Subject: the official alt.tv.kids-in-hall FAQ From: (superbeth) Date: 10/1/00 12:19 PM Eastern Daylight Time Message-id: <> Part 4 ===== 4.01) What is a FAQ anyway? A FAQ is a list of Frequently Asked Questions. 4.02) What is this section of the FAQ about? This is just to help out newbies getting aquatinted with the newsgroup known as alt.tv.kids-in-hall 4.03) Is the FAQ available on the web? It is available at https://kithfan.org 4.04) Is alt.tv.kids-in-hall the only newsgroup dedicated to KITH? Yes it is, but as discussed earlier there are: alt.fan.dave-foley: discussion about dave foley's projects, appearances, and overall s-e-x-e appeal alt.tv.newsradio: discussion of the television show which featured dave foley alt.tv.snl: discussion of the television show which featured Mark McKinney for several seasons 4.05) Should I post to the other newsgroups? Many people from alt.tv.kids-in-hall post or at least lurk in the other newsgroups. Definitely consider reading them, but remember while the NewsRadio and Dave Foley newsgroups are certainly KITH related, they are their own separate newsgroups with their own regular members and attitudes and should be treated as such. Also remember cross posting isn't the way to go and could be constituted as spamming, especially if the person's not a regular name around the newsgroups. 4.06) Why are there so many off-topic posts? I can't say it any more eloquently that Hannah () so I'm going to quote her: "Threads tend to work like conversation; that is, meandering and straying from the initial topic. Besides, many of the seemingly off-topic posts are actually connected to KITH, by way of film or television work the Kids have done, bands that the Kids are known to be fans of, comedy troupes which are similar to the style and content pioneered by KITH, or various other degrees of separation." 4.07) Does alt.tv.kids-in-hall have any commonly used colloquialisms, acronyms, or slang I should know about?? Besides reference back to KITH sketches and other KITH related projects, there are some you'll catch around here. You might see people use phrases like "Jesus Christ on a Bike" or "Fuckin' A, there's gonna be a party", these refer back to the KITH live show that many members on the newsgroup saw. Also you'll often see people say thank Scott or oh Scott. Since Scott Thompson is god, so we use Scott in place of God. Finally you'll catch the abbreviations for: BC: Brain Candy SBM: Shame Based Man SMOASP: Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet KITH2K: Kids in the Hall 2000, the live tour TC: Twitch City 4.08) What are some commonly used acronyms and slang that appear on Usenet newsgroups, not just on this newsgroup? Here are some: AFAIK: As Far As I Know BION: Believe It Or Not BTW: By The Way. crosspost: a message sent to more than one newsgroup. FAQ: A Frequently Asked Questions list. flame: an insult.: a grin : an evil grin : a big evil grin IIRC: If I Recall Correctly IMHO: In My Humble Opinion. killfile: to configure your newsreader so as to ignore every post by the target of your killfile. LOL: Laugh Out Loud. What you say when a post made you Laugh Out Loud. lurking: reading the newsgroup without posting to it. netiquette: Net etiquette; polite behavior on the Internet. newbie: A newcomer. Ob: Short for obligatory. A grace note put in to an off- topic post to bring the post nominally on-topic to the newsgroup. OT: Off-Topic Post. A header in a posts subject line notifying people that what you are about to post doesnt have much to do with the subject of the newsgroup. A little-used but much-appreciated device. ROTFL: Rolling On The Floor Laughing. What you post when something someone said was really funny. RTF: Read The FAQ! A common response to a Frequently Asked Question. spam: to post a completely inappropriate message to a number of newsgroups. troll: a deliberately provocative post, one guaranteed to provoke a reaction due to its sheer stupidity or offensiveness. Also refers to a person who is known to routinely post in this manner. WOT: Way-Off-Topic Post. When what you are about to post is extremely off-topic. YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary. Which is to say, you may feel differently than I do. And thats okay. 4.09) Who is ? Often times on the newsgroup you'll run across on-topic and off-topic post on something you had never heard of. In case you're too embarrassed to ask or you know who they are and you want more information, here's are some links to check out: Don McKellar: Sloan: http://www.sloanmusic.com/ Aimee Mann: http://www.aimeemann.com/ MST3K: http://www.mst3kinfo.com The Vacant Lot: The State: http://members.aol.com/thestate/ Mr. Show: http://www.mrshow.com Tenacious D.: 4.10) What is netiquette? Netiquette is the slang among the regulars on Usenet for proper etiquette in on-line usage -- that is, what is and is not considered polite. The following is a list of basic netiquette that you should follow on every Usenet newsgroup: 1. DONT post private e-mails without the permission of the sender. This is regarded as a gross violation of the person's privacy. 2. DONT unnecessarily waste bandwidth with me too posts -- that is, posts that reprint a long post only to add a me too. 3. DO killfile people rather than engage in a public exchange of insults. Public arguments and unpleasantries waste everybody's time and bandwidth and make the combatants look stupid and/or immature. Take any unpleasant discussion to e-mail. Or killfile them. Please. 4. DONT post trolls. Trolls are universally seen as a pain in the neck, because they annoy everyone on the newsgroup and dont produce anything positive. And please DONT feed the trolls by responding to them; they become dependent on us, keep coming back for more, and then we just have to take them out back and shoot them. (Sad, really) 5. DO be careful of crossposts. In rare cases a crosspost may be of interest to every newsgroup that the post is sent to; but usually the crosspost is relevant only to one newsgroup, or (more often) the responses to the original crosspost are relevant to only one newsgroup. Always edit the To: or Newsgroups: line post to make sure it goes only to those newsgroups to which it is relevant. And remember that everyone owns their posts; to hijack someone else's post(s) without their permission and to crosspost it or them is not only a gross violation of netiquette but is in fact illegal. 