FAQ - soc.culture.filipino part 2
Aimee Manosa
This is the 2nd of 4 parts. It contains 2 sections: the beginnings of
SCF and the Philippine network.
Section 1: soc.culture.filipino FAQ
-----------------------------------
== 1.1) What is the charter of soc.culture.filipino?
This is the original posting to announce.newgroups sent on October 1, 1990
written by Aimee Manosa (ai...@asd.sgi.com).
ORIGINAL CALL FOR DISCUSSION: soc.culture.filipino
PROPOSAL:The creation of a new newsgroup: soc.culture.filipino
CHARTER: To provide an open discussion on issues concerning the Philippines.
This includes the following topics:
- new technology in the Philippines
- "what's happening back home" information and passing this on to
others unable to read news.
- Government and other related political issues
- Earthquake relief information (still need lots of help)
- Cultural events
- Fil-Ams
- introducing the Filipino culture to news readers
- understanding the state the Philippines is in
PURPOSE: Would like to discuss relevant Filipino issues in a newsgroup
that would single out the Philippine culture. Currently, there
are several other nations that have started their newsgroups.
GENERAL: I have received mail from several folks who have expressed the
need to start this news group. It seems to me that this is
probably the way to go considering that soc.culture.asean has
split into several other cultural newsgroups.
I believe that there will be a consistent flow of news, especially
with the state our country is in presently. This newsgroup may help
others to understand what our culture is really like and not what
it is rumored to be.
The official discussion should last less than 30 days. If at this
point, there is no consensus as to the name, charter, whether or
not there will be a moderator, then the discussion will be conti-
nued offline.
== 1.2) When did this newsgroup start?
The voting period for this news group started on October 29, 1990
and ended November 22, 1990. On November 26, the finally tally
was posted to news.announce.newgroups:
YES 241
NO 32
-------------
Total 272
The newsgroup was created a couple days after.
==*1.3) Who reads soc.culture.filipino?
This newsgroup is read by users who have Usenet access all over the world.
Here is how SCF compares with other soc.culture.* newsgroups. The data was
taken from the Jan 94 USENET readership report in news.lists (ALH).
+-- Overall rank
| +-- Estimated total number of people who read the group, worldwide.
| | +-- Actual number of readers in sampled population
| | | +-- Propagation: how many sites receive this group at all
| | | | +-- Recent traffic (messages per month)
| | | | | +-- Recent traffic (kilobytes per month)
| | | | | | +-- Crossposting percentage
| | | | | | | +-- Cost ratio: $US/month/rdr
| | | | | | | | +-- Share: % of newsrders
| | | | | | | | | who read this group.
V V V V V V V V V
40 150000 1824 73% 3653 10257.3 17% 0.08 3.6% soc.culture.indian
96 120000 1472 74% 1747 4431.5 20% 0.05 2.9% soc.culture.china
99 120000 1455 74% 2200 4371.4 16% 0.05 2.9% soc.culture.japan
121 110000 1375 73% 2536 5763.1 10% 0.06 2.7% soc.culture.jewish
156 100000 1269 72% 2790 5390.9 16% 0.07 2.5% soc.culture.hongkong
172 100000 1219 72% 1122 2467.9 6% 0.03 2.4% soc.culture.french
188 97000 1188 72% 1756 3084.0 23% 0.04 2.3% soc.culture.british
209 92000 1119 73% 558 2235.7 19% 0.03 2.2% soc.culture.greek
225 90000 1096 74% 1222 2479.6 9% 0.03 2.2% soc.culture.celtic
