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Charter:

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     A moderated newsgroup dedicated to the discussion of all the past
Transformer cartoons, comics, toys, and other media. The group recognizes
that the current Beast Wars line is separate from the classic Transformer
lines, in the same way that the Next Generation Star Trek show is separate
from Classic Star Trek. Beast Wars posts are not completely forbidden - an
occasional post with some classic content (a comparision between classic
and Beast Wars, citing similarities or tie-ins, convention reports, and
others) will be acceptable. Comments without Classic content will not be
acceptable, including flames and other negative comments about Beast
Wars.

     The group further recognizes that it is impossible to tell how long
Beast Wars will remain active, or what new spin-offs of the Transformers
will be created in the future. Altering the acceptable posting parameters
of this group to reflect such changes will be discussed in the group as
such changes arise.

     No marketplace-style postings will be acceptable, considering the fact
that there are two existing groups, alt.toys.transformers.marketplace,
and rec.toys.transformers.marketplace, specifically for such posts.

     Fanfic is welcome, and is encouraged to be crossposted to
alt.toys.transformers.fanfic as well. All Fanfic and other creative
efforts are of course subject to the moderation policy.


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Moderation policy summary:

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     ATTCM will accept all articles that are on-topic as defined by the
charter, provided they do not contain personal attacks, or unprotected
spoilers. ATTCM supports an "all or nothing" policy for posting articles.
An article is either posted in its entirety, or a rejection letter is sent
back to the poster. Short, non-editorial comments may be added, such as
pointers to information sources and administrative notes. Such comments will
be clearly labeled.

     ATTCM supports a swift resolution process for complaints against 
specific moderators or instances of rejection. Each complaint shall be
forwarded to all active moderators, and a consensus will be reached.

     ATTCM currently uses a robomoderation program that has several features
that make the moderation process smoother. The proponents of the group wish
to extend their thanks to Igor Chudov, author of the STUMP program, and the
staff at panix.com for their help.



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                  The alt.toys.transformers.classic.moderated FAQ
 
                                        by
 
                    Burt Ward (Skyflight@Decepticon-Empire.org)
 
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Table of Contents
 
  0.1 Introduction - Welcome to ATTCM
  0.2 What's new this version
 
  1.0 What does 'classic' mean exactly?
 
    1.1 What isn't considered classic? 
    1.2 Why not Beast Wars/Machines and the others?
    1.3 Is this an anti Beast Wars/Machines group?
    1.4 When is Beast Wars/Machines going to be on-topic?
 
  2.0 It says this group is moderated. What does that mean exactly?
  
    2.1 What are the posting guidelines?
    2.2 Who are the moderators?
    2.3 I can't find the newsgroup. What should I do?
    2.4 Is there any other way to read ATTCM?
    2.5 Is there an archive of articles?
    2.6 How do I post to the newsgroup?
    2.7 Are there any reasons my posts wouldn't show up?
    2.8 When I posted, I got an e-mail saying my post was rejected. Why?
    2.9 How do I contact the moderation team?
 
  3.0 What's this whole Viewing Club thing about?
 
    3.1 How do you decide what to review?
    3.2 How do I write a review?
    3.3 Where can I find past reviews?
 
 
  4.0 How did this group get started?
 
  5.0 Isn't there a whole lot of other Transformer-related stuff on the Net? 
 
 
0.1 Introduction - Welcome to ATTCM
 
    Welcome to alt.toys.transformers.classic.moderated. This newsgroup's 
goal is to provide a spam-free, flame-free place to talk about the classic
aspects of the Transformer universe. This document exists to answer questions
that those new to the group might have. The FAQ is posted on a somewhat
random basis to the group. The latest version of this FAQ can also be found
on the ATTCM homepage located at the following URL - 
 
http://www.panix.com/~attcm/
 
0.2 What's new this version
 
    Small clarifications about what is and is not ontopic have been added.
 
 
1.0 What does 'classic' mean exactly?
 
    Classic refers to all the aspects of Transformers that are related
directly to the original Transformers line created by Hasbro and Takara and
are considered similar in genre. This includes Generation 1 and Generation
2 toys, the G1 and G2 cartoon and comic books, the G1 Japanese cartoons and
toys, Machine Wars, the reproduction G1 toys and PVCs, plus the Dreamwave
comics. Also included is discussion of toys from other lines that are
remolds of classic toys. For example discussion of the Gigastorm toy from
Beast Wars Second is acceptable, since the toy is a remold of the classic
Trypticon toy. Only discussion of the toys as toys and how they relate to
the originals will be considered on-topic.
 
