Internet Info 1994 March/Internet Info CD-ROM (Walnut Creek) (March 1994).iso/answers/news/newprod

Text File | 1994-04-18 | 15.6 KB | 350 lines

Newsgroups: comp.newprod,news.answers
Path: bloom-beacon.mit.edu!hookup!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!chinacat!chip
From: [e-mail] (Chip Rosenthal)
Subject: Welcome to comp.newprod [periodic posting]
Expires: Fri, 17 Jun 1994 00:50:58 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail] (The comp.newprod Moderator)
Organization: Unicom Systems Development, Austin, TX
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 1994 00:50:58 GMT
Approved: [e-mail]
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Followup-To: poster
Summary: newsgroup charter and guidelines
Keywords: administrivia
Supersedes: <[e-mail]>
Lines: 332
Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu comp.newprod:509 news.answers:18192

Archive-name: newprod
Posting-frequency: monthly
Version: 1.11

@(#) newprod 1.11 94/04/17 16:02:08

Welcome to comp.newprod.  This message summarizes what comp.newprod
is about and explains the guidelines for posting.

Contents:

    - Introduction
    - Letters!  We Get Letters
    - newprod Keywording
    - Archives and Back Issues
    - Mailing List Distribution
    - On Commercializing the Net
    - How to Submit a New Product Announcement
    - comp.newprod Submission Guidelines

The most recent version of this message may be obtained from the
Unicom.COM mail server.  To retrieve a copy, send a message to
<[e-mail]> with a "Subject: send newprod"
header (the body of the message is ignored).  Copies are also available
in the official comp.newprod archives on Metronet.COM (discussed
shortly), and the FAQ archives on rtfm.mit.edu.

IF YOU WISH TO SUBMIT AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO comp.newprod:  Please review
these guidelines carefully.  Submissions that do NOT conform to these
guidelines will NOT be published.

------------------------------

Subject: Introduction

comp.newprod publishes announcements for new computer-related products
and services.  We solicit product announcements that would interest
large portions of the Usenet community.

comp.newprod is one of the oldest Usenet newsgroups.  It was created
in 1985 as `mod.newprod' by Ron Heiby.  Ron ran the group until 1993,
at which time the task was passed to the current moderator, Chip
Rosenthal.  The backup moderator is Scott Hazen Mueller.

This newsgroup is unusual.  Most people on Usenet disdain commercial
postings.  Here, we encourage them.  In fact, that's the sole purpose
of this newsgroup.  How do we get away with it?!!? :-)  That's discussed
a bit later in this message.

Although this newsgroup is chartered for commercial product information,
it is intended as a dumping ground for hype and advertisements.  That's
why the newsgroup is moderated, and that's why there are strict
guidelines on what we will publish.  Those guidelines are listed at
the end of this message.

Since this newsgroup is moderated, people cannot post announcements
to it directly.  Instead, submissions must be sent to the moderator
who will review them with respect to the newsgroup guidelines.  Messages
that meet the guidelines are posted by the moderator.  We will review
how to submit an announcement shortly.

This message is maintained by Chip Rosenthal.  Your comments and
suggestions are welcomed at <[e-mail]>.

------------------------------

Subject: Letters!  We Get Letters

Our email addresses are:

    administrivia, comments, etc.    [e-mail]
    announcement submissions        [e-mail]

We would like to hear your comments and suggestions about this newsgroup,
the moderation policies, and these guidelines.  The moderator tries
to act on *your* behalf when reviewing submissions.  Your feedback
would be a great help in doing so.  Drop us a line at the `newprod-request'
address.

If you want to submit an announcement for posting, please send it to
the `newprod' address.  But before you do, be sure you carefully review
the rest of this message!

------------------------------

Subject: newprod Keywording

One of our services is to categorize all of the comp.newprod postings.
We do so by inserting a `Keywords' header into every message.  The
format is:

    Keywords: company name; product name; keyword, keyword, keyword ...

We try to use a consistent set of keywords to help comp.newprod readers
find messages of interest.  If your newsreader supports `Kill' files,
you can teach it to automatically pick out the things you want to see.
People who use `rn' (or one of its variants) might be interested in
the periodic posting by Leanne Phillips <[e-mail]>
entitled `rn KILL file FAQ'.  You'll find it in news.software.readers
and on anon FTP site rtfm.mit.edu.

