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<chapter id="knode-journey"> 
<title>A journey in the World of Newsgroups</title> 

<anchor id="anc-knode-journey"/> 

<para>This chapter is supposed to be glance over the World of Newsgroups
and their <quote>inhabitants</quote>; someone who has never dared to go
there before will encounter some strange customs, which may give you a feeling
of being a lonely alien without backup; but stay calm, it is not like
this. The Usenet is a meeting place for all kinds of normal and
not-so-normal folks; it is here where they are distributing a lot of
information but also gossip and other stuff.</para>

<tip> 
<para>References to more detailed and qualified essays on the Usenet
can be found at <link linkend="knode-more-info">More
Resources</link></para>
</tip> 

<sect1 id="about-news"> 
<title>What are ...</title> 
<anchor id="anc-about-news"/>

<sect2> 
<title>... online-readers?</title> 

<para>An online-reader connects to a newsserver and gives you access to
its content. &knode; is an online-reader: you are reading your News
and publishing your own <glossterm>articles</glossterm> while the
online-reader stays connected.</para>

</sect2> 

<sect2> 
<title>... offline-readers?</title> 

<para>An offline-reader connects to the Server and fetches only the
headers of new articles; then, the connection is closed and you can
mark (offline) the articles you are really interested in.  When you
connect next time the offline-reader fetches the articles you
marked and sends the articles you have written whilst offline.</para>

<para>There is no connection while you are reading or writing
articles.</para>

</sect2> 

<sect2> 
<title>... newsgroups?</title> 

<para>You can look at newsgroups as public bulletin boards and forums,
where everybody is allowed to participate. Articles you have
published in a newsgroup can be read by everybody subscribed to this
newsgroup and, normally, everybody is allowed to publish their articles
in a newsgroup.</para>

</sect2> 

<sect2>
<title>... news?</title> 

<para>News is the collective term for articles published in a newsgroup.</para> 

</sect2> 

<sect2> 
<title>... threads?</title> 

<para>A thread is a topic of discussion in a
newsgroup.</para>

</sect2> 
</sect1> 

<sect1 id="nettiquette"> 
<title>Online Manners</title> 

<anchor id="anc-nettiquette"/> 

<para>There are lot of different people meeting and talking in
newsgroups; it is seen as some kind of courtesy to obey some rules of
manner, the basics of which are listed here.</para>

<orderedlist> 
<listitem> 
<para>Before you ask questions be sure you have read the newsgroup's
<acronym>FAQ</acronym> (Frequently Asked Questions) and didn't find
the answer.</para>
</listitem> 
<listitem> 
<para>If you take part in a discussion be aware of the fact that everybody
can read the answer: do not say anything that you would not say to the others
if you were facing them; avoid insults.</para>
</listitem> 
<listitem> 
<para>Try to avoid crossposting: do not ask a question in more than
one newsgroup when you do not know which is the right one.  Ask in one
newsgroup; if it is wrong, you will be told which is right one.</para>
</listitem> 
<listitem> 
<para>Formulate your articles accurately; nobody likes to read an
article with lots of typos, even with content worth a Pulitzer. Think
of your articles as letters: your letter speaks for you; it represents
you; somebody reading your article will draw conclusions about you
from it, wrong or right.</para>
</listitem> 
<listitem> 
<para>Remember, nobody sees your grin when you are writing an ironic
sentence: it may be funny for you, but it can be very serious for the
person reading it. It is very difficult to include emotions in an
article.</para>
</listitem> 
<listitem> 
<para>The most important rule: use your common sense when you are
answering or publishing an article.</para>
</listitem> 
</orderedlist> 

</sect1> 

<sect1 id="usenet-slang"> 
<title>The Usenet language</title> 
<anchor id="anc-usenet-slang"/> 

<para>You will not be surprised about English being the main language on
the Usenet; however, there are special trees for German (de.*), French (fr.*)
and many other languages. If you are unable to determine the main
language of a newsgroup the only possibility is careful listening
or a possible explanation in the description of the group in the
grouplist.</para>

<para>In addition, over the time the Usenet has developed its own language
but it is easy to learn.</para>

