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Message no. 1
From: Adam J <fro@***.AB.CA>
Subject: ShadowRN FAQ Part IIIa *GRUMBLE*
Date: Thu, 24 Jul 1997 08:51:20 -0600
ShadowRN FAQ, Part III

Last modified July 23rd 1997

Version 1.1
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Frequently Asked Questions for SHADOWRN@********.iTribe.net

Originally compiled, Adam Jury
With editing and additions by The members of ShadowRN
Based on past ShadowRN FAQ's and postings.


PLEASE NOTE: I am aware this is FAR from complete. I'm working on
it slowly but steadily.

----------------------------------------
The current version of this file can always be found as listed below:

The ShadowRN FAQ's are available at Adam's page:
http://www.geocities.com/area51/6112/lists.html
You can also email <fro@***.ab.ca> to request the current version of
the FAQ
The web page will most likely be on the move soon, but notification
will be posted and the FAQ updated.

There is a copyright notice at the bottom of each section of this
FAQ.

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Part III: Posting Pointers

I. INTRODUCTION

1. General ShadowRN posting guidelines.
2. List history, slang, theme song!
3. Specific Beaten-to-death questions.

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1. General ShadowRN posting guidelines.

While the topic of this list is specifically related to
Shadowrun, it has been determined that the topic encompasses
far more than the specific rules within the FASA manuals. Part
of the all-important part of any role-paying game is the
atmosphere that the players find themselves in. Often, this
cannot be adaquately explained within the written rules.

To this end, there is a very liberal posting policy with
regards to topics. This is to allow everyday babble and
observations to create a virtual society of sorts on the list,
and to give all who participate in and opportunity to explore
that society.

Thus, you will often see postings that are only vaguely related
to Shadowrun being posted. Often this has to do with politics
(especially information politics) or with recent technological
breakthroughs. While there are no hard-set rules with regards
to what off-topic postings are permitted, it should be reminded
that we all come here because of our interest in Shadowrun, so
postings should at the very least be of interest to all, and be
within the umbrella of being source material for the Shadowrun
society.

Officially, the following actions will take place with regards
to off-topic postings.

1. Non-Shadowrun threads that live for more that 24 hours
will be pointed out by the listowners. At that time,
either make the thread once again Shadowrun relevant or
take it to private email.
2. If after 48 hours, the thread still continues, the
listowner will start deleting people from the list. If
that happens, you are free to come back, but at the very
least, the deletion will serve as a warning to stay
relevant.

If you are posting something Off Topic, please prefix it with
the header [OT], so people know that it is off topic and can
choose to ignore it if they wish.

Persons who repeatedly violate the rules and disrupt the use of
the list by others will be be dealt on a case-by-case basis,
but action can include (but is not limited to): temporary
removal from the list (for example, six months), permanent
removal from the list or notification to the violator's
sysadmin or service provider.


Chain Letters

Do not send chain letters to ShadowRN. This includes the good
times virus, 'Good luck/forward this to 10 friends' emails,
etc.

File Attachements

NEVER attach a file to any document sent to the ShadowRN list.
If somebody wants to see a document you wrote up, send it
privately to those who want it. The reasons for no
attachements are very simple. Some people pay for space on a
server, and a 100K MS word document would not ussually be
appreaciated. The other reason has to do with software and
internet protocols. People on the list use many
different mailers on many different platforms. Elm and Pine
for Unix are both used, Eudora for Win/Mac, Pegasus mail, Ms
and several others are all used. One of these programs sends
an attachement, say for the sake of argument it sends
'winmail.dat'. Depending on the file type, and the protocol it
was sent under, it may not be decoded on the other end, or it
doesn't mean anything anyways when you get it.

This is what winmail.dat looks like on my system:

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This file is sent accidently by many people using MS Mail.
Before you post to the list, check if its sending attachements.
Easiest way to do that is to send yourself an email. If you
still aren't sure, email me at <fro@***.ab.ca> and I will
help you out. Also several new email programs can send
messages in HTML. Please do not do that, even on machines that
can read it, it takes twice as long to load the message, and on
machines that can't read it, it looks horrible.

Return Reciepts and High Priority

When posting a message to the list, do not request a return
reciept. It can get kind of hairy when 200 people send you
one! Also, do not raise the priority of your message above
normal. Both of those are unnessesary and just cause more
hassle.

2. ShadowRN Slang, Theme song.


Common Net.Speak

These are some common acronyms you are likely to see on the list:

IMO : In My Opinion
IMHO : In My Humble Opinion
IMNSHO : In My Not So Humble Opinion
LOL : Laughing Out Loud
ROFL : Rolling On The Floor Laughing
ROFLMAO : Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Ass Off
AFAIK : As far As I Know
IIRC : If I Remember/Recall Correctly
RTFM : Read the F&^%$# Manual (Can also mean read the FAQ)
YMMV : Your Milage May Vary

Shadowrun Lexicon of Common Terminology
Compiled by: Doctor Doom
Edited by: Adam Jury

What follows is jargon frequently seen on the Shadowrun List, along
with definitions and histories, in order that one may be assisted in
familiarizing one's self with this discussion mailserver.

