This remnant will be replaced soon. The FAQ is back, with a new design! How should I behave on the Internet? And how should I expect others to behave? Become familiar: The usual net standards apply, particularly checking the FAQ (and particularly if you're new to the group - faqs are always good to check) before asking questions that have probably occurred to someone else at some point during the seven or eight years that the Phish.Net has been around. Beware the Usenet! Keep in mind the general (bickering, urban) nature of Usenet newsgroups, as well as the particular (rambly, off-topic) nature of rec.music.phish. Charlie Dirksen contended, "You will notice material that is not Phish-related, but do not be discouraged. It is simply Phish fans having fun making idiots of themselves, whether consciously or unconsciously (be careful about what to take seriously). It is also wise to refrain from posting until you have had the opportunity to get a feel for this small, somewhat-deranged part of the Phish fan community. If you find messages offensive, they could be (1) sarcastic (they may or may not include a ";-)" ); (2) meant to be "humorous;" and/or (3) moronic, and therefore, by posting your own two cents or response to such a message, you might very well embarrass yourself miserably. So don't post until you are willing to risk making an ass out of yourself in front of at least a few hundred -- if not a few thousand (depending upon the "Subject:") -- people." Here are some basics of general netiquette, integrated from previous FAQ material with a significant boost from a 1992 post by Aine "HammaH" Donnovan, who introduced things thusly: "The following is a combined effort of those on the Phish Net regarding...issues you might want to think about before you post. ... This being America (and USENET), you can pretty much do what you want (within reason, which I'm not going to discuss). Yet because of that fact, you yourself must be self-policing.". FAQ first: Check the introductory page and other faq resources for basic information about Phish and the Phish.Net before posting. No question is stupid, but the FAQ file includes a structure of hundreds of questions and answers designed to answer many hundreds of questions you might have; please check here before posting a question to the net. Emphasis: All caps is considered SHOUTING and is considered rude; use *asterisks* or _underlines_ around a word to emphasize it. Politeness: Public criticism is called flaming, is considered rude, and only invites and incites "flame wars." While criticism is important, flaming is almost always useless. Criticizing someone can be useful. It lets someone know that you believe what they did/said is inappropriate, and can foster intellectual debate. If you post something debatable or highly opinionated, expect some replies which disagree with your position. Constructive criticism includes what you find inappropriate and why. It contains NO direct attack on personality, personal hygiene, or biological background (i.e. flaming). Flaming someone publicly on the net is always a useless waste of time. Myths/Legends: Some posts can be ignored. The cookie recipe story is baloney. The kid in the hospital who needs postcards for a Guiness record.... is no longer in the hospital, is a lot better, and got way too many cards, and Guiness no longer considers applicants for that record. The "porche guy" ("a bunch of hippies sat on my red porche, scratched the paint, spit in my face, etc. At ") is a recurring farce, as is a nutty "woman" seeking videos of boyz being tickled. Posts that say "phish sucks", "hippies suck", "phish = dead", etc are garbage. And if you get a net citation, it's meant to be funny. ;) Rumors: In the past, rumors have been officially discouraged, though may be fun and perhaps inevitable. Wild guesses are less appreciated. And keep in mind that for any rumor, there's usually at least one other that contradicts it. Relax: Spelling helps; grammar and punctuation aren't strictly necessary. Don't waste your time or other people's "bandwidth" (mail space) fussing about someone's spelling, grammar, or punctuation, although discussion of the spelling of lyrics is healthy. Avoid "Me, too", "Thank you", and spelling correction posts. Posts that add nothing to the discussion, like a "me, too!" or "thank you" really aren't necessary. And it so often happens that these two word posts are accompanied by a completely untrimmed article and a 20 line .signature. If there's a debate about something, add to it! If there's a mixed reaction to a show, tell us how you felt. We've already seen the first article, we don't need to see it again. Thank people via email. And please, NEVER post to tell someone they spelled something wrong or their grammar is incorrect. Email them. That way you can get their four-letter response personally. Responding: When you respond to a post, make certain that personal responses go to a person (the poster), not the entire network group; for instance "I saw that too!" should go to Smitty when Smitty posts a setlist looking for a tape (called "grovelling", which is somewhat frowned upon; try other routes), not to the whole net. Never post when a direct email will suffice. Probably the most important rule for ALL posting, and certainly for flaming. Ask yourself if the reply is interesting to the net as a whole, or simply the person you are responding to. Also, if the post is only of use to a LOCAL clientele (e.g. looking for roommates), try and distribute it locally. Flames, almost always, should be emailed because: they will get direct attention, rather then be one of many posts. the person will not have to defend themselves in open forum, and thus will be more likely to be convinced by you, instead of becoming protectively entrenched in their own position. the rest of us do not care to read your diatribe (and some gentle people become hurt by even the notion of flaming). We are NOT impressed by your flaming ability and clever use of vindictive composition. you may find yourself in a very awkward position if