Table of Contents (* for new or updated topics)

 2.3.      Generosity and the list
 2.3.1.    How should I offer a file? respond to an offer?
 2.3.2.    Why are attached files such bad things?
           I get/send them all the time, and I never have problems.

 2.4.      Copyright and the list.
 2.4.1.    What's a "me too"?
 2.4.2.    Why doesn't anyone ever comment on my posts?

 2.5.      Matters of terminology
*2.5.1.    What does this abbreviation mean?
 2.5.2.    What's wrong with saying "T$R"?
 2.5.3.    What's a munchkin?
 2.5.4.    How can I post a review to the list?

*2.6.      How many users are there, anyway?

 2.7.      Who are the Realms List moderator and monitors?

 2.8.      LISTSERV commands
 2.8.1.    How do I switch to/from digest mode?
 2.8.2.    The Digest is too big!  Is there anything else I can do?
 2.8.3.    What other LISTSERV commands are there?

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2.3. Generosity and the list
----------------------------
2.3.1. How should I offer a file? respond to an offer?

Often. With thanks.

In more detail: The proper way to offer a file on the list is NOT to
just send it to everyone, unless it's of a reasonable length AND you can
include it as text directly in your message. (Even then, it's courteous
to say, "I'll be posting 'The Ecology of the Tribble' tomorrow; it's
rather long, so be prepared." If you can break your post into parts,
that's often the best thing.)

Rather, with long posts and/or posts that can't be included as simple
text, you should offer them to anyone who sends you private email. That
way, you don't flood the email boxes of people who don't want or can't
handle the file, and you get the information directly to the people who
want it. You can also find a willing webmaster (or write your own
page--you know you want to, everybody's doing it) and just post the URL
with a brief note about what's there. Always, when offering a file,
include your email address in the body of the message; not every reader
shows your email address as the "from" address.

NOTE: There is an alternative. If your document is in .PDF or Windows
.doc format, you can email it to Craig Sefton, to be made available for
download from the Best of FR-L Web Site. His email address is
craig@tradepage.co.za. He will NOT accept any text files unless they
are in the above formats.

When someone makes such an offer to the list, and you're interested, do
NOT reply directly to the list. We don't want to know. Instead, send
email directly to the offerer. If you don't know the email address, you
can get the list archives and look for it there, or you can email
someone else and ask.

If you miss the original offer, and someone else posts that they're
interested in the file (or that they've received it and it's really
cool), you can email that person and ask them to forward it to you. As a
last resort, send a VERY SHORT message to the list, saying "I was
interested in that Tribble file but I lost the address of the person
offering it. Could you email me, please?"
TOP | Intro

2.3.2. Why are attached files such bad things? I get/send them all the
time, and I never have problems.

Great! Some people, however, do.

Our members who are on digest mode can't receive attached files
properly; it shows up as a whole mess of gobbledygook following your
email message. Some other users who get the regular list can't handle
attachments either.

Apart from that, though, sending a long file to people who haven't
requested it and may not be interested is just rude. There's no point in
sending a Word 97 document to a user who only uses Word Perfect 2.1, and
there's even less point sending a file on "Fungal Growths of the Realms"
to someone who couldn't care less.
TOP | Intro

2.4. Copyright and the list.

Now, despite the encouragement and support the previous section, there
is one kind of sharing we do NOT encourage: that of sharing copyrighted
materials.  This means, basically, anyone soliciting or offering scans
of modules, sourcebooks, or any other such materials, will be placed on
REVIEW status, and the appropriate people notified.
TOP | Intro

2.4.1. What's a "me too"?

It's a message posted to the list that says, "Send me a copy, too!"
Don't do this. Send a private message to the original poster or to the
*first* person who posted to the list asking for a copy. Serves him
right for not following the rules. :-)

One really annoying practice is the "Me Too" practice on a request for
something that doesn't even exist.