  1.1 What isn't considered classic? 
 
      Anything not related to the original run of the Transformers
  franchise. Currently this includes Beast Wars, Beast Machines, Beast Wars
  Second, Beast Wars Neo, Car Robots, Robots in Disguise, and Armada
 
  1.2 Why not all the other lines?
 
      There are two reasons - First, the currently active lines generate a 
  considerably higher amount of traffic than do the lines which are out of 
  production. Discussions of classic topics tend to get drowned out. 
  Second, the original proponents of the group feel there is a logical 
  division of theme between classic Transformers and the lines that have
  followed, much as there is a division between the original Star Trek series
  and the Next Generation, DS9, and the rest. Some names and even some
  characters carry over from one to the other, but the original proponents
  feel they are separate entities. Some other aspects of the Transformer
  universe undoubtedly are also different enough to count as separate (the
  Japanese Masterforce series for example), but they are included as classic
  because they are no longer in production, are fairly unknown to the general
  fan population (and thus unlikely to produce much traffic), and were
  considered part of the original run of Transformers.
 
  1.3 Is this an anti Beast Wars/Machines/RiD/Armada group?
 
      Emphatically no. This newsgroups is meant to celebrate the classic
  aspects of the Transformer universe, not to tear down the current
  incarnation. Some members of the group may in fact dislike the newer lines,
  and may make that known in other forums. But any strictly negative posts
  about those lines will in fact be considered off-topic. Some minor
  comparison posts are allowed, be they positive or negative. (See section
  2.1 for more info)
 
  1.4 Will Beast Wars/Machines/RiD/Armada and future lines ever be on-topic?
 
      The issue have been brought up a few times on the group and the
  moderators have considered the issue carefully. We feel that there remains
  a logical division both in theme and timeframe from the classic material
  and the post-G2 lines. It's also worth pointing out that as the new lines
  are introduced they attract new fans who may themselves not feel a
  particular attachment to the lines that came before. Finally, the most
  current line always produces a large number of posts that drowns out the
  discussion of past lines. For all of these reasons, the original
  distinction of classic and post-classic has remained and will likely
  continue.
  

2.0 It says this group is moderated. What does that mean exactly?
 
    Moderation means that instead of an article being posted directly to
Usenet, it is instead e-mailed to a person (the moderator) who will review
the post to make sure that it follows the posting guidelines. The moderator
will then approve the article and post it to Usenet, or reject the article.
ATTCM uses a program called STUMP to make the process easier. This program
is also referred to as a robomoderator, and helps to filter out spam and
binary posts, as well as making our lives much easier. The moderators wish to
extend their thanks to Igor Chudov for the program. Also, we should thank the
whole staff at panix.com for the account and help they have provided.
 
  2.1 What are the posting guidelines?
 
      Only articles that are relevant to the classic aspects of the
  Transformers universe will be approved. This covers a wide variety of
  subjects, including comics, cartoon, the movie, toys and many others. See
  section 1.0 for more details. We invite questions, commentary, essays,
  reviews, reports, and just about anything else with a classic topic.
  Other kinds of articles are not completely forbidden - an occasional post
  that contains non-classic content as well as considerable classic content
  (for instance a comparison between classic and Beast Wars, citing
  similarities or tie-ins, convention reports, and others) will be
  acceptable. The line of just what is acceptable is very hard to draw and
  can't be stated in absolute terms. As a general rule, consider whether
  non-classic content could be removed from the article and not diminish the
  classic content. For example, a comparison of writing styles would be
  inseparable, whereas a list of favorite toys could easily include only
  classic toys. Common sense, logic and the best efforts of the moderators
  to follow the spirit of the charter apply.
 
      We welcome fan fiction with classic content, and we encourage
  crossposting to alt.toys.transformers.fanfic. Discussion of fanfic is
  encouraged, and critiques will be acceptable, provided they are not
  hostile.
 
      Personal attacks of any kind will not be approved. The moderators have
  final say on what does and does not constitute a personal attack, though of
  course the poster may appeal a decision to the moderator board. Repeat
  offenders will be suspended from posting to the group.
 
  [Additional note] The moderators wish to avoid flame wars or hurt feelings
  whenever possible. And we tend to be overcautious in rejecting articles
  directed at a specific individual if there's any question as to the intent
  of the article. If you get a rejection notice that indicates the article
  is questionable or borderline, we do hope you'll reword it a bit and
  resubmit it.
 
      Forging approval headers or issuing false cancel messages will result
  in suspension and a report will be issued to the individual's ISP.
 
      No marketplace-style articles will be approved, considering the fact
  that there are two existing groups, alt.toys.transformers.marketplace,
  and rec.toys.transformers.marketplace, specifically for such articles.
  Marketplace topics include: advertising items for sale or desire to
  buy items, auction notices or updates (including pointers to auctions),
  and trader alerts. Topics that are related to transactions but which only
  seek information will be accecptable. For example, appraisal requests and
  querries on where to buy Transformer merchandise. We classify these as
  information requests and not marketplace posts.
  
