🚀 go-pugleaf

Greetings!

This is a routine explanation of the AZ.SF newsgroup, created 2/20/96.  The SF 
stands for Science Fiction.  But it shouldn't be that limited.  This group is 
here for the Science Fiction / Fantasy and vaguely related fan.  If you are 
enthralled by the dream of other worlds and alternate existences and wish to 
communicate with others locally who feel the same, then this group is for you. 

 There are many other groups that communicate internationally on every 
variation of SF/F.  But those people will never meet.  If you wish to meet 
other fans, find out about clubs, what stores sell what memorabilia, what 
conventions are planned, when a favorite SF/F show is scheduled on TV, what 
events are coming up, what stars/authors/artists are going to be in Arizona 
and where, want to try to organize a role playing game with others, want to 
announce your club meetings to others, want to buy or sell Star Trek 
memorabilia, want help in organizing something, then you are in the right 
place.  This is for Trekkies, SF literary fans, Whovians, knights of olde, RPG 
gamers, Japanese animation fans, cavaliers, or anyone with an imagination,  . 
 .  free thinkers.  This group is unrestricted.  What I have described is the 
intent of this group's creation.  No one person or group has precedence.  
Everyone should use as their own.   Enjoy, Have fun!

Periodically, club listings and planned conventions/events will be posted.  
Select the posts and threads that appeal to you most.  Reply. You are urged to 
take advantage of this group.   Hopefully the intent will somewhat guide the 
content.  No promises.  

=======================================
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions):

Can I post club information here?
    Yes.   Please.

Can I post commercial information here?
    Yes, as long as it is on topic and not offensive to a general audience. 

Can I post pictures or large files here?
    Please don't.  Many don't know how to decode the pictures.  ISP's only 
allow so much space for posts.  However, if you can keep such pictures on your 
site (ie. ftp site or web page) and include the URL to it, it would be much 
appreciated.  

What is an ISP?
    Internet Service Provider.  This is the service that you signed up with to 
read this post (AOL, Cox@home, CompuServe, Frontier GlobalCenter/Primenet, 
asu.edu, web tv, etc.). 

What are appropriate topics for this group?
     Suggested topics might relate to (but not limited to): Science Fiction, 
Fantasy, Animation, Japanese Animation, Horror, Science, speculative 
literature, movies, clubs, conventions, RPG/board gaming, costuming, adventure 
computer games, Fan/Pro fiction, events, sales, imagination in general, the 
world of "IF".   

What kind of topics would this group not be good for?
     Any topic which would be better discussed on other newsgroups 
(az.politics, az.jobs, az.teens, az.internet, etc).  "For sale" and "Wanted" 
posts appropriate to SciFi, Fantasy, Horror, and related would be appropriate 
here.  Prior experience has suggested topics related sports, pure computer 
tech, and government related may not be best here.  Ask yourself if your post 
is at least vaguely related any of the previously suggested topics.

Why is this group "az.sf" instead of "phoenix.sf"?
     SF/F fans are spread out and are not localized to one community.  No one 
is preferential.  Clubs may want to coordinate.  One person may wish to travel 
to events in another community.  Experiences from one city may apply to 
another community.   

Why not use one of the global/national newsgroups?
     The audience is smaller here.  Many posters here may wish to meet with 
each other face to face.  Posts about events in other states will often be out 
of reach to readers of this group.  Some topics would be meaningless to 
someone in other states.  

If I post something off-topic, what will happen?
    Probably nothing.  Others might complain.  You will waste your time and 
the others who read your post.

My friend can not get az.sf on his/her Internet service.  What can they do?
     They should send a post to their Internet News Administrator and request 
that they carry it.  If the ISP claims that they can't,  tell them that 
Primenet/Frontier GlobalCenter has offered to share their AZ newsgroup feed 
with any other ISP (Internet Service Provider) as a courtesy.  They can e-mail 
them at: news-support@primenet.com.

Why is this group so dead?
    This group was formed after a prior large listserver went down.  That 
listserver reached peaks of 70 posts a day.  The listserver worked ok but was 
limited to just those that knew about it and could easily be subscribed.  It 
was limited to the administrator's time.  This newsgroup has no owner, is 
perpetual, and available to any ISP that will carry it.  However, it is only 
carried by a relative few ISP's in Arizona.  Also most users find it more 
awkward to check and respond to news then to E-mail.  Thus, less posts.  
Generally once a topic of interest is started many replies follow.  Post 
something thought provoking and you will probably get a response.  

Why did my post take so long to get read by the others?
     The az.sf newsgroup may be echoed in low priority through many other 
ISP's systems.  You might want to contact the news administrator of your own 
ISP to have them track down the bottleneck for you.  

Why was this group not started as an "alt.*" group?
     This would have been easier, but would not have served a central purpose 
of being the primary point for coordination between local fans and clubs.  
There are not very many az.* newsgroups.  There is only one az.sf newsgroup.  
There could be many alt.* groups that might be appropriate to reach the right 
audience.  

Why don't you or someone stop X ?
     I don't own az.sf.  No one does.  I don't control it?  No one does.  I 
only helped spearhead its creation.  Now it is on its own.  If something here 
offends you don't read it.  Personally, censorship offends me.  
However, if you wish to complain to your ISP about posts from some one else 
who is with your same internet service, you can contact your ISP via an E-mail 
to them (ie. abuse@prodigy.com, abuse@home.net,  abuse@U.Arizona.edu).  Such 
posts should include a copy of the complete post with the "raw format" 
headers.