Hi! The RFD Maker is a simple form designed to help you format a Request For Discussion for the creation of a new uk.* unmoderated newsgroup. The 'Help' buttons provide useful tips on filling in the various sections. You are strongly advised to lurk for a while in news:uk.net.news.config and to read Paul Bolchover's or Paul Carpenter's guide before using the form. A complete set of guidelines can be found at http://www.usenet.org.uk.

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Fill in or edit all fields marked*
Fields may be edited to suit your specific needs.

PROPOSED NEWSGROUP NAME *
List of Newsgroup hierarchies

REAL NAME *

REAL E-MAIL ADDRESS *necessary for the RFD; not stored by using this form.

If you decide to allow advertising in your group it should be relevant. If you don't want advertising at all, type "none".
Advertising in this group should be relevant to

Are the above details correct?;

PLEASE POST THIS RFD TO THE FOLLOWING NEWSGROUPS *
add groups as appropriate, but do not remove those already there.
Separate with commas.
uk.net.news.announce,uk.net.news.config

FOLLOW-UP DISCUSSION TO TAKE PLACE IN
uk.net.news.config is the definitive place for discussion
uk.net.news.config

ONE LINE SUMMARY Short description of group, less than characters. Do not include the group's name.

INTRODUCTION
This section will be filled in automatically.

RATIONALE (why you want the group to be formed)*

CHARTER (what you want the group to discuss. IMPORTANT - this must be written in the present tense) *

ADVERTISING
Options for proponents:
- Select no advertising (see above) - Omit exception for "Job" adverts .
- Delete contents and rewrite from scratch. (Group subject is added automatically when you start to fill in the form. Do not edit this field until then)
Advertising is forbidden, with these exceptions: Suppliers of goods and services relevant to <group subject> in the UK may post an invitation to visit their web site or request details. It should be of four lines or fewer, and not posted more than once every 3 months. The subject line should begin "ADVERT: ", except for vacancy adverts, when it should begin "JOB: ".

BINARIES & FORMATTING
Encoded binaries (e.g. pictures, compressed files, etc.) are forbidden. Such material belongs on a web or FTP site to which a pointer may be posted. Cryptographic signatures (e.g. PGP) may be used where authentication is important and should be as short as possible. Posts must be readable as plain text. HTML, RTF and similarly formatted messages are prohibited. To see how to make some common newsreaders comply with this, read <http://www.usenet.org.uk/ukpost.html>.

The following clause is optional.  ISPs are unlikely to act on charter violations unless they are against their Acceptable Use Policy (AUP).

WARNING
Warning. Anyone posting contrary to this charter may be reported to their "postmaster" and/or Service Provider.

That's all the information needed to create the RFD.   Now click "create RFD" below and your RFD will appear in the window. 

To complete the process simply send an e-mail containing finished RFD to control@usenet.org.uk Use cut and paste to copy the text into your e-mail software. The subject line should be the name of the proposed group. Be sure to send it in Plain Text.

DISCLAIMER

This form is totally unofficial and is provided simply as a free service to assist new newsgroup proponents. The author does not accept any responsibility for the consequences of its use.

I have to put that in but I don't really foresee any problems. The pre-loaded wording[1] has been discussed in uk.net.news.config, but that doesn't mean there won't be someone out there who wants to change it; that's the whole point of the discussion period. In any case you should read all clauses carefully to make they suit your needs and delete any sections that are not appropriate. Even though you have used this service, your RFD must still be approved by the uk.* Usenet committee, who will check that it meets any guidelines currently in place, including being correctly named. If in doubt, post it anyway and the committee will advise.

Please send any comments, complaints or suggestions to rfdmaker@ckdog.co.uk

Designed by black-dog

This page was last updated on May 04, 2006

[1] Grateful thanks to Andy Mabbett for his hard work in drafting the 'boilerplate' text upon which most of the RFDMaker is based

Cut and Paste

In Windows, place the cursor in the window containing the finished RFD.  Right click and press "Select all".  Right click again and press "Copy".  Go to your e-mail software and with the cursor in the correct position, right click again and press "Paste"

If you have any problems please mail me at rfdmaker@ckdog.co.uk

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