Model Forum / General / Railroads / May 2004

Fisty Nickle wrote:
#1 why are there so meany rude people here all i did was post the pic i
was ask to show. i get this as a responce...
alt.binaries.models.scale
Dont come back here until you learn basic computer and internet / Usenet
courtesy.
----------------------------------------------------
Unfortunately, the group is open to all. Some have had a bad day and
post things they might regret. Others try to be helpful and not say
anything that is offensive. Don't let the comments of one person drive
you away from the group.  

Bill
Bill's Railroad Empire
N Scale Model Railroad:
http://www.billsrailroad.net
Brief History of N Scale:
http://www.billsrailroad.net/history/n-scale
Resources: Links to over 700 helpful sites:
http://www.billsrailroad.net/bills-favorite-links
Bookstore: http://www.billsrailroad.net/bookstore.html

I can tell you this.  Binaries (pictures, JPEG, MPEG etc.) are not permitted on
discussion only groups. rec.models.railroad is a discussion only group.

It is considered by most to be very bad etiquette to post binaries to discussion only
groups and you are guaranteed to get called on it every time you do it or try to do
it.  Most ISPs filter binaries out of discussion only groups including mine. You can
post them, but I will never see them, because they are stripped out and deleted by
the news server.  Not everyone has DSL or cable modems. Many still have dial-up and
many of those still pay by the minute for time online.  Most of them have no option.
For many it is that or nothing.  Those people can get mighty upset when they have to
wait several minutes for a binary, that is not allowed in the first place, to
download.  I would suggest that if you want to upload photos that you post them to
alt.binaries.pictures.rail  I have posted model railroad photos there many times.
Send a text only message to rec.models.railroad that the pictures have been posted in
the binaries group and everyone who wants to go see them can.
You get to post your photos, the people who are on dial-up and those who object to
binaries on discussion groups don't have to contend with them and everyone is (should
be) happy.
As far as your comment regarding the rudeness of the post you received; well, not
everyone is a diplomat.  Take it with a grain of salt and try to understand that if
you posted a binary you did break the rules, whether unknowingly or not.
Unfortunately, I cannot tell you right now where to find the group rules, but there
are some. There is someone who is responsible for chartering the group, who is, I
believe, Urban Fredrickson. I haven't seen him around for quite a while though and do
not know where he is.

Regards:

Captain Handbrake

Fisty Nickle wrotez:
#1 why are there so meany rude people here all i did was post the pic i
was ask to show. i get this as a responce...
alt.binaries.models.scale
Dont come back here until you learn basic computer and internet / Usenet
courtesy.
-------------------------------------------------
This might be helpful, Rules for Posting to Usenet:

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/posting-rules/part1/

Bill
Bill's Railroad Empire
N Scale Model Railroad:
http://www.billsrailroad.net
Brief History of N Scale:
http://www.billsrailroad.net/history/n-scale
Resources: Links to over 700 helpful sites:
http://www.billsrailroad.net/bills-favorite-links
Bookstore: http://www.billsrailroad.net/bookstore.html

By the way here is the Email that i got about posting this in the first
place...

Well if you are so good at Scratchbuilding why don't you post some of your
work in thegroup for us all to see.

J.Z.

ok so there is the email i got what do you think??????????? as a newbee what
would you have done??????????????

Paul

Don't worry about Jim, Fisty.
He has nothing in his life, so he has become the self appointed security
guard here.
Just block him in email as you would the guy that wants you to send him
money or the ones that say you won the lottery but have to pay the tax up
front. or the one selling you Viagara or penis enlargement. Say maybe that
is Jim's problem, he tried the enlarger and it only effected his head. LOL

The user's rudeness aside, please avoid posting pictures.  Bandwidth
issues make this more than just a little bothersome for many users.
But you are correct, there are nicer ways to integrate those that are
ignorant of generally accepted newsgroup ettiquete.  Sorry this
happened to you, I suppose part of the problem is that there are so
many uneducated users trying to make use of the net and some old
timers get frustrated and take it out on the unsuspecting such as
yourself.

Regards
Greg

Actually, I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned that it's also a
breach of nettiquete to post attributed text of private emails
received.

As tempting as it is to "get back" at someone who sends you something
like that, it's also a no-no. Newsgroups are public discussions.
Private emails are generally regarded as private discussions.

No, there isn't any "law" that says so. It's just the general
agreement. Some will disagree.

It would have been better to post the text, leaving out the name of
the sender, saying "this is what I received, what do you guys think?
Pretty rude, huh?"  <Yes, it was.>

Email is email, newsgroups are newsgroups, and never the twain should
meet. <g>

Mike Tennent
"IronPenguin"

Fisty Nickle <uap@triad.rr.com> wrote:

You've gotten some answers about what you should do and should not do; why
some people are rude, etc.  There is a culture to Usenet, and an etiquette,
called netiquette.  In the old days it was pretty easy to find out about
what was accepted and what wasn't, and the old timers mostly learned it
and follow it.  Newcomers frequently run afoul of the conventions and are
corrected, sometimes gently and sometimes not.

Take a look at the groups: news.announce.newusers and
news.newusers.questions

They should give you some ideas of what is and is not acceptable on
newsgroups.  There are probably some FAQs on the web somewhere; a search
on Usenet should uncover some info on netiquette.

You need a bit of thick skin here.  If people are rude and obnoxious to
you, chances are they are the same way with everyone else, and everyone
else knows it, and before too long they have a reputation.  The best
response to them is to ignore them, or if you must reply, be
polite.  Generally they thrive on negativity; just don't feed it.  They
won't get any better or go away, but they'll be less obvious.  

Don't respond to people in anger.  Wait a few hours or days.  After that
time more than likely you'll see that their comment doesn't deserve any
response.  If you still need to respond after a while, you can generally
craft a much more effective flame when you're thinking more clearly.  

Welcome to Usenet.  The people who are kind and helpful far outnumber
those who aren't, but sometimes it takes a while to notice that.

--  
Bill Kaiser
wkaiser@mtholyoke.edu

There are three ways to do a job: good, cheap, and quick.
You can have any two.
A good, cheap job won't be quick.
A good, quick job won't be cheap.
A cheap, quick job won't be good.

  Sorry about that.  I don't recognize the name, so he isn't a regular
on rec.models.railroad (RMR, this newsgroup).  There are many many folks
on usenet, some are more polite than others.  It is an open forum,
anyone can join in, and say darn near anything.  Don't take it too much
to heart, and don't let it spoil the enjoyment of chewing the fat with
other model railroaders here.
  There is a long standing policy again posting anything but text to
Usenet.  Pictures are so large that if we all posted pictures it might
overwhelm the computers that feed usenet around the world.  Needless to
say, when there is a long standing policy there are lots of people out
there who enjoy pointing out violations of the policy.  Don't let it bug
you.  By the way, there was some nice modeling in that picture.

David J. Starr