>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
><g></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 (DÂümmster 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
