Path: spln!lex!extra.newsguy.com!lotsanews.com!news-hog.berkeley.edu!ucberkeley!cyclone.bc.net!sjc70.webusenet.com!rip!news.webusenet.com!prodigy.com!prodigy.com!feed.tor.primus.ca!news.primus.ca!53ab2750!not-for-mail Newsgroups: news.answers Subject: [can.atlantic.forsale/hfx.forsale/ns.forsale] FAQ 2003-05-09 From: "Robert J.N. Speirs" abuse-to: speirs@primus.ca administrative-comment: speirs@primus.ca Approved: speirs@primus.ca authenticated-ip: primus.ca authenticated-sender: speirs@primus.ca complaints-to: speirs@primus.ca Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" disposition-notification-to: "Robert J.N. Speirs" envelope-path: speirs@primus.ca envelope-to: speirs@primus.ca errors-to: speirs@primus.ca Followup-To: ns.general importance: normal mail-to-news-contact: speirs@primus.ca mailer: NetTamer Organization: speirs@primus.ca original-nntp-posting-host: primus.ca originating-ip: primus.ca originating-sender: speirs@primus.ca Reply-To: speirs@primus.ca return-path: speirs@primus.ca Sender: speirs@primus.ca summary: [can.atlantic.forsale/hfx.forsale/ns.forsale] FAQ 2003-05-09 trace: primus.ca URL: n/a x-is-spam: no x-no-archive: yes x-no-ahbou: yes x-abuse-to: speirs@primus.ca x-authenticated-ip: primus.ca x-authenticated-sender: speirs@primus.ca x-from: speirs@primus.ca x-mail-to-news-contact: speirs@primus.ca x-msmail-priority: normal x-nntp-posting-host: primus.ca x-no-ahbou: yes x-original-nntp-posting-host: primus.ca x-originating-ip: primus.ca x-originating-sender: speirs@primus.ca x-priority: 3 (normal) x-sender: speirs@primus.ca Lines: 296 Message-ID: Date: Fri, 09 May 2003 18:13:27 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 216.254.170.113 X-Complaints-To: news@primus.ca X-Trace: news.primus.ca 1052504007 216.254.170.113 (Fri, 09 May 2003 14:13:27 EDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 09 May 2003 14:13:27 EDT Xref: X-Cache: nntpcache 1.0.7.1 (see ftp://suburbia.net/pub/nntpcache) archive-name: canada/atlantic/forsale,canada/nova-scotia/forsale, canada/nova-scotia/halifax/forsale copyright: (c) 2003 Robert J.N. Speirs expires: 2003-05-09 last-modified: 2003-05-09 maintainer: "Robert J.N. Speirs" posting-frequency: monthly URL: n/a FAQ: can.atlantic.forsale, hfx.forsale, ns.forsale (2003-05-09) editor : "Robert J.N. Speirs" contributor: "Richard Bonner" 1: What is a FAQ? FAQ means "frequently asked questions". 2: What is the purpose of this FAQ? The purpose of this FAQ is to: - acquaint readers with the newsgroups and their conventions. - improve the efficiency of searches. - establish standards and orderliness. 3: What may I post to can.atlantic.forsale, hfx.forsale or ns.forsale? A user of either website may post an article that lists a legal: - item for rent/sale/trade - item/service sought/wanted - service for hire/offered 4: What is a legal item? A legal item is any item of which a person has clear ownership/title, is not stolen, nor illegal (obviously). 5: What are examples of legal services? - babysitting - carpentry - music instruction - resume writing - typing - webpage composing 6: Which type of articles may I not post? A user of either website may not post an article that lists an illegal item/service, a discussion, an off-topic text, or sold notice ( section 13 ). 7: What are examples of illegal items? - drugs - fake identification - pornography - stolen merchandise 8: What are examples of illegal services? - escort/prostitution - fraud 9: What are examples of inappropriate/off-topic/unacceptable articles? - advertisements for chain-letter/income-opportunity/multi-level/ pyramid schemes - advertisements for escort services - advertisements for fortune-telling, psychic/tarot card readings - advertisements for pornography - announcements of events - articles with subject-headers that do not comply with the standard convention ( section 17+ ) - articles posted via anonymous servers - binaries ( section 14 ) - cross-posted articles to can.atlantic.forsale, can.atlantic.general, hfx.forsale, hfx.general, ns.forsale or ns.general, etc - HTML code/files ( section 15 ) - obscenities/profanity (abusers' ISPs will receive complaints) - personal advertisements - political/social discussions - replies, to an advertisement, that are participating in a lengthy thread ( easily and often become off-topic ) - anything not listed in section 4 10: Should I post a separate article for each item/service that I wish to offer/sell? Yes, and it depends how you wish to complete a transaction. Example: If you have a complete computer system to sell, and wish to sell the system in one transaction, post one article. If you have separate computer related items to sell, post a separate article for each item. Posting separate articles with informative subject-headers will enable users to scan subject-headers without the bother of wasting time scrolling through articles. 11: May I cross-post to all can.atlantic.*, hfx.* and/or ns.* newsgroups? No. Cross-posting is discouraged. To practise netiquette, lessen redundancy, and save readers from being forced to waste time reading duplicate articles, an article should be posted to just a one newsgroup. Posting articles that are appropriate for *.forsale to *.general is considered off topic, a definite breach of netiquette. 