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=  F.U.C.K. - Fucked Up College Kids - Born Jan. 24th, 1993 - F.U.C.K.  =
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                                Users
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   Well. Got a new local board. It is called a newbie board and is full of
newbies. Bah. Since then, there has been a big argument about newbies,
"elite", and other types of BBSers. I guess I define newbie as "Anyone who
displays a lack of knowledge regarding a BBS." This means that someone
could BBS for years yet still be  considered a newbie. Just as well, 
someone who has been BBSing for a short amount of time can display 
everything the veterans do. Time has nothing to do with it really.
   When BBSing I try to help out a new person if I can. If they just ask 
a question then i will answer it. If they cop an attitude then I will be 
one of the first to slam them. (evil ain't I?) Anyway, a few others 
basically said it is wrong for me to correct a new person if he is doing 
something wrong. The following is a few things about BBSing that I hope 
all new people read. The first set of items are a list of things to do 
and not do. As it says, it was written by a sysop, and I would bet most 
sysops would agree to most of the items.


Author unknown (but clearly a sysop)


1.  Don't habitually hang up on a system.  Every Sysop is aware that
accidental disconnections happen once in a while but we do tend to get annoyed
with people who hang up every single time they call because they are either
too lazy to terminate properly or they labor under the mistaken assumption
that the 10 seconds they save online is going to significantly alter their
phone bill.  "Call Waiting" is not an acceptable excuse for long.  If you have
it and intend to use the line to call BBS systems, you should either have it
disconnected or find some other way to circumvent it.

2.  Don't do dumb things like leave yourself a message that says "Just testing
to see if this thing works".  Where do you think all those other messages came
from if it didn't work?  Also, don't leave whiney messages that say "Please
leave me a message ".  If ever there was a person to ignore, it's the one who
begs someone to leave him a message.  If you want to get messages, start by
reading the ones that are already online and getting involved in the
conversations that exist.

3.  Don't use the local equivalent of a chat command unless you really have
some clear cut notion of what you want to say and why.  Almost any Sysop is
more than happy to answer questions or offer help concerning his system. 
Unfortunately, because about 85% of the people who call want to chat and about
99% of those people have absolutely nothing to say besides "How old are you?"
or something equally irrelevent, fewer Sysops even bother answering their
pagers every day.

4.  When you are offered a place to leave comments when exiting a system,
don't try to use this area to ask the Sysop questions.  It is very rude to the
other callers to expect the Sysop to carry on a half visible conversation with
someone.  If you have a question or statement to make and expect the Sysop to
respond to it, it should always be made in the section where all the other
messages are kept.  This allows the Sysop to help many people with the same
problem with the least amount of effort on his part.

5.  Before you log on with your favorite pseudonym, make sure that handles are
allowed.  Most Sysops don't want people using handles on the system.  There
is not enough room for them, they get silly games of one-upmanship started,
it is much nicer to deal with a person on a personal basis, and last but not
least, everyone should be willing to take full responsibility for his actions
or comments instead of slinging mud from behind a phoney name.

6.  Take the time to log on properly.  There is no such place as RIV, HB, ANA
or any of a thousand other abbreviations people use instead of their proper
city.  You may think that everyone knows what RIV is supposed to mean, but
every BBS has people calling from all around the country and I assure you that
someone from Podunk Iowa has no idea what you're talking about.

7.  Don't go out of your way to make rude observations like "Gee, this system
is slow".  Every BBS is a tradeoff of features.  You can generally assume that
if someone is running a particular brand of software, that he is either happy
with it or he'll decide to find another system he likes better.  It does
nobody any good when you make comments about something that you perceive to
be a flaw when it is running the way the Sysop wants it to.  Constructive
criticism is somewhat more welcome.  If you have an alternative method that
seems to make good sense then run it up the flagpole.

8.  When leaving messages, stop and ask yourself whether it is necessary to
make it private.  Unless there is some particular reason that everyone
shouldn't know what you're saying, don't make it private.  We don't call them
PUBLIC bulletin boards for nothing, folks.  It's very irritating to other
callers when there are huge blank spots in the messages that they can't read
and it stifles interaction between callers.  [On the other hand, don't post
stuff in public that would be totally obscure to everybody except one person. 
-- Tim]

9.  If your favorite BBS has a time limit, observe it.  If it doesn't, set a
limit for yourself and abide by it instead.  Don't tie up a system until it
finally kicks you off and then call back with another name.  This same rule
applies to downloading or playing games.  Only one person at a time can be
logged on to a BBS and it isn't fair to everyone else if you overstay your
welcome.  Remember, a BBS is best when it can be left wide open.  If you try
and cheat the rules you just hurt everybody by forcing the Sysop to adopt more
strigent policies.  I can't count the number of systems that are now locked
tighter than a drum because of people who cheat and abuse.

10.  Don't call a BBS just to look at the list of other BBS numbers.  Most
especially don't call a system as a new user and run right to the other
numbers list.  There is probably very little that's more annoying to any Sysop
than to have his board completely passed over by you on your way to another
board.

