Re: ASP FAQ, 10/1/08 (a little late, tho) - altpipes.txt (0/1)

On Oct 8, 11:50 am, Paul Z <pzo...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
 Thanks for keeping up the FAQ Bob !!

  Paul Z



Bob Landry wrote:
alt.smokers.pipes FAQ

[Revised 15 May 2008]

Outline

1. General.
1.1 Introduction.
1.2 Posting Guidelines.
1.3 What should I do when I see an "inappropriate" post?

2. Beginning Pipe Smoking.
2.1 How should I select my first pipe?
2.2 How should I select my first tobacco?
2.3 How should I store my tobacco?
2.4 How do I "break in" a pipe?
2.5 How should I "pack" my pipe?
2.6 How should I light my pipe?
2.7 How do I keep my pipe lit?
2.8 How should I clean my pipe?
2.9 Why is my tongue "charred"?
2.10 Why is my pipe "gurgling"?

3. "Advanced" Topics.
3.1 How should I ream my pipe?
3.2 What can I do when my pipe "turns sour"?
3.3 How can I fix a loose stem?
3.4 What should I do with a stem that's too tight?
3.5 How should I polish my stems?
3.6 How should I care for my meerschaum?
3.7 Why do people buy expensive pipes?
3.8 Is pipe smoking bad for me?
3.9 Should I store my pipe with a cleaner in the stem?
3.10 How do I smoke "flake tobaccos"?
3.11 Does tobacco improve with age?
3.12 How many pipes do I need?
3.13 Can I make my own pipes?

4. Pipe Resources on the 'Net.

5. Acknowledgments, Etc.

1. General.

1.1 Introduction.

This is the alt.smokers.pipes Frequently Asked Questions document.
Its purpose is to provide an introduction to the newsgroup and
present some general information on the Fine Art of Pipe Smoking.
Please keep in mind that pipe smoking is indeed an art and not a
science. There is no "wrong" way to smoke a pipe, just as there is
no single "right" way. You will not learn how to smoke a pipe by
reading this FAQ, or by reading anything else for that matter. You
can only learn to smoke a pipe by actually doing so. The suggestions
here are just that; your mileage may vary. The key is to relax and
enjoy yourself. If your technique works for you, then it's right!

This FAQ will be posted biweekly to alt.smokers.pipes, and is
archived at:

http://www.aspipes.org/faq/faq/official.html

http://www.pipes.org/asp_FAQ.html

Suggestions for improvement are always welcome and should be
directed to:

saabgu...@xxxxxxxxx

Requests for clarification or expansion of specific points should be
posted to alt.smokers.pipes. You are to be congratulated, by the
way, for reading the FAQ before asking your question.

1.2 Posting Guidelines (AKA "Keeping our Newsgroup Clean").

You are welcome to post to alt.smokers.pipes; however, you should
probably read the newsgroup for a while (a week or two, perhaps),
just to get a feel for the newsgroup before posting your first
article. If you're new to USENET, or to the Internet in general,
you'll certainly want to take a look at the documents posted to the
newsgroup "news.announce.newusers," and you might want to visit some
of the sites listed below:

AOL's USENET "netiquette" (Internet etiquette) guide:

http://webmaster.info.aol.com/netiquette/usenet/

RFC1855, a comprehensive list of "Netiquette Guidelines":

http://www.aspipes.org/faq/rfc/rfc1855.html

"Net Lingo" (commonly used terms on the Internet):

http://www.netlingo.com/

Just about anything related to pipe smoking is welcome on
alt.smokers.pipes. That includes, but is not limited to, discussions
of the merits of specific pipes and pipe manufacturers, tobaccos,
tobacco manufacturers and tobacco suppliers, pipe related esoterica,
etc. We are, of course, a group dedicated to tobacco smoking. Other
smoking substances have their own groups and venues and we would
encourage you to go there to discuss them.

Commercial advertising is not forbidden, but vendors are asked to
exercise restraint. It is the majority opinion that brief, periodic
(i.e. once or twice a month) notices from pipe and tobacco vendors
who maintain a continuous presence on the 'Net are acceptable; such
announcements should consist of a *brief* introduction and a URL
where the reader may find additional information. It is also
requested that "[AD]" be included in the subject line, to designate
the article as a commercial advertisement. Buy/sell/trade lists from
private individuals are also acceptable, in moderation. NOTE: if you
are in the practice of selling pipes on a continuous or semi-
continuous basis, then you should consider yourself a commercial
vendor and follow the appropriate guidelines, even if this is not
your primary source of income. Advertisements for items up for
auction on eBay, etc. are considered to be commercial, as well.
Posts of an informative nature by individuals not directly connected
to a commercial concern do not fall into the commercial category.
This is a fairly liberal policy; please don't abuse it.