12: Why may I not cross-post to can.atlantic.forsale, hfx.forsale and ns.forsale? The three newsgroups serve different regions. If an item is for rent/sale/sought/trade, or a service is for hire/offered to residents in Halifax/HRM, the transaction shall be completed in HRM, and the item (if applicable) will not be snail-mailed/shipped outside of HRM, then the article should be posted solely to hfx.forsale. If an item is for rent/sale/sought/trade, or a service is for hire/offered to residents in Nova Scotia, yet outside of Halifax/HRM, the transaction shall be completed in Nova Scotia, yet, again, outside of HRM, and the item ( if applicable ) may be snail-mailed/shipped outside of HRM, then the article should be posted solely to ns.forsale. If an item is for rent/sale/sought/trade, or a service is for hire/offered to residents of the four atlantic provinces [ New Brunswick (NB), Newfoundland & Labrador (NL), Nova Scotia (NS), Prince Edward Island (PE) ], the transaction shall be completed in the atlantic provinces, and the item ( if applicable ) may be snail-mailed/shipped within the atlantic provinces, then the article should be posted solely to can.atlantic.forsale. 13: May I post a sold article/notice? Generally, no. A sold article/notice should not be posted. It needlessly adds to congestion. 14: May I post a non-textual/audio/graphic file to display an item? No. Audio ( MP3, WAV, etc ) or graphical/image/photograph ( BMPs, GIFs, JPGs, etc ) files may not be posted. These are text-only newsgroups. It is very inconsiderate to post multi-kilo/megabyte files that must be downloaded by people with a slower speed connection, and clog Google.com's archive/database with unreadable binary code. A non-textual file should be posted to a binary newsgroup or website, and a URL given so that interested readers may listen to or see the file. Articles which include audio/graphical files shall be deleted. ( section 9 ) 15: May I post HTML code so that my article may be beautified? No. HTML code may not be posted. These are text-only newsgroups. HTML code is not supported by every server or newsreader. ( section 9 ) 16: How should my article appear? A descriptive subject-header is a necessity. The subject-header should describe the item exactly so that readers will not forced to read the article to learn what is being offered. The suggested abbreviations should be used so that readers may easily search for items of interest, and skip those items that have no interest to them. 17: How should my subject-header appear? The subject-header of each posted article should begin with one of the standard definitions followed by a colon and a space, then a top-down/coarse-fine description, followed by locality ( if necessary ), followed by price in Canadian dollars (CAD). Please capitalize only proper nouns ( ex: brand or company names ). For example, when listing a car forsale, describe it using the top-down convention in which the noun appears first, followed by the pertinent adjectives in order of importance. If a 1990 blue GEO Metro is forsale, type "car, GEO Metro, 1990, blue, $3600", etc. examples: FR: apt, 1 bdrm in 2 bdrm, Halifax, prefer female, non-smoker FS: car, GEO Metro, 1990, blue, $3600 FS: CPU, Celeron, 166 MHz, 32 MB RAM, $500 LO: piano, $12 per half-hour, $20 per hour SO: carpenter, very experienced, fee negotiable WTB: guitar, electric, Fender Stratocaster WTH: dog-walker, Dartmouth WTR: apt, Halifax, prefer 2 bdrm It is advisable to include a price so that budget-conscious buyers can decide if they can afford the item without being forced to read the article. 18: standard definitions of abbreviations The following abbreviations should be used within the subject-header. ~ (tilde) = approximately ( ex: ~$500 ) apt = apartment available = available bdrm = bedroom(s) FA = for auction, often directive to eBay.com URL FR = for rent free = free FS = forsale FSBO = forsale by owner of house FT = for trade LO = lessons offered re = in reference to req = require RSR = repair service required SO = service offered SR = service required WTB = want/wish to buy WTC = want/wish to contract WTD = want(ed) WTH = want/wish to hire WTP = want/wish to purchase WTR = want/wish to rent WTT = want/wish to trade 19: Are there any specific requirements of commercial entities? Unless otherwise stated, it is assumed that articles are posted by individuals/non-commercial entities. The subject-header of a posted article by a business/companies/commercial entities shall be followed by "(com)". example: FS: CPU, Celeron, 166 MHz, 32 MB RAM, $500 (com) 20: What information should I include within an article? The body of an article should include: - detailed description, including price - make, model, year - past clients (services) - contact name and information 21: How long will my article appear? The length of time that an article appears in a newsgroup depends on the server, and the congestion of articles in a newsgroup. The more articles that are posted to a newsgroup within a given period of time, the shorter is the life-span of an article. An article usually appears for two months. 22: ...but my article has disappeared only one day after I have posted it. Your article only appears to have disappeared. Your article was marked as "read" in your news file and removed from your view. The article is still available to the public. Some news-readers enable a user to recall articles. 23: frequency of distribution of FAQ This FAQ shall be posted, by the editor, whenever warranted by modifications, otherwise monthly. 24: definitions article = message/notice posted to public newsgroup can.atlantic.forsale = forsale newsgroup for the atlantic provinces, Canada currency = Canadian dollars (CAD) FAQ = frequently asked questions hfx.forsale = forsale newsgroup for Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), Nova Scotia (NS), Canada HRM = Halifax Regionality Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada item = item forsale ns.forsale = forsale newsgroup for Nova Scotia (excluding HRM) 25: addendum/closing note For more information about FAQs, visit http://faqs.org/.