Subject: [INFO] The RAAC FAQ
From: jhedge@waterw.com (Jeanne Hedge)
Date: 5/29/1996, 12:46 PM
To: fanfic@tendo-dojo.ranma.net

There have been several questions recently about RAAC, so I thought I'd post
this.  This is the most recent version I have.  I don't know if there is a
newer version, but if there is it isn't all that different from this.

-  Jeanne

*************************************

Rec.arts.anime.creative and FTP archive Frequently Asked Questions
Last revised 3/23/96


WHAT CAN BE POSTED:

Rec.arts.anime.creative (RAAC) is for the posting of original anime or
manga related works by fans.  This includes text as well as art.
ASCII text files are welcome, as well as art in either uuencoded GIF
or uuencoded JPEG format.  Note "original" - plagerized works from
other newsgroups with name changes (it's been tried) or scanned images
you didn't create are *NOT* acceptable.

All followups to posts on rec.arts.anime.creative are redirected to
rec.arts.anime.fandom.  That is the correct group for discussion of
fanfiction and fan art.

HOW TO POST TO RAAC:

Simply post to RAAC as you would any other newsgroup.  Properly
configured news software knows how to handle moderated newsgroups.  If
you have problems posting, contact your news admin about it.  They are
welcome to contact me and I'll help work it out.

*DO NOT* email postings directly to me, or to any other address.  The
only proper ways to post are through news or a mail-to-news gateway.


Please DO NOT use MIME encoding/enclosures on posts.  This adds
greatly to my job as I have to remove all of the MIME garbage from the
text before posting.  And also, many times the MIME encoding makes it
impossible to post and it will be returned to the author.  There is no
need to post with MIME on RAAC, so don't use it.  (Note that Netscape
attachments are MIME, please don't post that way.)  Also, do not
encode text files.  Any stories posted in a format other than plain
ASCII text will be returned for reformatting.


RULES FOR POSTING:

***Any post not meeting these rules will be returned to the author to
be fixed and reposted.***

All original posts to RAAC *will* be archived for later retrieval via
FTP.  If you do not wish for your work to be archived then do not post
to RAAC.  Archiving allows readers to access the volumes of fanfiction
that have been written, and expand your audience beyond the immediate
readers.  It also removes the need for authors to handle requests to
email their stories to readers.

Text posts must be in ASCII text format.  No proprietary formats, such
as M$-Word, WordPerfect, PostScript, etc, will be accepted.  ASCII
text is the only format all standard systems will be able to read.

Text must be wrapped within 79 columns as that is the standard screen
width for the majority of systems online.  (80 columns by 24 rows is
the industry standard for text displays.)  Any text in lines longer
than 79 columns causes them to wrap poorly, ruining the formatting.

Be very careful with special fonts that are not ASCII compliant.  This
is usually a problem with Macs which have a tendency to use special
characters for quotes and similar characters.  When posted these show
up as letters or control characters.  If this happens the post will be
returned to be fixed and resubmitted.

Images must be in GIF or JPEG format and UUENCODED for posting.  I
suggest signing your artwork in the image since it will be archived as
a plain image without a wrapper.

Please ad the appropriate tag to your Subject: line.  The tags are
listed below.


SUGGESTIONS FOR POSTS:

If you are posting a story in several parts, add the line "End of part
#" at the bottom of the post.  this helps me greatly when reassembling
the pieces into a story for archiving.  It makes it easier to be sure
I didn't miss a piece, which saves everyone a lot of trouble.  There
have been a number of instances where one part never reached me, and
there was no easy way for me to tell. So when the story was archived,
part of the middle was missing.  It is also a good idea to read your
own posts when the show up on the newsgroup.  What you see on the
group is wha I put in the archive.  If the post is truncated, chances
are so is the archived copy.

Finish a story before you start posting it.  I know some people like
to post stories chapter by chapter as they write them - but this is
asking for trouble.  Far too many times I've seen authors get into
trouble.  Something happens and they can't keep writing, so the story
languishes and readers get upset.  Or you get half-way through and
wish you could go back and make a change that would really help the
story.  (I've done that many times, had a new idea and gone back to
foreshadow it.)  Or one of any number of other incidents happen and
screw things up.  If the story is done you can post it and be done
without worries.

***Give your story a title!*** Seriously, I get posts which don't have
a title and a subject like "Ranma FanFic".  That is not a good way for
your story to be memorable.  I end up sticking some sort of title on
it for the group and archive, but authors should really do this
themselves.


SUBJECT LINE TAGS:
	[FanFic] - An original text work.
	[Image] - Original artwork.
	[Announce] - Announcing a new project, WWW site, etc.
	[Lemon] - Adult content.
	[Info] - Informational posting, such as about a seperate image post.
	[Request] - Questions or a request for help from other users.
	[Admin] - Administrative posts, only I use this.  Read them.
	[Meta] - Posts relating to the group or fanfic - ie, guides

FINDING POSTS IN THE ARCHIVE:

The FTP archive is ftp.std.com /archives/anime-fan-works/.  Stories
are kept in subdirectories based on the anime from which they are
derived.  If you don't see a subdirectory for what you are looking
for, try the "Miscellaneous" directory.

The header to each RAAC post has the line "X-World-archive:", followed
by the path to the file it is archived under.  So if you see part x of
a story, check the archive for the rest before bothering the author.

The text files in the archive are compressed with gzip (Gnu-zip), that
is the .gz file suffix.  You need gzip or gunzip to read the files.
Gnu-zip is available for UNIX, VMS, M$-DOS, OS/2, Mac, and I believe
other systems too.  Most decent UNIX sites these days have it
installed.  If you need it, it is free from MIT.  If you have Web
access try <http://world.std.com/~megazone/Misc/gzip.html>, there are
links there to FTP sites that carry gzip.

Gzip outperforms most older file compression programs, so it is
gaining in popularity.  It can also uncompress .Z (UNIX compress
format) files and .z (pack format) files, making it a very useful tool
to have around if you FTP on a regular basis.


OTHER QUESTIONS:

If you have further questions email megazone@world.std.com.




Jeanne Hedge

     jhedge@waterw.com ==================== 75512.1214@compuserve.com

       "Some editors are failed writers, but so are most writers."
                                   -- T.S. Eliot (1888 - 1965)

     ============ http://www.accsyst.com/jhedge/main.htm ============