6. DO be careful about the wording of your posts. Remember, people can't see your face when you post; all we have to go on is the phrasing of the post. So what you may intend to be humorous may not be taken that way and what may be an unconscious error on your part may be taken as a deliberate insult by somebody. Basically, be careful in what you say and how you say it. 7. DO edit out material, in an article to which you are replying, that is not relevant to your answer; that is, dont include 80 lines of text and respond only to the last line. That wastes time and bandwidth. 8. DONT post binaries to non-binary newsgroups. 9. DO put in spoiler space if what youre posting about is relatively new, or unlikely to have been read/seen/heard by some of the people on the newsgroup. 4.11) Are there any taboo topics? Rather than taboo topics, let's call them overdone topics: Is Bruce/Dave/any of KITH gay?: It's in the FAQ and its been asked far too many times. Any reference to the Michael Musto article: It's also addressed in the FAQ and it could be the most asked question Who is your favorite kid?: This question has been discussed over and over again. Asking many newsgroup posters about their favorite kid is asking a mother who her favorite child is, you just don't have one. If you decide to write an introduction post, you can include this, but don't ask the newsgroup, it's just bothersome. What does (enter Kid's name here)'s girlfriend/boyfriend/wife look like?: Does it really matter? As long as that member is happy with their significant other, we shouldn't gossip about it. What's (enter Kid's name here)'s address/phone number?: Just because the members of KITH appear on television and in the movies, it doesn't mean they should give up their right to privacy. If you'd like to write them use the address mentioned earlier. 4.12) Are you trying to control what I talk about? What about my right to free speech? Of course you have the right to post about anything KITH related, but if you ask one of those questions, we have every right to either ignore you, or comment on it. 4.13) You guys are kinda cliquey, arent you? Well, yes and no. We're a community of friends, many of whom know each other (or have at least met) in real life, and the threads on the newsgroup are, in essence, ongoing conversations between friends. This does not mean we are hostile or unwelcoming to newcomers. *EVERYONE* was a newbie at one point or another, the FAQ-mistress included. Many of the most popular/famous/well-received people were newcomers. They were welcomed with open arms, and will similarly welcome you. There are a few folks who would object at this point, saying that they were treated rudely by the regulars, or ignored, and that they didn't feel at all welcome here. That is unfortunate, but in almost every case the newcomers did something to deserve their poor treatment -- usually not following the Newsgroup Dos and Donts. 4.14) You guys are kinda geeky, aren't you? Yes. 4.15) I'm selling a rare collection of kith episodes on ebay, can I post about it? Please don't, we don't take kindly to people trying to make a quick buck off of KITH. Try tape trading, we can support that. 4.16) Any tips for first time posters? It's always a good idea to introduce yourself in your first post, to be nice, and to follow common netiquette. 4.17) I've posted and nobody's replied, what should I do? I'm not very eloquent so I'm going to quote a regular Celia (): "Please don't take it so much to heart that you haven't had the responses you'd like -- you'll only hurt yourself. Often posts are regional or specific enough in nature that one reads them but does not feel moved to respond to them. I read plenty of posts that are very enjoyable/informative/what-have-you, but I really don't have the energy to reply to everything. I'm sure almost everyone experiences this. I think the best approach to posting is to do it because you want to, because it gives you pleasure. Post purely for the sake of posting! That way there's no disappointment, only pleasant surprise -- replies become like icing on your cake, instead of a much needed dinner. If you really don't find it fun to post without the guarantee of replies, then it probably is best that you stick to just reading the group. Its no fun for you if you are dependent on us to answer you, and its no fun for us if we feel obligated to answer. You know how it is if someone expects to have regularly scheduled sex with you every Friday night, and then suddenly its not fun anymore? Well, I think its kind of the same thing with posting and newsgroups. Also, don't feel you have to come up with hard news to justify your posts -- the newsgroup is not meant to be a labour intensive kind of ordeal. Its pure unadulterated bubble and squeak stimulating fizzy fun! I count my lucky stars I found the ng, because life before alt.kids/dave/newsradio was just a bit less sparkly. At the same time if I "needed" a reply to everything I wrote in order to feel good, well I'd have locked myself in the bathroom ages ago. If you want to make your presence felt more...expose yourself to us, let us know how your mind works, paint us a word picture of how you and Kith all fit together...play with ideas, posit a possibly controversial theorem about something Kithy..but whatever you decide to do, just be yourself. If you want to be here, I hope you won't throw in the towel just yet. Give yourself a bit more time to organically merge with the group mind." 4.18) Who are the regulars? A regular can be defined as anyone who posts regularly and/or has a history with the newsgroup. To get a feel for the regulars, lurk for a short time before posting or check out the deja archives. 4.19) Any final notes? Okay little newbie, have fun, ramble frequently, and leave your clothing in the pile next to the tree fort's ladder. :) -- End of alt.tv.kids-in-hall FAQ Part 4/4 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Back to kithfan.org