you misinterpret someone. Due to the nature of this medium, some comments are inevitably going to be taken the wrong way. Don't compound the error by shrieking. will your comment settle the issue once and for all, or just add fuel to the fire? If you think the former, you're probably wrong... everybody wants the last word. Invite email: Request email replies for specific information. If you want some info on something that many people may know, ask for email responses. That way you don't generate 15 responses like the inevitable "Llama" chorus lyrics request. Also, make sure you offer the response to anyone who would like to also have that info. If you get enough requests for the information, perhaps a posting of findings is proper. Otherwise, you get the info (and therefore you get the 15 responses) and then email it to those who also want it. Hold off: Avoid multiple postings by not answering a question immediately. How many times have we seen 15 responses to a question that's already in the FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) file? When someone asks a question that has already been discussed, don't respond that minute. First, decide if email is the best response. If you still think it's a good idea to post a response, at least read the rest of the list, or even better, wait a day to see if someone else responded. Gentleness: Newcomers are people too! It is NOT someone's fault just because they are a newcomer. How could they know the Llama lyrics problem had been discussed to death? Have some patience for goodness sakes, try to put yourself in their shoes. For example, how is it possible that a newcomer would know what the FAQ file even is? The great irony is that we've set up a system whereby the only people who know where the answers are located, are the ones who already know the answers! Only someone who is familiar with USENET even knows that news.groups have an FAQ file. Our group is very likely to attract people who have never been involved with USENET before, and therefore have no knowledge of FAQ's or netiquette. Someone who subscribes next week may never see this. This person is *guaranteed* to ask an FAQ. It's important that we handle that person as a peer, and not a subordinate. This also covers people who subscribe to the list rather than the "request" address. If they knew about the request-site, they'd use it! Finally, you should unsubscribe yourself when you leave for an extended period of time (e.g. collegiate summer vacation). This will keep system administrators from sending batches of "unsubscribes" in the spring. Specificity: Remember you're typing, not speaking. Because of this, many "obvious" things to you are not obvious to your audience. That's why we have the smiley [ :-) ] symbol (look at it sideways), to denote sarcasm or humor. A perfect example of being ambiguous was someone who wrote, "*I* always thought the words were...." Someone else was upset at the fact that this person was not only wrong, but also had clearly set themselves up as an authority due to the emphasis on the "*I*"! The author meant "*I*" in a self-deprecating way, to mean more of a "well here's one lowly opinion, take it for what its worth." Notice that these two construals of the writing are _direct_opposites_! If we heard the person speak, it would be easy to tell exactly which one he meant. Even though the use of smileys might be considered an abuse of punctuation and a reduction of humor (like a laugh track), they are necessary in this medium of interactive, yet one-way, communication. People write as if they were speaking, but it is impossible to register emotional tone or facial expression. Remember, not everyone else is as clever as you think you might be. Beware of ambiguity, and use smileys! Brevity: Trim the post you're responding to as much as possible. If you're reacting to one line, don't include the whole post, edit out what you don't need. One thing to beware of, though, is taking words out of context. Also, make sure you attribute the quote to the right person. It gets a little tricky when you're responding to a response to a response to a response... Focus? Try to avoid long meta-discussions and long off-topic discussions. There's nothing wrong with a meta-post or an off-topic thread every now and then. However, when there are twenty ongoing messages between 2 people, the community grows tired of it. As usual, take it to email. Have content: Also, some helpful words from a net post by Norman Dibble <Norman_Dibble@voyager.umeres.maine.edu> (12/7/95): Recently I've seen many posts about "worthless" content in other people's posts. I bet that if each person who agreed with this posted a new thread intead of agreeing with the original (which was probably about 4 years ago), the net would be overrun with interesting topics which more people would then respond to. It's sort of like the saying: "If you aren't part of the solution, then you are part of the problem" All it takes is a little creativity, which we all know Phish inspires, and we could sit in front of our computers forever and never be bored (what a horrible thought!). If you agree with me, DON'T make a post saying so, simply think of a topic you haven't seen much discussion on, and write something about it. Try to think of a subject that might promote different positive opinions, because we all know that there is far too much negativity on the net already. This is all pretty obvious, so it shouldn't be too hard. To thine own self be true: These are heuristics, developed them from netiquette readings, psychology, common sense, and common courtesy. Some will try to enforce them, but they can't - only you can. If they seem like good ideas, by all means use them or adapt them for your use. Remember, everything you write is going to be read by lots of people. Think before you type - it's a matter of strife and breadth. For more, see the Netiquette File. "If you want an audience, start a fight."" -- Gaelic proverb" This page last updated January 24, 2007. All contents © 1992-2007 Ellis Godard. All rights reserved.