wolfnose.org
/ fur
/ usenet
/ post.html
If you have read this far, you probably want to make sure
that your first post to alt.lifestyle.furry is
going to go well. You do not want to look a clumsy fool
infront of everyone. How do you avoid this? Easy - post
somewhere else first!
No, I am not suggesting that you pick some random group and post to it, there is a better way...
Most news hierarchies (comp.*,
sci.*, alt.*, and so on) have a
test group. Infact, alt.* has many test groups!
Your own ISP may run a test group. Mine, demon.co.uk, has a
test group called demon.test. These test groups
have been created for the purpose of testing news software,
so its fine to try out your news client there too. Since
everyone is in the same boat, there's nothing to be
embarassed about if it goes wrong!
The newsgroup misc.test is an ideal place to try
out your software. There are special programs that monitor
the group and will send you an e-mail response when they
receive your post. This will give you a good feeling that the
articles you write are going to be seen all over the world.
All you need to do is post to the group
misc.test using your newsclient, and providing
your e-mail address in the post is correct you will receive
replies by e-mail. Remember that if you have disguised your
address you will have to set it back to normal; the programs
won't be able to remove a spam-trap. This will also give you
a good idea how fast news typically propogates from your
server.
When you want to try out a new feature, such as adding a signature, you can always return to the test groups to try things out.
Once you are happy that your software is working, its time to consider that first post. But first, some posting guidelines...