" Jeffrey Roberts" <jpr47@verizon.net> wrote in news:gobgod$1mo7$1
@adenine.netfront.net:
> Can someone give me a hint on how to encode these pics? All I get is a
> bunch of code when I open them.
>
> Thx
>
>
This document answers your question. See Question #1 in section A, but
also read and heed questions #4 and #6.
A Fort FAQ posted by TomBa march 2005
Frequently Asked Questions for alt.fan.prettyboy
[revised 7 Oct 2003]
INTRODUCTION - Do not skip this!
Welcome to alt.fan.prettyboy. This is not a Yahoo group,
it is not a chat board, and it is not a place where you can
get exactly what you want, just by clicking a mouse. This
is a newsgroup, part of Usenet. Things work differently
here.
This FAQ is written in simple, non-technical language to
make your time in alt.fan.prettyboy easy and enjoyable.
But before we tell you anything, you must agree to the
following Terms & Conditions.
1. Read carefully BOTH sections of the FAQ. These are:
A. Real Questions We Get All the Time
B. Fake Questions We Wish Somebody Would Ask
2. Pay special attention to sections marked "***FREE
ADVICE***".
Choose one:
YES, I agree to memorize this entire document and to
heap praise upon the geniuses who wrote it. [Click
here to proceed to FAQ.]
NO, I'm going to skim until I find the part I'm
looking for. [Click here to be imprisoned at
Guantanamo Bay.]
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Section A - Real Questions We Get All the Time
1. "What is this code shit?" or "I can't see your
pictures asshole!!!"
Think we're kidding? This is the kind of thing
people post here all the time. So perhaps you can
understand why we are grouchy and reluctant to
provide any help. Read now and save us all more
grief.
The "code shit" is called yEnc. It is no big deal --
just a way of posting files so that you save on file
size and upload/download time. YOUR problem is, the
software you are using (which we bet a million
dollars is Outlook Express) does not support the yEnc
standard. All you need is a quick little upgrade.
There are two solutions. The one we strongly
recommend is to stop using Outlook Express and
download a real newsreader. If you use a PC, your
options include X-News (freeware) and Forte Agent
(shareware). For a Mac, the best bet is Hogwasher
(shareware).
The other solution, if you won't give up Outlook
Express, is to visit www.brawnylads.com and learn all
about a free product called y-Proxy. This is for PC
users only; Mac fans are S.O.L.
***FREE ADVICE*** If you don't know how to find,
download and install software, now is a perfect time to
learn. Don't bug people about this in the newsgroup
until you have given it your best shot.
2. "Are there other groups like this one?"
Not exactly. Each group has its own personality.
But they all share this rule of netiquette: Do not
post the names of other newsgroups in this newsgroup.
In other words, you have to figure this one out for
yourself. If you are really, really, super nice,
someone may help you. But for that, you have to read
Section B.
Here is a hint. Look at the spam (i.e.,
advertisements for commercial web sites) and note
that much of this stuff is posted to multiple
newsgroups, not just this one. If necessary, reset
your (ahem) "newsreader" to show all message headers.
***FREE ADVICE*** Read other people's posts! Most
of the trouble people have on Usenet could be solved
if they took the trouble to do this.
3. "Post YYYY" or "Quit posting ZZZZ!"
These aren't really questions. So this isn't really
an answer. It is an exasperated (but diplomatic)
retort. You'll get worse in the newsgroup if you
post this kind of thing.
The sad fact is, nobody cares what you want. We
don't even know you. All we know is that you MIGHT be
another one of those people who come in here and
immediately start to whine and complain.
The golden rule of Usenet is, a group belongs to the
people who use it. And by "use it," we mean
"contribute something." Your contribution might be
words or pictures or ... who knows? Anything to add
to the life and good humor of the community. Demands
and complaints -- even politely worded requests -- do
not count as a contribution.
The flip side is: If you don't contribute, you have
no right to bitch.
4. What news server should I use?
First, you should NOT access Usenet directly through
your internet provider. If you do this, all your
actions in the newsgroups can be monitored -- your
downloads can be logged, and your postings can be
traced. Even if you are not paranoid (or up to
something sneaky) you should have more privacy than
this.
There are many competing news providers, which
typically charge a monthly fee in the neighborhood of
10-12 US dollars. These services are not all alike!
News providers differ in ways like reliability,
retention (how long messages remain on the server),
privacy policies, and general flakiness. Besides
that, the situation is always changing. But it's not
hard to check around a bit, nor to switch providers
if you are not satisfied.
***FREE ADVICE*** Look at the headings of other
people's posts. This will give you a quick and
reliable guide to which news servers are currently
popular with Usenet regulars.
5. "Why are you posting pictures of ugly old men?"
Psst -- you're talking to a spambot. That's not a
healthy sign.
A spambot is an automated program that spews
advertisements (usually for pay porn sites) all over
the place. The spambot does not care what you like.
