
INTRODUCTION TO REC.MUSIC.BEATLES
Last Update: 23 November 1994
Copyright 1993, 1994 by saki (dmac@math.ucla.edu)---all rights reserved.
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WHAT IS USENET?

First things first:

The *Inter*net connects a large number of electronic bulletin boards
together; it's a multi-level bridge. *Use*net existed independently
from other electronic media exchange systems years before anyone
thought about the Information Superhighway. It was created for
academic, scientific, and defense researchers, enabling them to
exchange information via electronic mail and newsgroups of
mutual interests.

Usenet has grown far beyond that humble beginning. Now it encompasses
research as well as recreational and alternative groups, all of which
share a somewhat anarchically agreed-upon hierarchy within Usenet. You
may be accessing Usenet groups (called "newsgroups", not conferences)
via an outside bulletin board, but you will find it to your advantage
to learn Usenet protocol and netiquette (net etiquette). It's not
hard! It's really very easy...and it allows millions of people to
share ideas and opinions from all over the world.

The rec* hierarchy includes newsgroups which focus on recreational
topics---games, music, TV, movies, etc. Rec.music.beatles is part
of this sub-hierarchy. Each newsgroup has its own "personality"
and local protocol. Finding out what's expected in this system is
part of your initial exploration. Some newsgroups are full of
insults; some are very polite. Some rely on hearsay and personal
experience; some on more solid reference works. No matter what
newsgroup you're considering, read it first for a week or two
to get the "flavor" of it. If you have any questions or concerns
about what you should post, write an email message to someone
who seems to be knowledgeable and a fairly regular contributor.

OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Many sites are now contructing ftp directories and World Wide Web
routes, and each provide ways to get more information about your
area of interest.

FTP stands for "file transfer protocol" and allows the reader to
travel electronically to a resource site in order to gather
information. It provides files to copy and transfer to your
own home directory ("downloading"). But because of a need for
local security, you can't perform all the usual Unix commands
at an FTP site. Common commands are "dir" and "cd" (to see and 
switch to directories), "get" and "put" (to dowload or upload
files). When you "get" a file via FTP, you get a copy of it;
the original stays in place.

Some r.m.b. FAQ notes are kept at FTP sites around the world. See
the weekly FAQ posting in r.m.b. for details. For instructions on
how to use FTP, see your local system operator or check your on-line
manual page (from Unix sustems).

The World Wide Web is like an interactive index card/library
system (like Hypertext, if you're familiar with a Mac environment).
Depending upon your home system, you can reach and read files 
consisting of straight text or even graphics and maps. A list of
WWW Beatles sites is also included in the weekly FAQ listing. If you 
have software like Lynx, which permits non-graphically-enhanced use
of WWW, you can enjoy WWW information even if you don't operate from
a Windows environment.

Gopher is a non-graphical text-reading and downloading system which
links numerous informational sites. Gopher may also provide you with
newsgroup access (though not posting ability).

Your system operator or computer lab consultant should be able to
help you use any of these systems, providing your site supports them.

SOME POTENTIAL PITFALLS

In rec.music.beatles, you'll be among friends, but you need to
be aware of several points.

People are behind posts
-----------------------
It's easy to forget, but there are real people behind each article
posted to r.m.b., as with any newsgroup. Consider the feelings and
concerns of the individual to whom you may be responding or
following-up before you do so. With electronic communication,
it's surprisingly easy to focus on the words alone, instead of
the fact than a human wrote them. Thus:

Flame wars are not part of r.m.b.
---------------------------------
Other newsgroups may "flame" (i.e. insult) each other to their
heart's content, but we don't do that here. Everyone's opinion
matters, and everyone should have a fair shake at their say. This
doesn't mean that no one will ever disagree with you! Heaven
forfend; polite, scholarly disagreement is the heart of good
research. 

Disagreements which meander beyond the subject matter at hand
(to wit, the Fabs) should be carried out via email, not posted
to r.m.b. If you're really upset, angry, or disturbed by something
someone has posted, contact them at their email address. Don't
post your concerns to the newsgroup.

