Whenever you have a question about the list, you can use
these frequently asked questions to try to answer it. If
you don't find your answer here, you can always contact
one of the admins in
the Pantheon.
Without further ado, we give you the FAQ, which is lovingly
updated by Ben Cordes (ben@uflist.org).
USERFRIENDLY THE MAILING LIST FAQ v1.4.0 (15 May 2001)
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Section 1: Basic questions
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Q1.1 What is Userfriendly?
Q1.2 Where can I find the comics?
Q1.3 What's a UFie? (or: Who are you freaks, anyway?)
Q1.4 Why a mailing list?
Q1.5 Are there other UFie communities out there?
Q1.6 Who subscribes to the list?
Q1.7 Why do some people have titles in their .signature?
Q1.8 How do I get a list title?
Q1.9 How do I get my picture on the UFie picture page?
Q2.1 What's considered 'on-topic' for this mailing list?
Q2.2 How heavy is the traffic?
Q2.3 How is this list rated, content-wise?
Q2.4 I don't like what {user} is talking about. What should I do?
Q2.5 When should I change the subject line of a thread?
Q2.6 What format should my posts be in?
Q3.1 Who is in charge of the list?
Q3.2 How do I [un]subscribe?
Q3.3 Is a digest form available?
Q3.4 Are there archives I can look at?
Q3.5 Who's responsible for this FAQ?
Q3.6 How can I find out more information about the list?
Q4.1 What's the Productivity Virus?
Q4.2 What's a Tim Tam?
Q4.2a So where can I get some Tim Tams?
Q4.3 What's a BOFH?
Q4.4 What's a PFY?
Q4.5 What's a HNG?
Q4.6 What does 'C|N>K' mean?
Q4.7 What does 'g,d&r' mean?
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Section 1: Basic Questions
|
Q1.1 What is Userfriendly?
Userfriendly is a comic strip written by a Canadian named Illiad about
Columbia Internet, 'the friendliest, hardest-working, and more
neurotic little Internet Service Provider in the world'.
Q1.2 Where can I find the comics?
Q1.3 What's a UFie? (or: Who are you freaks, anyway?)
A UFie is a fan of the comic strip Userfriendly, and usually is active
in the UFie community in one way or another. Many UFies have suffered
from the Productivity Virus (see Q4.1), although this is not a
required trait. In fact, the only thing that's required before you
call yourself a UFie is that you've read and liked the comic strip.
Q1.4 Why a mailing list?
Q1.4a No, really.
Actually, I was serious. The mailing list exists because a bunch of
people decided that they wanted an online community thing, and a
mailing list seemed like a good way to do it. Basically, the mailing
list is a way for UFies to interact with each other over the 'net
whenever we like, and for any reason that we like.
Q1.5 Are there other UFie communities out there?
Yep, quite a few. Besides this one, there's another mailing list
called the UFies list; there's a newsgroup, alt.comics.user-friendly;
there's a message board on the web page called 'Friendly Forum'
(http://www.userfriendly.org/discus/messages/board-topics.html); and
there's a UFie IRC channel on the Undernet called #userfriendly. Not
to mention the new comments section attached to each comic, the UFies
web page (http://ufies.org), the RC5 team, the BBS, etc., etc...
There's a page on the web site devoted to keeping track of all the
Userfriendly communities; check out the "Community" link in the
navbar, or go to http://www.userfriendly.org/community/.
Q1.6 Who subscribes to this list?
Just about anybody who wants to. We get people from all over the
globe, although our largest populations seem to be (in no particular
order) from the west coast of the U.S., Texas, Canada, and Australia.
Most -- but certainly not all! -- of us are geeks, nerds, or techies
in one way or another. We have a high proportion of IT and/or
help-desk workers, though several other fields are represented,
including college students (and occasionally younger folks as well).
If you actually want to match names to faces, the Official List
Webpages have pictures of some of the UFies on-list. See
http://www.uflist.org/who.html.
Q1.7 Why do some people have titles in their .signatures?
Often times, you'll see something in a poster's .signature that
identifies themselves as the 'List Something-Or-Other'. These list
titles don't really mean anything official (usually), they're just a
cute little name that was usually given by somebody else on-list.
The exceptions to this rule are people who identify themselves as
"List Admin[s]", a member of the "ListPantheon", or "List
Mistress/Master". (What, you want us to pick just one?) These
actually are official titles, and they identify people who are 'in
charge' of the list.
Q1.8 How do I get a list title?
Usually, list titles come about because someone else on-list notices a
particular trait of yours and decides that you deserve to be the
shining example of that trait on-list. To register a title, you
should go to the List "Who?" web page (see below), submit a survey,
and upload a picture. Our staff of admins will add it to the list in
a day or two, and voila! You've got a list title!
