Electronic messages lack voice inflections and body language.
Because of this, it is easy for messages to be misinterpreted.
Humour, especially sarcasm, is very difficult to convey and
can be misunderstood.  To avoid misunderstandings, symbols that
represent facial expressions (turned 90 degrees to fit on a 
singe line) are used.  Some common examples of ways to show
feelings are:

	:-)	humour
	:-(	sadness or disappointment
	;-)	sarcasm
	8-o	amazement or excitement

*'s can be used for emphasis, as in: a *real* computer has an
    address space greater than 64K ;-)

Capitals can also be used for emphasis, as in: a *REAL* computer
    has an address space greater than 64K ;-)

Here are some general guidelines for when you send messages:

1. Your message reflects upon you -- be proud of it.  If you
   post your message, remember that almost anyone could be
   reading it, including future employers. So, think about
   what you write.

   Re-read your message to make sure it is clear, it is spelled 
   correctly and uses appropriate grammar and punctuation (on-
   line dictionaries and spell-checkers are available).  An unclear 
   message will not serve your objectives well.

2. Don't flame i.e. post an offensive, abusive, or inflammatory
   message.

3. *Be civil! Never use offensive language.*

4. If you are angry about a message, always wait 12 hours before
   replying.

5. Be brief -- a message won't be read if it's long.  For the same
   reasons, take out irrelevant pieces if you are replying to 
   something.  Avoid repetition and verbosity.  REPLY BY MAIL
   wherever possible.

6. Use the appropriate news group.  For example, if you want to
   test your posting capabilities, post to uw.test, *NOT* a
   course news group.

7. Don't become addicted to news or mail.

8. Don't flame.

9. *Never* flame about spelling or grammar.

10. Don't overdo signatures. Two to three lines worth is ample.

11. *DON'T FLAME!*


Remember that the course news group is precisely that.  It is a news group
devoted exclusively to announcements, questions, and answers regarding
the course material.  It is NOT an appropriate place for discussing
the difficulty level of course material, complaining about marks, other
students or people associated with the course, or unrelated material.

If you have a problem with someone, take it up with him or her via
e-mail.  If you have complaints about the course material, please
talk to the instructor.  If there are problems with your marks, see
the TA who marked the assignment (if appropriate), or the tutor.

If you have an unrelated question, post to the appropriate news group
or e-mail a consultant.

If you want to post something irrelevant, try and restrain yourself. :)
If you don't think you should post something, you probably shouldn't.
HOWEVER, if you have a question about something in the course, there
are probably many others who also have that question. So, posting to
the course news group is encouraged in this case.  If you're still
not sure, e-mail the tutor, lab coordinator or instructor.  If the
question is felt to be important enough, it will be posted to the course
news group along with the answer.