234 88000 1078 70% 2912 4419.7 7% 0.06 2.1% soc.culture.soviet
246 86000 1053 71% 1503 3101.7 16% 0.04 2.1% soc.culture.german
251 86000 1043 68% 506 1297.9 45% 0.02 2.1% soc.culture.usa
253 85000 1040 70% 283 625.5 30% 0.01 2.0% soc.culture.europe
273 83000 1018 72% 1297 4165.4 8% 0.06 2.0% soc.culture.turkish
274 83000 1017 73% 184 611.3 20% 0.01 2.0% soc.culture.arabic
288 82000 1000 72% 2830 6351.5 24% 0.09 2.0% soc.culture.asian.american
293 81000 993 70% 770 1643.2 21% 0.02 2.0% soc.culture.canada
294 81000 991 68% 1203 2879.6 1% 0.04 1.9% soc.culture.italian
332 78000 950 71% 1067 2878.4 10% 0.04 1.9% soc.culture.pakistan
356 76000 926 71% 1095 2780.2 4% 0.04 1.8% soc.culture.iranian
362 76000 923 72% 682 1429.9 31% 0.02 1.8% soc.culture.taiwan
377 75000 911 72% 740 1703.6 14% 0.03 1.8% soc.culture.korean
400 73000 892 72% 1211 2240.9 5% 0.04 1.8% soc.culture.nordic
425 71000 867 69% 2878 9698.8 0% 0.16 1.7% soc.culture.vietnamese
426 71000 866 72% 432 1026.0 3% 0.02 1.7% soc.culture.african
463 69000 843 71% 938 2438.7 9% 0.04 1.7% soc.culture.african.american
474 68000 831 71% 506 2334.8 2% 0.04 1.6% soc.culture.latin-america
516 65000 791 70% 690 1358.7 9% 0.02 1.6% soc.culture.australian
527 64000 785 67% 1159 2844.8 1% 0.05 1.5% soc.culture.thai
540 64000 777 69% 356 1519.8 71% 0.03 1.5% soc.culture.yugoslavia
640 59000 721 59% 355 1887.5 27% 0.03 1.4% soc.culture.bosna-herzgvna
649 59000 714 67% 1179 2523.8 1% 0.05 1.4% soc.culture.spain
714 55000 674 67% 537 1618.8 6% 0.03 1.3% soc.culture.lebanon
717 55000 673 68% 378 850.5 4% 0.02 1.3% soc.culture.bangladesh
728 55000 667 68% 746 1854.6 0% 0.04 1.3% SOC.CULTURE.FILIPINO
774 53000 647 67% 796 1302.7 4% 0.03 1.3% soc.culture.new-zealand
775 53000 647 67% 123 418.4 42% 0.01 1.3% soc.culture.nepal
776 53000 646 66% 846 3582.6 2% 0.08 1.3% soc.culture.mexican
782 53000 643 69% 32 93.9 3% 0.00 1.3% soc.culture.asean
787 53000 641 69% 121 347.3 1% 0.01 1.3% soc.culture.sri-lanka
819 51000 626 70% 918 1926.9 4% 0.04 1.2% soc.culture.polish
860 50000 609 67% 605 1101.5 0% 0.02 1.2% soc.culture.esperanto
930 48000 585 60% 610 1405.9 4% 0.03 1.1% soc.culture.tamil
936 48000 582 68% 191 1328.5 3% 0.03 1.1% soc.culture.magyar
988 46000 561 65% 567 1358.2 1% 0.03 1.1% soc.culture.portuguese
997 46000 558 63% 197 670.8 3% 0.02 1.1% soc.culture.caribbean
1008 45000 554 54% 1190 2585.7 29% 0.05 1.1% soc.culture.malaysia
1029 45000 546 48% 85 300.2 16% 0.01 1.1% soc.culture.scientists
1041 44000 542 64% 662 2901.7 1% 0.07 1.1% soc.culture.brazil
1057 44000 537 59% 343 825.1 5% 0.02 1.1% soc.culture.indian.telugu
1128 42000 514 64% 625 1376.2 12% 0.04 1.0% soc.culture.netherlands
1142 42000 510 63% 125 449.4 15% 0.01 1.0% soc.culture.afghanistan
1190 40000 493 63% 713 2328.5 1% 0.06 1.0% soc.culture.bulgaria
1209 40000 487 56% 326 2783.5 25% 0.07 1.0% soc.culture.croatia
1229 39000 480 56% 907 1833.2 7% 0.04 0.9% soc.culture.singapore
1272 38000 465 58% 238 561.7 1% 0.01 0.9% soc.culture.czecho-slovak
1290 38000 460 63% 330 1015.7 1% 0.03 0.9% soc.culture.romanian
1319 37000 449 53% 232 1019.2 8% 0.02 0.9% soc.culture.native
1375 35000 429 52% 624 1488.7 1% 0.04 0.8% soc.culture.indonesia
1470 32000 396 52% 312 781.9 38% 0.02 0.8% soc.culture.baltics
1548 31000 373 49% 1623 4341.7 0% 0.12 0.7% soc.culture.venezuela
1549 31000 373 48% 49 129.9 7% 0.00 0.7% soc.culture.maghreb