Ignore random flames
--------------------
Occasionally, someone new to r.m.b. or someone "who has left their
terminal unattended" (a frequently seen excuse) posts a message
of a distinctly antagonistic nature to r.m.b. It may not be the
poster's fault (if he's been foolish enough to give his password
to another!)...or it may be a deliberate attempt to provoke a
response (i.e. a "flame war"). Don't play this game. 

Examples of flame provoking topics (called "flame bait"):

The Beatles were really all untutored nitwits.

The Stones/Megadeth/UB40/Etc. were better than the Beatles.

People who post about the Beatles are stupid/idiotic/fools/demented.

Anyone so preoccupied with the Beatles should get a life....

You get the idea. Like those awful things kids used to say to
each other in childhood, such posts are meant to provoke a 
response, or flood some unsuspecting soul with unwanted email.
Ignore such posts. Don't even bother to respond. In Usenet, the 
standard method for dealing with such provocations is to just
keep silent. If the perpetrator sees no response, he/she will
grow tired of the game. Really. This is the only thing that
works. Logic, better humor, and argumentation will not drive
away a persistent troublemaker. Utter silence will!

Likewise:

Ignore improperly crossposted articles
--------------------------------------
Sometimes troublemakers "crosspost" a particular bit of flame-bait
or self-admired cleverness to many groups which are clearly
inappropriate (look at the header in the "newsgoups" line to
see how many newsgroups are receiving the article). Example:
a post about religion to alt.aquaria, rec.music.beatles, misc.kids,
comp.risks, etc. The more crosspostings, the wider the audience,
and the greater the possibility of creating a traffic jam of
protest in each.

Like flame bait, this should be ignored, even if the subject
takes a week or two to die off. Posting a polite response
("Would you please take r.m.b. out of your newsgroups line?")
will result in further jeers or unwanted traffic. Pretend it's
not there. I know it's tough, but you'll be rewarded in the end.

Stick to the subject!
---------------------
Funny remarks about politics, society, what a bad day you're
having, etc., are not appropriate for r.m.b. unless there's
a discernable Beatles content in your post. Use your best
judgment on this one, please.

HOW TO POST

If you're new to Usenet, it can be pretty unsettling to imagine
all the things that can go wrong with your first posting. You may
not even be familiar with computers, yet your institution has given
you a free account! What to do? How do you respond? Or even save
articles?

First step: determine who runs your computer system, and what kind
it is. Most institutions run a form of Unix, and a system administrator/
operator (sysop) is assigned to keep things running smoothly. Find
out who this is at your site, and ask them for any brochures or
on-line material about your system. You don't have to understand
the system perfectly to know what you're doing. It's pretty simple,
even for absolute neophytes.

If you know that your computer system is Unix, then there's an
on-line manual for your enjoyment; just type "man [command]" and
it will scroll across your screen. If you use a typical newsreading
program called "rn" (readnews), type "man rn" to see how to use
the program, what commands are available. Other news systems are
inews, vnews, rrn, trn. Or type "rn" by itself (presumably you've
already learned to do this) to get into the program and use the 
various functions. When in doubt, ask your local sysop; he or she
understands your system better than anyone.

To write articles, you can either compose from within the news
program (using your default editor---ask your sysop how to set
this up), using commands like "F" (follow-up) and "R" (reply---sends
a letter to the poster whose article you're reading). You can also
compose and article separately, using whatever editor you prefer
(vi, ed, emacs, etc.---again, ask your sysop or type "man vi", for
instance, to find out how those editors work), then post using
"Pnews" (type "man Pnews" to find out how this works, if your site
has Pnews, that is!) and add in your article when the prompt asks.

To test your article, post it to misc.test first, and check 
before it goes out to the world. You can determine how far your post
propagates by chosing the right DISTRIBUTION: your state, country,
world, etc. Don't post local information (such as about a swap
meet) to "world". And don't worry about the warning you get when
you're just about to post---you're not really wasting "hundreds
if not thousands" of dollars. It's just a reminder that you should
choose your words---and spend your time, which is presumably
worth something to *you*---carefully.

