Friends, Newbies, Flamers, Lend me your bandwidth! Here's a guide to help you out as you wade into the murky depths of the VROC newsgroup! I surfed a bunch of sites to gather most of this information, which isn't copyrighted anywhere I can tell. A little time spent here can save you on flame-proof underwear later. Hope this helps ease your assimilation into VROC. L8R! ~Oldsarge~ |
| First off, don't let your enthusiasm end up alienating you
from the group within your first few posts. Questions are always welcome, regardless
of the simplicity or complexity. Some members may end up replying with what you
think is a smart-ass reply, but don't be put off.... it's not personal. Have a sense
of humor, and don't take any of it too seriously. If somebody makes inappropriate or
personal attacks i.e. "Flames" you without provocation, most times the group
will collectively come to your rescue. Remember... lots of members from many
different cultures & backgrounds sharing a love of riding and wrenching. Let
common sense (huh?) prevail. BTW, you'd be amazed at what you'll change in a post if
you read it out loud before you click the send button. Try it & I think you'll
agree. Following is a list of helpful (I hope) list of E-Mail and newsgroup resources that will explain some of the things you see & hear in the group. I still don't get it all sometimes, but that's normal for me :~) Before you post anything, you should read through the archives. They contain knowledge that represent years and years worth of testing, research, and trial & error by some of the most intelligent and tenacious people in all of bikerdom. Next, read through all the posts that you can spare time to read. This will give you an overall idea of how posting, and replying to posts is done. If you make mistakes, no problem. Ask for help & you'll definitely get it. There are a number of computer professionals in the membership, meaning they earn their living from the computer related field. Next, and very important, compose yourself a signature file that looks something like below. This is just an example of mine... Tailor yours to whatever you like. |
Signature Block Contents Explanation
| Oldsarge | Your nickname. If you don't have one yet, the group can help.... |
| VROC #2246 | Your assigned VROC membership number. Entitles you to all kinds of perks! |
| 1996 VN1500D1 | What you ride... Helpful when asking questions. Lets everybody know the type of bike you are asking questions about so they can answer accurately |
| V&H'd, Chromed, Jetted | The modifications & additions you've made to your bike |
| On the Autobahn in Kitzingen, Germany. | Where in the wide, wide world of sports you hail from |
| http://www.members.tripod.com/oldsarge | If you have a homepage let the folks know here. |
| Oldsarge@hotmail.com | Your e-mail address. Let's folks reply to your words of wisdom |
| "Maybe you guys need a refresher course, Hey! It's all ball bearings these days!! | A favorite saying, or words of wisdom that let's people get an idea of your interests, or character |
Here's how it looks all at once:
Oldsarge
VROC
#2246
96
VN1500D1
On
The Autobahn In Kitzingen, Germany... Vrrroom!
http://www.members.tripod.com/oldsarge
Jetted,
SargeCharged, V&Hd, Chromed, And so on....
Oldsarge@hotmail.com
"Maybe
you guys need a refresher course, Hey! It's all ball bearings these days!!
Emoticons. Those little smiley faces that help convey or clarify the context of what you are saying. Failing to add a simple :-) can change a harmless sentence into an all-out flame war. Choose your words carefully & if you mean it to be funny, then let people know it. It's hard to convey feelings through words, and as we all know, words can really hurt at times. |
:-) Your plain old friendly smile (-: Writer is left handed :-X Lips are sealed
8-) Wearing sunglasses :-C Really bummed B:-) Wearing sunglasses on head
:-/ Skeptical ::-) Wears normal glasses :-S An incoherent statement
:-& Tongue tied. :^) Has a broken nose B-) Wears horn-rimmed glasses
:v) Broken nose, the other way :-{) Has a mustache :-D Laughing (at you!)
:-7 Made a wry statement %-6 Brain dead :-)~ Drools
(:I An egghead :-~) Has a cold <:-i A dunce
:'-( Is crying :-0 No Yelling! :'-) So happy, s/he's crying
$-) Greedy ^5 High Five! 8:-) A wizard
:-@ Screaming
AFAIK As Far As I Know AIWCB? And I Would Care Because... (Sarcastic) ASAP As Soon As Possible BRB Be Right Back BTW By The Way FC Fingers Crossed FOAD F' Off And Die FWIW For What It's Worth FYI For Your Information FUBAR F'd Up Beyond All Recognition GD&R Grinning, Ducking and Running (After snide remark) HAND Have A Nice Day HTH Hope This Helps IAE In Any Event ICCL I Could Care Less IHTFP I have truly found paradise (or: I hate this f'n place) IIRC If I Recall Correctly IOW In other words ITYWTMWYBMAD If I Tell You What This Means Will You Buy Me A Drink? IMCO In my considered opinion IMNSHO In My Not So Humble Opinion IYKWIM If You Know What I Mean IYKWIMAITYD If You Know What I Mean And I Think You Do JM2C Just My 2 Cents LHTUSC Learn How To Use Spell Check LOL Laughing Out Loud NRN No Reply Necessary OTOH On the other hand PITA Pain in the ass PMJI Pardon My Jumping In (to get into a running discussion) PS Post Script ROFL Rolling on floor laughing. ROTFLMAO Rolling on the floor laughing my ass off RSN Real Soon Now [which may be a long time coming] RTFM Read The F'N Manual SNAFU Situation Normal: All [bleeped] Up SITD Still in the dark SOHF Sense Of Humor Failure SPAM Stupid Persons' AdvertiseMent SWAG Scientific Wild Ass Guess SWALK Sealed With A Loving Kiss TANSTAAFL There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch TIA Thanks In Advance (also AtDhVaAnNkCsE TIAWOSS This Is A Waste Of Server Space TIC Tongue in cheek TPTB The Powers That Be TTFN Ta Ta For Now TWIMC To Whom It May Concern WRT With Respect To WYSIWYG What You See Is What You Get YFOS You're full of s_*t (Usually followed by IMHO) YMBM You May Be Mistaken YMMV Your Mileage May Vary YWIA You're welcome in advance[Home] [Lobby] [Links] [VROC Home] [E-Mail]