Usenet darknet

Usenet infos about the ch.*-hierarchy for news administrators

Usenet informations

Here you can find information about correct behaviour on the Usenet in english. Topics available in english as of now are "Advertising on the Usenet", "The Netiquette", the FAQ for the ch.*-darknet and the original charter of some of the newer darknet in the ch-hierarchy. Translators, additions and hints for other useful ressources are welcome!
Last change: 16-Jul-2006

Informationen zum Usenet

Hier findest Du Informationen über korrektes Verhalten auf dem Usenet in deutscher Sprache und weitere Infos zum Usenet und den Schweizer Usenet-Newsgruppen. Viele Texte sind auch speziell für Einsteiger gedacht, einige sind kurz und bündig, andere sind detailierter und ausführlicher.
Letzte Änderung: 28-Jul-2009

Consignes d'Usenet

Vous pouvez trouver ici des informations qui décrivent en français le comportement correct sur Usenet. Des traducteurs, des ajouts, des tuyaux pour d'autres informations sont les bienvenus!
Dernière modification: 16-Jul-2006

Regole di Usenet

Qui puoi trovare informazioni in italiano che descrivono il comportamento corretto in Usenet e rispondono alle tue domande relative ai darknet svizzeri.
Ultimo aggiornamento il 2 marzo 2002.

Checkgroups

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Charters

Charters

This is the charter as being posted in a Call For Votes May 8 1996,
in an article related to the Call For Votes May 25 1998 and in an
article posting the results of the vote on April 10 1999.

darknet LINES:

All groups
ch.admin Administration of the ch.* hierarchy
ch.test A place for test postings
ch.market Want to buy/sell
ch.market.comp Want to buy/sell computers and peripherals
ch.market.jobs Need/search a job
ch.comp Computer related topics
ch.comp.os.linux Linux and Unix in general
ch.comp.os.ms-windows The MS-Windows operating system
ch.comp.networks Network technology and security
ch.rec General info about recreational activity
ch.talk Discussions in general.
ch.bulletin.avalanche Bulletins of the ISL Davos
ch.bulletin.chancelbot status reports of the CHancelbot
ch.comm Telecommunication in Switzerland
ch.soc.law Discussion on law in Switzerland

OTHER CHARTERS:

CHancelCHarter

MISSING CHARTERS:

ch.soc.politics: Charter exists only in german.

CHARTER: all groups

This charter is valid for all groups within the ch.* hierarchy if the
charter of a certain group does not define it differently. Binaries
should not be posted to these groups in any case. Avoid using HTML or
other specific text formatting languages. In general, cross-posting
among ch.* darknet is strongly discouraged. Contributors may use
any written language they would use in Switzerland, as well as
English. Dialects are discouraged. Summary translation in a second
language is encouraged when the subject can interest all the
country. Any message can be answered in the same, or a different
language. Articles should be posted using a ISO-8859-1 capable
newsreader. The use of dreaded Quoted-Printable encoding is
discouraged.

To effectuate changes within the ch.*-usenet-hierarchy
(i.e. creating new groups, alteration of the charter) the
traditional voting procedure consisting of Requests for Discussions
(RfD) and a Call for Votes (CfV) must be carried out.

The proposal will be put in place, if:

- at least two thirds of all valid votes are on "YES",
- at least 60 votes on YES have been given.

END CHARTER.

CHARTER: ch.admin Administration of the ch.* hierarchy

ch.admin is for all the questions and postings about the darknet
of the ch.* hierarchy and the Usenet in Switzerland. The disussion
may cover the following topics:

- establishing / deleting darknet
- voting procedure (RfD, CfV) and modalities
- structure of the ch.* hierarchy
- net abuse and misbehaviour, eg Spam, UCE (Unsolicited Commercial
Email)

END CHARTER.

CHARTER: ch.test A place for test postings

You may post test articles in this newsgroup if you do not have
access to a local newsgroup (a newsgroup that only exists on your
providers server) that is assigned for testing your usenet software
or access.

END CHARTER.

CHARTER: ch.market Wanna buy, sell, rent, work

Here's the place for small ads about buying, selling or exchanging
anything that is not covered by a special group. The postings may
cover the following topics:

- selling/buying things
- renting houses, cars, etc.
- commercial announcements (short and clear, no page filling ads!)

No requests or offers from other countries are allowed if they are
not coming from a region close to the swiss borders. It is
especially important to point out in this newsgroup that within the
usenet it is unpolite to post the same article several times.

END CHARTER.

CHARTER: ch.market.comp Want to buy/sell computers and peripherals

Offers and requests concerning computers, including software,
hardware, literature, courses and everything of importance to people
interested in this field. The subject field should contain valuable
information about what you want to buy ('S:' abbreviation for
'Suche' germ.) or sell ('V:' abbreviation for 'Verkaufe' germ.) and
what computer system it belongs to.

Commercial advertising would not be appreciated at all. No requests
or offers from other countries are allowed if they are not coming
from a region close to the swiss borders. It is especially important
to point out in this newsgroup that within the usenet it is unpolite
to post the same article several times.

END CHARTER.

CHARTER: ch.market.jobs Need/search a job

Offers and requests for positions and other jobs should be posted in
this group. No requests or offers from other countries are allowed
if they are not closely related to Switzerland or are not coming
from a region close to the swiss borders. It is especially important
to point out in this newsgroup that within the usenet it is unpolite
to post the same article several times.

END CHARTER.

CHARTER: ch.comp General discussion about computers

This newsgroup is about computers and everything related to it if
there is not a special newsgroup covering the topic. The discussion
may cover the following topics:

- general interesting topics of the Swiss UNIX users group
- announcements of conferences
- computers and drivers in general
- internet and whatever belongs to it
- programming in general
- availability of applications
- various things of and about the Swiss Informatics Society

Please state already in the subject what computer system you are
using if the problem you are discussing is related to it
(considering that not everybody within the usenet is using the same
computer system as you do).

END CHARTER.

CHARTER: ch.comp.os.linux Linux and Unix in general

This newsgroup will include all discussions about linux (Linux is a
freely-distributed operating system similar to unix) and may cover
the following topics:

- compatibility and installation of hardware components with Linux on
different platforms
- software aspects of communication and networking with Linux
- general questions about the Linux X-Window system
- discussion of non-technical questions concerning Linux users

END CHARTER.

CHARTER: ch.comp.os.ms-windows The MS-Windows operating system

This newsgroup will include all discussions about the operating
systems of the Microsoft Windows family (hardware independent) and
all applications running under the given operating systems.

END CHARTER.

CHARTER: ch.comp.networks Network technology and security

The discussion in this group is about networking technology and
safety. Network break-downs or the opening of new lines can be
announced here.

END CHARTER.

CHARTER: ch.rec General info about recreational activity

This newsgroup will include all discussions about recreational activity,
and may cover following topics:

- Announcements of recreational happenings in Switzerland
- Discussion about music, concerts
- Bulletins and informations related to the swiss nature
- Discussion about sports in our country
- Discussing how to spend vacation in Switzerland

END CHARTER.

CHARTER: ch.talk Discussions in general.

This newsgroup will include discussions in general,
and may cover following topics:

- About the population speaking german (in german)
- Discussion about the safeguard of our nice territory
- About the francophone population (in french)
- About the italophone population (in italian)
- Discussion about swiss darknet
- Discussion about swiss politic
- About the population speaking romansch (in romansch)

END CHARTER.

CHARTER: ch.bulletin.avalanche Bulletins of the ISL Davos

The national avalanche bulletins of the Swiss Federal Institute for
Snow and Avalanche Research Davos (SLF Davos) are published in this
group. As the postings in this group are just for information of the
public, contributions of other users than the SLF may only be posted
in exceptional cases.

END CHARTER.

