Newsgroup FAQ (3rd draft -- work-in-progress)

Daniel Wang Sun, 16 Feb 2003 12:37:16 -0800

Mozilla General Forum FAQ

This FAQ (frequently asked questions) contains frequently requested information in this mailing list (also a newsgroup).

This multi-part article is divided into two main parts. The first part provides general information about mozilla.org and forum rules. The second part answers questions frequently asked by developers. End user questions and Web developer questions are not covered.

This article is maintained by Daniel Wang <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> and is posted biweekly to the general mailing list. This article was last updated on Feburary 16, 2003.

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Section 0 Preamble

0.1. Copyright and disclaimer

Copyright (c) 2002-2003 by the Daniel Wang, all rights reserved. This material may be distributed only subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Open Publication License, version 1.0 or later (the latest version is available at <http://opencontent.org/openpub/>).

This article is offered in good faith and in the hope that it may be useful, but it is not guaranteed to be correct, up to date, or suitable for any particular purpose. Neither the author nor any contributor of this document claim affiliantion with mozilla.org or its finanicial supportors. None of the parties mentioned above accepts any liability in respect of this article or its use.

0.2 Where is the latest version of this article?

This article is not archived in any permenant place. The latest version of this article will be posted to this mailing list.

0.3 How can I contribute to this article?

If you would like to contribute to this FAQ, please send mail to Daniel Wang <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. All contributors will be listed in the credits.

0.4 Can I ask the author questions by e-mails?

Please do not ask me questions via e-mail. Post questions to an appropriate public forum, where they will be read (and possibly answered/discussed) by many people with more expertise than me. Think carefully before posting; you will get more useful answers if you post clear, complete questions.

If you think something already in the FAQ needs clarifying, or if you would like to offer a concise, well-written answer to a frequently asked question that is not yet in the FAQ, feel free to send me an e-mail.

0.5 Credits

Due credits of this article are to Daniel Wang (writing and editing) and for the following people for comments and suggestions:

Portions of this article are adopted from:

Gerard, David �Is this the right newsgroup for me to post to?� <http://velvet.net/~fun/mozilla/ngfaq.txt> (June 9, 2002)

Mosedale, Dan �READ BEFORE POSTING: netscape.public.* and tech support�

Section 1 About mozilla.org

Section empty, contribution welcome.
The following are some helpful links:
Meet Mozilla (and Netscape 6.1) <http://www.webreview.com/2001/08_31/developers/index01.shtml>
Free Software Foundation (FSF) <http://www.fsf.org/>
A Guide to Mozilla 1.0 <http://www.mozilla.org/start/1.0/guide/>
Evaluating Commercial Open Source Projects <http://www.mozillazine.org/talkback.html?article=511>
fear and loathing on the merger trail <http://www.mozilla.org/fear.html>
Mozilla.org: We Are Not Netscape <http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,16477,00.html>
Netscape Browser Guru: We Failed <http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,18926,00.html>
The Origins and Future of Open Source Software <http://www.netaction.org/opensrc/future/return.html>
OS Products (OSI) <http://www.opensource.org/docs/products.php>
Letter from Steve Case, Netscape exec. <http://www.mozilla.org/stevecase.html>

1.1 What is mozilla.org?

1.2 What is open source?

1.3 How `open' is mozilla.org?

1.4 What is AOL's involvement in mozilla.org development?

Section 2 About this newsgroup/mailing list

2.1 Is this the right place to post general question about Mozilla?

The netscape.public.mozilla.* groups are solely for use by developers working on the source code to Mozilla, the open-source cousin of Netscape Communicator. Postings about problems that you are having using your browser do not belong here. Questions about how to do some specific thing with your browser do not belong here. In short, unless you are in some way contributing work (code, bugfixes, documentation, localization, feature suggestions, etc.) to the Mozilla project you probably do not want to post here.

2.2 Why is this newsgroup `public' but the user support newsgroups are on a secure news server?

The newsgroup naming is a historical accident; when mozilla.org first started, only Netscape developers visited Mozilla newsgroups. The word `public' was used as a reminder to Netscape staff that the forums are open to general public (as opposed to being internal).

User support newsgroups are put on a secure news server by intention. To prevent excessive spams and duplicate posts, it is customary for companies (e.g. Microsoft) to put their user support forums on a secure server.

N.B. We understand that the word public is misleading. An alternative newsgroup naming scheme has been proposed (read <http://www.mozilla.org.uk/newsgroups.txt>). Before the proposal is realized, we ask you to post user questions in the forums listed in the next section.

2.3 Where are end-user support forums?

2.4 How do I subscribe/unsubscribe from this mailing list?

If you choose to subscribe to this mailing list rather than reading it as news, send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with �subscribe� in the subject. Likewise, to unsubscribe, put �unsubscribe� in the subject.

2.5 Replies from Mozilla developers seem to be non-existent, does my post have any relevance?

We appreciate any kind of user feedback. However, due to overwhelming volume of user posts, mozilla.org staff and voluneteers simply cannot respond to every question. Please be patient to allow people to respond to your question. If you think an issue is not getting the attention it deserves, make a comment about it; or if someone has filed a bug report on the issue at mozilla.org Bugzilla <http://bugzilla.mozilla.org>, vote for the bug report.

Please do not spam this or other forums or Bugzilla.

2.6 When will my bug be fixed?

Fixes and patches to bugs which draw a lot of attention will be announced in the wishlist forum. If there is any bug you are particularly interested in, find the bug report in mozilla.org Bugzilla and add yourself to the bug CC list; you will receive e-mail notice for any comment or change of that bug report.

Please do not spam this newsgroup/mailing list or Bugzilla about fixing your bug (see answer to previous question).

Section 3 Netiquettes

3.1 Is top posting allowed?

It depends on the convention in the mailing list. In this forum, the general perference is that reply should follow or interperse with the quoted message.

3.2 Is cross posting allowed?

Do not cross post. Most people who read this forum also read other Mozilla forums, and you should find the most appropriate forum for the subject of your post and post your message there.

If you must, make sure you set the Followup-To and Reply-To fields to ensure that replies go only to one forum.

It is absolutely never appropriate to send the same message to two forums when one of those forums has `general' in its name

Also, do not post across end-user newsgroups (on a secure server) and developer newsgroups (on an open server).

3.3 Subject matter

To ensure efficient communication, identify your subject matter clearly in the subject line. Subjects like `a question' are unacceptable.

3.4 Should I use my real e-mail address?

Yes, please. If you are concerned with spam mails, read section 7 �Spam Fighting with Mozilla� of the Wishlist FAQ.

3.5 Can I post attachment here?

Try not to send attachments, include screen shots, and especially screen shots of textual dialog boxes. If you have a large file that you would like to distribute, put it on a Web page and announce the URL instead of attaching it.

3.6 Can I post HTML messages here?

No, you should post plain text messages here.

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Copyright (c) 2002-2003 by Daniel Wang, all rights reserved. This material may be distributed only subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Open Publication License, version 1.0 or later (the latest version is available at <http://opencontent.org/openpub/>).

Newsgroup FAQ (3rd draft -- work-in-progress)

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