| From: | Richard Jury <fro@***.AB.CA> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | FAQ Part 2 (Really!) |
| Date: | Sat, 30 Nov 1996 00:57:57 -0700 |
alot of different text editors over its days. Due of a complete re-write,
yes yes I know :)
ShadowRN FAQ, Part II
Last modified November 29, 1996
Version 1.0
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List Policies & Related Resources
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1. MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE LIST
1. A Disclaimer
2. Off-topic postings and policies related to
- Moved to Part III
3. Why should I read this entire FAQ?
4. Replying to previous messages
5. About Flaming
6. Mailing List Advertising Policy
2. HOW TO GET PAST LOGS AND OTHER SHADOWRUN INFORMATION
---> THIS PORTION WILL BE UPDATED SOON <---
1. FTP, Gopher, and WWW sites for Shadowrun materials
3. SHADOWRUN RELATED MAILING LISTS, NEWSGROUPS AND OTHER FORUMS
1. ShadowTK
2. PLOT-D
3. NERPS
4. EARTHDAWN
5. ALT.CYBERPUNK.*
6. REC.GAMES.FRP.CYBER
7. ALT.MAGICK
8. Shadowrun MUSH
9. FASA Email Addresses
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MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE LIST
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A Disclaimer
By nature of the topic of this list (cyberpunk fiction and
role-playing), it should be warned that discussions often contain
violent, sexual or adult themes, as well as anarchistic political
discussions. The responsibility (blame?) for each posting falls
entirely into the hands of the original poster. The listowners,
postmaster, and the iTribe administration assume no liability for the
contents of postings.
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Off-topic postings and policies related to
This section has been moved to part 3 of the ShadowRN FAQ, where it has been
greatly expanded on. Also now includes some questions and answers that have
been beaten to death.
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Why should I read this entire FAQ?
Well, if you don't (and it's pretty obvious that you are, at least in
part), chances are you'll end up posting a question to the list which
has already been answered so many times that it became classified as
a Frequently Asked Question, and has been answered here in this FAQ.
This will cause a number of people to respond with answers such as
"Read the FAQ," "It's in the FAQ," and even "What kind of a
moron
doesn't read the FAQ?"
It may even spark a conversation about exactly what kind of moron
doesn't read the FAQ. Legend tells us of other, long-dead mailing
lists, in which this topic became such a point of deliberation as to
totally drive out any discussion related to the original purpose of
the mailing list, eventually taking up so much bandwidth that
hundreds of systems worldwide crashed from the influx of mail.
Also, it makes you look like a butthead.
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Replying to previous messages
(adapted from a Frequently Reposted Message by Doctor Doom)
When one seeks to juxtapose one's own views with an earlier message,
i.e. reply to an anterior posting, one should:
1. Facilitate differentiation between original and cited material
by denoting text from the former correspondence with initial
line characters (">" and "]" being typical), rather than
simply
append one's own material at the end.
2. Quote, or cite, only those lines pertinent to your reply or
commentary, that is to say, avoid repeating the entire message.
With over 200 messages some days coming through ShadowRN, this
is extremely important.
3. Quote the earlier posting previous to insertion of one's own
script, RATHER than including the preceding post at the end of
your message. Hence, observers may see what instigated one's
reaction, and following that, specifically what one's reaction
or reply actually was.
In line with this is the popular procedure that "intermingles"
the respective texts, by which one replies to specific lines of
text individually, followed by another citation, followed by
more response material, and so forth.
4. Indicate the prior posting's authorship by identifying said
message's originator at the beginning of the earlier material,
and not by the inclusion of the (typically) multiple-line
signature file.
I only mention this in interests of the greater good and due to the
fact that others have made similar complaints. It is poor Net
etiquette for those who choose to plow through the volume of mail
this list produces and to have to contend with such obviously
unnecessary verbiage -- especially those members who must actually
PAY for electronic mail service.
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About Flaming
The New Hacker's Dictionary defines the Flame as:
1. vi. To post an email message intended to insult and
provoke.
2. vi. To speak incessantly and/or rabidly on some relatively
uninteresting subject or with a patently ridiculous
attitude.
3. vt. Either of senses 1 or 2, directed with hostility at a
particular person or people.
4. n. An instance of flaming. When a discussion degenerates
into useless controversy, one might tell the participants
"Now you're just flaming" or "Stop all that flamage!"
to
try to get them to cool down (so to speak).
Flaming is highly discouraged on the ShadowRN list, because in the
end it only wastes everyone's time, bandwidth and quota, and
seldom if ever leads to any resolution of problems. If a discussion
reaches the point where people are calling everyone names or
insulting, a warning will be issued from the listowner saying
something along the lines of "take it to email". If the flamers
continue to flood the list with their hate-mail, they will be deleted
from the list.
One of the other problems is that often someone "insults" someone in
a satirical way. This is something that happens quite often in the
real world, but the real world has the benefit of body-language and
tone-of-voice to show that it is only polite joking. Cyberspace
doesn't have that feature.
