WELCOME TO GAMES-L! PLEASE SAVE THIS MESSAGE FOR FUTURE REFERENCE. You are expected to read through and be familiar with the below usage guidelines. Contained therein, you will learn how to unsubscribe and how to participate in the Games-L discussion: For instance, get-rich-quick schemes, pyramid schems, chain letters (even for seemingly noble causes), spams, file attachments, and obscenities are unwelcome. It is inappropriate to use Games-L to faciliate piracy, of software or console game ROMs. Your questions on insights about computer games and associated topics most certainly are welcome. If you have questions about the list itself, please mail games-l-request@listserv.brown.edu. Thank you for your interest in the list. Have fun! Sincerely, David W. Baker Games-L List Owner Games-L Usage Guide This guide is intended to assist the use of the Games-L mailing list and communicate Games-L policies. This guide is posted monthly to Games-L and is available from the Games-L Web Page at . If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, send mail to games-l-request@listserv.brown.edu. Contents * What is Games-L? * How do I subscribe? * How do I unsubscribe? * I read Games-L through USENET. I want to subscribe so I can post, but I don't want to receive all messages in my mailbox. Can you help me? * How do I enable digest mode? * How do I send messages to people on the list? * How do I contact the list owner, moderator, or administrator? * What is the difference between all these e-mail addresses? * What material is inappropriate for Games-L? * What about things like obscenities, flames, sexually explicit material, and off-topic messages? * What if I have a problem with something posted to Games-L? * What other things can I do with LISTSERV? * Is there a Games-L FAQ? Are there Games-L Web resources? * I've noticed that there are problems related to my site. What's wrong? * What if I disagree with something in this document? What is Games-L? Games-L is a mailing list, run by a program called LISTSERV, for the purpose of discussing computer games on all platforms, including Macintosh and IBM computers, Nintendo and SEGA game systems, and all others. Opinions about games, questions about completing games, and answers to these questions are quite welcome. Issues tangentially related to the running of games on computer systems, such as hardware and operating system questions, are also appropriate for discussion on the list. How do I subscribe? You can generally read Games-L via two means: 1. Subscribing to the mailing list directly: Messages will be sent to you via email, either individually or in digest format. To subscribe, send mail to listserv@listserv.brown.edu with a body of: SUBSCRIBE GAMES-L After this command has been processed, you will receive a confirmation request. Respond to this request as instructed with 'ok' and your subscription will be activated. When your subscription is activated, you will receive a message confirming your new subscription. This first message includes important information about how to unsubscribe and issue other LISTSERV commands. _Please save this message for future reference._ A Web-based interface is also available, which may be more convenient for you. 2. Reading bit.listserv.games-l: Games-L is mirrored to Usenet as a newsgroup, which your particular news-server may carry. Talk to your system administrator if bit.listserv.games-l is not available, and you wish to read Games-L via this means. In order to post to Games-L, however, you must be subscribed. Subscribe to Games-L as per the instructions above. If you don't want all postings sent to your mailbox, then once your subscription has been activated, you must set your subscription to NOMAIL. This process is described below. How do I unsubscribe? If you are subscribed with LISTSERV and receive Games-L postings via e-mail, you can unsubscribe by sending mail to listserv@listserv.brown.edu with a body of: UNSUBSCRIBE GAMES-L A Web-based interface is also available, which may be more convenient for you. If you have any sort of problem with unsubscribing, contact the List Owner at games-l-request@listserv.brown.edu. I read Games-L through USENET. I want to subscribe so I can post, but I don't want to receive all messages in my mailbox. Can you help me? To send messages to Games-L or bit.listserv.games-l, you must first subscribe to Games-L. Games-L will not post any message which is received from an account which is not subscribed. However, if you read Games-L through an alternate means, such as USENET or another common repository, you need not receive all postings to your mailbox. To accomplish this, you must set your subscription to NOMAIL. This is accomplished by sending the following command to listserv@listserv.brown.edu: SET GAMES-L NOMAIL A Web-based interface is also available, which may be more convenient for you. How do