsgroup specific terminology can be found at:
http://www.thelasombra.com/lists/abbreviations.txt
and
http://www.thelasombra.com/terminology.htm
8. What are clan newsletters?
The VEKN organizes official Clan Specific strategy newsletters that are
posted on a semi-monthly basis on this newsgroup. They are also archived on
the web at http://www.white-wolf.com/vtes/newsletter/nl_clan.html and
http://www.TheLasombra.com/ClanPages/ as well as many other web locations,
as well as being available as a mail based list serve.
This FAQ is created and maintained by Peter D Bakija ( pd...@lightlink.com)
with support from Jeff Thompson. Last updated 01.23.05.
Peter D Bakija
pd...@lightlink.com
http://www.lightlink.com/pdb6
"So in conclusion, our business plan is to sell hot,
easily spilled liquids to naked people."
-Brittni Meil