alt.discuss.books is a WebTV-only newsgroup for the discussion of books, literature, authors and related topics. Participation is open to all WebTVers who love to read.

     In the interest of keeping alt.discuss.books a comfortable, welcoming place for people of all beliefs and philosophies, the group very strongly urges everyone to read and adhere to the following guidelines. These guidelines are not meant as a form of censorship, but as a way to assure the enjoyment of the newsgroup by the widest range of people.

1. Any and all WebTV Terms of Service violations will be reported.

2. Please try to stay on topic. Discussion that threatens to stray off topic should be taken to private email.

3. On-topic includes, but is not limited to:

• novels of all genres
  
• nonfiction
  
• authors
  
• upcoming publications
  
• literary quizzes and puzzles
  
• Internet resources for readers
  
• announcing book-related homepages
  
• questions of a literary nature
  
• recommendations
  
• book reviews
  
• on-topic humor
  
• trends in publishing, buying, and reading

4. Respectful discussion and debate is acceptable. Outright argument is not.

5. Trolls are not welcome and should be ignored. Please do not respond to any post that is for the purpose of stirring up trouble. Trolls will shrivel up and die without attention.

6. alt.discuss.books is not a flame group. Please refrain from posting flames in the newsgroup. If someone does resort to flaming, do not respond. If you feel you must, please take it to private email, alt.discuss.flame, alt.discuss.flammin.mames, or alt.discuss.katzenjammer.

7. This group has absolutely no tolerance for SPAM in any form. Posting to the newsgroup about selling personal libraries (FS posts) is considered SPAM. Participants who have books to sell may add a message to the end of an ON-TOPIC post saying "email me for a list" or "visit my website for a list".

8. Participants are encouraged to post spoiler-free mini reviews when they finish a book, or about a favorite title read some time ago. Since some readers prefer to avoid books with profanity, and graphic sex or violence, it would be helpful if reviews contained information alerting participants to such content.

9. Excerpts and brief summaries of professional reviews and articles are acceptable but, due to possible copyright infringement, please only post the URL of the full text.

10. It is acceptable to discuss movie adaptations as long as discussion is confined to the comparison of the movie to the actual book. Otherwise, it is off-topic and should be taken to alt.discuss.entertainment.movies or private email.

11. Discussion of autobiographies or biographies by or about authors is, in fact, on-topic discussion of nonfiction books. Posts such as "[author] is getting a divorce!" are gossip, off-topic, and unacceptable to this group.

12. Participants have expressed an interest in having group reads (the rules and procedures for which are available here). Joining the official group read is encouraged, but not mandatory. If a participant can generate enough interest, additional group reads are welcome. Please label each group read post, official or additional, with the designated abbreviation of the title/group/organizer.

13. No two people, be they of the same congregation or of the same family, have the exact same beliefs and thoughts about religion or politics. Whenever either subject is brought up in newsgroups, disagreements arise, tempers flare, and the discussion quickly deteriorates into a flame war. It is for this reason alone that the group very strongly urges everyone to refrain from discussing religion, politics or their associated topics.

     The charter and guidelines above were approved by the participants of alt.discuss.books and placed into effect on August 16, 1998. They may be altered, amended or emended at any time by a consensus of alt.discuss.books participants. The rules for altering this document can be found here.

Other Pages Onsite

Homepage
Charter and Guidelines
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Group Read Categories
Books Read Together
Links Page
Putting Books Online with Limited Time or Equipment
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