Example:
Poster #1: "Does anyone have an extensive document detailing Drizzt's
choice of footwear during his pre-teen years?"

Poster #2: "I'd love to see that too!"

Poster #3: "Me three!"

Poster #4: "So where do I get the Drizzt footwear article that everyone
is talking about?"

(More generally, it's *any* short message expressing agreement or praise
without any other content. These should be sent privately.)
TOP | Intro

2.4.2. Why doesn't anyone ever comment on my posts?

First, check to see if you committed one of the Deadly Sins such as
*gasp* over quoting. I know that a LOT of people refuse to read such
posts and simply delete them. I know from experience because I used to
do this too. Another problem is that you failed to use a subject
keyword, and thus very few people were able to read your post.
Otherwise, damned if I know.  I get this complaint a lot, though, so
it's a widespread problem.

Folks, if you read something you like, drop the poster a line and say
so--you'll make her day! If you have some criticism, send it
along--maybe there's an issue you hadn't considered, or maybe there's an
issue SHE hadn't considered. Often good ideas can spark a message thread
on the list--but equally often, good ideas sink without a trace. That's
not very nice.

Posters of good ideas, however, should be aware that sometimes we can't
read long messages right away. A little patience is desirable. And
please don't try to get comments by insulting your readers, as at least
one person has recently done. That's likely to backfire.
TOP | Intro

2.5. Matters of terminology
---------------------------
2.5.1. What does this abbreviation mean?

Here's a list of some of the more common ones:

AFAIK: As Far As I Know
BTW: By The Way
FWIW: For What It's Worth
HAND: Have A Nice Day
HTH: Happy To Help/Hope This Helps
IDHT*IFOM: I Don't Have The * In Front Of Me
IIRC: If I Recall Correctly
IMC: In My Campaign
IMO: In My Opinion
IMHO: In My Humble Opinion
IMNSHO: In My Not-So-Humble Opinion
OTOH: On The Other Hand
RSE/RAE: Realms Shaking Even/Realms Altering Event
RTFM: Read The Effing Manual
WRT: With Regard To
YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary

PHB: Player's Handbook
DMG: Dungeon Master Guide
TOM: Tome Of Magic
C*H: Complete * Handbook
CBO*: Complete Book Of *
PO: Player's Option
C&T: Combat & Tactics
S&P: Skills & Powers
Sp&M: Spells & Magic
HLC: High-Level Campaigns

FRA: Forgotten Realms Adventures
F&A: Faiths & Avatars
P&P: Powers & Pantheons
DD: Demihuman Deities
ESS: Empires of the Shining Sea
LOI: Lands of Intrigue
DOTU: Drow of the Underdark
DDGttU: Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark
COTH: Code of the Harpers
COTD: Cult of the Dragon
ROZK: Ruins of Zhentil Keep
ROMD: Ruins of Myth Drannor
FOMD: Fall of Myth Drannor
ROU(2): Ruins of Undermountain (II)
SotM Secrets of the Magister
SoFS: Sea of Fallen Stars

Many other abbreviations are clear from context. If you don't know, ask!
TOP | Intro

2.5.2. What's wrong with saying "T$R"?

When TSR was cracking down on web sites in violation of their online
policy, some people starting using "T$R" as a way of protesting their
supposed money-grubbing ways. It's considered VERY rude by every TSR
staffer I've spoken to, and at least one has said he refuses to answer
any email or Usenet post containing the offending term.

Some people have said they mean the $ to represent the dragon in the TSR
shield. We consider that an extremely weak story.
TOP | Intro

2.5.3. What's a munchkin?

It's a little guy who sings "Follow the Yellow Brick Road".

It's also a derogatory term for the type of gamers also known as
min/maxers or, sometimes, powergamers.  Munchkins tend toward the "Monty
Haul" style of gaming, wanting lots of magic items, lots of treasure,
and lots of everything else except danger to their PCs.  Many of the
Knights of the Dinner Table are munchkins.

