All the information relating to Usenet and Netiquette is a bit overwhelming. This page is here for an overview for those new to Usenet.

What is Netiquette?

"A social behavior on the 'net". Anyone who can push the "on" button on their PC could show up in newsgroups at somepoint. Many of these 'newbies' that appear in the newsgroups would like to know how to be courteous.

Thread

This is a group of articles in response to an original posting. Many 'newsreaders' (such as Outlook Express 6) will group them together to make conversations easy to follow. Some newsreaders begin a new thread if the subject changes; others just follow responses.

Lurkers

Lurkers are readers who don't post. This isn't a bad thing. Lurking for a couple of weeks before posting is highly recommended. Each group has it's own acceptable behavior- it needs to be studied to gain a better understanding.

Nitpickers

If you misspell a word or don't give the Encyclopedia Britannica® definition of something, expect a correction from a Nitpicker. The best advise is to ignore them completely and they should get bored of picking fault in people's postings.

Trolls

Trolls are those who aren't really looking for a sensible conversation. They appear in postings claiming that the subject of the group is ridiculous, all the posters are stupid, why not this, why not that, etc. They are often referred to as "it" in groups because they have no values. As with 'Nitpickers', the only way to get rid of them is by starving them of attention. Their only purpose in Usenet is to manipulate other users into responding. They are wasting their time, and their lives, don't waste yours dealing with them.

Plonk!

A 'killfile' or 'newsgroup filter' is a tool which many newsreaders incorporate to help the user skip particular subjects or people. This is a good tool to use against trolls.

Generic Groups

Groups that cover a range of subjects under one umbrella. In a TV or movie group, put the name of the film or the show in the subject line. In a crafts group, state the particular craft. It makes the group, as a whole, flow smoother by allowing the visitors to pick and choose their topics of interest.

Subject Line

Try to keep the subject in line with the article. What often happens is that the subject in the thread evolves until it no longer resembles the original conversation. Those who pick and choose their subjects end up wasting their time, and those who weren't interested in the original topic may be missing out on the current discussion.

In a television group, for example, when posting about a particular episode, put in either the air date or the title. "Saturday's episode" won't mean much, six weeks from now. The same holds true for groups about authors, celebrities or even neurological diseases. Be Specific whenever and wherever possible.

e-mail

Should replies be posted and e-mailed? Many people hate it. A lot of people consider e-mail to be a personal contact tool (for friends and family to communicate). It can be irritating to find that a reply to a newsgroup post ends up in the e-mail inbox and also in the newsgroup. Try to post messages rather than e-mail them when you are using a newsgroup.

Not everyone who answers questions in newsgroups wants to share their e-mail address, either, so you may not be able to reply anyway.

Whine, Whine

When follow-up posts have a different opinion from the original poster, a common complaint is, "new ideas aren't allowed." Usenet is a repository for opinion. Most people are not disrespecting other people's opinion as much as they are simply stating their own. Those who need confirmation that they are 'right' about 'everything' should find a support group and get that attention they are craving.

Clique or Treat

The other common complaint is that the group is a clique and new people aren't welcome. That's rarely true. It is, however, like most social situations; people tend to respond to those they "know". Another good reason to lurk for a while; it provides an opportunity to see who's friendly with whom, as well as to get a feel for writing style. It's also good to remember that there will be people you will never like, and people who will never like you. Just like life.

Flame Wars

"It's obvious you have no idea what you're talking about." Yup. that's it, all right. It's almost an initiation in Usenet. Sometimes it comes after making an honest mistake. Try not to get hurt feelings or go on the defensive. If you're in error, apologize and forget it - everybody else already has. You're not obligated to respond, either. Some posters don't seem to be able to carry on a polite conversation. If you ignore them, they often will stop responding to you.

Somebody who's sick of reading a flame war will say, take it to e-mail. This may be the correct way to go about things, but it is really best just to do that magic again- apologise once, then ignore further postings.

Advertising

Don't. It's even against many ISP's and news service's rules. Unlike Usenet in general, they can, and will, suspend posting privileges for blatant disregard of their policies. If you have something to sell, see if the group has a FAQ, or ask politely if it's ok. One thing to note is that it is usually ok to advertise in response to a request; ie, if somebody wants to know where to buy what you sell, it's generally acceptable to give them your URL.

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions. Many groups have them. Almost nobody gets testy over a post asking where the FAQ is (unless it was posted yesterday). Coming in new to a group asking the same question that's been asked a dozen times in the last two days doth not a good impression make. Archives are available at Google.com and you can search a particular group for 'FAQ'. Using this services stops you from pestering too many people.

Top or bottom?

One area of discussion that crops up a lot is whether to put responses on the top or the bottom of the message being responded to.

Probably the best thing to do is follow what the others on the group do. You won't get flamed for a bottom post. For other things, maybe, but not for placing the response at the end.

Cross Posting

Cross posting is sending one message with two or more groups in the "To:" field. It is best that you don't do this at all until you've been around a while, and then be sure the message is totally relevant in all places. Even so, some 'netcop' will reply with a complaint.

Attributions

When quoting previous articles, cite the author. Not only is it common courtesy to "quote your source", but it aids the reader in following threads. All news services occasionally drop articles, too, so if the original needs to be looked up elsewhere, it's nice to know whom to look for.

Trimming posts is good netiquette, too. A three paragraph article doesn't need to be quoted in full if the response is only relevant to the first few lines. It's good practice to get used to cutting out the parts that are unnecessary to the response. This saves computer space also (i.e. kilobytes) which means messages upload/download quicker.

Language

Bad language. Forget it. The easiest way to find "vulgar" language in Usenet is to complain about it. Few ISPs concern themselves with content, so it's best to just skip the offending parties. What's offensive in your neighborhood, might be perfectly acceptable in mine.

ALL CAPS IS SHOUTING. Don't do it. Unless you are shouting.

Contributing to any post is a representation of 'you'. Never SHOUT because it could come back round and bite you where the sun don't shine. You never know who might read your posts. It could be your neighbour you are discussing with.

Binaries/HTML

Usenet is a text medium, and some servers will automatically cancel posts with binaries or html that are not destined for a binary group. Even if your service doesn't filter them out, if your article travels through one who does, it will disappear. A lot of news readers can't read them, either, and the article ends up as row after row of gibberish. Some people have to pay phone charges, so that dancing chicken in your sig file can be costly. If you must post the photo of your new grandchild or Corvette, find the appropriate binary group.

Spoilers

The purpose of spoiler warnings is to advise those who don't wish to know about future developments that such information is about to be disclosed. Groups devoted to movies, comic books, authors etc. each have their own variations.

Spoilers include stories reported in well-known publications such as TV Guide® , broadcast on popular programs like Entertainment Tonight®, and even previously posted in articles on the newsgroup itself.

Just put SPOILER (or ANSWER if in 'games' for example) in the subject line

It is a breach of netiquette to spoil something by placing 'revealing' information anywhere in the Header/Subject of the post.