Posting-frequency: every 7 days
Last-modified: Mon Mar 15 1999
Copyright: See Section 13
Assorted Handy Tips for A.G.C Newbies
Denise Voskuil and x0tix
grendenise@hotmail.com / x0tix@my-dejanews.com
[The latest version of this FAQ can be obtained via the web at <http://www.enteract.com/~dvoskuil/faqs/newbie.html>. Versions posted to other websites might not necessarily be up-to-date. For links to this and other FAQs for Creatures and Creatures 2, visit the alt.games.creatures FAQ collection at <http://welcome.to/creatures.newbies/>.]
Changes: Changes about the location of the a.g.c FAQs.
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Subject: 0. What is this document?
If you want people to respond well to you and your posts to agc, please read the following FAQ very carefully. The purpose of this FAQ (Frequently Asked/Answered Questions) is to provide information to new participants in the Usenet newsgroup alt.games.creatures. Hopefully, even posters who have been here a while will find some of the included links and information useful. In a number of cases, we merely provide a short summary of the topic and a link or pointer to a FAQ on it; this is to avoid covering ground already described by other FAQ authors, yet to also help answer frequent questions from newbies and/or people returning after a long absence. These answers were not compiled from the authors' personal preferences, but from the general methods and preferences used by many regular posters to a.g.c (alt.games.creatures) and a.b.g.c (alt.binaries.games.creatures), as well as standard practices of Usenet etiquette.
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CONTENTS
1) Subject Lines for Posts
1.1) Using keywords
1.2) Writing descriptive subjects
1.3) Changing subject lines when the topic changes
1.4) Using people's names in a subject line
A) When not appropriate
B) When appropriate
2) Where is this COB?
3) Coming Into a Discussion Late
3.1) "What are you guys talking about?"
3.2) "You really expect me to do all that?"
4) Long .sigs
4.1) What's a .sig?
4.2) The issues about long .sigs
5) Requesting Files be E-mailed
6) Asking for Everyone's URLs
7) Asking for Replies by E-mail
8) Norn Torture Responses
9) Foul/Suggestive Language
10) Being "Unappreciated"/"Ignored", Etc.
11) Other a.g.c FAQs for Newbies
12) Acknowledgments
13) Copyright/Disclaimers
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Subject: 1. Subject Lines for Posts
1.1) Using keywords
Using the prefixes [C1], [C2], [OT], [STORY], [FAQ], etc, at the start of the Subject Line of your post allows people to choose which posts to read by using their Newsgroup Filters, Killfiles, etc. Some newsreading programs do not allow the option of downloading headers only first so that one can choose the threads you want to read, but fortunately, some do. The (up to) couple hundred posts a day can create huge connection expenses for some people, and a waste of time for others. Using the above prefixes can help a lot. Note that [OT] means "off-topic"; posts about non-Creatures matters. Off-topicness is usually tolerated on a.g.c, unlike on most newsgroups, but please try to keep it to a minimum or at least use this prefix.
1.2) Writing descriptive subjects
When writing a subject line, please make it descriptive but fairly short. This will help people decide what posts to read, and might help guide a local expert on the topic to your post. Writing a subject line like "Help!", "Important!", "Everyone please read!", and so forth is not only unhelpful to other readers, but will also tend to blend in with all the other posts from people who use the same type of subject. :) Something more like "[C2] Norn freezing!" or "[C1] How to make the grendel go away?" will be far more helpful for readers.
1.3) Changing subject lines when the topic changes
In long discussion threads, the topic will tend to change over time. It will help people who are following the discussion if you change the subject line to something more appropriate if the topic is completely different from what it once was. It will also help people who jump into the middle of, say, what appears to be a long thread on how to create new norns only to find that discussion on that stopped days ago and they're now talking about the best toy COBs for norns. However, please leave quoted a bit of the post you're responding to, so you don't confuse people whose newsreaders start a new thread when the subject line changes.
1.4) Using people's names in a subject line
A) When not appropriate
If you have E-mailed someone about something and they have not responded to you, either they are very busy and will try to get back to you, or forgot to respond (in which case a polite "did you get my message" E-mail is appropriate), or perhaps are ignoring you for a reason (like if you're nagging them to please custom-make you a COB or norn). ;) In this case, it is not appropriate to put their name in the subject line along with a message about how they didn't answer your E-mail, and so you're reposting it to a.g.c.
B) When appropriate
If an E-mail to someone bounces, and you've double-checked the E-mail address to be sure they didn't put something in it to keep spammers from mailing them, then it is fine to post one message to a.g.c asking that person to E-mail you and explaining that you got a bounce message when you tried. It's also appropriate to do this if you're posting a message that's related to that person's expertise but you'd like to include other people in the discussion as well, but probably not necessary - usually a descriptive subject line will attract the attention of most people interested in that topic. It's also fine if you wanted to praise someone's efforts in making COBs/norns/whatever to mention their name in the subject line.