<sect2> 
<title> 
<acronym>RTFM</acronym> and other typos</title> 

<para>When you read news, after some time you will read some strange
combinations of letters; for example, you can get a reply like:</para>

<para>RTFM</para> 

<para>Nothing else. Strange, but absolutely intended; to solve the
riddle: those, most of the time, are shortcuts, acronyms. It is easier
to drop some letters than to write the same sentence over and over
again.</para>

<para>But what is the meaning of <acronym>RTFM</acronym>? The writer
is asking you to read the manual, documentation or
<acronym>FAQ</acronym> before asking questions in the
newsgroup.  It stands for: (R)ead (T)he (F)...ing
(M)anual; <acronym>BTW</acronym> this is advice you should adopt.</para>

<para>Wait, what is <acronym>BTW</acronym> now? Another often-seen
acronym which means (B)y (T)he (W)ay. It is easy when you know
it; to avoid you having to continuously speculate over the meaning of
acronyms there is table at he end of this section containing the
most-often-used acronyms.</para>

<para>This table does not try to be complete and is based on a list by
Martin Imlau.</para>

<table>
<title>
Acronyms on Usenet</title>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>
Acronym</entry>
<entry>
Meaning</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<!--TRANSLATORS: Write the translation in the second column in brackets! -->
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
&lt;g&gt;</entry>
<entry>
grins</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
AAMOF</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
As a matter of fact</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
ACK</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
Acknowledge</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
AFAIK</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
As far as I know</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
AFAIR</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
As far as I remember</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
AWGTHTGTTA</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
Are we going to have to go through this again?</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
ASAP</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
As soon as possible</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
BFN</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
Bye for now!</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
BTW</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
By the way</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
BYKT</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
But you knew that</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
CMIIW</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
Correct me if I'm wrong</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
CU</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
See you!</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
CU2</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
See you too!</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
CYL</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
See you later!</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
DAU</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
German abbreviation for the silliest user you can imagine (Dümmster
anzunehmender User)</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
EOD</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
End of discussion</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
ESOSL</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
Endless snorts of stupid laughter</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
FYI</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
For your information</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
GOK</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
God only knows</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
HAND</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
Have a nice day!</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
HTH</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
Hope that helps</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
HSIK</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
How should I know?</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
IAE</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
In any event</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
IANAL</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
I am not a lawyer</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
IIRC</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
If I remember correctly</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
IMCO</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
In my considered opinion</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
IMHO</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
In my humble opinion</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
IMNSHO</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
In my not so humble opinion</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
INPO</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
In no particular order</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
IOW</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
In other words</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
LMAO</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
Laughing my ass off</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
LOL</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
Laughing out loudly</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
NAK</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
Not acknowledged</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
NBD</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
No big deal</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
NFW</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
No f...ing way</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
ROTFL</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
Rolling on the floor, laughing</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
RTFM</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
Read the f...ing manual</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
SCNR</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
Sorry, could not resist</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<acronym>
TIA</acronym>
</entry>
<entry>
Thanks in advance</entry>
</row> 
</tbody> 
</tgroup> 
</table> 
</sect2> 

<sect2> 
<title>Smile!</title> 

<para>Again, such a strange thing. What is this ;-) meant to be? Turn
your head so the left side of your screen is on top; got it? It's
a smile with a wink? This is a so-called emoticon; emoticons are an
often-used possibility to express emotions, one thing missing in
conversation on the Usenet (but there is a substitute, remember?
;-)</para>

<para>It is very difficult to express emotions in email or news; your
joking comment appear to be very serious to the recipient and can lead to
unmeant reactions or conflicts (flames); so use emoticons to express
your intention.</para>

<para>There are a lots of emoticons, which express a great variety of
emotions; the interpretation is easy if you turn your
head and think of a face.</para>

</sect2> 

<sect2> 
<title>PLONK!</title> 

<para>This PLONK! looks like some comic-sound, does it not? And that is
exactly what it is used for. The one who reads it knows he was just
added to the killfile of a newsreader; normally this means the
recipient of the PLONK! annoyed the sender.  The PLONK! is meant to
play back the sound of the recipients name hitting the ground in the
<glossterm>killfile</glossterm>.</para>
</sect2> 
</sect1> 

</chapter> 
