International Teenagers' Echo (Last Updated Jan 21 2000) Recent Updates are marked with a | We have updated this posting of the rules to annouce a 'grandfathering' in of echo veterans who might be returning to see what is happening in the echo. -=-=- General Guidelines Echo Tag : TEEN Echo Title : International Teenagers' Echo Webpage : http://www.airnet.net/jfuller/teenecho Senior Moderator: Jay Fuller Moderator : Andrew Serrano -=-=- TEEN Rules - Foreword - These are the rules for use of the International Teenagers' Echo, or "TEEN". As a user of this echo, it is expected that you have read these rules as they are posted on a weekly basis. These rules are for your own protection as well as for that of the other users. The moderators reserve the right to update these rules without prior notice. Such updates will be posted separate from the rules. We also reserve the right to change these rules to meet our own needs, as situations warrant. - Rules - 1. We consider this to be the most important: Have fun!!! :-) This is an International echo, and there are lots of great people in here! It might take a week or two to find people with your beliefs and your morals, or it might take a while longer, but never give up! Also, since this is an echo, replies will take longer then 2 hours to return :-) 2. People in TEEN echo are here to have a good time and meet other people, just like you are. Therefore, please be respectful to their wishes as they will make every effort to be respectful to your wishes. This echo is not a dictatorship. Therefore, if someone asks you to not talk about them behind your back, please don't do it. The bottom line here is to please respect your fellow writers in TEEN ECHO. 3. Handles/aliases are not allowed. If your BBS does not allow you to use a real name, your real full name must appear in the body of your message. 4. Profanity: when used in moderation, it is permitted. When used excessively, it may be frowned upon. Please use common sense; you don't know who may be reading your message and how they will react to it. A general rule of thumb is to only write what you wouldn't mind seeing on the front page of a newspaper or on a prime-time TV show. If you must use excessive profanity or discuss things of a highly personal nature, please use Netmail, or get a free Internet e-mail account from Juno if these are available in your area. 5. Flaming is NOT permitted under ANY circumstances. What is a flame? A "flame" is anything insulting and said to demean or belittle someone else in the echo. Speak what you will, how you will, but don't go insulting other people. You are entitled to your own opinion, but do not attack another person. Agree to disagree. See Rule #2, and you'll be fine. ;) Slander, which is another form of flaming [verbal flaming] - it's also not allowed. Libel, which is the written/published form of Slander, as defined by the Bill of Rights is also prohibited. In other words... BE NICE! If someone looses their temper with you, come to a moderator. DO NOT reply to them in a derogitory manner. If you do, YOU will also be held responsible. 6. Please do not play moderator. The moderators of this echo are Andrew Serrano and Jay Fuller. Although we are all probably not present ALL the time, we're doing our best for one of us to be present at all times [or easily reachable]. If you see a situation which you believe needs to be "taken care of," please consult with one of these people. If you see somebody breaking the rule(s) and you want to give them a little "hint" to clean up their act, by all means, do that. But if they continue to do it, please let us know (assuming that we haven't already found out). 7. Advertisements are not allowed without prior permission from a moderator. But don't post them yourself either. A moderator will put the ad into the echo. Of course, this means you have to give one of us a copy of the ad outside of the echo somehow. 8. This echo is not to be a breeding ground for illegal activities either. This includes many things, from pirating, pyramid schemes, chain letters, etc. Anything illegal in the US is illegal here. Why? Because the moderators live in the US and don't have the time or incentive to go and look up laws for other countries. I think you all can make your own judgments anyway. (Again, it all comes down to a little common sense). 9. Sex. Hmm... How best to describe this? Well, I really doubt that the majority of the people here want to know who you've slept with. Use common sense. If it's borderline, someone will tell you. Some things are just too far, you can figure those out, so don't complain if you get a warning about something like that. Please refer to rule #4. 10. Don't go wasting space. This includes quoting a lot more than you end up writing, writing one or two word messages, and chain messages. There's a lot of hidden information in a message that most people will never see that adds a lot of overhead to mail transfers. Most sysops do not appreciate spending that kind of money just to see the single word "Hello!" in the body. 11. This echo is not the place for transferring files or encrypted messages. No UU/XX Encoding, PGP messages or keys, etc. PGP signatures are permissible, but transfer the keys via netmail or in the PGP_KEY echo or PKEY_DROP echo. Please also avoid using ANSI codes or characters from the HI ASCII set, as these can cause problems with some computers and bulletin board systems. -=-=- Rules Procedures If you are found to be in violation of a rule or rules, you may receive a "hint" from a moderator or a user. If your activity persists, you may receive an "unofficial" warning from a moderator. Please take it seriously. Remember, the rules are just as much for your own protection as they are for the protection of others. Official FidoNet warnings will be issued if you refuse to cease your rule-breaking activity. The