Re: RFD: Periodic FAQ & Charter post

From: Hans Forbrich <forbrich_at_yahoo.net>
Date: Mon, 01 Dec 2003 20:56:24 GMT
Message-ID: <3FCBAB05.9E92F32@yahoo.net>

Good feedback. Let's try the following on for size:

Subject: News group Charter and usage FAQ

Charter:

Comp.databases.oracle.misc is a news group where topics generally related to the use of software from Oracle Corporation may be posted. This group provides a forum for topics which do not fall within any of the more specific comp.databases.oracle subgroups.

This news group is not intended as a marketplace where employment advertisements or commercial announcements may be posted. These should be directed to comp.databases.oracle.marketplace

For more information, refer to http://www.orafaq.com/usenet/charter3.htm

Netiquette & Posting Guidelines Summary:

Do your [own] homework
Be explicit: Version, Error Code, etc.
Be on topic, and don't cross post
Give examples
Use proper netiquette
Avoid SPAM or commercial messages

Netiquette & Posting Guidelines Expanded:

Do your [own] homework

The people who may respond to your questions or comments are volunteers (and many teach Oracle or computing technology), and they do not have to respond. Some of the better ways to get a response are:

show that you have attempted to get your own answer;
tell us what did or did not work;
don't ask for solutions to homework assignments;
for homework, do ask for tips, clarification or explanation.

Some sources of information are listed at the bottom of this post.

2) Be explicit: Version, Error Code, etc.

There are numerous combinations of Oracle product, Oracle product version, operating system and version and third party product and version. The answer to your question may be totally dependent on the specific combination. Always indicate the operating system and version, the Oracle product and version and the actual error message including error code. Note that Oracle provides online lookup for all error codes and messages through http://docs.oracle.com

Consider using something like the following in your posts:

Operating System:  HP-UX 11.0, Windows2003 
Oracle product/s:  Database Oracle8i version 8.1.6.3
Access to DB via:  T.O.A.D. version 7.6

3) Be on topic, and don't cross post

Look at the charter for the news group and decide which group is best for your technical comment or question. Avoid cross posting as there are similar groups of volunteers in all comp.database.oracle subgroups. The posting of commercial message, messages intended to promote the sale of a product or service are expressly forbidden in this group. Please restrict commercial messages to comp.database.oracle.marketplace

Note that questions about YOUR licensing options can not be answered in this public forum. Licensing is a contractual issue and relevant discussions must involve representatives from Oracle Corporation who are authorized to discuss such matters.

4) Give examples

Self-explanatory. We are not mind readers, so we do not necessarily know what you mean. Provide examples, cut and paste from the source, provide links, or use other techniques to describe the actual question.

5) Use proper netiquette

This is a public and unmoderated volunteer news group. Some recommendations for netiquette include:

Lurk for a while to get a feeling for the nature of the group;
Be aware that posts are archived (don't say things you might regret);
Unless it's critical to understanding, please ignre spelling mistakes;
Avoid flame wars and ignore posts you find offensive;
Keep private messages off the public forum;
Use Emoticons or off-topic/rant TAGS (<FLAME></FLAME>, <RANT></RANT> etc.);
Use [OT] in the subject to indicate the content is off topic.

Users are encouraged to follow Netiquette guidelines as described in Virginia Shea's online book 'Netiquette', online version available at http://www.albion.com/netiquette/book/index.html

Some relevant links:

A comprehensive FAQ and center for Oracle-related links is at

http://orafaq.com

Links to technical resources:

http://www.orafaq.net/links/Technical_Resources/

Links to books:

http://orafaq.com/books/index.htm

Oracle provides the following content on the internet. You are encouraged to review that content before posting, to avoid a 'Read the [Free] Manual' response.

General Oracle discussions:

http://www.oracle.com

Oracle product prices:

http://oraclestore.oracle.com

Oracle licensing:

http://www.oracle.com/corporate/pricing/

Code examples:

http://otn.oracle.com/sample_code/index.html

Installation examples:

http://otn.oracle.com/obe/start/index.html

All Documentation, including error message lookup:

	http://docs.oracle.com
	http://tahiti.oracle.com
	http://otn.oracle.com/documentation/index.html
	
Discussion forums (chat rooms):
	http://otn.oracle.com/discussionforums/forumshome.html

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This post will be repeated on a weekly basis.

Feedback on this post can be directed to the news group or can be sent to the post maintainers at mailto:ora_ng_faq_at_telus.net or mailto:???? with a subject line starting with 'Maint. (cdo.misc):' (Note: Email to these addresses that do not use the subject prefix will be automatically discarded.)

Mark Stock has volunteered to be post maintainer, as have I. (Thanks Mark!) I've now set up the email address ora_ng_faq_at_telus.net plan on using that as the target for the call for votes (CFV) unless requested otherwise.

Seems like everyone wants to keep the discussion about the post to this NG so I'll monitor and revise based on response to this (except cdo itself, which will have a nice short one that says "don't use", or perhaps "use for off-topic"??)

Thanks
/Hans Received on Mon Dec 01 2003 - 14:56:24 CST