Min/maxers are slightly different; they figure our how to tweak the
system to get the maximal benefit for their characters.  Powergamers may
be either of these types, or may simply be gamers who enjoy playing more
powerful characters.  It's a fine distinction; just to be safe, avoid
all three terms until you're more comfortable with the nuances.
TOP | Intro

2.5.4. How can I post a review to the list?

Easily. Just send a message to the list; you should title it with the
keyword REVIEW, ex: "Review: Empires of the Shining Sea". If you plan on
referencing DM-only aspects of the product, you should put the word
"SPOILERS" in the subject line, warn about spoilers again in the first
line, and leave at least fifteen lines of blank space before you
actually start the review.

Remember that the best reviews give specific information about what was
and wasn't done properly, not just a general impression. A review which
only says "Ruins of Waterdeep was the best thing since D&D was created!"
or "Ruins of Waterdeep should be recycled for toilet paper", while
evocative, isn't very helpful to the reader who wants to know what,
precisely, you liked or didn't like about the product.
TOP | Intro

2.6. How many users are there, anyway?

As of the last time I checked, we have 1007 subscribers. They represent
most of the major three-letter superdomains (com,edu,net,gov,org,mil)
and the following country codes (and please correct and complete this
list by emailing me privately):

.at  Austria
.au  Australia
.be  Belgium
.br  Brazil
.ca  Canada
.ch  Switzerland
.co  Colombia
.de  Germany (Deutschland)
.dk  Denmark
.ee  Estonia
.es  Spain
.fi  Finland
.fr  France
.gr  Greece
.hr  Croatia (Hrvatska)
.il  Israel
.is  Iceland
.it  Italy
.jp  Japan
.mx  Mexico
.nl  the Netherlands (Holland)
.no  Norway
.nz  New Zealand
.pe  Peru
.ph  Philippines
.pl  Poland
.pt  Portugal
.se  Sweden
.sg  Singapore
.tr  Turkey
.uk  the United Kingdom
.us  the United States
.yu  Yugoslavia
.za  South Africa

[In any case, although the official language for the FR list is English,
there are a LOT of non-native English speakers on this list. Please be
forgiving of any odd phrasings, spelling, punctuation, or just plain old
typos.]
TOP | Intro

2.7. Who are the Realms List moderator and monitors?

The Realms-L moderator (also called the list owner) is Jason Hatter
towonder@concentric.net.   He oversees the list and sets list
policies.  He also fills in as a monitor when one of the monitors is
away, or the list is particularly busy.

The Realms-L monitors help the moderator enforce the list rules and
policies.  The monitors are:
Craig Sefton craig@tradepage.co.za
Jenn "Kethry" Millington kethry@idirect.ca
Kimberly Moser chittlin@aol.com.
The monitors act with the full support and sanction of the moderator at
all times.
TOP | Intro

2.8. LISTSERV commands
----------------------
2.8.1. How do I switch to/from digest mode?

The digest form of Realms-L collects messages every so often into one
big text file and distributes just that one big file to the people who
have turned on "digest mode" in their list options.  To turn this on or
off, send one of the following commands to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM:

SET REALMS-L DIGEST    (to turn on the digest)
SET REALMS-L NODIGEST  (to turn off the digest)
TOP | Intro

2.8.2. The Digest is too big!  Is there anything else I can do?

You're in luck, there is.  Send the following command to
LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM:

SET REALMS-L INDEX (to get the index)
SET REALMS-L NOINDEX (to shut off the index).

This ends up sending you a large message much like the Digest, with one
major difference.  You can choose which message you want to receive,
based on sender and subject line.  This allows you to get only the
threads you want to read, in the order they were sent, and without
other, "boring" threads between.
TOP | Intro

2.8.3. What other LISTSERV commands are there?

To get a comprehensive list of LISTSERV commands, send the command "INFO
REFCARD" to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM.
TOP | Intro