1628 29000 351 49% 218 640.2 48% 0.02 0.7% soc.culture.ukrainian
1649 28000 347 47% 188 696.1 1% 0.02 0.7% soc.culture.peru
1664 28000 344 42% 92 174.5 3% 0.00 0.7% soc.culture.laos
1674 28000 341 47% 429 1185.5 2% 0.03 0.7% soc.culture.argentina
1722 27000 332 38% 878 1924.9 0% 0.05 0.7% soc.culture.chile
1723 27000 332 38% 355 811.1 8% 0.02 0.7% soc.culture.israel
1728 27000 330 49% 229 402.6 18% 0.01 0.6% soc.culture.austria
1789 26000 317 29% 11 154.4 82% 0.00 0.6% soc.culture.indian.info
1857 25000 300 38% 545 1487.7 65% 0.04 0.6% soc.culture.palestine
1974 23000 278 38% 32 51.5 7% 0.00 0.5% soc.culture.uruguay
Network traffic on SCF is low compared to many of the more popular
newsgroups that get more than 100 posts daily. Check out
rec.arts.startrek.current to see what we mean. SCF's "disposition"
and "character" is pleasant and informative. We're a small friendly
corner here. We're more than happy to keep it that way.
SCF is also being fed to the Philippines via email by Philip Lim of Seattle
University, WA and Dennis Velasco of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,
Troy, NY. The feed is conducted on a daily basis. Jim Ayson handles the
collection of mail for FIDONET, Philippines. Larry dela Cruz handles the
collection of mail for Philippine FREENET.
==*1.4) Is there a suggested general rules of netiquette for posting in
this newsgroup?
Contents for this topic are mostly taken from "posting-rules".
Some newsgroups are intended for discussions, others for
announcements or queries. Please use these newsgroups for
their intended purposes.
IF you are unhappy with some users comments, send the user
email, *don't post it*.
Before posting, think about what your article will say;
If it's posted to a "comp", "news", "misc", "soc", "sci",
"rec" or "talk" newsgroup, it will probably go to the sites
on every continent with an estimated audience of more than 3
million potential readers. Use the "Distribution" feature to
restrict distribution to your local area and appropriate news
groups.
Be considerate with your use of network resources; small savings
in disk or CPU add up. So, keep "thanks", "me, too", "congrats",
postings to private mail. Someone pays for storage/transfers.
Keep your .signature file short. Again, someone is paying
for the transfer. Be considerate. Long .signatures are viewed
as rude by the community.
If you are including private mail in your post to a newsgroup,
ask the author's permission. Posting this without permission
is generally considered rude.
Use "followup" to reply to a current thread. Don't use "followup"
to start a new thread.
If you are doing a "followup", please remove lines that you are
not replying to. That is, don't include the whole article to
reply to the first 2 lines (or the last 2 lines) or just to say,
"me, too". On the other hand, please don't say "me, too" or
"I agree" without making reference to the author of the included
file. Remember, keep it short and concise.
== 1.5) I just read a post that I found offensive. I am really offended.
What should I do?
First of all, calm down. Go to the nearest Coke machine. Get a Coke. Finish
it. Then reread the message. Are you still angry?
If people leave the message alone, it will most likely die a quiet death.
If you respond to it, you'll be promoting the discussion of the same
issue you found offensive in the first place. This may or may not be what
you intended. Weigh the alternatives carefully before you respond.