11.  Have the common courtesy to pay attention to what passes in front of your
face.  When a BBS displays your name and asks "Is this you?", don't say yes
when you can see perfectly well that it is mispelled.  Also, don't start
asking questions about simple operation of a system until you have thouroghly
read all of the instructions that are available to you.  I assure you that it
isn't any fun to answer questions about the way a BBS does one 
particular thing or another for the thousandth time when the answer is
prominently displayed in the instructions or bulletins, if a caller would only
bother to look.  On the other hand, if you have read the instructions, and
find them to be vague, take the time to leave the Sysop a nice message telling
him about your problem and explain how it might be changed to help others
understand better.

12.  If by some chance you should encounter an error while you are online
(Heaven forbid!), ALWAYS take the time to leave the Sysop a message describing
the circumstances.  Don't just say "There was an error".  That is not helpful
in the least.  Chances are that he knows there was an error.  What he needs
to know is what you were doing when the error occurred so that he can have
some chance of finding and correcting it.  If the error happened after you
input something, tell him what it was.  Remember that a BBS can't improve
unless you're willing to help.

13.  Don't be personally abusive.  It doesn't matter whether you like a Sysop
or think he's a jerk.  The fact remains that he has a large investment in
making his computer available, usually out of the goodness of his heart.  If
you don't like a Sysop or his system, just remember that you can change the
channel any time you want.  Calling a Sysop names or making uninformed
comments about this lifestyle only shows you for the child you really are.

14.  Keep firmly in mind that you are a guest on any BBS you happen to call. 
Don't think of logging on as one of your basic human rights.  Every person
that has ever put a computer system online for the use of other people has
spent a lot of time and money to do so.  While he doesn't expect nonstop pats
on the back, it seems reasonable that he should at least be able to expect
fair treatment from his callers.  This includes following any of the rules for
system use he has laid out without grumping about it.  Every Sysop has his own
idea of how he wants his system to be run.  It is really none of your business
why he wants to run it the way he does.  Your business is to either abide by
what he says, or call some other BBS where you feel that you can obey the
rules.

-------
Posting.
These are my own and are based on observations of local users and their
reactions to various posting "styles".
1. DO NOT TYPE IN ALL CAPS.
2. Avoid excessive use of color, especially flashing red.
3. Do not interupt a conversation with something totally unrelated.
4. Do not profess to know everything about BBSing.
5. Do not take all insults seriously. If there is a <G> or other sign
   that shows it is in jest, take it as that.

     Yep. That is about all. That is the basics. Follow those basics and
you will "fit in" with the other BBSers. Some say that this takes away
from individuality but it doesn't. It is easy to develp a posting style
that is unique, yet follow each of those rules.
     The following is a small list of different symbols and abbreviations
that are commonly used on BBSs. This list is not complete and many may
not be used where you BBS.

ADN          Any day now
AFAIK        As Far As I Know
AMF          Goodbye (Adios Mutha-......)
BBS          Bulletin Board System
BTW          By The Way
DIIK         Damned if I know
FITB         Fill In The Blank....
FWIW         For What It's Worth
FYI          For Your Information
GIWIST       Gee I Wish I'd Said That
IC           I See
IMHO         In My Humble Opinion
IMNSHO       In My Not So Humble Opinion
IOW          In Other Words
L8R          Later
LOL          Laughing Out Loud
NBFD         No Big F***ing Deal
OIC          Oh, I See
OTOH         On The Other Hand
PFM          Pure F***ing Magic
PITA         Pain In The Arse
POV          Point Of View
ROTFL        Rolling On The Floor Laughing
ROTFLMAO     Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Ass Off
RSN          Real Soon Now
RTFM         Read The F..k... Manual
SYSOP        System Operator
TPTB         The Powers That Be
TTBOMK       To The Best Of My Knowledge
TTFN         Ta Ta For Now
TTUL         Talk To You Later
WTF          What the F***
    
:-)  :->  :)  :>  Smiling, happy face; don't take me too seriously
B-)     Above, but poster wears glasses or sunglasses
8-)     Same as previous; also used to denote wide-eyed look
:-(     Sad or angry face
;-)     Winking happy face (something said tongue-in-cheek)
:-P     Tongue stuck out
:-b     Same as previous
:-D     Wider happy face (or mouth open too much)
:-o     "Oh, nooooooo!" (a la Mr. Bill)
#:-o    Same as previous
<:-)    Dumb questions
oo      "Somebody's head-lights are on" messages
;-)     Wink ( take this message with a grain of salt)
|-(     Late night messages
@>--->----  A rose.

     Of course you can devise your own little signs and stuff but be
careful that they are understandable. If you make your own abbreviations
make sure that they are explained at one time and that they don't get to
long.
     These are just a few helpful hints to help you better enjoy BBSing.
Take them as you want to but know that they are not just the likes and
dislikes of a single BBSer.
                                           -Scourge


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