Newsgroups: rec.scouting.misc,rec.scouting.issues,rec.scouting.usa,rec.scouting.guide+girl,news.answers Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU Subject: [rec.scouting.*] Welcome - Read this First (FAQ 0) Followup-To: rec.scouting.misc Frequency: Weekly Reply-To: nelsonb@aztec.asu.edu (BILL NELSON) Organization: U.S. Scouting Service Project (http://www.usscouts.scouter.com) Archive-name: scouting/welcome Last-Modified: 1996/12/06 The FAQs are archived at: ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/scouting/top.html Please let me know by email of any additions or corrections. NOTE: If you plan on advertising on any of the rec.scouting.* groups please read this entire FAQ and also the FAQ on how to advertise on Usenet, located in the news.answers newsgroup and at: http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/usenet/advertising/how-to/part1/faq.html Recent Changes: added info on advertising in the groups. TABLE OF CONTENTS ================= 1 - General Introduction 2 - Etiquette Guidelines 3 - Where to go for more information Subject: General Introduction Welcome to the rec.scouting hierarchy. This is an unmoderated Usenet news grouping aimed at Boy and Girl Scouts, Girl Guides, Cub Scouts, Venturers, Rovers, Scout Leaders and all people interested in Scouting and Guiding around the world. There are now four groups in the rec.scouting listing. In rec.scouting.misc you will find articles relevant to countless Scout/Guide activities and administration/policy issues. Questions about and ideas for activities are most welcome. You are sure to get answers and support from various participants willing to share their experience. All Scout/Guide organizations and associations around the world are encouraged to discuss activities, administrative details and ideas here. Rec.scouting.usa, is directed to the large number of participants that are directly or indirectly involved in Scouting (and Scout-like organizations) within the United States of America. This group is intended to be the primary place for BSA and GSUSA specific posts. Rec.scouting.issues exists as a forum for discussion of sensitive issues relative to the various aspects of Scouting and Guiding. Rec.scouting.guide+girl is a group for members of organizations associated with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). All parties with an interest in this aspect of Scouting and Guiding are encouraged to participate in this group. This is the international forum for Girl Scouting. Rec.scouting.misc is an international scouting and guiding forum intended for discussions of all aspects of guiding and scouting. Since there are so many BSA and GSUSA scouters on Usenet, let me note here that rec.scouting.misc is not the place to post BSA or GSUSA specific posts. Please see the following section detailing group charters for more information on the specific groups within rec.scouting. To keep duplicate articles to a minimum, crossposting between rec.scouting groups is discouraged. Postings not related to scouting or guiding are discouraged. This document introduces new readers to the different groups and the preferred Etiquette for the rec.scouting hierarchy. Individual groups may have additional etiquette guidelines, see the list for group-specific Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) files. If you have a useful item to be included wth this FAQ file please write it and post it to rec.scouting.misc. Please send a copy directly to me and I will add it to the file. As the FAQ files are updated regularly, make sure that you have the latest copy in your hands. The release date of this FAQ is indicated in the line starting with "Last-Modified:" at the top of this file. Files older than three months should be considered as outdated. Please take a few minutes and post an introduction. Tell us a bit about yourself, what organization you are with, and you position, how long you have been involved and what you would like to see discussed in a particular rec.scouting group. NOTE: The term rec.scouting.* refers to the rec.scouting hierarcy within this FAQ. This file or parts of it may be freely used, printed and re-distributed as long as you enclose this paragraph and keep the references to the respective contributors and to the maintainer (listed below) intact. -- Bill Nelson ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Etiquette Guidelines -- rec.scouting.* From: Bill Nelson Date: 22 Jun 1996 *** ETIQUETTE GUIDELINES *** Before reading any further, please go to the newsgroup 'news.announce.newusers' and read the posting: 'Rules for posting to Usenet'. This article describes some of the preferred rules for posting on Usenet. People posting to the rec.scouting groups are expected to know and abide by these rules. It is also recommended to reveiw RFC 1855 "Netiquette Guidelines" which can be found at: http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/htbin/rfc/rfc1855.html The best starting place for learning about Usenet is Indiana University's Usenet Resources page, at: http://scwww.ucs.indiana.edu/NetRsc/usenet.html The following guidelines are in addition to the above. o It is expected that scouts, guides and scouters adhere to the principles of their organization's oath, promise or law pertaining to proper behavior. o Before asking a question, check the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) here and in the FAQ file for your rec.scouting.* group. Chances are the answer is there. o Please do not "flame" (insult) anyone in these newsgroups. Discussions will naturally bring disagreements, however, rebuttals should always be made in a rational, logical and mature manner. A good rule of thumb: Be conservative in what you send and liberal in what you receive. You should not send heated messages even if you are provoked. On the other hand, you shouldn't be surprised if you get flamed and it's prudent not to respond to flames. Don't get involved in flame wars. Neither post nor respond to incendiary material. o If an inappropriate, or off subject note is posted to a group please send a private email to the poster informing them of the appropriate subject matter for the group. Such action should be taken with all due respect and in a polite (Scout-like) manner. Please do not post a reply to the group. A posted reply only adds to the clutter in the group. o The rec.scouting hierarchy is international in scope, Readers not familiar with your specific organization may have difficulty understanding some of your terminology. In fairness to these people, please define terms and expressions in your posting so all can understand exactly what you are writing about. o If you post concerning a specific organization (e.g., Scouts Canada) Please put the name of the organization (e.g., SC:) in the subject line since many organizations share the same names for their particular programs (e.g., Cub Scouts). o English is not the only allowed language on rec.scouting.*; however, it is the most widely understood. So if you're posting a message in another language, please, if possible, add a short abstract of its content at the beginning. o Please limit the amount of material included from previous postings and try to be concise. However, make sure that you include enough of the original post so as to make your follow-up sensible. o If you state any facts, please cite a reference where interested people can fine further information, and verify the citation. Please refrain from making global generalizations, such as "The xxx organization is the only organization in the world that does such and such." o Please re-edit your Subject and Newsgroup lines before sending a follow-up. Replies in the third round rarely have a direct relation to the original subject. o Please remember the charter of each newsgroup. If you find that your discussion is going outside of this charter, please take it to another group or off-line. o The bottom line: post intelligently, and make this newsgroup worthwhile to read through. If you are going to advertise on any of the rec.scouting.* groups please only advertise on one of them. Select it with care and adhere to the guidelines found in the FAQ: Advertising on Usenet, How to do it, and How not to Located at the news.answers group, and at: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Where to Go From Here ---------------------------------------------------------------------- There are a series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) files posted on the individual news groups as well as archived at: http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/scouting/ The next FAQ we recommend you read is: [rec.scouting.*] About the Scouting newsgroups (FAQ 1) End of [rec.scouting.*] Welcome - Read this First (FAQ 0) *********************************************