If you choose to respond to the offending article, try to use a level-
headed and dispassionate tone. Minimize flaming. Try to frame your message
in a manner that will convey subtantive information and promote a meaningful
discussion. Often, the author of the 'offensive' article is really a
reasonable and well-meaning person who has a valid point of view different
from yours. Her opinion (or yours) can also be based on incorrect
information or understanding of Philippine culture. The reason why we're
here is to discuss Philippine issues and promote understanding. That's
rather hard to do in the midst of a fire fight.
Try contacting the author by email and explain how you feel. If you have
concluded that the author cannot be reasoned with, consider using the
'kill' option in your newsreader to kill all messages sent by the author.
A poster who chooses to be purposely offensive enjoys seeing a newsgroup
full of angry posters responding to his message. The best way to shut him
up is by removing his audience. If he sees that he can't get his kicks here,
he'll hopefully move somewhere else.
==*1.6) This is soc.culture.FILIPINO. Why aren't we mainly writing in
Tagalog/Filipino here?
Not all Filipinos can communicate in Tagalog/Filipino well. In addition,
many non-Filipinos, including many Fil-Americans, who do not speak
Tagalog or any other Philippine language but are interested in Philippine
culture also read and contribute to this newsgroup. So while you are
free to write in whatever language you wish, you should seriously
consider writing your articles in English if you want a larger audience
for your ideas.
== 1.7) I can read the articles here but I seem to have a problem
submitting articles. How do I post to SCF?
You can post an article here by emailing your file to:
soc.culture.f...@decwrl.dec.com
Section 2: Philippine Network FAQ
---------------------------------
Jim Ayson is preparing a FAQ on this subject. He probably has more and
better answers to questions regarding network issues in the Philippines
than we do. Keep an eye out for it.
== 2.1) Is the Philippines connected to the Internet?
Practically speaking, no. Some universities, companies, BBSs and
commercial service providers do provide email service by relaying messages
through contacts in Japan, Australia or the United States who have Internet
access......... Wait a minute. Jim Ayson has something to say.
[From Jim Ayson.]
PHILNET PROGRAM SHIFTS INTO HIGH GEAR
by Edwin P. Boon
ComputerWorld Philippines, Dec 15, 1993
PhilNet, the country's link to the Internet, shifted into high gear
last month when the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)
granted a P12.45 million contract to the Industrial Research Foundation
(IRF) to implement Phase II of the PhilNet program.
According to Glenn Sipin, deputy executive director for the Philippine
Council for Advanced Science and Technology Research and Development
(PCASTRD) of the DOST, the deal, signed last November 25, will see IRF
handling the procurement of a leased line for the Philippine connection
to the Internet.
This represents Phase II of the PhilNet implementation. Phase I
consisted of the dial-up line connection to the Internet node in
Australia, with Ateneo de Manila University serving as the gateway (see
CW Aug 15 and July 31). The present setup only allows for electronic
mail transmissions, but when Phase II is completed, the full spectrum
of Internet services will be available, said Sipin. These services
include access to newsgroups, user groups, message forums, and various
databases, among others.
Sipin said that the implementation of Phase II would take a year. "We
hope all the details and bidding will go according to schedule," he
added. He further stated that should everything go according to
schedule, the implementation will begin by March 1994.
The connection, Sipin said, would hook up the University of the
Philippines in Diliman, the University of the Philippines at Los Banos,
De La Salle University, Ateneo de Manila, and certain areas in Baguio
for Central Luzon, Cebu for the Visayas, and Cagayan de Oro or Davao
for Mindanao.
Sipin also clarified that the connection to the Internet is not the
only function of PhilNet. "PhilNet has been envisioned as the backbone
for research and development in the Philippines. At the same time, to
be the backbone of research, we need information. And where else can we
get this, but through the Internet, which is the world's most extensive
database?"
Sipin also said that eventually, he sees that Philnet will be
sustained, not by the government, but by the universities and the
private sector.
== 2.2) How can you get email access from the Philippines?
[From Jim Ayson.]
1. The E-Mail Center. P3,000 startup fee, P300/month subscription, P10
per kilobyte for outgoing messages, P5 per K for incoming messages.
2. FEBnet BBS - $10/month for up to 60K of mail volume, $20/month for up
to 120K.