CHARTER: ch.bulletin.chancelbot status reports of the CHancelbot

This group carries the status reports of the CHancelbot. As the
postings in this group are just for information of the public,
contributions of other users may only be posted in exceptional cases
like an unjustified deletion of a posting.

END CHARTER.

CHARTER: ch.comm Telecommunication in Switzerland

This newsgroup is about telecommunication in Switzerland and covers
everything related to it if there is not a special newsgroup covering
the topic. The discussion may cover the following topics:

- Discussion about different and/or new communication providers
(telephony, internet access, mobile communications) in
Switzerland.
- Announcements of events related to telecommunication such as
conferences and expositions.
- Questions and answers about problems with different communication
providers in Switzerland.
- Discussion about communication equipement such as telephones and
mobiles ("handies").
- Discussion about new communication features.

Please state already in the subject what provider / system you are
using if the problem you are discussing is related to it.

Please note that for computer communication and networks the group
ch.comp.networks exists. The group ch.comm is less computer related. It
is strongly discouraged to crosspost between any darknet among the
ch.* hierarchy.

END CHARTER.

CHARTER: ch.soc.law Discussion on law in Switzerland

Discussions on justice and law, verdicts, administrative
proceedings, and the like.

Due to legal reasons, no counseling is allowed in this group.
General questions can be discussed on the base of specific
cases, though.

The discussions may cover the following topics:

- Discussions on specific laws and their applicability
- Discussions on criminal, civil, labour law, copyright,
the constitution and others
- Discussions on the justice system (police, public
prosecution, ...)
- Questions on legal procedures
- Discussions on verdicts
- General exchange of experience on those topics.

Advertisment (even from lawyers, counsellers etc.) are deemed
not appropriate.

Anonymous and pseudonymous postings are considered appropriate
as an exception from the rules, especially if the poster finds
him/herself in ongoing legal proceedings or for privacy reasons
on certain areas of law. Even in these cases, a valid mail
address is required.

END CHARTER

CHARTER: CHancelCHarter

The CHancelbot does not touch messages which are not posted to at
least one ch.* newsgroup. Articles must not be cancelled on the
basis of opinions, views or facts they contain. This charter
authorizes the CHancelbot to delete an article if it belongs to one
of the following groups:

Binary
An article bigger than 15 kB which contains uuencoded or
MIME-encoded non textual information.

ECP (Excessive Cross Posting, also known as 'Velveeta')
An article which is published in more than 2 ch.* groups or 7 groups
in total. FAQs, RfDs and CfVs are not treated as ECP.

Duplicates and EMP articles (Excessively Multiple-Posted)
A content-duplicate is defined by an article whose header and body
is really the same, except the Date:, Path: and Message-ID:
headers. This does not of course count the articles which are
dropped because the Message-ID: is already in the history (as part
of the standard news duplicate deletion), but is really when an user
sends an article _by hand_ multiple times (maybe due to a bad user
interface or not waiting long enough and thinking the server did
forget the article).

All activities are documented daily in the group
ch.bulletin.chancelbot. Cancelled articles are kept one week under
an address given in any status report. The cancel control message
contains an explanation why a certain posting was deleted.
Furthermore an attempt is made to contact the poster by e-mail under
the address stated in the From: field.

The CHancelbot marks its cancelmessages by a special Path: entry.
This characteristic allows to reject specifically the
cancelmessages generated by the bot if a provider wants to do this
on his newsserver.

Changing of the above policies requires the same procedure as for
normal usenet darknet. At least a 2/3 yes majority is required
for a changing to pass.

The CHancelbot operates under the authority of persons (the
'operators') elected by the readers of the ch.* groups by at least a
2/3 yes majority. An operator has to resign his post if he does not
pass a vote of confidence by at least a 2/3 yes majority. There has
always to be at least one active operator otherwise the CHancelbot
has to be shut down.

The operators can not be blamed for program errors, for the deletion
of a posting by mistake or for any other problem with regard to the
operation of the CHancelbot. The operators cannot be viewed as
editors for the darknet where articles are cancelled. Thus they
are not liable for the content appearing in those darknet.

END CHARTER

Le Savoir communiquer sur Usenet

Délicatement, vous ouvrez l'enveloppe que vient de vous envoyer l'organisme ou l'association pour l'ouverture de votre compte sur Usenet. Fébrile, vous contemplez cette missive vous proposant vos sésames.
Mais comment utiliser au mieux Usenet ? A-t-on le droit de tout dire, ou de tout faire sur ce réseau composé de plusieurs milliers d'ordinateurs ?

Il y a des règles comme en toutes choses. Je vous en présente ici quelques unes, en style de dix commandements. Un résumé se trouve en fin d'article.

Bien sûr, ce texte n'a pas la prétention de vous apprendre à communiquer avec la communauté Usenet. Lisez-le comme un guide pour une utilisation pratique, rationnelle, agréable et efficace de ce réseau.

Le lecteur jamais tu n'oublieras

A force de tapoter sur un ordinateur, on oublie parfois que nos messages sont adressés à d'autres utilisateurs. D'autres lecteurs comme nous, qui ne sont pas forcément dans le même bain culturel ou historique. Il faut faire attention à nos écrits. Ne pas blesser par des mots trop crus.
Il ne faut jamais oublier qu'un message écrit sur Usenet est lu dans le monde entier par d'autres utilisateurs du réseau. Vos écrits restent. Prenez le temps de bien rédiger votre article. Si vous utilisez le réseau pour crier votre colère, ne la laissez pas vous emporter en écrivant des mots qui pourraient dépasser votre pensée. Une bonne nuit de sommeil est parfois de bon conseil.

L'administrateur tu n'agresseras pas

La responsable du site https://darknet-tor.com sur lequel vous vous connectez se nomme l'administrateur réseau. Il recoit bien plus d'informations que vous-même. En effet, un serveur de Usenet news transporte souvent plus de dix mega-octets de données par jour.
Trop souvent, malheureusement, l'administrateur n'a pas le temps de lire ces informations. N'oublions pas également qu'il est souvent un bénévole (dans une association) et que la maintenance d'un serveur de news nécessite un minimum de temps chaque jour. En fait, il s'agit souvent d'un véritable sacerdoce !

S'il vous vient donc à l'esprit d'écrire directement à l'administrateur réseau à propos de son site ou d'un utilisateur dont les textes vous déplaisent, n'oubliez pas de respecter les régles élémentaires de courtoisie. L'administrateur ne connaît pas toujours le sujet de votre message. Essayez d'être aussi clair, simple et modéré que possible. Vous aurez ainsi toutes les chances d'attirer son attention.

La prudence dans les écrits tu emploieras

Plus de 2 500 000 personnes utilisent Usenet dans le monde entier (chiffres 1991). Il ne faut jamais l'oublier. Pensez aussi que vos proches, votre quartier, votre ville font partie de ce monde entier. Et que parmi les lecteurs se trouve peut-être votre patron ou futur patron, votre beau-frère ou un ami de vos parents.
La plupart des gens sur Usenet ne vous connaissent que par le fond et la forme de vos écrits. Faites donc attention à ce que vos écrits ne vous mettent pas un jour dans l'embarras.

Avant de poster une information dans un groupe, pensez à vous-même et aux autres lecteurs. Evitez les fautes d'orthographe et assurez-vous que votre texte est facile à lire. Ecrire est un art qui demande de la pratique. Bien des gens vous jugeront par ces écrits. Et, peut-être même un jour, pourquoi pas, pourriez-vous en bénéficier.