first two warnings are just that: warnings. To tell you to either shape up or face the consequences. If you earn a third warning, a note will be sent to your sysop telling him or her that your access is to be cut for 30 days. Once the 30 days are up, you're allowed back into the echo. Of course, since you've already been booted once, we'll be watching you like a hawk and judging you harshly. That, however, is your own fault. If you earn a warning within three months of your return, it is your only one. A second warning gets you removed from this echo permanently. If you manage to keep your nose clean for those 3 months, then you're off the hook and back to normal. Warnings are also removed if you have a clean record for three months. Good deal, eh? =) So... having said all that, we hope you enjoy this echo and use it to its fullest potential. It's here for your enjoyment, but also for the enjoyment of others, so please treat it with respect. The echo and its users will most likely treat you in the same way if you do. - Age Limits - The basic age range for this echo is from 7th grade to undergraduate college level. On a more specific level, 13 to 25 years. If you are under 13, there is a KIDS echo on FidoNet where you might be more comfortable, as well as numerous echoes on other networks. Over 25, there are many "general chat" echoes available. | Due to the recent decline of messages in the fidonet and | the return of several recent vets who are nearing the age | of 25, it has been suggested that they, they veterans, be | 'grandfathered' into the echo as well. Therefore, since | the 'senior moderator', Mr. Fuller, is 22 - three years | from age 25, this sounds good to me. :) Andy, the | current moderator is also fine with it. If you are over 25, and you've been here since you were young, we're not going to chase you out. If TEEN is your home, and you can behave yourself, we're not going to force you out. Then again, if you're 25, married, and have a family, you might want to consider giving your time to them, not us. Sysops: If a user is considered to be in the restricted age group (under 13), please direct them to the KIDS echo, also on the FidoNet Backbone. If a user is over 25, then I'm sure they can find other areas in which to write. - General Information - Jay Fuller has been working on ways to keep the echo in touch with it's current members as well as echo "veterns". Several features have been implemented with more on the way: A) Teen Echo now has its own internet homepage located at http://www.airnet.net/jfuller/teenecho - this page provides pictures of several people in this echo and several echo vets from years past. If you'd like to have a picture included on this page, send the picture to Jay Fuller, BOX 1922, University of South Alabama, Mobile AL 36688-0001. If you already have an electronic picture, email it to jfuller@airnet.net. If you have a homepage, email address, or a living address / phone number you'd like to include, I'll include that information as well on the webpage. B) Thanks to Jannie Luong, now more or less an echo "vet", teen echo has an irc conference where members can meet online via the Internet and chat in real time. we're using irc.dal.net, and the channel name is #teenecho. Information on this channel can be located on the teen echo webpage. There won't always be anyone there, but from time to time, we'll get 5 or 6 people there, and we have a great time. During the summer months [and pretty much until further notice], we're all aiming to meet around Sunday nights from 8 pm - 12 am central standard time. However, this isn't the only time you can expect to find people there, so be sure to come by anytime. :) C) Ahhh! My BBS is shutting down, and I'm going to loose access to teen echo! What can I do? Well, first of all, check with Jay Fuller - he can most likely locate you another BBS within your area, and he might be able to talk to the System Operator of that BBS [since Jay is a fellow fidonet SysOp]. If that doesn't work out, your next step is to try to aquire Internet access. If you can get an Internet connection, you can use an internet protocol called TELNET to access fidonet BBS systems online. Once again, information on this proceedure is already detailed on the Teenager's International webpage. D) Via a combined effort of several current (and past) members of the echo, starting in 2000, teen echo will have it's first "echo-reunion" - or our common name for it..."the teenecho get-together". I hope to see these get-together's happen every two years - but these will give us an oppurtunity as we get older to actually MEET one another...and spend time together :) Keep an eye in the echo, and on the webpage....information will be posted as it becomes available. There is also now a mailing list maintained on the Internet for folks who are now veterns of this echo. E) Andrew Serrano has begun to maintain an internet e-mail list for folks in the echo (or who have come through the echo) and he posts it periodically here in the echo. Jay Fuller also updates this list for the TEEN website. If you wish to get your email address on this list, simply let Andy know! - Disclaimer - Some of this echo's traffic may offend some of you. We make no warranty or guarantee of any of the traffic in this echo, expressed or implied. If you don't like it, then you can either cope or leave. Do what you will, but don't whine to ME about it. I can only do so much. Once again, complaints sent to the moderator should be done in netmail or Internet e-mail if at all possible. . Andrew's address is 1:2613/128, and Jay's address is 1:3607/22.0 Internet e-mail should be directed to: (Andrew Serrano) a_serrano@juno.com jfuller@airnet.net (Jay Fuller) jfuller@winserver.com Jay Fuller and Andrew Serrano Moderators FidoNet International Teenagers' Echo =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=