      Binaries (such as pictures or sound files) will not be approved for the
  newsgroup. Please post any binaries in one of the appropriate binary 
  groups, and then submit an article that tells people where to find them
  (name the group and subject line). Also, any articles that include binary
  encoding like MIME will be rejected. Some newsreaders will attach
  signatures in MIME format, and it can cause the article to be rejected.
 
      We currently accept crossposts to rec.toys.transformers.moderated. We
  have a policy worked out with them, and crossposts are allowed to that
  group. We also allow crossposts to any on-topic unmoderated newsgroups 
  like alt.toys.transformers and alt.toys.transformers.fanfic.
 
      Provided these posting guidelines are followed, a submission will be
  approved. No article will be rejected because it expresses views contrary 
  to the views of active moderator(s) or the moderation team. The moderators 
  will often approve articles they disagree with, and then post a reply to 
  it. (Reading the group will make it obvious that articles contrary to our 
  views are approved without problems.)
 
      Given the flexible nature of the Internet and the Transformer franchise
  as a whole, these posting guidelines are subject to revision. Discussion is
  welcome in the group about changes that could or should be made. If there
  is a sizable percentage of individuals who wish revisions, the moderating
  team will call for a formal discussion and voting process.
 
  2.2 Who are the moderators?
 
      Currently the active moderating team consists of Charlotte Brogden,
  Scylla, Raksha, John Runski, and Burt Ward. Lorax is a backup moderator.
  Possibly there will be moderator bios up on the ATTCM homepage soon. The
  homepage is located at http://www.panix.com/~attcm/.
 
  2.3 I can't find the newsgroup. What should I do?
 
      If you can't access ATTCM from your normal news reader, it's likely
  your Internet service provider does not carry it. Some ISPs only choose to
  carry a limited number of groups or only add groups with a certain amount
  of traffic. The thing to do is e-mail the people in charge of adding
  newsgroups at the ISP you use. The people to e-mail are postmaster@
  and news@. Put whatever comes after the @ symbol in your e-mail address 
  after postmaster@ and news@. Thus, if your address is joe@aol.com, you
  should e-mail postmaster@aol.com and news@aol.com. If you have more than
  one account, make sure you're e-mailing the same ISP that you use to read 
  news.
 
      It is recommended you send a short, polite e-mail similar to the 
  following example:
 
      Dear Postmaster and/or News admin :
 
      I would like to request that you add the newsgroup
      alt.toys.transformers.classic.moderated to the active list. The group
      is of great interest to me, and I'd like to be able to access it.
      It's moderated, and thus there won't be any spam or binary posts to
      worry about. Thanks for your time.
 
  Some larger ISPs like AOL or Compuserve may not respond personally.
 
  2.4 Is there any other way to read ATTCM?
 
      Currently the most accessible and least complicated way to read ATTCM
  beyond the conventional news feeds seems to be the successor to Deja News,
  Google. They allow reading and posting to the group via a Web interface and
  don't charge a fee for this. Check http://groups.google.com for more info.
  
  2.5 Is there an archive of articles?
 
      Currently the archive is not being updated, although it's possible
  this project will be revived in the future. Since Google took over Deja
  they've put all the old Deja News archives online, and it's now possible
  to view just about every article ever posted to ATTCM there. Just head to
  http://groups.google.com and search.
 
  2.6 How do I post to the newsgroup?
 
      You can post in one of two ways. First is to simply post to the group
  with your news reader, just like you normally would. The second is to
  e-mail your article to us directly at attcm@panix.com. Both methods have
  advantages and disadvantages.
 
      With direct e-mail, your article is guaranteed to reach us (see section
  2.7) and is also the fastest method. However, e-mail isn't quite the same
  as a newsgroup post because of the headers. Usenet articles use headers
  that e-mail doesn't, like the Newsgroups: and Followups-To: headers. In
  general, this doesn't cause any problems. However, if you want your
  article to be posted to ATTCM and another group, this becomes important.
  
      To help our users out with posting via e-mail and to aid AOL users, 
  we've introduced a new feature called the X-Control header. You just add
  this as the first line of your article and fill in a command. Right now the
  only command is to crosspost your article to another group, even if your 
  ISP doesn't allow it or you're sending an article via e-mail. All you do is
  add the X-Control at the top of your article, something like this:
 
  X-Control: crosspost to ATT
 
  We acccept crossposts to any on-topic newsgroup. The abbreviations are:
 
  ATT  : alt.toys.transformers
  ATTF : alt.toys.transformers.fanfic
  RTTM : rec.toys.transformers.moderated
 
  You can use the short or long versions, it doesn't matter. Note that we
  don't accept crossposts to the marketplace newsgroups except in those cases
  where the article is ontopic (see section 2.1 above). If you're going to
  crosspost to a non-TF group, please provide the full name.
 