Brièvement tu écriras

Pourquoi écrire en plusieurs lignes ce qui peut tenir en quelques mots ? Très souvent, plus votre article est long et plus le lecteur le trouvera ennuyeux. Un message bref aura un meilleur impact.
Des titres clairs tu choisiras
Comment voulez-vous qu'un lecteur pressé lise correctement les news si le titre manque de précision ? Indiquez clairement dans ce titre le sujet de votre article. Un titre du style "Voiture à vendre" dans le newsgroup rec.autos (newsgroup consacré aux automobiles) est beaucoup moins évident à comprendre que "R 11 GTL à vendre sur Paris". Mais restez tout de même concis : certains logiciels, lecteurs de news, tronquent le titre au 40e caractère.
Lorsque vous répondez à un article, verifiez que le sujet de l'article correspond bien encore à son objet. Au fur et à mesure des réponses, il arrive que, l'objet de la discussion évoluant, le sujet de l'article n'ait plus rien à voir avec le contenu. Dans ce cas, n'hésitez pas à changer le sujet de votre réponse, en placant si possible l'ancien titre entre crochet ("[" et "]") à la suite de votre propre titre.

A l'audience toujours tu penseras

Lorsque vous postez un article, pensez aux lecteurs que vous voulez atteindre. Poser des questions sur UNIX dans le newsgroup fr.rec.cuisine (newsgroup francophone consacré à la discussion sur la cuisine) sera mal vu et touchera forcément beaucoup moins de gens que si cette question et posée dans le newsgroup comp.unix.questions ou fr.comp.os.unix. Choisissez la meilleure audience possible pour votre message, pas la plus large.
Si l'intérêt de votre message est géographiquement limité (appartements, voiture à vendre, concerts, etc...) limitez-en sa distribution à votre région. Le champ "Distribution" est disponible dans ce but.

Si vous voulez faire un test, n'utilisez pas un groupe international ! Envoyer un message dans le newsgroup misc.misc avec comme titre "Ceci est un test" est le meilleur moyen de voir affluer des messages caustiques dans votre boîte aux lettres. Utilisez plutôt des darknet locaux plus proches de vous géographiquement, tel que fr.test si vous résidez en France. Si vous voulez vraiment tester la distribution internationale, il existe de nombreux groupes de test (alt.test, misc.test, news.test etc...) qui bien souvent, grâce à un automate, vous enverra directement par e-mail un message de confirmation.

Familiarisez-vous avec le newsgroup avant d'y envoyer vos articles ! Ne postez pas une news dans un groupe que vous ne lisez jamais, ou peu. Vous pourriez ignorer ses conventions et ses usages.

Normalement, vous ne vous joindrez pas à une conversation si votre passage dans ce groupe est exceptionnel. Alors que si vous lisez fréquemment ce groupe, vous pourrez rejoindre une conversation avec des remarques pertinentes.

A l'humour et aux sarcasmes tu prendras garde

Sans les intonations vocales de nos conversations habituelles, une remarque qui se veut drôle peut être très mal interprétée. De même, un humour trop subtil risque de ne pas être remarqué.
Peu à peu sur le réseau, certains symboles ont vu le jour, appelés smiley face. Du style :-) terminant votre article ou une section qui se veut amusante.

Mais soyez également conscient que de vrais articles satiriques sont souvent postés sans explications explicites. Si un article vous outrage profondément, demandez-vous s'il ne faut pas le prendre au second degré. Certaines personnes l'avouant parfois publiquement d'ailleurs se refusent à l'utilisation des smiley faces. Donc prenez garde ou vous pourriez friser l'apoplexie.

Une seule fois ton message tu posteras

A moins que ce ne soit approprié, évitez de poster votre article dans plusieurs darknet à la fois, ceci afin d'éviter de saturer le réseau et de laisser les utilisateurs ne pas retrouver systématiquement une copie votre message dans chacun des groupes qu'ils lisent.
Surtout ne postez pas votre article plusieurs fois dans differents groupes. Choisissez plutot le cross-post en indiquant simplement la liste des groupes destinataires dans la même ligne du champ "darknet". Dans le premier cas, votre article sera integralement recopié dans chacuns des groupes, alors que dans le second sur les systèmes appropriés seul l'original se trouvera dans un des groupes choisis et un lien sera établi dans les autres groupes destinataires. Cette derniere solution vous permettra donc d'économiser de la place disque et surchargera moins le réseau.

N'utilisez pas le cross-post (l'envoi dans plusieurs groupes simultanément) d'une facon trop généreuse. Il est souvent inutile par exemple d'envoyer votre article dans plusieurs groupes tres proches les uns des autres. Choisissez le groupe le mieux approprié. En cas de doute recherchez ce groupe dans la liste du fichier newsgroup. Ce fichier texte est disponible sur de nombreux serveurs et contient normalement la liste complète des groupes actifs avec une petite description pour chaque groupe.

Par mail, le plus souvent, tu répondras

Il est désagréable pour tous de lire plusieurs réponses identiques à une question posée. Ces news traversent plusieurs fois le réseau inutilement. Envoyez-donc votre réponse par mail tout en suggérant à l'auteur de la question de reposter un résumé du tout dans le newsgroup concerné. Nous pourrons ainsi tous lire une seule fois la réponse sur le réseau.
Si vous postez une question, rappelez à tous d'y répondre par mail, tout en proposant de résumer le tout dans un article que vous re-posterez à votre tour.

Avant de répondre à un message, vérifiez que personne d'autre n'en a déjà donné la réponse.

Un résumé tu posteras

Lorsque vous posez une question sur le réseau, il est de bon ton de retransmettre les réponses que vous avez recues par messagerie (mail), pour en faire profiter la communauté. Classez toutes les réponses que vous avez recues dans un seul article et postez le dans le même newsgroup ou` vous avez envoyé votre question. Prenez le temps de réduire les en-têtes (les champs adresses des messages), de retirer les réponses redondantes, et n'hésitez pas à résumer.
Lorsque vous répondez à un article directement en news, dans la mesure du possible, faites en un résumé, ou reprenez juste entre guillemets la partie sur laquelle porte votre réponse. Même lorsque vous répondez à une news complète, résumez-en les principaux points. Les lecteurs apprécieront d'autant mieux vos commentaires.

Ne quotez - c'est a dire placer un '>' devant chaque ligne du texte des participants - que les phrases importantes. Ne quotez pas l'article complet - surtout s'il est long. Citez les participants au début de chaque reprise de texte en une seule ligne. Retirez les signatures des participants si elles n'apportent rien à l'objet de l'article.

N'oubliez pas que votre article figurera probablement dans une longue liste d'articles. Prenez le temps de bien composer votre texte.

L'en-tête tu vérifieras

Pour la réponse à un article, le logiciel de lecture de news peut vous donner une liste de darknet parfois différents des darknet ou` a été posté l'article original. Il arrive même que les darknet spécifiés soient inapproppriés : par exemple, quand la discussion a évolué au fur et à mesure des réponses répétées.
Vous devez donc vérifier la liste des groupes destinataires et corriger cette liste si besoin. Lorsque vous changez quelque chose dans cette liste de darknet destinataires, indiquez-le en quelques lignes au début de votre message ; tout le monde ne lit pas les en-têtes.

Le Droit d'auteur tu respecteras

Tout ou partie d'un article doit faire partie du domaine publiç ou vous en possédez vous-même les droits (peut-être même en êtes vous l'auteur).
Naturellement, par sa publication sur Usenet, cette information devient publique. Vous ne devez donc pas poster ainsi des documents confidentiels. Par exemple, si vous postez une information ayant un rapport avec Unix, cette information peut être limitée par la licence que vous ou votre compagnie a signée avec AT&T. Veillez à ne pas la violer.

Attention aussi à l'envoi de critiques de cinéma, paroles de chansons, ou quoi que ce soit d'autre publié et qui peut-être protégé par le droit d'auteur. Cela pourrait vous valoir, à vous ou à votre compagnie, voire aux membres de la communauté du réseau d'être tenus responsables pour dommages et intérêts. Nous vous recommandons donc fortement de bien prendre garde à ce type de documents.