There is another reason why we think keywords are important.  They
help us sort and file away announcements in our voluminous archives.
How, you might wonder, can you access those archives?  I'm awful glad
you asked...

------------------------------

Subject: Archives and Back Issues

The official comp.newprod archives are made possible by the kind folks
at the Texas Metronet.  You may reach the Metronet in any of the
following ways:

    http://www.metronet.com        (access through the World Wide Web)
    gopher://gopher.metronet.com    (Gopher access)
    ftp://ftp.metronet.com        (anonymous FTP access)

Any of these will put you at the base of the Metronet archives.  From
there, take the selection to enter `The comp.newprod Archives'.

The archives are organized to make it easy to find the information
you want.  You can view the messages sorted by posting month or product
vendor.  You can even do full text searches to find the articles that
mention certain topics.

Our thanks to the people at the Texas Metronet <[e-mail]>
for providing the disk space and bandwidth for these archives.  Please
note that the maintenance of these archives is the responsibility of
the comp.newprod moderator.  Please contact <[e-mail]>
if you have any questions, problems, or suggestions,

------------------------------

Subject: Mailing List Distribution

The comp.newprod announcements are distributed in an email digest as
a courtesy to people who cannot receive Usenet.  The contents of the
mailing list are the same as the comp.newprod newsgroup.  We prefer
that you read the announcements through Usenet, if possible.  To
subscribe to the digest, contact <[e-mail]>.

------------------------------

Subject: On Commercializing the Net

(this section is currently under development)

------------------------------

Subject: How to Submit a New Product Announcement

Step one -- read the guidelines!  They are given in the next section.
Messages that violate them WILL be returned, unposted.

To avoid excess delays (and frustration), it is important that you
follow the guidelines.  Many first-time submitters fail to play close
heed to the guidelines.  As a result, many first-time submitters end
up having their submission returned, unpublished.  What a bummer!
Most of the problems could have been avoided if the person just read
the submission guidelines.

We urge you to spend some time reading comp.newprod to get a feel for
the kind of things that are published here, and the format we expect.

Spend some time reading Usenet!  You won't get flamed to a crisp if
your message violates netiquette (as you would in some other groups).
It will, however, be rejected.

Check out the introductory documents in news.announce.newusers.  You
might find the following messages useful:

    Hints on writing style for Usenet
    Rules for posting to Usenet
    A Primer on How to Work With the Usenet Community

Finally, if you know somebody who is an old-hand around these parts,
have him or her review your announcement before you submit it.  They
can not only help ensure the submission meets the newsgroup guidelines,
but also help you make the announcement more effective.  If you don't
have access to any net.experts for your questions, feel free to contact
<[e-mail]>.

OK, so you've waded through the copious guidelines, carefully crafted
your announcement, had a net.expert proofread it, and you are ready
to tell the world.  Now, send your announcement to the comp.newprod
moderator for review.  If you have relatively modern news software,
you can simply post your announcement to the group.  Your system will
notice that the newsgroup is moderated, and forward the message to
the moderator for review.  If your news system is ancient, or you have
problems posting as just described, you can email your announcement
to <[e-mail]>.

Regardless of the submission method you select, your submission will
be confirmed by an automatically generated receipt.  If you make a
submission and do not get a receipt back within a day or two, it might
have gotten lost in transit.  It also might mean that your news software
is broken and mangling headers -- so the automatic reply won't work.

When you do get the receipt, it indicates that the message has been
entered into the comp.newprod queue.  It generally takes a week or
two to push everything through the queue.  If your message meets the
guidelines, the moderator will post it to the world.  The moderator
will try to notify you once the message has been reviewed.  You will
be told that the message has been accepted and posted -- or the message
was not accepted and why.

Although we try to let you know when your submission arrives here and
when it has been reviewed, we can NOT accept responsiblity for mail
or news software that mangles headers.  Our replies sometimes bounce
due to broken headers, and there isn't much we can do about that.

------------------------------

Subject: comp.newprod Submission Guidelines

The following guidelines should give you a good idea of what we look
for when reviewing submissions.  The rationale for these guidelines
was discussed previously in this document.

1.  The submission must be an announcement of a new product or
    service.  The product must be computer-related, and it must be of
    potential interest to a large number of Usenet readers.  The
    message must be of lasting value, thus we do not accept trade show
    announcements, special pricing offers, etc.  Commercial messages
    other than new product announcements are not appropriate for this
    newsgroup.