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Subject: 2. Where is this COB?
Before posting a message to a.g.c asking where a certain COB is, please check the "Where's the COB?" webpage. It attempts to maintain an index of COBs for C1 and C2. If you can't find it there, and surfing a few other sites hasn't helped, try looking up a mention of it on Deja News - use the Power Search function to limit your search to the a.g.c newsgroup. If you still have no luck, then post your request to the newsgroup.
Where's the COB?:
<http://hometown.aol.com/jwalk6/index.htm>
Deja News - Power Search Form:
<http://www.dejanews.com/home_ps.shtml>
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Subject: 3. Coming Into a Discussion Late
3.1) "What are you guys talking about?"
If you start reading a thread some time after it's started, please don't post a question like this. Either look at the other posts earlier in the thread, or if they're not on the newsgroup any longer, go to Deja News and use the Power Search form to find the start of that thread. It might also help to "lurk" (read but don't post) on the newsgroup for a while - perhaps a week to a month - to help you get an idea of what the group is like and what's going on. If that still doesn't help, then ask, but be specific and polite.
Deja News - Power Search Form:
<http://www.dejanews.com/home_ps.shtml>
3.2) "You really expect me to do all that?"
Actually, yes. :) It's only polite. In some newsgroups with a lot of traffic (like a.g.c has), if you ask a FAQ or even not-so-frequently asked question, sometimes a follow-up post will consist only of a URL pointing you to the answer, or even a Message-ID that you're supposed to search for on Deja News. We're really friendly and chatty, but even we need people to do a little work first - it's a busy newsgroup!
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Subject: 4. Long .sigs
4.1) What's a .sig?
A .sig is the "signature" that some people have at the ends of their posts. It can contain things like name, E-mail address, URL, quotes, and so forth. If you're not sure how to create one yourself, please check the help file that comes with your newsreader.
4.2) The issues about long .sigs
Usenet standard etiquette (also known as "netiquette") is that .sigs be kept short, to no more than 4-5 lines. If you exceed that by very much on most other newsgroups, you might be criticized. On a.g.c, long .sigs are usually tolerated, but that doesn't mean that everyone likes them. In fact, some people have admitted on the group to usually avoiding posts by people who have extremely long .sigs - they take a while to download, and do not have much "real" information in them compared to the length of the .sig. Also, people with offline newsreaders have to store all posts that have been downloaded on their hard drive, and this can waste space quickly.
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Subject: 5. Requesting Files be E-mailed
Please don't, except in extreme circumstances, post messages to a.g.c requesting that COBs, norns, etc. be E- mailed to you. You might be unlucky enough that lots of people E-mail you the files you want - so many, in fact, that you can't retrieve any of your mail, and you have to spend some time dealing with tech support at your ISP trying to fix the problem (and enduring a lecture from them about not doing that). Instead, find out where you can download the COB or norn from, and do it. If you can't get to the site because it's not responding, you could ask if other people are having troubles or if there's another location to get it from. If the problem is that your ISP will not carry alt.binaries.games.creatures and the file was posted there, either wait for it to be posted to the creator's own website, or until it is archived on the a.b.g.c archive:
<http://welcome.to/alt.binaries.games.creatures/>
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Subject: 6. Asking for Everyone's URLs
If you want to make a big bookmark file or links page of cool Creatures sites, please don't start a thread asking for everyone's URLs. If you read almost any post to the newsgroup, just about all of them will have a URL in the .sig. Visit the site, see if you like it, and bookmark it or link to it if you do. A "What's your URL?" thread is a waste of time, since not everyone will read it and post their URL, and you can get URLs much easier by just reading posts. You'll also get a very nice long list of creatures sites if you do a search for Creatures+Cyberlife or Creatures2 on something like Yahoo! or Infoseek. Another resource is the Creatures Directory:
<http://web.ukonline.co.uk/cfm/sam/creatures/links2.htm>
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Subject: 7. Asking for Replies by E-mail
It's fine to ask for a copy of any posts via E-mail. However, it's usually impolite to ask for replies exclusively by E-mail, especially if you say that's because you don't read the newsgroup often. First, someone else may have the same question, and if no one posts the answer to the group, they will have to re-ask the question and people will have to take the time to answer it again. Second, a newsgroup is a collaborative process. People should give and take, i.e., post both questions and answers when they can. Just coming to the group and expecting people to give you answers when you don't seem to intend to stay around to participate will annoy people.
