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CONTENTS:
1: Welcome
2: Official Charter
3: Netiquette
4: FAQ about URS
1: WELCOME
Welcome to uk.rec.scouting (URS), the newsgroup for discussion of all aspects
of UK Scouting and Guiding for boys, girls, Leaders, and anyone else with an
active interest in promoting the Scouting and Guiding ideals.
This newsgroup, by charter and in spite of its name, is open for the discussion
of both Guiding and Scouting, centred on the UK. It covers programme activities,
administration, equipment, etc. and is used to solicit advice and opinion from
other members on what to do in certain situations. It is also used to generally
seek and provide support and encouragement with respect to Scouting and Guiding
in the UK and its associated dependencies.
Therefore... "The Scout and Guide Laws are the Laws of this Newsgroup." Please
post within the spirit of the Laws and the Spirit of Scouting and Guiding.
URS is intended to be for both youth members and adults, although most of the
posts are from Leaders, younger Members are encouraged to use this group to
exchange ideas and ask questions. Therefore all contributors should bear in
mind the possible presence of younger members when posting.
2: OFFICIAL CHARTER
Charter of uk.rec.scouting (Not Moderated)
The newsgroup is for discussion of all matters to do with the youth development
programmes known generically as Scouting and Guiding, as practised in the UK,
and for discussions on both the aim and the method of the Scout and Guide
Movements in the UK, including the exchange of programme ideas and practical
information on campsites, etc. The terms 'Scouting' and 'Guiding' refer to the
programme which follows the principles laid down by Sir Robert Baden-Powell in
'Scouting for Boys' in 1908.
Advertising:
No commercial advertising will be permitted, people who wish to swap badges and
buy or sell memorabilia will be asked to use e-mail addresses only.
Newsgroups line:
uk.rec.scouting Discussion of Scouting and Guiding in the UK
3: NETIQUETTE GUIDELINES
** Top-posting is unwelcome. Quote moderately, and write concisely. Responses
should follow corresponding trimmed quotes
** Please be concise and trim the quoted text so that there is sufficient for
context and do not include text that does not refer to anything you want to say.
** Signatures should be a maximum of four lines of up to 80 characters. This
does not include the signature separator which should a single line with
(two hyphens (minus signs), space, line "-- ").
** Do not quote signatures.
** Cross-posting to other newsgroups (including other Scouting groups) is not
encouraged.
** Post plain text only, with a ~72-char right margin.
** Don't use HTML, multipart, or VCards; don't include binaries, graphics,
sounds, etc.
** Compose tabular matter in fixed pitch.
** Please do not "flame" (insult) anyone in this newsgroup. Flames belong in
private mail. Discussions in the newsgroup may bring disagreements, however,
rebuttals should always be made in a rational, logical and mature manner.
** All forms of commercial posting are forbidden in this newsgroup; including
advertisements, get-rich-quick schemes, medication and "adult oriented" posts.
** English is the preferred language of this newsgroup. Postings in other
languages are welcome but should be accompanied by an English translation.
** Scouting-related files, pictures etc. should be placed on a Web site or FTP
site and just cited in this newsgroup.
** The bottom line: post thoughtfully with consideration for others and remember
that this is a Scouting and Guiding news group for adults and young people and
that it is distributed world-wide.
4: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
"I keep seeing references to UKRSA and UKRS Archive. What is it?"
The "uk.rec.scouting Archive" (UKRS Archive) group was created in April 2003
and can be found at http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/UKRSArchive It is a place
where members can share photos and other computer files and is not meant to
replace uk.rec.scouting. Prospective new members need to create a free Yahoo ID
for themselves, if they don't already have one. Membership will be confirmed once
identity has been verified. When placing files and photos in the archive please
follow the guidelines in the HQ Factsheet FS295207 Developing a Scouting Website,
which can be found at
http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/hqdocs/facts/pdfs/fs295207.pdf
"I can't find uk.rec.scouting in my newsgroup list?" - uk.rec.scouting should
be available for all to read. If your Internet provider doesn't carry it, email
them and ask them to add it. There should be no problems. uk.rec.scouting can
also be found on Google at http://groups.google.com/
"I subscribe to uk.rec.scouting and have noticed some 'adult' and inappropriate
messages being posted. Are these permitted?" - NO! But unfortunately there is
little that can be done about them. The important thing to remember is NOT to
reply to any 'adult' or inappropriate messages (see the next question about
trolls). Sometimes the messages are removed from servers, but if you reply to
them before this happens your reply (along with the 'adult' message) may remain
available for all to see.
"I have seen posts about something called a troll. What is a troll?" - A troll
is a post to a newsgroup or message board which has the primary aim of causing
arguments and upsetting people. This can either be done by deliberately
ignoring the netiquette or guidelines for posting on a particular newsgroup,
or by posting something that is deliberately inflammatory or contentious. The
best thing to do if you see a troll is to ignore it, since the posters of troll
messages feed off the replies that it generates. In general, if nobody replies
to a troll then the person who posted it will simply go away and bother a
different newsgroup instead.
Useful links:
"I am new to the net and don't know where to look for Scouting- related
materials." - There are plenty of sites in the UK that support Scouting in
different ways. You should try pointing your browser at the following pages.
ScoutBase UK is the Scout Association's official members website:-
http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/
Scouts.org is the Associations Public site http://scouts.org.uk
Baloo is the UK's premier Scouting search engine. http://www.baloo.org.uk/
Escouts offers free, fully featured web hosting to UK Scout Groups
http://www.escouts.org.uk/
"I am new to the net and don't know where to look for Guiding-related materials."
- Why not visit the UK Guide Association's home page at:-
http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/
Other useful links:
http://www.usenet.org.uk/
http://www.usenet.org.uk/ukpost.html
http://www.uwasa.fi/~ts/http/tsfaq.html
newsgroups
news:uk.answers
news:uk.net.news
news:news.announce.newusers
news:rec.scouting.misc.
David Laird's "uk.rec.scouting Abbreviations and Acronyms Guide" is available
on-line at http://www.baloo.org.uk/newsgroups/ursag.php
If you have a useful item that hasn't been included in this FAQ, please do all
of us the favour; write it up and post it on uk.rec.scouting.
End of uk.rec.scouting FAQ
Last update by Paul Harris March 2007