The alt.toys.transformers.classic.moderated FAQ by Burt Ward (Skyflight@Decepticon-Empire.org) Table of Contents 0.1 Introduction - Welcome to ATTCM 0.2 What's new this version 1.0 What does 'classic' mean exactly? 1.1 What isn't considered classic? 1.2 Why not Beast Wars/Machines? 1.3 Is this an anti Beast Wars/Machines group? 1.4 When is Beast Wars/Machines going to be on-topic? 2.0 It says this group is moderated. What does that mean exactly? 2.1 What are the posting guidelines? 2.2 Who are the moderators? 2.3 I can't find the newsgroup, what should I do? 2.4 Is there any other way to read ATTCM? 2.5 Is there an archive of articles? 2.6 How do I post to the newsgroup? 2.7 Are there any reasons my posts wouldn't show up? 2.8 When I posted, I got an email saying my post was rejected. Why? 2.9 How do I contact the moderation team? 3.0 How did this group get started? 4.0 Isn't there a whole lot of other Transformer-related stuff on the Net? 0.1 Introduction - Welcome to ATTCM Welcome to alt.toys.transformers.classic.moderated. This newsgroup's goal is to provide a spam-free, flame-free place to talk about the classic aspects of the Transformer universe. This document exists to answer questions that those new to the group might have. The FAQ is posted on a bi-weekly basis to the group. The latest version of this FAQ can also be found at the ATTCM homepage located at the following URL - http://www.panix.com/~attcm 0.2 What's new this version Question 1.4 has been added, and the URL for the web page has changed. 1.0 What does 'classic' mean exactly? Classic refers to all the aspects of Transformers that are no longer currently active. This includes Generation 1 and Generation 2 toys, the G1 and G2 cartoon and comic books, the G1 Japanese cartoons and toys, Machine Wars, and anything else that's not currently in production. 1.1 What isn't considered classic? Essentially, the only things not considered classic are Beast Wars and Beast Machines in America and Beast Wars II and Beast Wars Neo in Japan. 1.2 Why not Beast Wars/Machines? There are two reasons - First, the currently active lines generate a considerably higher amount of traffic than do the lines which are out of production. Discussions of classic topics tend to get drowned out. Second, the original proponents of the group feel there is a logical division of theme between classic Transformers and Beast Wars, much as there is a division between the original Star Trek series, and the Next Generation. Some names and even some characters carry over from one to the other, but the original proponents feel they are separate entities. Some other aspects of the Transformer universe undoubtedly are also different enough to count as separate, (the Japanese Masterforce series for example) but they are included as classic because they are no longer in production. 1.3 Is this an anti Beast Wars/Machines group? Emphatically no. This newsgroups is meant to celebrate the classic aspects of the Transformer universe, not to tear down the current incarnation. Some members of the group may in fact dislike Beast Wars, and may make that known in other forums. But any strictly anti Beast Wars posts will in fact be considered off-topic. Some minor comparison posts are allowed, be they positive or negative. (See section 2.1 for more info) 1.4 When is Beast Wars/Machines going to be on-topic? The issue have been brought up a few times on the group and the moderators have considered the issue carefully. It's felt that at the current time, Beast Machines is essentially a continuation of Beast Wars, and neither is on-topic for ATTCM. Additionally the moderators believe that Beast Wars is still fundamentally different in style and continuity, and has already produced more fan-familiarity than shows like Masterforce. The moderators feel that Beast Wars is still a seperate topic than the classic Transformers, and will remain so for the foreseeable future. 2.0 It says this group is moderated. What does that mean exactly? Moderation means that instead of an article being posted directly to Usenet, it is instead emailed to a person (the moderator) who will review the post to make sure that it follows the posting guidelines. The moderator will then approve the article and post it to Usenet, or reject the article. ATTCM uses a program called STUMP to make the process easier. This program is also referred to as a robomoderator, and helps to filter out spam and binary posts, as well as making our lives much easier. The moderators wish to extend their thanks to Igor Chudov for the program. Also, we should thank the whole staff at panix.com for the account and help they have provided. 