Binary messages should not be posted to alt.smokers.pipes. (For
those who don't know what this means, a "binary" is any file that is
not plain ASCII and includes, but is not limited to, .gifs,
.jpgs,.zip'd or otherwise compressed files, and word processor
documents.) In fact, binary messages are not permitted in any
discussion group unless specifically allowed by the charter. The
members of ASP have decided that binaries are not appropriate for
this group. This decision was made after long debate and a public
vote; please observe it. There is an "alt.binaries.*" hierarchy, and
any binaries should be posted there. Unfortunately, the binary
groups are not available from all ISPs. In that case the binary file
should be placed at some web or ftp site. In any event,
announcements such as "I've placed xxx at yyy, please take a look at
it" are appropriate to post in alt.smokers.pipes.

Please do not post articles in HTML format. Many people (myself
included) choose not use HTML-capable newsreaders, and HTML tags
make messages very difficult to read.

Political discussions are tolerated on the group, so long as they
relate directly to pipe smoking and pipe smoking issues. Just do
your best to be reasonably polite to the opposition when discussing
these emotionally-charged issues.

"Meta-discussions", or discussions about the group itself, are
common on ASP. These threads are important in helping people let off
steam, but they often lead to long, bitter debates. When in doubt,
consider starting a meta-discussion a bad idea. To help avoid them,
be aware that too much off-topic posting is the biggest complaint in
these threads.

Cross-posting to more than one group is a bad habit, although the
consensus seems to be that this is not a breach of 'Net etiquette
until the number of groups becomes too large (whatever that means).
The problem is that follow-ups to that message are also posted to
each group and huge snowballing flame wars erupt and rage
interminably. These flame wars are of no interest to the thousands
of people who read the victim groups. Before you post a response to
a message, please check the headers to see if the original message
was cross-posted. When following-up to a cross-posted message,
always try to edit the header and post only to the group you
actually read. Readers of the other groups will, sadly, miss your
contributed wisdom. Finally, we take great pride in the fact that
ASP is one of the most civil USENET newsgroups. While intelligent
debate is perfectly acceptable, flames and personal attacks are not.
We're all human, and tempers will inevitably flare, but please think
twice before posting a response in the heat of the moment. When in
doubt, take it to e-mail.

With all of the above stated, it is admitted that off topic posts
can and will be made. Although not encouraged, it is recognized that
there is a social aspect of ASP that many posters find desirable.
Off topic posts should be made with restraint and preceded with the
"[OT]" prefix in the header.

1.3 What Should I Do When I See An "Inappropriate" Post?

First, DO NOT POST A FOLLOW-UP TO THE GROUP. Let me say that one
more time. DO NOT POST A FOLLOW-UP TO THE GROUP. This merely
contributes to the problem. Examples of inappropriate posts and
suggested responses are listed below.

TROLLS. "Trolls" are messages from people who derive perverse
pleasure from driving others to anger. Often, these people will make
a brief, inflammatory statement and sit back to watch the sparks
fly. How do you know if a message is a troll? If you think it might
be, it probably is. RESPONSE: Ignore them completely. If you simply
MUST respond, do it privately, via e-mail.

WRONG GROUP. Occasionally someone will make an honest mistake and
post a message to the wrong group. Most people don't take the time
to read FAQs, so they may be ignorant of what is considered
appropriate for a specific group. A "wrong group" post can also
result from a response to a cross-posted message. RESPONSE: Send an
e-mail politely directing them to the appropriate group. Some
relevant examples are listed below:

cigar smoking  alt.smokers.cigars general smokers' issues
alt.smokers non-smokers' issues  alt.support.non-smokers
quitting
smoking  alt.support.stop-smoking drugs (legal and otherwise)
alt.drugs.*

BINARIES. (See "posting guidelines" above.) RESPONSE: Politely ask
the offender via e-mail not to do this, perhaps including a copy of
the relevant portion of this FAQ.

FREQUENT REQUESTS. These are not inappropriate per se, but they do
increase traffic and are a burden for those who would like to help
newcomers and others just looking for information. RESPONSE: Direct
them to this FAQ or to one of the many sources of information
available on the Internet.

SPAMs. These are messages posted to a large number of groups, which
the offender DOES NOT READ, often advertising a marginally legal
method to "MAKE MONEY FAST." (Use of the word

...

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****************************
same here, Bob. Continued job well done

Ed Duncan, Batavia, NY
.

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