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Subject: 8. Norn Torture Responses
Please don't start a thread about how people should flame AntiNorn or other norn torturers. This is one of the more well-known flame topics started on the newsgroup, and will probably only get you criticized; it's been discussed so often that most regulars are sick of it. Some torturers have forums on their websites that will allow you to discuss the topic there. Also, AntiNorn has been very helpful to players on the newsgroup and in chat, and has discovered various things about norns and the game that others hadn't, so don't see him as a one-dimensional "evil" person.
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Subject: 9. Foul/Suggestive Language
Please be aware that many children read alt.games.creatures, seemingly moreso than on many other newsgroups you may be used to. Thus, most of the regulars on a.g.c frown upon the use of swearing or blatantly suggestive content. Note that some slightly suggestive material is inescapable since C1 and C2 involve breeding, but most talk about breeding/"kisspopping", being "in the mood", etc., is all right in that context, and usually tolerated jokingly in other posts.
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Subject: 10. Being "Unappreciated"/"Ignored", Etc.
Occasionally, some posters to a.g.c will feel like they're unappreciated, their posts are being ignored, or if teased will get mad and proclaim that they're leaving. This is not recommended - if you're unlucky, you may find out just how many people really don't care. ;)
Seriously, this behavior will be seen by quite a few people as a temper tantrum, and you may not get the response you wanted. If you're feeling mad for other reasons that day, don't post to the newsgroup right away. Wait until the next day or so. Many posters ended up making other people annoyed at them, only to later post apologies about how they'd just had an awful day for other reasons. Remember that what you post to Usenet gets archived on Deja News for anyone to look up, even years later. You're essentially speaking in public whether you know it or not.
If you think your work isn't appreciated, do remember to ask for feedback when you offer your work, whether it be by putting your E-mail address and a guestbook on your webpage, constructing a .sig to mention your URL and a short description of what's there, or putting a comment like "What do/don't you like? Please let me know!" at the end of a story post. There are so many people who contribute to the a.g.c community, whether it be in COBs, creatures, FAQs, helping on the newsgroup, being pleasant and welcoming to newbies, and so forth; most don't get the appreciation that they deserve. On that note, if someone created some neat thing or helped you out, please tell that person!
If a question you've asked hasn't been answered, be sure you've checked the FAQs for answers first. Refer to the subject line guidelines above to be sure people can find your post easily. If your question was about something involving a lot of work (wanting someone to build you a new world or custom-make a new breed), then you should probably learn to do it for yourself from the available FAQs - these activities take a lot of time, and most participants are busy enough making the things they want.
Most importantly, be polite, don't whine or yell (posting in capital letters is considered yelling on Usenet), and if your newsreader has a spell-checker, using it won't hurt as it will make your posts look better. Consider posting your question during the week; some people don't read news on the weekend, and may miss your question in the flood of posts they see on Monday. Finally, realize that everyone posting to a.g.c has a "real" life to deal with (well, most of us do... ;) ) and dealing with the flood of daily posts can be overwhelming. You may have to wait at least a couple of days for an answer sometimes.
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Subject: 11. Other a.g.c FAQs for Newbies
If you have a question about a.g.c, C1, or C2 that wasn't answered here, before posting to the newsgroup, please visit the Creatures Newbie Resource. Ali Maggs created it as an easy-to-understand basic guide for newbies to the game or the newsgroup.
The Creatures Newbie Resource:
<http://welcome.to/creatures.newbies/>
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Subject: 12. Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the following individuals who have helped and contributed to this document:
Ali Maggs <ali@albia2000.force9.co.uk>, for creating the Creatures Newbie Resource site and for taking over the archival of the FAQs.
Jaywalker <JWALK6@aol.com>, for compiling and hosting the "Where's the COB?" site.
Jason Westman <realvinegar@bigfoot.com>, for maintaining the web archive of alt.binaries.games.creatures for so long.
All the regular FAQ writers/posters of a.g.c (past and present), who help make the group and the games less confusing for others.
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Subject: 13. Copyright/Disclaimers
This FAQ may be posted to alt.games.creatures, or to any on-line service or BBS as long as it is posted in its entirety and includes this copyright statement. It may be posted to webpages as well, but the page maintainer should try very hard to keep up with any revisions/changes, so that an outdated FAQ will not be archived. If this is too difficult, a link may be made directly to it at the location specified in the first paragraph of this FAQ.
This FAQ may not be distributed for financial gain.
This FAQ may not be included in commercial collections or compilations without express permission from the authors.
The authors of this FAQ have merely compiled this information for use by others, and are not responsible for any harm to your psyche, ego, attention span, or sanity if you choose to participate in the insanity known as alt.games.creatures. (That's a joke. Just checking to see if you bothered to read this part.) Corrections/additions graciously accepted.
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