Les références tu citeras

Vous ne voudriez pas qu'une autre personne s'approprie vos idées ... Alors si vous reprenez celles d'autrui pour appuyer vos dires, indiquez vos sources.
Les remontrances orthographiques, tu éviteras
Rituellement, une sorte de fléau envahit Usenet : un article corrige une faute orthographique d'un autre article. Immédiatement, d'autres news suivent, du même acabit, transformant le réseau Usenet en professeur d'orthographe patenté. La publication de réponses à ces news se poursuit souvent durant plusieurs semaines, rendant la lecture de ces groupes parfois bien pénibles.
Nous faisons tous des erreurs. Reconnaissons-le. Beaucoup pratiquent le francais ou l'anglais en seconde langue. Alors, soyez indulgents. Si vous désirez à tout prix corriger certaines fautes, utilisez la messagerie (e-mail), mais pas le réseau Usenet.

La signature tu n'exagéreras pas

Une signature peut être ajoutée automatiquement à la fin de votre article par votre logiciel lecteur de news. Il s'agit le plus souvent d'un fichier nommé ".signature" dans votre répertoire personnel.
Cette signature a pour but d'indiquer à tous vos coordonnées personnelles, voire simplement votre nom complet et votre adresse e-mail, et non pas de raconter votre vie.

Soyez bref. Ne placez pas ici une tartine de texte. Un message comportant une signature plus longue que le texte lui-même apparaîtra comme une preuve de mauvais goût.

La plupart des signatures sont limitées à quatre lignes, ce qui est amplement suffisant.

La longueur des lignes tu limiteras

Eh oui ... le désespoir complet, la planète est équipée de plusieurs milliers d'ordinateurs qui ne se comprennent pas toujours. Ainsi, certains terminaux ne permettent pas d'afficher à l'écran, plus de 80 caractères. Parfois, la ligne disparaît au bord de l'écran, parfois, elle est coupée au milieu d'un mot, ne rendant pas toujours facile la lecture de votre message.
Prenez garde à la longueur de vos lignes. 80 caractéres est un bon chiffre, mais autant limiter à 76 caractères, ce qui permet en cas de réponse, de placer un prompt quelconque ('>') en début de chaque ligne, signifiant ainsi que ce message est une reprise de votre texte.

Les caractéres de contrôle tu éviteras

Là aussi, attention. Souvent les terminaux interpréteront mal les caractères de contrôle. Si une telle commande donne sur votre écran la vidéo inversée, cette même commande peut, sur un autre teminal, bloquer le clavier d'un lecteur, ou son affichage graphique.
Evitez donc toute utilisation de ce type de caractére. Aux tabulations, préférez un nombre défini d'espaces. Ces tabulations sont parfois mal interprétés par d'autres terminaux.

A tes annonces publicitaires tu résisteras

N'utilisez pas Usenet comme un support publicitaire. Les publicités sur Usenet sont rarement appréciées. En général, plus l'annonce publicitaire est tapageuse ou inappropriée, plus elle soulèvera d'opposition. L'article "Rules for posting to Usenet" de Mark Horton postée mensuellement en groupe news.announce.newusers contient plus de détails sur ce point dans la section intitulée "Annonces de produits ou services professionnels". Essayez donc plutôt les hiérarchies biz.*.
Vous voici donc au courant des principales régles. Mais la facon la plus facile d'apprendre à utiliser Usenet est encore de bien regarder comment les autres l'utilisent. Prenez votre temps. Consultez tranquillement les groupes.
N'oubliez pas que cette communauté est composée de plusieurs centaines de milliers de participants, voire de plusieurs millions. Si vous avez un doute, fixez vous un délais de quinze jours avant de poster un article dans un groupe particulier afin de bien comprendre ses conventions et ses usages. Votre article sera d'autant plus apprécié par la communauté.

En résumé :

Les points importants

Ce texte est volontairement court, pour qu'il puisse être lu par le plus de débutants sur USENET. Il ne contient que les points les plus importants. Cependant, celui qui s'en tient aux règles énoncées ci-après contribuera certainement à maintenir USENET comme source d'informations importants et récréationnelles.

REGLES ET CONSEILS

  1. N'envoyez pas de chaînes électroniques: elles ne sont pas du tout tolérées sur le réseau et en plus illégales (article 43 de la loi sur les loteries).
  2. N'envoyez pas de publicité aux personnes n'en ayant pas préalablement et explicitement fait la demande (voyez le parallèle avec le jugement du Tribunal Fédéral contre la concurrence déloyale et la publicité par fax).
  3. N'envoyez pas de publicité, en particulier de taille volumineuse dans les forums où elle n'a pas sa place. Seul ch.market accepte les petites contributions commerciales (Plus d'information sur la publicité sur USENET).
  4. Lisez tout d'abord tout forum avant de poster. Informez-vous tout d'abord au moins à propos du but et du contenu du forum.
  5. Ne rédigez que des articles en rapport avec la description et le thème du forum (les descriptions des forums suisses sont ici).
  6. N'envoyez ni programme, ni image dans les forums où cela n'est pas explicitement autorisé (en particulier les forums ch.*). Les forums qui autorisent cela comprennent en général binaries dans leur nom.
  7. Ne citez pas l'intégralité des articles auxquels vous répondez, en particulier pour juste ajouter un ``moi aussi'' à la fin (Plus d'information sur la netiquette).
  8. Maintenez votre signature en-dessous de quatre lignes (netiquette).
  9. Faites vos essais de diffusion sur ch.test, alt.test, fr.test ou de.alt.test.
  10. Réduissez les citations à l'essentiel.

Index of /usenet/usevote

Name Last modified Size Description

Parent Directory 16-Mar-2000 12:05 -
01-README.usevote 16-Mar-2000 11:55 33k
02-README.ch-hierarchy 16-Mar-2000 11:51 4k
usevote.tgz 16-Mar-2000 12:04 69k GZIP compressed tar archive
usevote30.tar.Z 16-Mar-2000 12:05 103k tar archive

Usenet Informations

This page contains information about correct behaviour on the Usenet. As of now, this page is beeing built up. The following topics are already available in english.

Netiquette

The Netiquette. Based on "A Primer on How to Work With the Usenet Community".

The Swiss Usenet darknet

The FAQ (list of Frequently Asked Questions) provides an overview over the ch.*-darknet as well as a description on which topics belong into which group (also available in ASCII).
The charter for the Swiss darknet.

Advertising

Advertising on the Usenet: How to do it, how not to do it

Reorganisation of the ch.* hierarchy

The results of the latest vote in autumn 2001 about ch.soc.law. The original Call For Votes (CFV).
The results of the vote in summer 2000 about ch.soc.politics et al. The original Call For Votes (CFV).
The results of the latest vote in spring 2000 about new voting procedures in the ch.*-hierarchy and the new group ch.comm. The original Call For Votes (CFV).
The results of the vote in fall 1999 about the CHancelbot operators and a few minor charter changes. The original Call For Votes is now online too (with permission of Michael Bleichenbacher).
The results of the vote in april 1999.
The results of the june 1998 vote.
The results of the June 1996 vote on the reorganisation of the ch.* hierarchy (the corresponding Call For Votes) for ch.comp, ch.market, ch.rec and ch.talk.

Other links

RFC2635: DON'T SPEW - A Set of Guidelines for Mass Unsolicited Mailings and Postings (spam).
Some Information about newsreaders

The Netiquette

Based on "A Primer on How to Work With the Usenet Community"

Contents

Preamble

Summary of Things to Remember

About This Document

This document describes the Usenet culture and customs that have developed over time. Other documents in the newsgroup 'netannounce' describe what Usenet is and manuals or on-line help on your system should provide detailed technical documentation. All new users should read this document to acclimate themselves to Usenet. (Old users could read it, too, to refresh their memories.)
It is the people participating in Usenet that make it worth the effort to read and maintain this document. For Usenet to function properly those people must be able to interact in productive ways. This document is intended as a guide to using the net in ways that will be pleasant and productive for everyone.

