Undernet #Poetry Rules and Etiquette

The Undernet #Poetry channel was created on December 24, 1995, and registered on March 5, 2001. In that time there have been five channel managers: Griffjon, duckyweb, [brick], Japi and the current channel manager, Vertigoat. This page will give you some information about the channel, especially its agreed upon etiquette (your guide to happy channel coexistence).

Mission

The aim of #Poetry is to provide a forum in which: writers can read/share/play their own work and have it discussed if they wish; everyone can read favourite poems or discuss poetry; and we can all enjoy poetry, each other's company, and hopefully learn from both. 'Reading' on #Poetry generally refers to the act of displaying a poem for others, as in 'I have a reading', rather than 'I am reading your reading'... ready? :) 'Playing' a poem is its sibling term, and refers to the mIRC /play command, an important and simple command which can dis'play' a .TXT file, line-by-line to a channel or individual on IRC - See the section Sharing a Poem for more detail about this command.

Etiquette

Playing poems is the most common activity in #Poetry (besides lurking, *poke*!) so a great deal of the channel etiquette concerns:

• avoiding interrupting a poem;
• guidelines for sharing a poem;
• and general etiquette for the channel facilitating happy listening to or sharing poems.

'Lurking' in #Poetry, as elsewhere in IRC, scares the willies out of the non-lurkers (eep who are these silent types with beady beady eyes), and refers to being in a channel without participating actively in the conversation.

Avoiding Interruption

1. Be careful when entering into the channel, you may be lagged, someone may be playing a poem. - Wait until someone greets you before speaking (or ask someone in /msg, or ping people). - At the least say hello only after you are reasonably sure that there is no poem in progress.

'Poem in Progess' if a poem is being played and you are not lagged, when you join the channel you will see something like:

<Cat^> Put on a clean shirt
<Cat^> brush your hair in the morning.
<Cat^>
<Cat^> I am expected to do this
<Cat^> every morning?

If Cat^ had been using the /play command each line would have appeared around 1.5 secs after the other.

'Poemus Interrupta' to illustrate why avoiding interruption is so important, let's imagine Japi had joined the channel, unaware of the etiquette concerning waiting until certain no poem is in progress...

<Cat^> Put on a clean shirt
<Cat^> brush your hair in the morning.
-:- Japi [japi@undernet-poetry.com] has joined #Poetry
<Japi> hi everyone!
<Cat^>
<Cat^> I am expected to do this
<Cat^> every morning?

Talk about rattling the teacups!

2. The etiquette for ending a poem is to conclude with a last line of 'End' or the author's name or both, if you see this after a person has played a poem it is a good sign that you can speak (See also the section Sharing a Poem).

'Oh I wish I was a real boy' the poem from above continues to conclusion, Cat^ announces the poem has finished with End, and then informs the channel that the poem played was played on behalf of channel dweller tens (in this case, a homework submission); had the poem been concluded with a real first and last name the likelihood is that the poem played was a channel dweller's favourite poem by an Original Author.

<Cat^> You should aim for an ensemble
<Cat^> feeling, your pants and shirts
<Cat^>
<Cat^> should complement one another
<Cat^> none being overworn or underworn.
<Cat^>
<Cat^> Were it not for makeover TV
<Cat^> I would die full of questions.
<Cat^>
<Cat^> End
<Cat^> tens

3. If the channel is very busy or lagged and someone is trying to play a poem, channel operators may change the channel settings to +mv. This temporarily moderates the channel, only channel operators or someone given the +'v'oice flag can speak. Once the /play is finished, the channel mode would be returned to normal.

4. No auto greets while in #Poetry. They can be very distracting and you will be kicked if you do not turn yours off. No annoying automated away/return messages either, in fact, no automated messages of any kind, period.

'Interruptus Autogreeta' to illustrate why automated messages are so #Poetry unfriendly, let's imagine Japi had joined the channel, and that thalia (the auto-greet user) awaited ...

<Cat^> Put on a clean shirt
<Cat^> brush your hair in the morning.
-:- Japi [japi@undernet-poetry.com] has joined #Poetry
<thalia> hi Japi!
<Cat^>
<Cat^> I am expected to do this
<Cat^> every morning?