In order to make sure that your humorous flame isn't taken seriously,
make sure you include a smiley or some other indication to show that
you are only joking.
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Mailing List Advertising Policy
The Shadowrun mailing lists accept commercial advertising for
payment. We offer a fee waiver if you can show us the canceled check
for a $1000 (U.S.) or more donation to the Electronic Frontier
Foundation. One donation per advertisement, please. If you don't wish
to donate, simply post your advertisement to the list, and the
operator of the mailing lists will bill $1999 (U.S). The list
operator will donate this amount, minus the expense of collecting it,
to EFF. Please note that the lists are distributed automatically -
messages are generally not read or checked in any way before they are
distributed.
By the act of posting your advertisement you agree to accept
responsibility for the fee, you agree to indemnify the mailing-list
operator against any legal claims from you or others in connection
with your advertisement, and you agree to pay any legal and business
expenses incurred in collecting late payment. Our liability to you is
limited to a good-faith effort to deliver your message.
Reduced rates and/or waiver of fee are available for Shadowrun-
related and selected other topics of advertisements. You must consult
the mailing-list operator in advance of posting for any reduction or
fee waiver.
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HOW TO GET PAST LOGS AND OTHER INFORMATION
Will be updated soon. Sorry for any troubles this may cause.
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FTP, Gopher, and WWW sites for Shadowrun materials
The following sites contain Shadowrun-related information.
For brevity's sake, I didn't include every Shadowrun
related site here. You can find links to most if not all
of them at Paolo's site AKA The Shadowrun Archive.
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Name: The Negative Space
Address: http://nspace.cts.com/
Contact: Jerry Stratton <nspace@***.com>
Info Updated: Oct 19, 1996
Notes: Currently includes space for AD&D, Shadowrun, and Brand X
(an original superhero role-playing game). This is the
distribution point for the _Neo-Anarchists Guide to
Everything Else_ and NERPS, the net.books for Shadowrun
players. Also contains archives of ShadowTalk in .ZIP format.
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Name: Woodelf's RPG Index
URL: http://dax.cs.wisc.edu/~woodelf/RPG/RPG.html#index
Info Updated: 23-June-1995
Notes: A truly amazing list, this collection includes just about
every RPG-related resource on the World Wide Web, in
Gopherspace, or available via FTP. Some of the information is
outdated however.
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Name: The Jayhawk series archive sites
Address: ftp.white.toronto.edu
ftp.cs.pdx.edu
Info Updated: Oct 19, 1996
Notes: Mary Kuhner's <mkkuhner@********.washington.edu> Jayhawk
series
of stories (high quality Shadowrun writeups) are available in
several archive sites. Mary has offered to mail the stories if
you can't get to one of the servers.
site1: ftp.white.toronto.edu
file: /pub/frp/Shadowrun/jayhawk
comment: Fairly good speed on this site. Jayhawk was one
large file.
site2: potemkin.cs.pdx.edu [ftp.cs.pdx.edu]
directory: /pub/frp/stories/jayhawk
/pub/frp/Shadowrun/
comment: Slower site. The Jayhawk series was available
as many separate files or one RTF/gzipped file.
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The following is a list of World Wide Web sites maintained by various
listmembers. All contain information related to Shadowrun and/or the
mailing list(s), and most contain links to each other.
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Address: http://www.interware.it/users/paolo/sr2/index.htm
Contact: Paolo Marcucci <paolo@*********.it>
Info Updated: Oct 19, 1996
Notes: This is the most complete site for Shadowrun-related
material, bar none.
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Address: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html#shadowrun
Contact: Gurth <gurth@******.nl>
Info Updated: Oct 19, 1996
Notes: Home of the Plastic Warriors books among other things.
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Address: http://www.icis.qut.edu.au/~chrisr
Contact: Chris Ryan <chrisr@****.qut.edu.au>
Info Updated: 02-06-1995
Notes: Mostly contains Earthdawn information, including the
FAQ for the Earthdawn mailing list (see below) and some
info on tie-ins between Earthdawn and Shadowrun.
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SHADOWRUN RELATED MAILING LISTS, NEWSGROUPS, AND OTHER ONLINE HANGOUTS
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ShadowTK (SHADOWTK@********.iTribe.net)
Shadowtalk is an interactive fiction mailing list based on Shadowrun.
Members of the list post as characters in genre, and by responding to
each other's posts "in character", stories are developed. These
stories may then be used by players and GMs alike as a basis for
contacts, NPCs, and adventure plots in their own campaigns.
There is a small companion ShadowTK FAQ that is posted to ShadowRN
once a month. A copy of the complete FAQ can also be requested from
Mark Imbracio <mark@******.net>. It contains full
information on how to subscribe as well as information on posting
formats and periodic supplemental distributions of information.