3. FidoNet - P600/year, login to any participating Fidonet BBS.
[From Carlos Legaspi.]
Fidonet Philippines echoes to several bbs and is linked with CEBU via
Cebu BBS of Jojo Sybico (Fidonet Address 6:754/1).
You can send internet e-mail to anyone in Fidonet using our fidonet
address. My Fidonet address is 6:750/2. For example, to send an Internet
message to me, mail it to:
carlos....@f2.n750.z6.fidonet.org
We have been using the Fidonet to Internet gateway since 1991. We are
currently paying 50 percent of the direct phone charges David Schepper
(The Warzone BBS, Avondale, AZ) incurs in calling the Philippines.
We also exchange files and other messages with Bill English (BillBoard
BBS, Sagamihara, Japan via postal floppy mail. Quite slow, but since we
have limited funds, we can only use floppy mail for files and large volume
mail, and maintain only 1 or 2 echoes directly by phone.
==*2.3) What are the Philippine BBS's?
[From Jim Ayson, 1/28/94.]
I'm including below a list of current Philippine BBS prepared by one
of the local BBSers. The country code for Philippines is 63. The area
code for Metro Manila is 2, for Cebu 32. Philippine time zone is GMT + 8.
==========================================================================
BBS NAME ONLINE HRS SYSOP PHONE MAX PTC NET
---[ METRO MANILA ]-----------------------------------------------------------
1. AALGLATT 8p-6a Jerry Leviste 887-034 9.6
2. Abyss 1 Vega 10p-8a John Ong 602-743 2.4 Fi
3. Abyss 2 Byte 12m-6a Ronald Buenaseda 605-476 2.4 Fi
4. Abyss 3 Sphinx 10p-6a Rowell Hernandez 521-4348 14.4 C Fi
5. Alien's Alcove 24H Eric Pareja 587-355 9.6 C/P Fr
6. Black Hole 10p-6a Mark Manuel Ramos 361-3034 2.4 Fr
7. Dark Hold 8p-6a Michael Lu 823-2847 2.4
8. DOST BBS 24H M-F Jungie Roasa 823-8195 14.4 C Fi
9. Download BBS 6p-6a Francis Salazar 805-3930 9.6
10. Duck BBS 10:30p-7a Rick Tee 268-335 2.4 Fi
11. Extra Mile 9p-6a Edwin Casimero 924-3085 14.4 C Fr
12. FEBNet 24H Martyn Shortley 818-6464 9.6 P
13. Galaxy 2200 10p-12a,F&S Tanveerul Alam 812-6985 2.4
14. Green Machine 6p-6a Timothy Tiongson 912-2041 2.4
15. HB 10p-6a Henry Bernardo 281-1044
16. Hiker's Board 11p-5:30a Dennis T. Lee 484-015 2.4 Fi
17. Inner Sanctum 24H Ronald Go 785-727 14.4 C Fi
18. Isle of PETRA 10p-6a M-S, Dave Magalong 532-7885 2.4
8a-8p Su
19. KGB - 1 10p-6a Ritchie Dizon 362-4408 16.8 C/Z Fi
20. KGB - 2 11p-6a Horace Posadas 842-0959 16.8 C/Z Fi
21. Krak Shop 10p-6a Joey Martin 216-844 14.4 C Fi
22. Lighthouse 8:30p-7:30a Peter Que 361-3089 9.6 Fi
23. Majesty BBS 24H William Villanueva 732-2516 16.8 C/Z Fi
24. Midnight Callers 9p-6a Albert Uy 350-021 16.8 C/Z Fi
25. Milliways 6p-8a,24w Ronald Lachenal 812-5593 2.4 Fi
26. Monolith - 1 7p-10a,24Su Richard Pe 484-984 19.2 C/Z Fi
27. Monolith - 2 7p-10a,24Su Richard Pe 491-740 2.4 Fi
28. Mushroom BBS 9p-6a Neil Quiogue 641-4950 2.4 Fr
29. NightSTalkeR 9p-6a Daniel Chua 732-1478 14.4 C Fr
30. NSO BBS 1p-8p M-F Val Abuan 601-707
31. One Touch 24H Carlos Legaspi 522-0452 14.4 C Fi