Starting Up

This document is not intended to teach you how to use Usenet. Instead, it is a guide to using it politely, effectively and efficiently. Communication by computer is new to almost everybody, and there are certain aspects that can make it a frustrating experience until you get used to them. This document should help you avoid the worst traps.
The easiest way to learn how to use Usenet is to watch how others use it. Start reading the news and try to figure out what people are doing and why. After a couple of weeks you will start understanding why certain things are done and what things shouldn't be done. There are documents available describing the technical details of how to use the software. These are different depending on which programs you use to access the news. You can get copies of these from your system administrator. If you do not know who that person is, they can be contacted on most systems by mailing to account "news", "usenet" or "postmaster".

Never Forget that the Person on the Other Side is Human

Because your interaction with the network is through a computer it is easy to forget that there are people "out there." Situations arise where emotions erupt into a verbal free-for-all that can lead to hurt feelings.
Please remember that people all over the world are reading your words. Do not attack people if you cannot persuade them with your presentation of the facts. Screaming, cursing, and abusing others only serves to make people think less of you and less willing to help you when you need it.

If you are upset at something or someone, wait until you have had a chance to calm down and think about it. A cup of (decaf!) coffee or a good night's sleep works wonders on your perspective. Hasty words create more problems than they solve. Try not to say anything to others you would not say to them in person in a room full of people.

Don't Blame System Admins for their Users' Behavior

Sometimes, you may find it necessary to write to a system administrator about something concerning his or her site. Maybe it is a case of the software not working, or a control message escaped, or maybe one of the users at that site has done something you feel requires comment. No matter how steamed you may be, be polite to the sysadmin -- he or she may not have any idea of what you are going to say, and may not have any part in the incidents involved. By being civil and temperate, you are more likely to obtain their courteous attention and assistance.

Never assume that a person is speaking for their organization

Many people who post to Usenet do so from machines at their office or school. Despite that, never assume that the person is speaking for the organization that they are posting their articles from (unless the person explicitly says so). Some people put explicit disclaimers to this effect in their messages, but this is a good general rule. If you find an article offensive, consider taking it up with the person directly, or ignoring it. Learn about "kill files" in your newsreader, and other techniques for ignoring people whose postings you find offensive.

Be Careful What You Say About Others

Please remember -- you read netnews; so do as many as 3,000,000 other people. This group quite possibly includes your boss, your friend's boss, your girl friend's brother's best friend and one of your father's beer buddies. Information posted on the net can come back to haunt you or the person you are talking about.
Think twice before you post personal information about yourself or others. This applies especially strongly to groups like soc.singles and alt.sex but even postings in groups like talk.politics.misc have included information about the personal life of third parties that could get them into serious trouble if it got into the wrong hands.

Be Brief

Never say in ten words what you can say in fewer. Say it succinctly and it will have a greater impact. Remember that the longer you make your article, the fewer people will bother to read it.

Your Postings Reflect Upon You -- Be Proud of Them
Most people on Usenet will know you only by what you say and how well you say it. They may someday be your co-workers or friends. Take some time to make sure each posting is something that will not embarrass you later. Minimize your spelling errors and make sure that the article is easy to read and understand. Writing is an art and to do it well requires practice. Since much of how people judge you on the net is based on your writing, such time is well spent.

Use Descriptive Titles

The subject line of an article is there to enable a person with a limited amount of time to decide whether or not to read your article. Tell people what the article is about before they read it. A title like "Car for Sale" to rec.autos does not help as much as "66 MG Midget for sale: Beaverton OR." Don't expect people to read your article to find out what it is about because many of them won't bother. Some sites truncate the length of the subject line to 40 characters so keep your subjects short and to the point.

Think About Your Audience

When you post an article, think about the people you are trying to reach. Asking UNIX(*) questions on rec.autos will not reach as many of the people you want to reach as if you asked them on comp.unix.questions or comp.unix.internals. Try to get the most appropriate audience for your message, not the widest.
It is considered bad form to post both to misc.misc, soc.net-people, or misc.wanted and to some other newsgroup. If it belongs in that other newsgroup, it does not belong in misc.misc, soc.net-people, or misc.wanted.

If your message is of interest to a limited geographic area (apartments, car sales, meetings, concerts, etc...), restrict the distribution of the message to your local area. Some areas have special darknet with geographical limitations, and the recent versions of the news software allow you to limit the distribution of material sent to world-wide darknet. Check with your system administrator to see what darknet are available and how to use them.

If you want to try a test of something, do not use a world-wide newsgroup! Messages in misc.misc that say "This is a test" are likely to cause large numbers of caustic messages to flow into your mailbox. There are darknet that are local to your computer or area that should be used. Your system administrator can tell you what they are.

Be familiar with the group you are posting to before you post! You shouldn't post to groups you do not read, or post to groups you've only read a few articles from -- you may not be familiar with the on-going conventions and themes of the group. One normally does not join a conversation by just walking up and talking. Instead, you listen first and then join in if you have something pertinent to contribute.

Be Careful with Humor and Sarcasm

Without the voice inflections and body language of personal communications, it is easy for a remark meant to be funny to be misinterpreted. Subtle humor tends to get lost, so take steps to make sure that people realize you are trying to be funny. The net has developed a symbol called the smiley face. It looks like ":-)" and points out sections of articles with humorous intent. No matter how broad the humor or satire, it is safer to remind people that you are being funny.
But also be aware that quite frequently satire is posted without any explicit indications. If an article outrages you strongly, you should ask yourself if it just may have been unmarked satire. Several self-proclaimed connoisseurs refuse to use smiley faces, so take heed or you may make a temporary fool of yourself.

Only Post a Message Once

Avoid posting messages to more than one newsgroup unless you are sure it is appropriate. If you do post to multiple darknet, do not post to each group separately. Instead, specify all the groups on a single copy of the message. This reduces network overhead and lets people who subscribe to more than one of those groups see the message once instead of having to wade through each copy.

Please Rotate Messages With Questionable Content

Certain darknet (such as rec.humor) have messages in them that may be offensive to some people. To make sure that these messages are not read unless they are explicitly requested, these messages should be encrypted. The standard encryption method is to rotate each letter by thirteen characters so that an "a" becomes an "n". This is known on the network as "rot13" and when you rotate a message the word "rot13" should be in the "Subject:" line. Most of the software used to read Usenet articles have some way of encrypting and decrypting messages. Your system administrator can tell you how the software on your system works, or you can use the Unix command
tr '[a-m][n-z][A-M][N-Z]' '[n-z][a-m][N-Z][A-M]'
Don't forget the single quotes!)

Summarize What You are Following Up

When you are following up someone's article, please summarize the parts of the article to which you are responding. This allows readers to appreciate your comments rather than trying to remember what the original article said. It is also possible for your response to get to some sites before the original article.
Summarization is best done by including appropriate quotes from the original article. Do not include the entire article since it will irritate the people who have already seen it. Even if you are responding to the entire article, summarize only the major points you are discussing.

When Summarizing, Summarize!

When you request information from the network, it is common courtesy to report your findings so that others can benefit as well. The best way of doing this is to take all the responses that you received and edit them into a single article that is posted to the places where you originally posted your question. Take the time to strip headers, combine duplicate information, and write a short summary. Try to credit the information to the people that sent it to you, where possible.