PLOT-D (PLOT-D@********.iTribe.net)
PLOT-D is a supplemental discussion list for ShadowTalk. The purpose
of PLOT-D is to discuss (as the name obviously implies) plotlines. It
also handles discussion of administrative issues in order to not clog
SHADOWTK or SHADOWRN with only remotely related issues.
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NERPS (NERPS@********.iTribe.net)
NERPS (Net Enhancements for Role Playing Shadowrun) is a mailing list
that serves as a committee base for a group of individuals spending
time organizing and writing up a series of net.shadowrun manuals.
These manuals contain everything from new races and spells to new
technology and alternate magic systems.
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EARTHDAWN
FASA's fantasy RPG, Earthdawn, has its own mailing list. This list
covers all aspects of Earthdawn (rules, setting, campaigns, etc) plus
the crossovers to Shadowrun.
To subscribe to the list, send the following message to
majordomo@*****.iquest.com
subscribe earthdawn
List Owner: Chris Ryan <chrisr@****.qut.edu.au>
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ALT.CYBERPUNK.*
On Usenet, there are a series of cyberpunk-related newsgroups. These
groups have little to do with Shadowrun, per se, but they do have
discussions of the cyberpunk genre of fiction and its implications on
current and future society.
alt.cyberpunk
This is a general group for discussion cyberpunkish topics. May
range from cinema to politics to tends in philosophical
thinkings,
alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo
This group is devoted to the writing of cyberpunk fiction.
Several stories are posted periodic in installment fashion and
critiques are welcome.
alt.cyberpunk.movement
This newsgroup discusses the societal impact of the cyberpunk
movement.
alt.cyberpunk.tech
This group is devoted to discussions of new technologies that
the birth of a cyber age will bring about.
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REC.GAMES.FRP.CYBER
Rec.games.frp.cyber is a Usenet newsgroup set aside for discussion of
the cyberpunk genre of role-playing games. Discussions in this group
include not only Shadowrun, but also CyberSpace, CyberPunk 2020,
GURPS Cyberpunk, and many others.
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ALT.MAGICK
This Usenet newsgroup, which may not be carried at all sites, is for
the discussion of magic/magick in "real life," in modern times.
Alt.magick is not specifically for role-playing information, but
could shed some light on what FASA would consider the more esoteric
aspects of magical theory.
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Shadowrun MUSH
There is a Shadowrun-Themed MUSH set up. Their most recent status is
explained below, straight from Matt Egon Hughes
<hughesma@******.luther.edu> a staffer at the MUSH:
As of May 1st, 1996 The Shadowrun MUSH is UP and accepting new
character applications. We are also at : shadowrun.dnaco.net 4201
All of this information is current and we have online character
creation. We encourage RP rather then Combat Oriented characters.
Magical Characters are not open as of yet (and will be posted when
they are) and the Matrix is still not up, but we expect that to be
rather soon.
We haven't got any new info, but I would assume deckers/magical
characters are up now.
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Shadowrun on IRC
Before he was the Assistant Fearless Leader of ShadowRN, Fro registered
a Shadowrun channel on Undernet, called, strangely, #Shadowrun.
Its kind of a sleeper channel, its either empty or full, but
occasionally the ops strike up a game and its generally a friendly and
helpful place. Some of the other ops besides Fro are: Skye, Dodger,
Krilion, Karybdis, Night, Manawar, Dodger, DocRaven....ok, so the
channel has too many ops. It can be reached at any Undernet server.
'Us.Undernet.Org' will toss you on a random American server, although I
recommend picking a different server, one closer to you.
Chicago.il.us.undernet.org' is usually fairly good, but that depends on
where on the globe you are. Unfortunately, due to some problems,
several larger providers and online services are banned from the
channel. If you get a message that you are banned, and have not earned it,
email <fro@***.ab.ca> or talk to a #Shadowrun op on IRC.
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FASA Email Addresses
The following three email addresses have been reported to eventually
end up before the eyes of somebody associated intimately with FASA:
* SKenson@***.COM (Steven Kenson)
* FasaMike@***.COM (Mike Mulvihill)
* FASA.SUPPORT@*****.GEis.COM
Although by having their email addresses public these people open
themselves up to alot of mail, we ask that you respect them and keep the
emails to a minimum. I have found both Mike and Steven to be very prompt
and polite in answering email and any questions I have had. However,
please try other resources, like the ShadowRN list and
rec.games.frp.cyber before mailing any of them, most of all Mike.
Because if Mike answers email all day, he can't make a game, can he?
Mike is now on the ShadowRN list, and answers questions there.
Welcome aboard :)
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This document is Copyright (c) 1996 by Robert A. Hayden, J.D. Falk, Adam
Jury, and Mark Imbriaco all rights reserved. Permission is granted for it
to be reproduced electronically on any system connected to the various
networks which make up the Internet, USENET, and FidoNet so long as it is
reproduced in its entirety (either in two parts as here, or combined),
unedited, and with this copyright notice intact.
