File - guidelines.txt

Rules and Guidelines for the Pancham Group
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Please take some time to go through these tips, guidelines, and rules that we go by on our group. Many of them
are universal in nature and apply to most Internet forums. Internalize them now and you will thank us
later. 

1. The group is meant to discuss Pancham and his music. If you want to post or discuss something that is not
focussed on Pancham, find a relevant group. Or, you can use our sister yahoogroup 'Panchamfans'.  

2. Currently the group permits postings in either English or Hindi languages in either Roman or Devanagari
(Unicode) scripts. If you want to post material in any other language, please provide a Hindi or English
translation or summary of the text.

3. The most important rule of netiquette is "Think before you post". If what you intend to post will not make a
positive contribution to the group and be of interest to several readers, don't post it! Personal
messages to one or two individuals should not be posted to the group, use private e-mail instead. 

4. Read the group postings for a while before you post anything. This helps you to get an understanding of the
culture of the group. 

5. Don't post test messages - wait until you have something to say. 

6. 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. When posting humorous or
sarcastic comments, it is conventional to append a smiley, but don't overuse them.

7. When following up an article, quote the *minimum* necessary to give some context to your reply and be
careful to attribute the quote to the right person. 

8. Read all of a discussion in progress (called a 'thread') before posting replies. Avoid posting "Me Too"
messages, where content is limited to agreement with previous posts. Avoid being redundant and just
repeating what has already been said. 

9. Avoid sending messages or posting articles which are no more than gratuitous replies to replies.

10. Re-read and edit your posting carefully before you post. Check the spelling and grammar.

11. Be proud of your postings but don't post just to see your name in pixels.  

12. Write well. Remember, you are your words on the group. Most people on the group will know you only by what
you say and how well you say it. Take the time to make sure your posting will not embarrass you later. Writing
is an art that requires practice. Choose your words carefully. 

13. Cite appropriate references. If you are using facts to support what you are saying, 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.

14. Don't wander off-topic, don't ramble and don't send mail or post messages solely to point out other
people's errors in typing or spelling. These mark you as an immature beginner.

15. If you are caught in an argument, keep the discussion focused on issues rather than the personalities
involved. Do not use abusive or obscene words for anyone for any reason.   

16. Before asking a question, try searching the archive. Your questions might have already been answered.
On the other hand, members should react patiently if an already answered question is asked by a new member. 

17. Send personal mail when an answer to a question is for one person or a limited group only. However, don't
hesitate to post when something will be of general interest to the Group members.

18. If you find a personal message has gone to the group, send an apology to the person and to the group.

19. Please do not use the group as an advertising medium. Do not post messages promoting any group or cause
that is not directly related to Pancham, even if it is non-profit or non-commercial in nature.

20. We do not encourage mass distribution, sharing, or promotion of pirated music. If, however, any
discussion requires a song or a piece of any music as a reference, the group's file vault can be used to store
the minimum necessary part of the song or piece for a limited time (not more than 30 days). Moderators are
free to delete anything in the vault at any time.

21. If you believe someone has violated netiquette, send them a message by private e-mail with a copy to
moderators (pancham-owner@...); do not post a follow-up to
the post. And be polite; they may not realise their mistake. 

and,  

* Do not blame the moderators for the behavior of the users :). 

================================================================
With lots of help from the Net. Sources include..
* Netiquette Guidelines (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1855.txt)
* Usenet Primer (http://groups.google.com/groups?q=usenet+primer+author:netannounce%40deshaw.com&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&rnum=3&ic=1&selm=REPOST-8712.7341003418.Evz288.I0w%40tac.nyc.ny.us)
* Google Groups Guidelines (http://groups.google.com/googlegroups/posting_style.html)

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