      The direct e-mail address for ATTCM is attcm@panix.com
 
  2.7 Are there any reasons my articles wouldn't show up?
 
      Unfortunately yes. When you post with your news reader, your ISP
  e-mails your article to the moderator relay system at isc.org. This is not
  a fool-proof system unfortunately, and it's possible for articles to get
  lost before they can reach us. This is almost always caused by a local ISP
  not having ATTCM set up right on their end. If you submit an article to
  ATTCM and it doesn't show up and you don't get a rejection e-mail from us,
  please please let us know. We have no way to know which ISPs may be
  dropping articles unless we hear directly from you. Please send any
  reports or mail additional questions to attcm-request@panix.com.
 
  2.8 When I posted, I got an e-mail saying my article was rejected. Why?
 
      If your article doesn't follow the posting guidelines, it will be
  rejected. That means your article will not be posted to the group, and
  you will receive an automated rejection letter. Hopefully the letter
  will explain the problem adequately. If not, typically the moderator will
  send a follow-up letter explaining the exact problem with the article. We
  always encourage people to reformat and resubmit the article so we can
  approve it. The moderators are always willing to hear your side, and any
  comment or question about a rejection can be sent to our mailing list.
  (see next section) 
 
  2.9 How do I contact the moderation team?
 
      For technical matters, please e-mail attcm-request@panix.com. For
  policy comments, questions about a rejection e-mail, or to reach the whole
  staff on a matter that is really important, e-mail attcm-admin@panix.com.
  Please do not e-mail attcm@panix.com unless you want to submit your e-mail
  as an article to the newsgroup. Our door is always open, and we want
  everyone to feel like they're a part of the group. So feel free to e-mail
  us; we're here to help.
 
 
3.0 What's this whole Viewing Club thing about?
 
    The Cartoon Viewing Club was first proposed by Scylla and has since
generated a lot of discussion and interest. Every month we select an episode
of the classic cartoon series to watch and post reviews at the end of the
month.
 
  3.1 How do you decide what to review?
 
      Currently we're following the recent video releases from Kid Rhino. We
  want everyone to have as much access to the episode for review as possible.
  If we outpace Kid Rhino's releases, we'll likely go with episodes that are
  easily obtained. Hopefully, though, Kid Rhino will release the entire
  series as has been rumored.
 
  3.2 How do I write a review?
 
      There really are no set guidelines. Any format you want to use, feel
  free to submit. Some people choose overall thoughts about the episode,
  others do a chronological scene-by-scene review, others separate the
  episode into different aspects and review those. So long as the review
  complies with the general posting guidelines, we'll approve it. If you're
  looking for inspiration for your review, you can look up past reviews.
 
  3.3 Where can I find past reviews?
 
      Currently all the past reviews are on the main ATTCM page at 
  http://www.panix.com/~attcm/. It's possible that a separate subpage may be
  made for the reviews archive in the future. There will still be a link to 
  that page from the main page, of course.
 
4.0 How did this group get started?
 
    The concept for this group had been discussed in alt.toys.transformers
a few times without seeming to catch on with many people. However, the idea
began to generate interest as the traffic on ATT increased rapidly.
Also, a number of people began to feel classic posts were being overwhelmed
and didn't have the time or inclination to go through it all. Finally, there
were a number of ugly flame wars and personal attacks on ATT at that time.
Raksha contacted the people who seemed interested in the idea of a new group:
Charlotte Brogden, Lorax, John Runski and Burt Ward. A mailing list was
formed, and from the discussions grew the concept of ATTCM. Later, Overlord,
Scylla and Steve Stonebraker joined the list, and provided valuable input
as well.
     The details were gradually ironed out as the search for an ISP began.
The robomoderator we wanted to use had very specific requirements, and we had
a hard time finding an ISP that could provide what we needed. Also, the
actual details of newsgroup moderation had to be investigated and some sort
of picture of how the process actually worked was needed. The details of
our posting policy and even which hierarchy to put the group in were
discussed at length. It wasn't always easy finding a middle ground that made
everyone happy, but we managed to do so. Finally panix.com told us that they
could provide the account we were looking for, for which we thank them. Once 
the account was ready, installing and debugging the robomoderator took 
several days, and the moderation team wishes to extend thanks to Igor Chudov
for his program and help. Eventually all was in readiness, and on May 10,
1998, the creation message was posted to alt.config.
 
 
5.0 Isn't there a whole lot of other Transformer-related stuff on the Net?
 
    Yes, there is an enormous amount of material. I recommend the
Transformers FAQ by Steve Stonebraker, which has a great deal of information 
about TransFandom in general. That FAQ can be found at this URL:
 
http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~sstoneb/tf/index.html
 
 
This document (c)opyright 2002 by Burt Ward. All trademarks are the property 
of their respective owners. Permission is granted to copy and distribute this
text provided it is kept intact and unaltered, and no fee is charged.