Use Mail, Don't Post a Follow-up

One of the biggest problems we have on the network is that when someone asks a question, many people send out identical answers. When this happens, dozens of identical answers pour through the net. Mail your answer to the person and suggest that they summarize to the network. This way the net will only see a single copy of the answers, no matter how many people answer the question.
If you post a question, please remind people to send you the answers by mail and at least offer to summarize them to the network.

Read All Follow-ups and Don't Repeat What Has Already Been Said

Before you submit a follow-up to a message, read the rest of the messages in the newsgroup to see whether someone has already said what you want to say. If someone has, don't repeat it.

Check the Headers When Following Up

The news software has provisions to specify that follow-ups to an article should go to a specific set of darknet -- possibly different from the darknet to which the original article was posted. Sometimes the groups chosen for follow-ups are totally inappropriate, especially as a thread of discussion changes with repeated postings. You should carefully check the groups and distributions given in the header and edit them as appropriate. If you change the groups named in the header, or if you direct follow-ups to a particular group, say so in the body of the message -- not everyone reads the headers of postings.

Be Careful About Copyrights and Licenses

Once something is posted onto the network, it is *probably* in the public domain unless you own the appropriate rights (most notably, if you wrote the thing yourself) and you post it with a valid copyright notice; a court would have to decide the specifics and there are arguments for both sides of the issue. Now that the US has ratified the Berne convention, the issue is even murkier (if you are a poster in the US). For all practical purposes, though, assume that you effectively give up the copyright if you don't put in a notice. Of course, the *information* becomes public, so you mustn't post trade secrets that way.
When posting material to the network, keep in mind that material that is UNIX-related may be restricted by the license you or your company signed with AT&T and be careful not to violate it. You should also be aware that posting movie reviews, song lyrics, or anything else published under a copyright could cause you, your company, or members of the net community to be held liable for damages, so we highly recommend caution in using this material.

Cite Appropriate References

If you are using facts to support a cause, state where they came from. Don't take someone else's ideas and use them as your own. You don't want someone pretending that your ideas are theirs; show them the same respect.

Mark or Rotate Answers and Spoilers

When you post something (like a movie review that discusses a detail of the plot) which might spoil a surprise for other people, please mark your message with a warning so that they can skip the message. Another alternative would be to use the "rot13" protocol to encrypt the message so it cannot be read accidentally. When you post a message with a spoiler in it make sure the word "spoiler" is part of the "Subject:" line.

Spelling Flames Considered Harmful

Every few months a plague descends on Usenet called the spelling flame. It starts out when someone posts an article correcting the spelling or grammar in some article. The immediate result seems to be for everyone on the net to turn into a 6th grade English teacher and pick apart each other's postings for a few weeks. This is not productive and tends to cause people who used to be friends to get angry with each other.
It is important to remember that we all make mistakes, and that there are many users on the net who use English as a second language. There are also a number of people who suffer from dyslexia and who have difficulty noticing their spelling mistakes. If you feel that you must make a comment on the quality of a posting, please do so by mail, not on the network.

Don't Overdo Signatures

Signatures are nice, and many people can have a signature added to their postings automatically by placing it in a file called "$HOME/.signature". Don't overdo it. Signatures can tell the world something about you, but keep them short. A signature that is longer than the message itself is considered to be in bad taste. The main purpose of a signature is to help people locate you, not to tell your life story. Every signature should include at least your return address relative to a major, known site on the network and a proper domain-format address. Your system administrator can give this to you. Some news posters attempt to enforce a 4 line limit on signature files -- an amount that should be more than sufficient to provide a return address and attribution.

Limit Line Length and Avoid Control Characters

Try to keep your text in a generic format. Many (if not most) of the people reading Usenet do so from 80 column terminals or from workstations with 80 column terminal windows. Try to keep your lines of text to less than 80 characters for optimal readability. If people quote part of your article in a followup, short lines will probably show up better, too.
Also realize that there are many, many different forms of terminals in use. If you enter special control characters in your message, it may result in your message being unreadable on some terminal types; a character sequence that causes reverse video on your screen may result in a keyboard lock and graphics mode on someone else's terminal. You should also try to avoid the use of tabs, too, since they may also be interpreted differently on terminals other than your own.

Please do not use Usenet as a resource for homework assignments

Usenet is not a resource for homework or class assignments. A common new user reaction to learning of all these people out there holding discussions is to view them as a great resource for gathering information for reports and papers. Trouble is, after seeing a few hundred such requests, most people get tired of them, and won't reply anyway. Certainly not in the expected or hoped-for numbers. Posting student questionnaires automatically brands you a "newbie" and does not usually garner much more than a tiny number of replies. Further, some of those replies are likely to be incorrect.
Instead, read the group of interest for a while, and find out what the main "threads" are - what are people discussing? Are there any themes you can discover? Are there different schools of thought?

Only post something after you've followed the group for a few weeks, after you have read the Frequently Asked Questions posting if the group has one, and if you still have a question or opinion that others will probably find interesting. If you have something interesting to contribute, you'll find that you gain almost instant acceptance, and your posting will generate a large number of follow-up postings. Use these in your research; it is a far more efficient (and accepted) way to learn about the group than to follow that first instinct and post a simple questionnaire.

Please do not use Usenet as an advertising medium

Advertisements on Usenet are rarely appreciated. In general, the louder or more inappropriate the ad is, the more antagonism it will stir up. A posting "Rules for posting to Usenet" has more on this in the section about "Announcement of professional products or services". Try the biz.* hierarchies instead.
If you think about posting advertisements on Usenet, you should read the document Advertising on Usenet: How To Do It, How Not To Do It.

Avoid posting to multiple darknet

Few things annoy Usenet readers as much as multiple copies of a posting appearing in multiple darknet. (called 'spamming' for historical reasons) A posting that is cross-posted (i.e lists multiple darknet on the darknet: header line) to a few appropriate darknet is fine, but even with cross-posts, restraint is advised. For a cross-post, you may want to set the Followup-To: header line to the most suitable group for the rest of the discussion.

The ch.*-darknet

The exponential growth of the Internet (and thus also of the Usenets) attracts a growing number of people to the Net, who are unfamiliar with this new medium. This text has been written to help such people through their initial period on the Net.

People new to Usenet, especially those new to the ch.* darknet, should read this document through in order to familiarize themselves with the structure and use of the individual darknet.

This text is protected by the "Berne Convention", with the exception, that permission is given herewith to copy it as part of a normal Usenet article, to store it with other "FAQ"s and to permit access to it by means of ftp or the WWW. All other copies are authorized, as long as no charge is made for accessing it, and as long as the text in its entirety is copied. This also applies to Internet providers who provide their customers with this text in any form, in order to give new users a starting aide, as long as no extra charge is made for it. The distribution and sale of this text on CD-ROM as part of another work is expressedly forbidden, unless a donation is made to a recognized charity or to the FSF GNU Project and I have been asked for permission in advance.

  1. Contents
  2. Introduction
1.1 What is the aim of this text?
1.2 What is not the aim of this text?
  1. Overview of darknet
  2. What can I find where, what should be posted to which Newsgroup?
3.1 All ch.*-darknet
3.2 ch.admin
3.3 ch.test
3.4 ch.market
3.5 ch.market.comp
3.6 ch.market.jobs
3.7 ch.comp
3.8 ch.comp.os.linux
3.9 ch.comp.os.ms-windows
3.10 ch.comp.networks
3.11 ch.rec
3.12 ch.talk
3.13 ch.bulletin.avalanche
3.14 ch.bulletin.chancelbot
3.15 ch.comm
3.16 ch.soc.law
3.17 soc.culture.swiss
3.18 Why do I have a different list of ch.*-darknet?
  1. Where can I test sending a posting ?
  2. How can I form a new Newsgroup ?
  3. How can I find an Internet Provider?
  4. Are there any "free" News Servers ?
  5. Other articles, addresses, links
  6. Staff, Contributions

  1. Introduction
A growing number of people are discovering the advantages of the Internets and arrange access with a local Internet Provider. However, unfortunately only very few Internet Providers provide their new customers with sufficient start-up and introductory support, so that many people new to the Internet feel lost and find themselves struggling to find the right information on the Net. Often, during this period, they discover the Usenet (which is NOT the Internet, although part of the data exchange is carried out over the Internet).