You can just scroll past it, or you can take time to
make a filter to block repeat offenders. But talking
back to spambots is pointless, and makes you look
silly.
6. Is it safe to hang out here?
Security is a complicated issue, but here are some
basic points to consider.
First, check out the headings of your own posts.
They should not show your internet provider. They
should not contain an e-mail address unless this is
an anonymous service (which hotmail, yahoo and the
like certainly are NOT). And of course, you should
never post personal information like your name or
phone number. If you follow these simple guidelines,
you should have a fair degree of privacy.
Beyond this, consider carefully what you are posting.
The easiest way to stay out of trouble is to do
nothing to attract unwanted attention. This means
making yourself aware of EXACTLY what is legal, and
what is the current social and political climate, in
your own society. Americans, for instance, need to
be more cautious than Scandinavians. As a broad
rule, most countries do NOT outlaw simple nude
photographs, as long as they contain no overt sexual
content. But "sexual content" means more than people
literally having sex. US Code, which is similar to
the law in Western Europe, prohibits (among other
things) "lacivious exhibition of the genitals" ...
but what does that mean, exactly? Probably something
different in Dallas than it means in Hamburg.
If you have questions, ask. In this matter (unlike
certain others) people are usually happy to respond.
We want the Fort to be a safe and happy environment
for old and young alike.
7. The Fort? What is the Fort? What do these NP
numbers mean?
Oh, come on -- you want us to spoil everything for
you? Seriously, figuring the Fort out is is half the
fun ... well, actually it's 18.67 percent of the fun,
according to recent studies ... of this group.
Okay, some clues. The Fort was created several years
ago by a lad named Tommy, who was about 10 at the
time. "NP" are the initials (relax, there won't be a
test on this) of the founder's original Usenet
pseudonym. The Fort is not the same as the newsgroup.
Now and then somebody posts a partial history of the
Fort in the group -- but meanwhile, the darn thing
continues to evolve. History awaits a definitive
account.
Two strict rules were laid down by the Fort's
founder. These are zealously enforced.
Rule #1 - No rules.
Rule #2 - See Rule #1.
Section B - Fake Questions We Wish Somebody Would Ask
1. "How can I be a good netizen of this group?"
First, take time to read the postings here, until you
pick up the "flavor" or prevailing attitude of the
group. Every newsgroup has its personality. AFP has
got more personality than most, and it's not to
everybody's liking. If you don't like it, there are
many alternatives -- go look for them. No hard
feelings.
Second, don't act like a jerk. Don't insult people.
Don't get into needless arguments, especially with
group regulars. If you disagree, be respectful about
it. If you need help (and you've already committed
this FAQ to memory:) then just ask politely. Say
"please" and "thank you."
Third, try to have a sense of humor. Laugh at other
people's feeble jokes. Make feeble jokes of your
own. Lighten the fuck up.
***FREE ADVICE*** When in doubt, keep your mouth
shut.
2. "I want to contribute. What sort of material is
appropriate?"
There has never been a firm rule -- not about this,
not about anything.
However, by tradition, AFP has not been a hardcore or
pornographic group. Neither has it ever been a timid
or prudish one. AFP occupies a middle ground between
the "no nudes" moderated group and the anything-goes
little groups with peculiar names. In spirit, it is
somewhat akin to the old, pre-spam
alt.binaries.pictures.boys, whose outdated (but still
worthwhile) FAQ you can read at:
www.xs4all.nl/~johnie/jpp.html-/
It's probably safe to say this: The regulars of AFP
have no wish to be involved with photography (or
anything else) that exploits or harms children,
flagrantly violates the law, and gets people arrested
and imprisoned. Nudity is welcomed and so are
clothes. So are works of art, cartoons, poems,
stories, personal essays -- anything that celebrates
and respects the beauty and magic of the young male.
In practice, this isn't much of a problem. The
(depressingly small) number of people who post
anything tend to be savvy enough to sense what sort
of material is welcomed by a given group. Become one
of those people -- pretty please!
3. "I HATE this troll. What should I do?"
Ignore it. Trolls feed on attention. They post
obnoxious or disruptive things hoping to get a
reaction. Some trolls have a deeper agenda: they
want to disrupt the newsgroup or to drive real people
away. By simply ignoring them, you deprive them of
their diet and they wither away.
In some cases, you can file a complaint with the
abuse department of the troll's news provider.
Should you want to try this, be sure to forward the
ENTIRE offensive post, including all headers. Often
the address for such complaints is shown in the
poster's headings, but it almost always follows the
form: "abuse@[name of server].com"
4. "I'm a newbie, I don't have anything to contribute
yet."
Yes you do. You can contribute your friendly
presence in the group. You can post little things you
pick up around the net -- they don't have to be
pictures, and they don't have to be timeless
classics. You can answer other newbies' questions.
You can clean the Fort swimming pool and wake up
Pester, who is sleeping under the hedge. You can
repost this micro-FAQ now and then.
--
TomBa NP-f36
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