Q1.9 How do I get my picture on the UFie picture page?
First, crop your image to 200x200 pixels. If you can't do it, we'll
do it for you. Then go to the "Who?" page,
http://uflist.org/who.html. Click the link to upload your picture.
Type in the filename of the picture you want to upload, and hit the
button. Don't forget to fill out the survey as well! Your image will
be thumbnailed down to 50x50 and linked to a page with the full size
photo and your bio. Don't panic if it takes us a couple of days;
remember, we're all volunteers here.
Q2.1 What's considered 'on-topic' for this mailing list?
Just about anything. We've had discussions of deep philosophical
issues, abortion rights, gun control, the education system in the
U.S., and the Columbine tragedy. On the other hand, we also get a lot
of gratuitous flirting and silly jokes :) Due to the high proportion
of tech workers, we also often have technical discussions about things
like sound cards, monitors, Linux vs. Windows (no flame wars!), the
merits of different Linux distributions (no flame wars!), open-source
software, and other things geeky. Really, anything goes here, whether
or not it's related to the actual comic strip.
Q2.2 How heavy is the traffic?
As with any mailing list, the traffic varies from one week to the
next. On the average, you can expect something on the order of 100
posts or so, scattered across 24 hours -- we have people in about half
of the time zones on this planet, which means that at any given point
in time there's likely to be at least one person who reads the list
who's awake.
Q2.3 How is this list rated, content-wise?
This is kind of a sticky issue. Since, as mentioned above, anything
goes on the list, you will most likely at one point or another read
something you didn't really want to know. Sex is frequently
mentioned, as are other topics that would likely get us at least an
'R' rating from the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America, the
U.S.A. movie rating board).
All that we ask is that you keep a strong sense of maturity about you
when you read (and post to) the list.
Q2.4 I don't like what {user} is talking about. What should I do?
If someone says something that offends you, take a deep breath. Think
twice, and read the post again, before you go flaming someone for
being offensive. Chances are pretty good that they didn't intend to
offend you.
If you have a problem with what someone is saying on-list, *take it
off-list*. Send them a private email and explain why you don't like
what they're saying. Keep in mind that this is an open-ended
discussion list with a fairly large subscriber pool; eventually, two
people are going to disagree on something. Mature, on-list discussion
is fine (and in fact, often the point); on-list flame wars are not.
Also remember that most modern mail readers contain some sort of
filtering mechanism that will allow you to ignore one particular
sender. You may wish to consult your mail client's documentation.
If you still haven't adequately resolved your problem, send private
email to the list admins, and explain your problem to them. Don't be
shy; this is part of their job.
Q2.5 When should I change the subject line of a thread?
Many people use mail clients which sort threads based on the subject
line; if the subject line changes frequently, these mechanisms are
useless. Having said that though, it's a good idea to change the
subject line if the thread gets seriously off-track -- which happens
quite a bit around here! Alternately, if one thread sparks two
different sub-discussions, a subject change is usually in order.
Appending "was: <old topic>" is optional. In any case, make sure
there aren't two of them; in other words, don't do this:
Subject: Bondage (was: Ferrets (was: Emacs help?))
Q2.6 What format should my posts be in?
Plain ASCII, preferably using the iso-8891-1 charset. Specifically,
please don't use HTML mail and don't post MIME attachments. Not
everyone uses mail clients which properly handle them. Also note that
the standard language on this list is English; while many subscribers
speak more than one language, anything more than a snippet or two of
another language is strongly discouraged.
When quoting someone else's post, clearly indicate the sender's name
and differentiate the quoted text from your reply. '> ' is pretty
much the standard for quoting text, but any character will do -- but
not whitespace, please (ala Microsoft Exchange's default)! Most mail
clients provide this sort of functionality automatically, but some may
not.
Please place the text of your reply *underneath* the quoted text that
you're replying to. Don't post a short reply, then copy the entire
body of the old message underneath it. Also remember to trim down the
quoting to the relevant parts that you're actually replying to. These
rules help out the people who subscribe to the list in digest mode.
And last but not least, try to keep your .signature to four (4) lines
or less. This is a pretty well-accepted but not often-followed rule
of Netiquette. Lots of people on this list have random quote
generators in their .signature, and some of these quotes are longer
than four lines. This is okay, so long as you don't keep the same
quote for a long time and so long as not all of the quotes are that
long.
If you're having problems configuring your mail client, ask for help!
Most of us are techies/geeks/nerds in one way or another, and chances
are pretty good that someone else uses the same mail client as you.
Q3.1 Who is in charge of the list?
