Tex

Copy starts:

Well, here we go again.  For the benefit of all of us, including AOL users
and WebTV users, here are some guidelines to assist you when posting if
you're using WebTV...

Ram
RV Safety
URL:  http://www.rvsafety.com
E-mail:  Ad...@rvsafety.com

-----

How to quote when you're using WebTV...

First of all, if you don't have the *optional* keyboard for WebTV or
WebTV Plus, it's strongly recommended that you purchase it.  The cost is
about
$50 but well worth the money.  OK, now that you have the keyboard,
follow these directions...

Click on *Home*.  Once at home, arrow left and down to *Using WebTV*
and click on it, then arrow down to *Instructions* and click on it, then
arrow
down to *Copying Text* and click on that.

This will show you how to cut, copy, and paste.  Just follow the
instructions. Practice sending yourself some e-mail before trying to
post in news groups.

Once you've learned how to cut, copy, paste and you want to reply to a
news group, all you have to do is *Quote* the part that relates to your
reply.

Sometimes it may be hard to quote without copying the whole
post.  This is something you'll have to decide.  Just pretend
that your respond post is the only post showing.  Could
*everyone* understand it?

It is best to respond to a post by using the name and e-mail address of
the original post to start your post .........example:

Second copy:

So often AOL users post a message to the newsgroups, but nobody can figure
out exactly to whom or to what they are responding.  It is typically the
accepted protocol to "quote" part of the message so that everyone else knows
what it is and can follow the thread.  So, to help our AOL using RVers,
posted below are some guidelines which may then help all of us.  No flames,
please.

Ram
RV Safety
URL:  http://www.rvsafety.com
E-mail:  Ad...@rvsafety.com

----
Something that AOLers need to know...

The following instructions to
quote and attribute text in newsgroups when using AOL, starts when the
aoler is in a ng and is reading a post they wish to respond to:

[Editor's note: It was later added that the following instructions are for
Windows users of AOL. See a note at the end for the Mac instructions]

OK so you're reading a post and you want to reply eh? Look at the bottom of
this screen and click on the "Reply to Group" button. Good, now you'll have
a
new screen up with two boxes. The one on the left is the text of the post
you
want to respond to and the one on the right is where your properly quoted
response will go (trust me).

Now move your cursor to the top left of the text (in the box on the left)
and
highlight it down to the bottom and then click on the "Quote" button under
that
box. Neato, now all of the text is properly quoted and ready for you to
edit.

Now just go through and delete the irrelevant portions (if any), add your
words
of wisdom, click on the "CC: To Author" button if you want them to get a
copy
(check their address for anti-spam 1st), click on the "Use signature button
(if
you have one) and then just hit the "Send" button.

Ta Da, you've just posted the universally accepted format for posting to
Usenet newsgroups using the aol newsreader. I can assure you that you will
not be flamed for format, content is a whole different story. Enjoy.

P.S. To make/edit a signature file go to the main "Newsgroups" screen (1st
one
when you type in newsgroups at the "Keyword" button).

P.P.S. Make sure that when you delete text from a post that you don't delete
or incorrectly place authorship (attribute).

...unless one is using AOL 3.0 for Macintosh.
Then you get only one box (blank) and a send button! Ya gotta do all the
work yourself in that case.

A few additional points to consider when quoting...

- DO snip out irrelevant portions of the post you are quoting.
It's not necessary for us to see the signature and headers from the
previous post (except for the attributions). We also don't want to see 200
lines quoted simply for someone to add "Me too". Don't go crazy here, we
still have to know what you're replying to!

- DO make sure your lines are kept under 80 characters per line
(and preferably, under 70-75 characters, to leave room for others to
quote). If you don't, some people may have to "scroll" to see your posts.
I've personally never seen an AOL post over 80 characters per line, so the
AOL newsreader may do this automatically.

- DO respect proper signature guidelines. The signature should be
preceded by a "-- " (that is two dashes, followed by *one* space) on a
blank line. Following that, the signature normally shouldn't be over 4
lines.