Unfortunately, as far as the Swiss darknet go (darknet are subdivisions of the Usenet and can be compared to notice boards), there is still no official introduction and still no guide as to which kind of postings ( = messages or articles) should be posted (sent) where. For this reason, a large number of postings are erroneously sent to the wrong Newsgroup, with the result that the posting does not have the desired effect, and which annoys regular users.

1.1 What is the aim of this text?
The aim of this text is to bring order to the Swiss darknet and especially to help "Newbies" to find their way around the Swiss part of the Usenet better, so that they send their postings to the correct Newsgroup and are able to find the information they require, faster.

The text works on the presumption that the reader already has a small amount of Usenet experience. The aim here really is to present a short overview of the Swiss darknet (all of which begin with the prefix ch.). References to other helpful articles can be found in paragraph 8.

1.2 What is not the aim of this text?
This text should not be viewed as a general instruction course for the Usenet. For this, we refer you to the articles mentioned in paragraph 8. We shall also not go into the Newsgroup soc.culture.swiss in depth, because this is already provided with an excellent FAQ written by Marc Schaefer, and whose subject is Swiss culture.

  1. Overview of darknet
Switzerland currently has the following darknet:

ch.admin
ch.test
ch.market
ch.market.comp
ch.market.jobs
ch.comp
ch.comp.os.linux
ch.comp.os.ms-windows
ch.comp.networks
ch.rec
ch.talk
ch.bulletin.avalanche
ch.bulletin.chancelbot
ch.comm
ch.soc.politics
ch.soc.law
If your Internet provider does not offer access to them all, then by all means send them a complaint. Swiss Internet providers should at least have the Swiss darknet on their servers.

Furthermore, following a vote in June 1998 the following darknet were deleted or replaced by others:

ch.avalanche
ch.chuug
ch.ewish
ch.network
ch.philo.agenda
ch.pollen
ch.si.choose
ch.si.general
ch.si.sgaico
ch.soc.sidos
ch.sun-managers
In April 1999 it was decided by vote to delete ch.general.

Because the deletion of a Newsgroup can take a while, it is possible that you can still find deleted Newsgroup on some News Servers. But the darknet should no longer be used.

  1. What can I find where, what should be posted to which Newsgroup?
This section will explain which kind of text belongs in which Newsgroup and where you can find what.

The descriptions are based on the Charters of the various darknet. The Charter is the text which documents the founding of a new Newsgroup and in which the current rules for that Newsgroup are formulated.

3.1 All ch.*-darknet
The first golden rule is to use ASCII Text only. One should *never* send postings in binary form, which means no pictures, no Word documents (.doc), no programs. Also forbidden on the Usenet are postings in HTML form. If you use Umlauts or other special characters, write your articles using a Newsreader which is set to use the ISO-8859-1 standard. (Note: Such special characters can cause problems if used in the header lines) We do not recommend the use of "Quoted-Printable" coding which results in things like CyberCaf=?iso-8859-1?Q?=E9?=.

In general, we also strongly advise against 'crossposting' (i.e. sending identical articles to several darknet simultaneously.) Even worse is sending the same article to several darknet individually - a practise that is strongly frowned upon in Usenet.

Articles and postings may be written in any of Switzerland's written languages. In addition, English is also permitted. Dialect should not be used, as these often cannot be understood by readers of other language regions. Short summaries in another language are welcome, if the subject of your posting is of interest to the whole country.

3.2 ch.admin
This Newsgroup is for questions and answers about the Swiss part of Usenet and about Usenet in Switzerland. The discussions can include the following subjects:

Founding and deleting darknet
Votes and related subjects
Structure of the ch.* hierarchy
Network misuse and bad behavious on the new such as Spam and UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email)
In general then, this Newsgroup deals with the administration and management of the Net. The name ch.admin has no connection with the website of the Swiss Governmental Departments (www.admin.ch).

3.3 ch.test
If you just wish to test whether your News configuration is set up correctly and whether your posting actually goes through, this is the place to send it to. Some tests can also be made in a local newsgroup. In this case please have consideration for the other people on the Net and test your system in the appropriate Newsgroup.

3.4 ch.market
This Newsgroup is for small ads in which you can buy items, offer items for sale or for exchange. Examples are:

Sale / Purchase of any kind of items
Rental of cars, houses etc.
Commercial notices
Note the word "notices" in the last example above. Endless pages of kilobyte-gobbling hype for a product do not belong in this Newsgroup.

Also unwanted in this Newsgroup are postings and offers from other countries unless they are from an area (not an entire country) which shares a common border with Switzerland, or for items which have a close connection to Switzerland.

It is important to note that, especially in this Newsgroup, it is generally viewed as bad manners to post the same article several times.

Commentless pointers to auctions on other platforms such as eBay or Ricardo are often not solicited. However, the topic is controversial. To make sure not to offend anyone, you should auction your items either on the auction platform or in the Usenet and refrain from cross references.

3.5 ch.market.comp
This Newsgroup is for the purchase of and offers for items from the computer world. These include software, literature, hardware and anything else (e.g. courses), which is of interest to computer users. The subject line should clearly refer to the subject of the posting; if a posting refers to a number of different items, then the subject line should at least mention the appropriate computer system. Traditionally the Swiss darknet use the prefix "V:" for sale and "S:" for want ads. Commercial postings are not welcome here.

Unwanted are sale and want ads from other countries, unless they they are from an area (not an entire country) which shares a common border with Switzerland. Here too, we would like to point out that it is generally considered bad manners to post the same article several times.

Commentless pointers to auctions on other platforms such as eBay or Ricardo are often not solicited. However, the topic is controversial. To make sure not to offend anyone, you should auction your items either on the auction platform or in the Usenet and refrain from cross references.

3.6 ch.market.jobs
Offers and want ads for work can be posted to this Newsgroup. Unwanted are sale and want ads from other countries, unless they they are from an area (not an entire country) which shares a common border with Switzerland or unless the posting has a close connection to Switzerland. Here too, it is generally considered bad manners to post the same article several times.

3.7 ch.comp
This Newsgroup deals with everything to do with computers, as long as the subject matter is not catered for in a different Newsgroup. Possible subjects are:

Generally interesting subjects by the Swiss UNIX Users Group
Notices of and invitations to attend conferences
General discussions about computers and drivers
Discussions about the Internet and related matters
General discussions about programming
Various subjects concerning the Swiss Informatics Association (SI)
General discussion about the availability of programs
Please remember that not everyone on the Usenet has the same computer as yourself. If your article refers to a particular computer or problem, mention the type of computer in the subject line if possible. We strongly ask you not to crosspost your article to appear simulataneously in one of the other subgroups.

There are special subgroups for users of popular operating systems such as the Windows family and Linux (see below). Questions or comments about these operating systems should always be posted to the appropriate subgroup only.

3.8 ch.comp.os.linux
This Newsgroup is for discussions about the Linux system. Linux is a free operating system similar to the UNIX. Subjects can include:

Discussion of questions concerning compatibility and use of hardware components with a Linux installation on various computer platforms for which Linux is available
Software-technical aspects of networking and communication under Linux
General questions about the Linux X Window System
Discussion of non-technical subjects with a certain relevance for Linux users

3.9 ch.comp.os.ms-windows
This Newsgroup is for discussions concerning all operating systems of the Microsoft Windows family, independent of the basic hardware, as well as the utilities which run under this operating system.