It's also a good idea to review your article before posting it (you
can do this either in misc.test or off-line) to make sure your spelling's
in order (if you care...there's a Unix program called "spell" which
flags common misspellings) and that your lines break in readable order.
Automatic carriage returns on your terminal may be too long for other
sites, and your text may appear in fragments. When in doubts, break
lines manually at 60 or 70 characters, or ask your sysop how to set
up autowrap to *less than* 80 characters.

Using responses ("f"/"F" ) within the news program will automatically
print the article you're responding to by "quoting" it---usually with
> a right-caret like this or
% sometimes another symbol.
Then you type your response here.

You do not have to quote the whole article to which you're responding;
in fact, that's considered bad form (people have already read it
once!) Use your editor to delete any extraneous lines; use your
own best judgment, but in general you can delete all but a line or
two from the previous article, so people get the idea what you're
answering.

If you want a special "signature", with your name, email address,
or a quotation, this goes into a file called .signature (in Unix
based systems). Ask your sysop for help with this. Once it's set
up, it will automatically appear at the end of your articles.

Because computer communications are lacking the typical elements
of everyday speech, sometimes attempts at humor or sarcasm can
be misunderstood. To make sure your audience knows you're making
a joke, use "smiley face" symbols as emphasis, if you feel it would
otherwise be unclear. Example:   :-) (turn your head to the left to
see why it's a smiley face.) But don't over-use! :-) :-) :-)

To emphasize words or phrases, we use *---* before and after the
last letters, since underlining and italicising are unavailable
on ascii screens. You can also use the asterisk to stand for
missing letters (as you will shortly see), but their predominant
use is to *emphasize* text.

Other regularly used abbreviations are BTW (by the way), IMHO (in
my humble opinion), and YMMV (your mileage may vary). Rarely
will you see r.m.b.'ers use RTFM (read the f***ing manual),
but you may see it in other newsgroups.

Watch out for your caps lock key, too. On the net, typing something
entirely in capitals IS CONSIDERED TO BE EQUIVALENT TO SHOUTING. And
it's tough to read, as well. Typing an article entirely in lowercase
also disturbs some readers, but you're welcome to do this if it 
amuses you. Overuse of exclamations (!!!!!!) and extreme colloquialisms
or slang are subject to occasional flames from readers; be forewarned.

Propagation is a curious thing. Your article may travel outward from
your system instantly, or may take days, depending upon the directness
of your newsfeed. Do not assume that if you see no response to your
query, you should repost your article. Give the net about a week to
propagate your message to other machines; if your question is really
urgent, you can try posting again. 

Now and again, it may seem to you that a comment has fallen on
deaf ears, so to speak. Don't assume that, just because you see no
responses or follow-ups, your post was not read by anyone. It very
probably was, but no one had any further words of wisdom. :-) You 
should also know that other news sites receive articles in different
order than your site; if you fail to quote a previous article, but
refer to it obliquely, your readers may be confused; on their system,
the previous article may deal with another subject entirely!

One repetition of your message, query, offer, etc., should be
sufficient. If no one responds after two such messages, you can
assume that no one is interested or has a suitable comment to
make.

If you seem to be getting no new articles for a period of days, your
news feed may be interrupted or broken. Consult your system operator
for advice.

A few reminders before you post:

1. Check your Subject line and *edit it* if necessary; if you're
responding to a previous article but have a slightly different
slant, the old Subject may no longer be accurate.

2. Don't quote the previous article in its entirety. Edit it down
to several important sentences (which, as you remember, will be quoted
> like this!)

3. Make sure your .signature file is short and sweet---preferably no
more than five or six lines. Some people read via very slow modems
and long .sigs take up time and money.

That's basically it. If you're still confused about something
technical at your end, ask your sysop. If you're even more confused,
consult a book about your computer system. If it's still not clear,
write to saki (dmac@math.ucla.edu) and I'll try to help.

Good luck, and welcome to rec.music.beatles!
----
saki (dmac@math.ucla.edu)