2.1 What are the posting guidelines? Only articles that are relevant to the classic aspects of the Transformers universe will be approved. This covers a wide variety of subjects, including comics, cartoon, the movie, toys, and many others. See section 1.0 for more details. We invite questions, commentary, essays, reviews, reports, and just about anything else with a classic topic. Beast Wars posts are not completely forbidden - An occasional post that contains Beast Wars content as well as considerable classic content (for instance a comparison between classic and Beast Wars, citing similarities or tie-ins, convention reports, and others) will be acceptable. Comments without Classic content will not be acceptable, including negative comments about Beast Wars. We welcome FanFic with classic content, and we encourage cross-posting to alt.toys.transformers.fanfic. Discussions of FanFic are encouraged, and critiques will be acceptable, provided they are not hostile. Personal attacks of any kind will not be approved. The moderators have final say on what does and does not constitute a personal attack, though of course the poster may appeal a decision to the moderator board. Repeat offenders will be suspended from posting to the group. [Additional note] The moderators wish to avoid flame wars or hurt feelings whenever possible. And we tend to be overcautious in rejecting articles directed at a specific individual if there's any question as to the intent of the article. If you get a rejection notice that indicates the article is questionable or borderline, we do hope you'll reword it a bit and resubmit it. Forging approval headers or issuing false cancel messages will result in suspension and a report will be issued to the individual's ISP. No marketplace-style articles will be approved, considering the fact that there are two existing groups, alt.toys.transformers.marketplace, and rec.toys.transformers.marketplace, specifically for such articles. Marketplace topics include - advertising items for sale or desire to buy items, auction notices or updates (including pointers to auctions), and trader alerts. Binaries (such as pictures or sound files) will not be approved to the newsgroup. Please post any binaries in one of the appropriate binary groups, and then submit an article that tells people where to find them (name the group and subject line). Also, any articles that include binary encoding like MIME will be rejected. Some newsreaders will attach signatures in MIME format, and it will cause the article to be rejected. We currently accept cross-posts to rec.toys.transformers.moderated. We have a policy worked out with them, and cross-posts are allowed to that group. We also allow cross-posts to any on-topic unmoderated newsgroups like alt.toys.transformers and alt.toys.transformers.fanfic. Provided these posting guidelines are followed, a submission will be approved. No article will be rejected because it expresses views contrary to the views of active moderator(s) or the moderation team. The moderators will often approve articles they disagree with, and then post a reply to it. (Reading the group will make it obvious that articles contrary to our views are approved without problems.) Given the flexible nature of the Internet and the Transformer franchise as a whole, these posting guidelines are subject to revision. Discussion is welcome in the group about changes that could or should be made. If there is a sizable percentage of individuals who wish revisions, the moderating team will call for a formal discussion and voting process. 2.2 Who are the moderators? Currently the active moderating team consists of Charlotte Brogden, Grrrgoyle, Raksha, John Runski, and Burt Ward. Lorax is a backup moderator. Hopefully there should be moderator bios up on the ATTCM homepage soon. The homepage is located at - http://www.panix.com/~attcm 2.3 I can't find the newsgroup, what should I do? If you can't access ATTCM from your normal news reader, it's likely your Internet Service Provider does not carry it. Some ISPs only choose to carry a limited number of groups or only add groups with a certain amount of traffic. The thing to do is email the people in charge of adding newsgroups at the ISP you use. The people to email are postmaster@ and news@. Replace with whatever comes after the @ symbol in your email address. Thus, if your address is joe@aol.com, you should email postmaster@aol.com and news@aol.com. If you have more than one account, make sure you're emailing the same ISP that you use to read news. It is recommended you send a short polite email similar to the following example - Dear Postmaster and/or News admin : I would like to request that you add the newsgroup alt.toys.transformers.classic.moderated to the active list. The group is of great interest to me, and I'd like to be able to access it. It's moderated, and thus there won't be any spam or binary posts to worry about. Thanks for your time. Some larger ISPs like AOL or Compuserve may not respond personally. 2.4 Is there any other way to read ATTCM? There are several services that offer free Usenet reading and posting, such as Deja News and Zippo. Yahoo maintains a list of public access Usenet sites at this URL - http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/Usenet/ Public_Access_Usenet_Sites/ 2.5 Is there an archive of articles? Currently the archive is not being updated. We suggest looking up old articles at www.dejanews.com. 2.6 How do I post to the newsgroup? You can post in one of two ways. First is to simply post to the group with your news reader, just like you normally would. The second is to email your article directly. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. With direct email, your article is guaranteed to reach us (see section 2.7) and is also the fastest method. However, email isn't quite the same as a newsgroup post because of the headers. Usenet articles use headers that email doesn't, like the Newsgroups: and Followups-To: headers. In general, this doesn't cause any problems. However, if you want your article to be posted to ATTCM and another group, this becomes important. You might check your email program to see what headers you can add. Also with direct email you can post to ATTCM even if your ISP doesn't yet carry the group. The direct email address for ATTCM is - attcm@panix.com If you post from your newsreader, you don't have to worry about the headers; your news program will add them just as it does for any article. Your ISP will then relay the article to us. However, if you use a spam blocker, your article may be lost. (see section 2.7) Also, if your ISP doesn't get ATTCM, you can't post with this method. 2.7 Are there any reasons my articles wouldn't show up? Unfortunately yes. When you post with your newsreader, your ISP emails your article to the moderator relay system at isc.org. According to the moderator mailing list, there are seven different places that your article may go for relay to us. Of those, four have started to drop articles that have a nonexistent ISP in the From: header. What this means - Some people alter their headers so that spammers can't get their address from Usenet articles. This is called spam blocking. You might see articles from people with addresses like Joe@nospam or elaine@remove-this-to-email@aol.com. But if you do this, four of the seven moderator relays won't send your article to us. So, if you are going to alter your From: header, you should directly email your article. 2.8 When I posted, I got an email saying my article was rejected. Why? If your article doesn't follow the posting guidelines, it will be rejected. That means your article will not be posted to the group, and you will receive an automated rejection letter. Hopefully the letter will explain the problem adequately. If not, typically the moderator will send a follow-up letter explaining the exact problem with the article. We always encourage people to reformat and resubmit the article so we can approve it. The moderators are always willing to hear your side, and any comment or question about a rejection can be sent to our mailing list. (see next section) 2.9 How do I contact the moderation team? For technical matters, please email attcm-request@panix.com. For policy comments, questions about a rejection email, or to reach the whole staff on a matter that is really important, email attcm-admin@panix.com. Please do not email attcm@panix.com unless you want to submit your email as an article to the newsgroup. Our door is always open, and we want everyone to feel like they're a part of the group. So feel free to email us, we're here to help. 3.0 How did this group get started? The concept for this group had been discussed in alt.toys.transformers a few times without seeming to catch on with many people. However, the idea began to generate interest as the traffic on ATT began to increase rapidly. Also, a number of people began to feel classic posts were being overwhelmed and didn't have the time or inclination to go through it all. Finally, there were a number of ugly flame wars and personal attacks on ATT at that time. Raksha contacted the people who seemed interested in the idea of a new group, Charlotte Brogden, Lorax, John Runski, and Burt Ward. A mailing list was formed, and from the discussions grew the concept of ATTCM. Later, Overlord, Grrrlgoyle, and Steve Stonebraker would join the list, and provide valuble input as well. The details were gradually ironed out as the search for an ISP began. The robomoderator we wanted to use had very specific requirements, and we had a hard time finding an ISP that could provide what we needed. Also, the actual details of newsgroup moderation had to be investigated and some sort of picture of how the process actually worked was needed. The details of our posting policy and even which hierarchy to put the group in were discussed at length. It wasn't always easy finding a middle ground that made everyone happy, but we managed to do so. Finally panix.com told us that they could provide the account we were looking for, for which we thank them. Once the account was ready, installing and debugging the robomoderator took several days, and the moderation team wishes to extend thanks to Igor Chudov for his program and help. Eventually all was in readiness, and on May 10th 1998, the creation message was posted to alt.config. 4.0 Isn't there a whole lot of other Transformer-related stuff on the Net? Yes, there is an enormous amount of material. I recommend the Transformers FAQ by Steve Stonebraker, which has a great deal of information about TransFandom in general. That FAQ can be found at this URL - http://astro.bu.edu/~srstoneb/tf/index.html I also recommend the Complete Transformers Listing Page at www.bigbot.com This document (c)opyright 2000 by Burt Ward. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Permission is granted to copy and distribute this text provided it is kept intact and unaltered, and no fee is charged.