2.  Announcements should *briefly* describe the product, requirements
    (e.g. supported platforms), availability, and pricing.  It should
    only take a couple of screenfuls to convey this information.  If
    your description is longer than that, then you've either got too
    much detail or too much fluff.  All you should do here is summarize.
    Anybody who is interested will contact you for the additional
    information.  Similarly, do not include lengthy product matrices
    or order forms; ask interested people to write to you for a copy.
    The ideal length is on the order of 60 lines (excluding headers).
    If your message is much longer, it needs tighter editing.  (Please
    note, excessive length is the most common reason for rejecting
    submissions.)

3.  The announcement must be informative.  It must contain a brief
    technical description of the product or service, subject to the
    length constraints just mentioned.  This newsgroup is NOT a place
    for advertisements!  It is a place for factual product info.

4.  The product must be available to all Usenet users throughout
    North America, if not the world.  Products with regional availability
    should be announced in regional newsgroups, not comp.newprod.

5.  All announcements must contain the manufacturer's name and a
    contact for additional information.  This should include a name,
    telephone number, postal address, and email address.  Americans,
    please remember that your 1-800 telephone number might not work
    for people outside the U.S.

6.  The announcement must be from a representative either employed
    by or designated by the product's manufacturer.  We do not accept
    announcements from distributors or resellers for products in mass
    distribution.

7.  Leave out the quotations from your company executives and ecstatic
    customers.  If there is useful info in that quote, it may be
    provided more concisely and compellingly as a statement of fact.
    Moreover, we don't need to know about your corporate history,
    customer list, or distribution methods.  Please avoid the superlatives
    and superfluous hype.  Just the (technical) facts, please.  These
    violations are the second most common reason (after message length)
    for returning submissions.

8.  Note that a typical press release does NOT meet the above
    guidelines.  They tend to be either too long or too heavy on the
    hype.  We aren't the press.  We don't want to edit (or spindle or
    fold or mutilate) your announcements as the press might.  We simply
    want to publish them.  You need to do the editing.

9.  Your article must have a suitable Subject, not something like
    `submission for comp.newprod'.  Do not use all UPPER CASE or
    superfluous !!!punctuation marks!!! in your subject (or messages).
    Putting phrases like `new product announcement' in your subject
    is dumb.  If it wasn't it wouldn't be in this newsgroup!  Select
    your subject with care; a person is going to decide whether or
    not to read your announcement based upon those six short words.

10. We almost never accept articles that are cross-posted to multiple
    newsgroups or have been posted to other newsgroups.  By definition,
    if a message is appropriate for comp.newprod then it is NOT
    appropriate for most other Usenet groups.  One exception:  some
    `announce' groups accept product announcements, and we will cross-post
    there if its moderator says OK.

11. We do not accept articles with a limited `Distribution'.  If you
    have availability restrictions then do mention them in the
    announcement, but the announcement must be submitted for distribution
    throughout all of Usenet.

12. If the contact person for additional information is not the person
    who submitted the message, then put a `Reply-To' header in the
    message.  Do NOT try to redirect email to somebody else by saying
    `send email to ...' in your announcement.  People won't.  They
    will just hit the `r' key and the message will go back to you.
    If you do not know how to set a `Reply-To', ask for help.

13. We use a standard keywording system for all comp.newprod messages.
    We will add a `Keywords' header to your message.  We welcome (plead
    for!) your suggestions on keywords.  If the product is esoteric
    or outside our areas of expertise, we might end up picking crummy
    keywords.

14. Your message must be properly formatted, avoiding long lines
    that wrap around a typical terminal screen and strange line breaks.
    We suggest that you break your lines at 72 columns or less.
    Whitespace is your friend (within reason).  Carefully spell check
    and proofread your submissions; nothing screams `unprofessional'
    louder than poorly crafted prose.  Please go easy on the Cap-Shift
    key.  Do NOT right-justify your text; leave `ragged right margins.'
    We are not impressed that you can construct your company logo out
    of Xs and /s.  `ASCII art' and gratuitous typesetting effects are
    discouraged.  A double pox on people who use overly long signatures.

15. If you fear the headers of your message might get mangled in
    transit, feel free to note correct header information at the very
    top of your message.  Clarifying comments addressed to the moderator
    also may be placed at the top of your message.  If, while you are
    at it, you'd like to suggest some keywords for your message, that
    would be great.  We will cleanup the headers and remove these
    comments prior to posting.

------------------------------

End of newprod 1.11
*******************