32. Operating Room 7p-6a Gene Yusi 931-9879 16.8 C/Z Fi
33. PC Digest 7p-7a,24w Po Wong 817-1493 19.2 C/Z Fi
34. PC Dude! 9p-7a Dark Raven (?) 964-215 9.6 H
35. People's Access 5p-2p,24w Belle Morales 971-535
36. Philsoft 5p-8a,24w Ritchie Lozada 633-3396 2.4 Fi
37. P.S.D.N. 24H Amy Lecciones 817-8584 9.6 C
38. Seventh Seal 6p-6a Lesley Camara 721-5665 14.4 C Fi
39. Silver Magic 11p-6a Rick Laig 615-309 2.4 Fi
40. Skylynx 9p-7a,24F Dennis Sy 741-0179 19.2 C/Z Fi
41. Socialitenet 7p-7a Eugene Lam 614-953 14.4 C Fi
42. T O K BBS! 9p-9a Derek Velenzuela 633-6687 2.4 Fi
43. Toolbox Jr. 10p-6a Chester Chua 614-607 2.4 Fi
44. Traci 11p-6a Noel Bautista 711-4590 9.6 P Fr
45. Twilight Zone 24H Carlos Legaspi 712-0329 19.2 C/Z Fi
46. UP BBS 7p-8a,24Su Rodel Atanacio 968-837 2.4 Fr
47. WISDOM Forum 6p-6a Joel Ramos 817-5779 14.4 C Fr
---[ CEBU ]-------------------------------------------------------------------
1. C.E.B.U. - 1 24H Jojo Sybico 032-221-545 16.8 C/Z Fi
2. C.E.B.U. - 2 24H Jojo Sybico 032-222-676 14.4 C Fi
3. Cosmic BBS 8:30p-6a M-F Ryan Chiu 032-217-332 24.0 * Fi
4. DOST-7 8p-6a M-F Beam Llanto 032-311-852 9.6 Fi
5. InfoTech BBS 8a-6p Jojo Wan 032-313-797 14.4 C Fi
---[ PAY ]--------------------------------------------------------------------
1. E-mail Center 24H Roberto Verzola 921-9976 9.6 P Fi
2. Financial Access 24H Frank Borromeo 812-2416 2.4
3. Pacific Rim 24H Joel Disini 632-7087 9.6 Fi
---[ DISCLAIMER ]-------------------------------------------------------------
This BBS listing is compiled by the Co-Moderator from public messages
posted in RP-COMM by sysops, callers and other contributors, and is
provided for the benefit of all bbsers, for whatever purpose it may
serve.
No one, except the sysops of the boards concerned, is responsible for the
accuracy of the information listed here.
---[ LEGEND ]----------------------------------------------------------------
MAX - maximum speed attainable in kbps
PTC - high speeds attainable only with other modems supporting the
indicated protocol, otherwise 2.4 kbps only
C - CCITT V.32bis at 14.4 kbps, V.32 at 9.6 kbps
H - US Robotics High-Speed-Transmission protocols (14.4, 16.8 kbps)
P - Telebit Pep high-speed protocols
Z - ZyXEL high-speed protocols (16.8, 19.2 kbps)
* - V.FC at 24.0 kbps
Fi - member of FidoNet, Philippines
Fr - member of Philippine FreeNet
== 2.4) What is STAC/STACnet?
[From Cynthia Tee.]
STAC stands for the "Science and Technology Advisory Council" of the
Republic of the Philippines. It is an organizational network sponsored
by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Republic of the Philippines.
STAC's goal is to use expatriate human resources in key development
programs of the country.
There is a mailing list called STACnet where the discussion is primarily
Philippine science and technology issues. To subscribe to STACnet, send
mail to
sta...@searn.bitnet
and introduce yourself.
For more information on STAC, check out Cynthia Tee's STACnet FAQ.
~
Aimee Manosa ai...@asd.sgi.com
Silicon Graphics, Inc