Common Term Definitions

FASA
The Freedonian Aeronautic and Space Administration. The
company which produces our own beloved Shadowrun, as well as
Earthdawn, another game with important ties with the
Shadowrun world. Discussion and reviews of recent FASA
products are fairly common upon the mailserver, as are
commentary regarding various rulings from The Dark Lord(Tom
Dowd, though now Mike Mulvihill).

The name Freedonia comes from the European country depicted
in "Duck Soup", a Marx Brothers film, in which Groucho Marx
portrays Rufus T. Firefly, President of Freedonia.

Fearless Leader

Term for the listowner, Mark Imbracio, and Adam, who is
Assistant Fearless Leader.
Coined in homage to the Rocky and Bullwinkle television
show; Fearless Leader was the man that Boris and Natasha
reported to.

Munchkin
Either noun or verb. Munchkinism is exhibited in two
primary forms of expression, that of rules
interpretation/implementation and power.

Munchkins tend to interpret rules in either the broadest
possible sense or such that benefits shall be
disproportionately bestowed, especially in exclusive favor
to their character. They consistently push the envelope of
the letter and spirit of the law in an effort to gain the
greatest (sometimes individual) latitude. Usually, areas
targeted for such pressure are instances where the published
rules are particularly vague or may not specifically apply,
i.e., loopholes.

Besides this, Munchkins are quite willing to take leave of
the game system to achieve their desires and demonstrate a
great willingness to alter, augment, or eliminate the rules
without paying due consideration to alternatives to or the
ramifications of their actions.

As has already been implied, the end product of all
Munchkins efforts lead to one thing: Power. Munchkins are
driven by the desire to become the most potent player in the
group/setting/world in which they are playing. Further, any
questions as to the believability (within the genre) or
feasibility of such exceedingly potent characters or are not
salient to the Munchkin. Also, Munchkins are generally very
reticent to create serious obstacles or problems for his
character, and typically they exhibit most grievous vexation
should the Game Master or other players frustrate his plans.
In line with this, they energetically seek to avoid any
disadvantages or costs in an effort to achieve their goals.
A Munchkin EXPECTS to win all the time.

True, it may be argued that the above behaviours are merely
natural tendencies, but they attain a certain fanaticism in
Munchkins.

NERPS
"Inside Joke" at the offices of FASA. According to them, it
originally stood for "Nothing Ever Really Pleases
Steve/Scott", although no particulars as to the identity as
to Steve or Scott were given. Appeared in FASA products as
early as Virtual Realities (p. 81) possibly earlier. Has
now taken on a life of its own.

This meaning is in question, and has been denied by some
FASA staff.

NOTE: Despite the natural tendency to interpret NERPS as a
jibe to Steve Jackson Game's product, GURPS, such
speculation is without foundation.

NERPS are the ultimate placebo. They may serve as a cure
(almost) for anything one might care to name: From the
common cold to nuclear war. NERPS are commonly used to
contend with Munchkins and just about anything else that
springs to mind.

Also a series of Shadowrun net.books, and a companion
mailing list at iTRiBE.NET

THWAP
The sound a wet carp makes when someone is struck with it;
also the act of striking someone with a wet carp.

The term was first used in the latter part of the year the
list became operational, when our Fearless Leader, Robert
Hayden, was experiencing considerable problems with his
mailer, such that all were receiving several copies of EVERY
posting he dispatched.

Howls of discontent were heard across the node. Tempers
were raised. Flames were exchanged.

On Thursday, 22 October 1992 (21:03:17 CET), Hayden, in an
attempt to soothe the raising ire of the other members as
well as offer an apology, infused a bit of levity in his
requesting pardon for the inconvenience, to wit:

"You can thwap me with a wet carp if it will make you feel
better."

And thus the concept was born. Immediately many list
members latched upon this rather novel idea. The first
actual THWAP was invoked by Doctor Doom on 22 October 1992,
15:31:00 CST, rapidly followed by Harlequin and Flare. A
legend was begun...

Since then, its has been used so frequently that the idea
took on a life of its own, and it is now a legitimate term,
even if only jargon. Thwaps are generally brought to bear
upon especially bizarre, silly, or Munchkinous ideas,
although their invocation usually indicates a degree of
levity and good-spiritedness. Thwaps are not meant for
spite--that purpose is served by flames.

TOLM WAPPERs (archaic)
Generic term for the denizens of the Shadowrun list.
Initially stood for Those Other List Members Which Are
Presently Perplexed at this Esoteric Rambling.

Other users are also collectively referred to as simply "the
list" on occasion.


http://shadowrun.home.ml.org \ TSS Productions \ The Shadowrun Supplemental
ShadowRN Assistant Fearless Leader \ WildAngle@******** \ fro@***.ab.ca
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Further Reading

If you enjoyed reading about ShadowRN FAQ Part IIIa *GRUMBLE*, you may also be interested in:

Disclaimer

These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.