5.1. What is the charter of alt.union.natl-writers?
Description
This article is from the Natl Writers Union FAQ, by Vicki Richman nwufaq@vicric.com with numerous contributions by others.
5.1. What is the charter of alt.union.natl-writers?
CHARTER
Usenet newsgroup, alt.union.natl-writers
Copyright 2000 Vicki Richman.
All rights reserved.
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Contents
o Purpose & Mission
o Preferred Netiquette; or Advice from Emily Postliterate
o The NWU Mail-List: nwu-chat
Purpose and Mission
The Usenet newsgroup alt.union.natl-writers is created for
and by members of the National Writers Union (NWU), which is
Local 1981 of the United Automobile Workers (UAW), which is
an affiliate of the American Federation of Labor and
Cogress of Industrial Organizations (AFL/CIO).
The newsgroup is open to all writers, editors, researchers,
digital programmers, multimedia artists, Web authors and
designers, literary agents, publishers, other workers in the
industry, civil libertarians and labor unionists. It is not
limited to NWU members, and no NWU officer or staff member
has any more influence on the newsgroup exchange than any
other Usenet user. There is no pressure or obligation to
join the NWU, but users should expect NWU members to be in
the majority.
Users of alt.union.natl-writers seek to enlighten each other
on the publishing industry, the business and art of writing,
the electronic media, civil-liberty issues, the labor
movement and NWU internal affairs. Posts may contain news,
opinion, grievances, questions, success stories and personal
observations on writing for a living and on union
activities. Employment opportunities may appear from time to
time. NWU officers or staff may also post official NWU press
releases and announcements.
Preferred Netiquette
or Advice from Emily Postliterate
The group alt.union.natl-writers is not moderated. Posts
shall appear without human intervention. Therefore, CHECK
YOUR HEADERS before you post. Your "Newsgroups:" header
should never be longer than about 512 characters and should
typically be no more than a quarter of that length.
(That's *characters*, not words.)
If you are replying to a post with a long "Newsgroups"
header, delete the irrelevant groups. You should never
repeatedly post the same text with different "Newsgroups:"
headers; that's called multi-posting or spamming.
Ask yourselves whether your text would be better privately
E-mailed to one or two recipients than publicly posted for
thousands to read.
Users should avoid chastening an errant poster publicly. If
someone is offensive or off-topic, please correct the
offender by private E-mail. NWU actively supports freedom of
speech and urges users to refrain from taking any other
action against offensive posters than speech in rebuttal. Do
not seek to deny Internet access to any user, as by
appealing to the user's sysadmin, no matter how offensive
the user's mere speech is.
The group alt.union.natl-writers is not a good place to post
samples of one's work or to ask for support in developing
writing skills. There are several other fine Usenet
newsgroups that serve that purpose.
The law and our professional ethics restrain the NWU from
recommending agents or publishers. Individuals should
likewise be so restrained in their public posts to
alt.union.natl-writers. Please use private E-mail for
inquiries or advice on how to get published. However this
group is a good place for posters to discuss promotion and
distribution of works they have already published.
When members, officers and staff discuss NWU internal
business, they should avoid posting confidential matter, as
there are no restrictions on who may read the message.
Subscribers should avoid one- or two-line posts of
congratulations or thanks. They are better sent privately.
Any post should contribute to the general discussion.
Do not post binary files. No graphics, sound clips or
proprietary word-processor output that cannot be displayed
in a human language by a generic ASCII text editor or
reader.
There may be very occasional retromoderating by Vicki
Richman <nwufaq@vicric.com> and her associates or their
successors to remove what they consider a fraudulent or
specious appeal for funds directed to many disparate
newsgroups. They shall also remove binary files. They shall
try to resist the temptation to delete other useless,
frivolous, fraudulent, mean-spirited, mindless or irrelevant
ads and announcements, and they urge posters not to lead
them into the hubris of their anti-libertarian impulses.
Writers know how to make a telling point without noise.
The NWU Mail-List
nwu-chat
The electronic mail-list nwu-chat is a _pro bono_
contribution to the online writing community from the
National Writers Union (NWU). All writers, editors,
researchers, digital programmers, multimedia artists, Web
authors and designers, literary agents, publishers, civil
libertarians and trade unionists are invited to
subscribe. There is no pressure or obligation to join
the NWU, but subscribers should expect NWU members to be
in the majority.
The list nwu-chat is on the daily business of writing and
union activities. In contrast to the Usenet newsgroup
alt.union.natl-writers, the mail-list nwu-chat is largely
an official organ of the National Writers Union and of
its locals, and is more likely to reflect policies and
agenda of activists and leaders.
The list nwu-chat is also on overcoming the political
challenges faced by writers, as censorship, copyright law
and retaliation against the written word. It is also a
forum for writers of color and of the
lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered community.
The list is unmoderated.
o Subscriptions and Information
Mail to:
nwu-chat-subscribe@igc.topica.com
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