Subject: () POSTING GUIDELINES: R.G.C.Doom.{Help,Misc,Playing,Editing}

There are five rec.games.computer.doom.* newsgroups dedicated to the
discussion of DOOM, a 3D action computer game published by id Software.
This includes any and all versions, sequels (DOOM II), ports and addons,
as well as other games (like Heretic) published by other companies using
DOOM-like concepts and techniques that were licensed from id Software.

These newsgroups passed their Usenet vote and were created Nov 14, 1994:

  rec.games.computer.doom.announce    Info/FAQs/reviews about DOOM (Moderated)
  rec.games.computer.doom.help        DOOM Help Service (new players welcome)
  rec.games.computer.doom.misc        Talking about DOOM and id Software
  rec.games.computer.doom.playing     Playing DOOM and user-created levels
  rec.games.computer.doom.editing     Editing and hacking DOOM-related files

Games that are DOOM-like, but not written by or licensed by id Software 
(such as Descent, RotT, Marathon) are generally NOT on-topic and are
best discussed in other newsgroups like comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action.
See the .misc description, below, for exceptions.

The alt.binaries.doom newsgroup is the ONLY newsgroup where DOOM-related
binaries should be posted (NEVER in the rec.games.computer.doom newsgroups).
See the "() POSTING GUIDELINES: No Binaries! Use Alt.Binaries.Doom" article.

There are many PIPs (Periodic Informational Postings) automatically posted 
to the RGCD groups.  For a current list, see the "READ THIS BEFORE POSTING"
article cross-posted to all unmoderated RGCD groups.

SPAM NOTE: Occasionally, wildly off-topic ads or "opinions" are posted
indiscriminately to a large number of newsgroups.  This type of article
is called SPAM and is usually deleted from the newsgroups within a day
either by the offender's ISP (Internet Services Provider) or else by a 
widely-known and accepted spam antibody such as CancelMoose[tm].  
Please ignore such articles.  Don't post followups - the perpetrator 
isn't going to be reading the 100's of newsgroups that were targeted.


POSTING ARTICLES TO REC.GAMES.COMPUTER.DOOM DISCUSSION GROUPS
=============================================================

It's important that articles be posted to the appropriate group, with
minimum crossposting.  Here is a list of example topics for each group:

 .announce
    If you can only read one RGCD newsgroup, keep up-to-date on this one.
    This is where any announcements of general interest to DOOM players appear.
    Postings must be on the subject of Id software's recent and forthcoming
    action games. DOOM and DOOM II are obviously included; so are Heretic and
    Quake. The posting must be informative and of interest to the DOOM-playing
    community at large. Acceptable subjects include FAQs and pointers to them,
    FTP site news, announcements of new utilities such as level editors, PWAD
    announcements and reviews, tournament news and so on, as well as articles
    from employees or representatives of Id software.  For further info, read
    the "() POSTING GUIDELINES: Rec.Games.Computer.Doom.Announce" article.

 .help (where new players should go for flame-free help)
    DOOM setup questions (I get such-and-such an error when I start DOOM).
    Problems/suggestions re: DOOM setup programs (ser5, d!, etc.)
    Non-DOS version (Linux, SGI, etc.) setup questions.
    How to patch DOOM II to v1.7a (or whatever the current version is).
    How to solve a particular level, find a key, get 100% secrets, etc.
    Where are FTP sites, WWW sites, multi-player BBSes, etc.

 .misc
    Status of WinDoom, Jaguar, other 'ports' of DOOM.
    Quake, other id-related 'in development' topics.
    Previous id games (Wolf3D, etc.).
    Comparing DOOM with other 1st-person action games (Descent etc.).
    "DOOM, the Movie", Testarossas, other stuff about id.
    Comments about magazine/newspaper/TV stories about DOOM or id
      (post typed-in stories to .announce with crosspost to .misc).
    GT Interactive, general DOOM sales/distribution topics.
    Piracy, Viruses, illegal copies of DOOM.
    Commercial (pay-for-the-product) DOOM-related advertisements.
    Mouse vs. keyboard debates, SB vs. GUS debates, etc.
    "What's the best ethernet/video/mouse/computer for DOOM?"
    Benchmarks, -timedemo.
    Favorite music, monsters, weapons.
    Other topics not dealing with actual game playing or editing.

 .playing
    Anything about playing DOOM I and II levels and user-written PWADS
      (secrets, strategies, bugs, where to get specific PWADs, etc.).
    PWAD upload announcements, reviews of PWADS, PWAD lists, etc.
      (post to .announce with crosspost to .playing).
    Unusual experiences, deathmatch strategies, boasts, LMP's, etc.
    Keyboard/mouse movement techniques.
    Side-effects of playing DOOM.
    "Looking for another doom player in area code XXX"
    Lists of people wanting to play multi-player modem/net DOOM.
    Tournament discussions and multi-player topics.
    [Non-play-related topics go in the .misc group (this includes Quake).]

 .editing (technically-oriented - no newbie-ish questions, please)
    Hacking the DOOM EXE file, editing saved games and LMPs.
    PWAD design techniques (how to do this, how was that done, etc.)
    Design problems or limitations (HOM, Medusa).
    Questions about the popular editors (where to get, bug reports, etc.)
    [Comments or questions about playing user-written PWADs (opinions,
     keys, secrets, etc.) should not be posted here - post in .playing]

Each unmoderated discussion newsgroup in the rec.games.computer.doom
hierarchy has a 'coordinator' assigned to it to keep an eye out for
inappropriate articles and to help disseminate accurate information.
These 'coordinators' have no actual power, but share a common goal of
making these new rec.games.computer.doom newsgroups reliable sources
of information and useful forums for discussion.

The RGCD Support Team moderator and coordinators are:

  rgcd.announce    Tony Lezard    <tony@mantis.co.uk> (Moderator)
  rgcd.help        Ian Mapleson   <mapleson@cee.hw.ac.uk>
  rgcd.misc        Richard Ward   <rrward@netcom.com>
  rgcd.editing     Raphael Quinet <eedraq@chapelle.eed.ericsson.se>
  rgcd.playing     Mike Newton    <mik@netcom.com>

If you have any questions or comments about a particular newsgroup
after you have read the informative articles in rgcd.announce, please
feel free to write to any of the Support Team members listed above.

    John Van Essen  <vanes002@maroon.tc.umn.edu>  Author of R.G.C.D RFD