I enable digest mode? Games-L supports mailing list digests. That is, instead of receiving posts one-by-one as they are processed, you can receive a daily compilation by sending the following command to listserv@listserv.brown.edu: SET GAMES-L DIGESTS To deactivate this, send this to listserv@listserv.brown.edu: SET GAMES-L MAIL A Web-based interface is also available, which may be more convenient for you. How do I send messages to people on the list? You may send a post to the entire list by mailing games-l@listserv.brown.edu. People who read Games-L through Usenet merely need to post an article to bit.listserv.games-l. NB: LISTSERV checks the content of all submissions to try to detect misdirected error reports and prevent mail loops. It will discard any message which has a line in the *body* of the message with "From:", "To:", or "Sender:" followed by "GAMES-L@listserv.BROWN.EDU". If, when replying to a message, your mail reader quotes these headers and places them in the body of the reply, you must cut them out before submitting your post. How do I contact the list owner, moderator, or administrator? The List Owner may be contacted by mailing games-l-request@listserv.brown.edu. David W. Baker serves as List Owner. What is the difference between all these e-mail addresses? For the smooth running of discussions on Games-L, it is very important that you use the proper e-mail address when posting to the list, sending a command to LISTSERV, or mailing the List Owner. Failing to take the time to understand the distinction between the below addresses proves _very disruptive_ to the list. _listserv@listserv.brown.edu_ Messages sent to this address go to a mailing list program which processes your message as a list command. This address should be used to send subscribe, unsubscribe, and all other LISTSERV commands. _games-l-request@listserv.brown.edu_ Mail addressed here will be directed to the List Owner. If you have any sort of problem with your subscription to Games-L, direct your concerns here. LISTSERV commands, other than subscribe and unsubscribe, sent here will be deleted. _games-l@listserv.brown.edu_ This address should be used _only_ to send messages to the entire list, which includes thousands of individuals. You should mail messages about computer games to this address. _Do not_ mail list commands or messages for the List Owner here. What material is inappropriate for Games-L? Just about anything to do with computer games is welcome on Games-L. The List Owner is not a moderator, and thus chooses not to regulate the flow of discussion on the mailing list. However, a few things are inappropriate on Games-L. Anyone who chooses to violate any of these rules risks loosing his/her privilege of participating in the Games-L list and having his/her system administrator notified. 1. Messages which are cross-posted to Games-L and many other discussion groups irrespective of the content of the list, colloquially known as "spams," are not appropriate on Games-L. 2. Pyramid schemes and chain letters are inappropriate on Games-L. You won't make money by following David Rhodes's advise, nor will good luck come your way if you mail a chain letter to the list. Letters which seem to be a for a good cause, asking you to pass them on, are rarely legitimate and never appropriate on Games-L. If a message says "pass on to as many people as possible," don't send it to Games-L. 3. It is inappropriate to use Games-L to facilitate piracy, of software or console game ROMs. You may not use Games-L to request for illegal activities or offer to perform such via Games-L. Thus, do not ask anyone to photocopy a game manual or provide a copy of the game disk. If you loose youra copy manual or your disks are damaged, you should contact the are software vendor for a replacement. Do not ask for locations to download non-shareware software, unless you make it clear you are looking for sites that allow you to pay for such electronically. Do not ask for locations to download console game ROMs. Do not offer to copy games for others, unless you make it clear that you will do so for only shareware. Do not use Games-L to distribute information about about the location of pirated software or console game ROMs. 4. Commercial messages are a concern on Games-L. Any commercial message which does not directly deal with computer games is not welcome on Games-L. Commercial messages which do deal directly with games are acceptable on Games-L, as long as their frequency is limited to, at the most, once per week and any concerns raised by the List Owner to the vendor are respected. Vendors are strongly encouraged to contact the List Owner with any questions about this policy before using Games-L to advertise your product. 5. Do not use Games-L to promote "referral" or "affiliates" programs. If you are part of a program where you earn benefits by encouraging people to visit particular sites or sign up for the program, don't use Games-L to promote the program. 