Caramia <caramia@uflist.org>, Cian <cian@uflist.org>, Godmoma
<godmoma@uflist.org>, Strongbow <strongbow@uflist.org>, and Tabbycat
<tabbycat@uflist.org> are the ListPantheon, responsible for the
administration of the list, and can be reached at pantheon@uflist.org
or at admin@uflist.org. Use whichever address is easier for you to
remember. Illiad <illiad@userfriendly.org> is the ListOwner, and the
ultimate authority on the list, although he usually doesn't need to
lend a hand.
If you have administrative problems with the list (double posts,
problems subscribing or unsubscribing) these are the people to send
email to.
Q3.2 How do I [un]subscribe?
Send mail to <userfriendly-request@lists.paralynx.com> with any
subject and a body of either "subscribe" or "unsubscribe". You should
probably not include your .signature in the message, as the listserv
might interpret it as a series of commands.
Paralynx (the host for userfriendly) uses Majordomo, which is a
standard listserv. For more detailed instructions, send mail to
<majordomo@lists.paralynx.com> with the body "help".
Q3.3 Is a digest form available?
Q3.4 Are there archives I can look at?
Why yes, as a matter of fact. Andrew <andrew@pure-chaos.com>
maintains an archive of list mail at http://uflist.pure-chaos.com out
of the goodness of his heart. Feel free to browse or look for a
particular set of posts, but please be considerate of his server.
Unfortunately, due to the current energy crisis in California,
Andrew's server is not functional. This may change at some
point... or it may not.
Q3.5 Who's responsible for this FAQ?
Ben Cordes <ben@uflist.org> is the current maintainer. If
you have suggestions for additions to this FAQ, remarks about
misspellings (no 'color'/'colour' comments, please :), or anything
else, feel free to send him mail.
The latest version of this FAQ can always be retreived on the list web
pages, at http://www.uflist.org/why.html.
Q3.6 How can I find out more information about the list?
The list Pantheon maintains a set of web pages which will tell you
more than you ever wanted or needed to know about the Userfriendly Fan
Mailing List. The latest copy of this FAQ is always there, along with
the list charter, a page of pictures, and other miscellaneous stuff.
See http://www.uflist.org/.
Q4.1 What's the Productivity Virus?
(Borrowed from the Userfriendly FAQ:
http://www.userfriendly.org/faq/index.html)
If you have to ask, you haven't experienced it. It is an addiction,
pure and simple. If you become a victim of the Virus, your
productivity will be severely limited for a number of days as a
result.
The Virus is recognizable by its symptoms:
- Reading the Strip from day 1
- Brewing strong quad-damage coffee
- Quoting Dust Puppy at the office
If you notice any of these signs, you are coming down with the
virus. Make sure that you put all projects on hold and do not operate
heavy machinery while under its influence.
Note: There is no known cure for the virus. When it hits, you have to
let it run its course.
Q4.2 What's a Tim Tam?
A Tim Tam is a small chocolate cookie (biscuit for you Aussies) which
is vaguely something like a rectangular Oreo. It is made of two
rectangular cookie wafers with some sort of filling, with the whole
thing dipped in chocolate. Depending on which 'flavor' you get, the
coating and the filling can be different flavors: milk chocolate, dark
chocolate, double-thick chocolate, or caramel.
There are almost as many ways to eat a Tim Tam as there are to eat an
Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, but one of the most popular is called
'shotgunning': bite both ends off a Tim Tam, dunk one end in your
favorite beverage (milk or coffee are suggested, or port if you prefer
something stronger; carbonated beverages don't work as well) and suck
on the other end until you taste the beverage. Then pop the whole Tim
Tam into your mouth at once and chew.
Tim Tams are also a wonderful way to bribe the administrators in the
Pantheon :)
Q4.2a So where can I get some Tim Tams?
Q4.3 What's a BOFH?
Q4.4 What's a PFY?
Pimply-Faced Youth, the BOFH's sidekick. Sometimes used to describe a
BOFH-in-training, or a junior sysadmin.
Q4.5 What's a HNG?
Q4.6 What does 'C|N>K' mean?
Snarfing, or the act of spitting your favorite beverage through your
nose. Specifically, the acronym expands to "C{oke,offee} piped
through Nose onto Keyboard."
Q4.7 What does 'g,d&r' (or anything similar) mean?
'g,d&r' has a number of different interpretations, but in general
these abbreviations are used much like a smiley -- indicating that a
potentially insulting joke is just a joke and not an insult. Common
forms include:
- g,d&r (grin, drop, and roll)
- g,d&ra (grin, duck, and run away)
- g,d&ravf (grin, duck, and run away very fast)