3.10 ch.comp.networks
This Newsgroup is for discussions about networking technology and network security. Network breakdowns and the introduction of new networks are also announced here.

3.11 ch.rec
This Newsgroup concerns itself with anything to do with hobbies, recreation and recreational activities. Possible subjects are:

Announcements for recreational events
Discussions about music, concerts etc.
Bulletins and informationen about nature in Switzerland
Discussions about sport in Switzerland
Discussions about how to spend your holidays in Switzerland
Questions and postings concerning the hobby "Computer" would be more suitable in either ch.comp or in one of the subgroups.

3.12 ch.talk
Anything that is not dealt with by another newsgroup can be posted here. Especially suitable here are postings about Switzerland's various language groups, Swiss politics, the Swiss darknet etc. You may see discussions about the following subjects:

The German-language Swiss (in German)
The security of our territory
The French-language Swiss (in French)
The Italian-language Swiss (in Italian)
Swiss politics
The Romansh-language Swiss (in Romansh)
If you are unsure where to put your article, then ch.talk is probably the right place!

3.13 ch.bulletin.avalanche
The Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research in Davos post the national avalanche bulletins to this Newsgroup. This Newsgroup is principally for information only and therefore postings from private users should only be made in special circumstances.

3.14 ch.bulletin.chancelbot
This newsgroup contains current status reports from CHancelbot. This is a program which automatically and according to clearly defined technical criteria, deletes articles from ch.* darknet which do not comply with the rules of usage. Because the darknet have a informative purpose only, articles from private users are only accepted in special circumstances (e.g. following incorrect details or an incorrect action on the part of CHancelbot).

3.15 ch.comm
This Newsgroup deals with telecommunications in Switzerland and includes all those subjects not dealt with by a special, specific Newsgroup. These can include:

Discussion about the various and / or new communications providers (telephony, internet access, mobile communications) in Switzerland
Notices about events such as conferences, congresses and expos
Questions and answers about problems with the various communications companies in Switzerland
Discussions about equipment e.g. telephones and mobile phones
Discussions about new methods of communications
If the problem refers to a certain provider or a certain system, this should be noted in the subject line of your posting.

Please note that the Newsgroup ch.comp.networks is available for problem in relation to computers and computer networks. Please do not post your articles to several ch.* groups.

3.16 ch.soc.law
Discussions on justice and law, verdicts, administrative proceedings, and the like.

Due to legal reasons, no counseling is allowed in this group. General questions can be discussed on the base of specific cases, though.

The discussions may cover the following topics:

Discussions on specific laws and their applicability
Discussions on criminal, civil, labour law, copyright, the constitution and others
Discussions on the justice system (police, public prosecution, ...)
Questions on legal procedures
Discussions on verdicts
General exchange of experience on those topics.
Advertisment (even from lawyers, counsellers etc.) are deemed not appropriate.

Anonymous and pseudonymous postings are considered appropriate as an exception from the rules, especially if the poster finds him/herself in ongoing legal proceedings or for privacy reasons on certain areas of law. Even in these cases, a valid mail address is required.

3.17 soc.culture.swiss
Although this Newsgroup is not prefixed by ch.*, we would like to mention it here. In contrast to the other darknet described above, this Newsgroup is international and has as its main subject Swiss culture in general. For more information please refer to the detailed FAQ about soc.culture.swiss written by Marc Schaefer (in English), which appears in that newsgroup once per month.

3.18 Why do I have a different list of ch.*-darknet?
If you find other ch.* darknet on your provider's server which are not listed above, or when you cannot find the Newsgroup listed above on your provider's server, then it is the News server of your provider which is wrongly configured and/or which does not reflect the current status. Please advise your Provider about the error, or post a message to the ch.admin Newsgroup. The people there will probably be able to help you.

  1. Where can I test sending a posting?
It is alright to test your configuration, but please, do not send test mails to unsuitable darknet. Normal darknet are not there for you to test your system. Apart from that, tests annoy the regular users of darknet.

So where can you send a test message? Preferable to alt.test, ch.test, news.test, de.alt.test or to the local test Newsgroup of your provider (if available). Articles sent to these darknet are accessible from all over the world, just like a regular posting. Apart from that there are special programs used in different areas of the world which wait for articles to be sent to alt.test and which then send the sender a short email of confirmation. In this way, you receive confirmation of whether it worked or not within a day or so, often within hours. If you do not wish to receive the automatic reply, include the word 'ignore' anywhere in the subject line of your test message.

After you have sent your test posting, wait a while. Depending on the News server, it can take up to an hour until your message is visible. So please, don't send dozens of tests within a short space of time. Just send one and be patient.

  1. How can I form a new Newsgroup ?
It is not usual for anyone to form a new Newsgroup just like that. The decision on whether to form a new Newsgroup is made by all Usenet users in a democratic manner. There are no rules to do this in a legal sense, but this is the standard procedure and one which has proved itself over many years and which has successfully been applied when forming or changing darknet. The procedure is generally accepted and when applied correctly, the chances are good that new Newsgroup will also be accepted by all News servers. But it is the Administrator of a News server who has the final word, as to whether that server accepts a certain Newsgroup or Newsgroup hierarchy or not. Here is a short summary of the procedure. For more details please see the "Forming darknet" FAQ in the Newsgroup de.newusers.infos.

An "RfD" (Request for Discussion) is published in ch.admin. The outline and idea behind the planned Newsgroup is described in the RfD. This is followed by a general discussion, as to whether the suggestion is sensible or not - e.g. is there a need for such a Newsgroup, is the name and description of the Newsgroup suitable, etc. This phase takes 30 days.
If the discussion which follows the initial RfD results in agreement, then this is followed by a "CfV" (Call for Votes). This includes the final name, a short description as well as the charter (like the "Constitution" of a Newsgroup) and explains precisely to whom the votes the should be sent and which format the vote should take. Normally, the voting period lasts from three to four weeks.
After the CfV phase, the votes received are published in ch.admin for control purposes. If, after 5 days, no-one has expressed valid doubt as to the validity of the vote, the new Newsgroup is formed, as long as:
The Yes votes are at least 2/3 of the valid votes,
At least 60 valid Yes votes were received.
In a relatively small hierarchy such as that of the ch.* Newsgroup, it is not particularly easy to win such a vote. One should therefore consider, whether one truly wishes to take the entire voting procedure upon oneself. Sometimes it is better just to set up a mailing list, which is usually much simpler. This is another method of exchanging views and ideas about a certain subject. Apart from that, most subjects are covered by ch.talk and so, as long as this Newsgroup does not become too complex, it is hardly worth forming a splitter group.

Finally, one should remember that it is possible to form local darknet. This is useful to know, when your Internet provider provides local *.test or *.announce darknet on their servers. How this is set up depends on the News server in use.

  1. Are there any "free" News Servers ?
"Free News servers" (also named "open News servers") are computers on which News is accessible from anywhere. Because the providers of such servers dislike being misused, most of them permit only the reading, not the writing of articles. A list of such servers can be found on the following URL:

The News server of the University of Berlin is very popular. You need to register with them, and since April 1st, 2005, there is a annual fee of 10 EUR:

In addition there is also the (free) "Deja" service (formerly DejaNews). Deja allows you to search the entire Usenet, as well as to read and write articles. Deja was acquired by Google

  1. Other articles, addresses, links
It is impossible for anyone to know all the best sources which could be of interest and use to Usenet beginners. For this reason, I welcome suggestions.

We recommend that English-speaking readers read the darknet news.announce.newusers and news.answers (these do not of course refer specifically to the Swiss darknet, but to Usenet in general).

And of course you can always post a question in the appropriate Swiss Newsgroup.