6. It is expected that all subscribers use their valid e-mail address when posting messages. Games-L is not a forum where anonymity is conducive to discussion. To that effect, failing to use a valid e-mail address or forging messages to Games-L or LISTSERV under someone else's address is an abuse of Games-L. If you believe you have special concerns where you believe you require anonymity, please mail the List Owner at games-l-request@listserv.brown.edu and explain the matter. It may be possible to arrange something that addresses the concerns of you and of Games-L. 7. Please do not send file attachments to Games-L. These can create excessive traffic which is distributed to all subscribers. If you wish to distribute a file, make it available on a public server and the post the location so that interested parties can obtain it. Users of Microsoft Exchange should pay attention to their mail agent configuration. Please do not send the application/ms-tnef attachement. More information is available at . What about things like obscenities, flames, sexually explicit material, and off-topic messages? Some messages are disruptive to the discussion on Games-L, usually because they really have nothing to do with computer games. Such off-topic messages are generally tolerated, as the List Owner has no interest in being responsible for maintaining productive discussions on Games-L. _Such responsibility is that of the individual subscribers._ In some cases, the List Owner may remind subscribers to be considerate of others. However, individuals should not use Games-L to make personal attacks against an individual or group of individuals. Obscenities or sexually explicit material are not welcome here. Realize that your message is being sent to the personal e-mail account of over a thousand individuals, and that such posts ruin the list for everyone. The List Owner reserve the right to take action on such posts on a case-by-case basis. In most instances, the List Owner will merely send a personal message to the individuals involved, asking them to refrain from continuing posts in this fashion. What if I have a problem with something posted to Games-L? If you believe any message is inappropriate on Games-L, please do not respond to the entire list, as this generally exacerbates the problem. For instance, whenever a spam is sent to the list, not only is that message sent to every individual subscriber, so are the several complaints which are inappropriately addressed to the list. If you find any message to be inappropriate, for whatever reason, mail the List Owner at games-l-request@listserv.brown.edu. We will do our best to address your concerns and take action if warranted. What other things can I do with LISTSERV? LISTSERV is a very powerful mailing list package. With it, you can do many things, like search the database of old Games-L postings or retrieve an archive of old messages. To see what commands are available, mail listserv@listserv.brown.edu with a body of: INFO REFCARD A brief guide to mailing list commands will be then send back to you. However, most mailing list commands can be easily accessed through the World Wide Web via the LWGate. Visit the Games-L LWGate page at for an easy-to-use, form-based interface to these commands. Is there a Games-L FAQ? Are there Games-L Web resources? A Web page with basic information about Games-L is available at . I've noticed that there are problems related to my site. What's wrong? Games-L requires that all subscriber accounts be available to mail in a reliable fashion. Furthermore, domain administrators must be responsive and sensitive to the needs to the List Owner. If all mail to your account bounces back, you will be unsubscribed with instructions about what just occurred. You can then mail games-l-request@listserv.brown.edu to be readded and request that a subsequent error message be forwarded on to you. If another problem occurs, the List Owner will send you a copy of the error message. You must then work with your local support personnel to correct the problem. If it cannot be corrected, Games-L may be unable to support your domain. Games-L may find it necessary to discontinue support for entire domains due to the policies and practices of their administrators. Unfortunately, this may affect some legitimate users. It is suggested that such individuals work with their administrators to address the concerns of the List Owner or subscribe to Games-L from a different provider. What if I disagree with something in this document? Please send all feedback on this document to the List Owner at games-l-request@listserv.brown.edu who are very interested in maintaining a healthy environment for all subscribers. If you think something in this document needs to be changed, please voice your opinion.