Talk about stomping the teacups to little tiny bits!

Sharing a Poem

1. Ask permission before playing a poem.

'May I?' it's a courtesy thing, but in busy times will also help channel operators set a framework up so that everyone gets a chance to play their poem.

<tens> Anyone mind if I poom?
<[brick]> go for it
<tens> here goes then

or, it could generate a different result:

<tens> Anyone mind if I poom?
<[brick]> hold on a sec, ^Cat is up next, then you, ok?
<tens> okay, thanks

'Poom' I don't know if this variation on poem is commonly accepted #Poetry dialect for 'poem' ie to 'read a poem' but I saw it early after my arrival so it's stuck with me for better or worse... the principle is the same however you announce that you have a poem to share it's helpful and courteous to do so.

2. Beginning your Poem

'...' If you are about to use the /play command to kick-start a .TXT file containing your text-formatted poem, it is best to first announce your poem's arrival with a line or two each with a single full-stop - this is channel convention for 'Poem Ahoy!' It gives people a chance to hush up.

<tens> Anyone mind if I poom?
<[brick]> go for it
<tens> here goes then
<tens> .
<tens> .
** /play C:\TEXT\POEM.TXT 1500**

'/play' this example briefly demonstrates the mIRC /play command - tens requests that he be allowed to play his poem, he announces his poem with the two lines of a single full-stop, and then plays the file on his hard drive POEM.TXT. '1500' refers to the number of milliseconds delay between lines - too little delay and you might be flooded off IRC - but 1500 is generally about right. The final line of your TXT file should contain the word End on its own, this will let others know they can speak again.

3. If the poem is of an adult theme please indicate before playing.

<tens> Anyone mind if I poom?
<[brick]> go for it
<tens> it has crude language, nudity, violence and the occasional sex scene
<[brick]> that's more like it
<tens> here goes then
<Japi> hey! there's children present
<tens> oh, okay, i'll just /play it for [brick] then ..

'/playing to someone' to /play a poem to an individual (using mIRC), rather than the channel: ask them first!, if they agree, double-click on their nick, then in the msg window which opens for that user enter the command /play C:\TEXT\18+POEM.TXT 1500**

4. If posting someone else's work, say so, and give proper credit.

<tens> Anyone mind if I poom?
<[brick]> go for it
<tens> this poem is by the poet Original Author, I read it in This Publication
<tens> .
<tens> .
** /play C:\TEXT\AUTHORPOEM.TXT 1500**

In this case, your TXT file should conclude with the Original Author's name as the final line of the text.

5. Requesting comments

<tens> Were I to wibble here and there
<tens> I would be wibbling everywhere.
<tens>
<tens> End
<tens> C&C welcome

'Comments and Criticism' be sure to let people know the range of comments you are expecting - from C&C welcome - flame away! for severe (honest?) comment, or C&C welcome - be gentle! for nurturing, positive feedback. Some people won't offer any comment if you don't ask for it as it's sometimes difficult to judge who wants what sort of comment without parameters to operate within.

5. No mIRC/ANSI colors, ascii art, etc. This applies to the channel conversation generally, but also to the sharing of poems. Poems should be TXT formatted only, colours and similar can clag up some users' screens and other users' eyeballs.

General Etiquette

1. English is the common channel currency. Poems in other languages are sometimes read out - but when asking permission let everyone know the language of the poem if it's not English or a recognised strain of it.

2. Use of the /play command is highly recommended unless there is improvisation happening. If you don't know how to use the /play command, please feel free to ask in channel or /msg an op. The examples from 'Sharing a Poem' above may be helpful also.

3. In general, don't do anything you wouldn't walk into a nice poetry reading and do. (Or, as my dear gradmother used to say, don't do anything you would walk into a nice poetry reading and do either!). But we don't need to tell you not to yell obscenities for no apparent reason, talk through other people's poetry, attempt to link us up to porn, or be generally immature.. do we? Didn't think so .. but trouble the channel too much, and a channel operator might kick and/or temporarily/permanently ban you. Some of the more common offenses are harassment, flooding, perpetual motionm or intentional interrupting.

'Citizen... this is the Computer speaking' we try to respect everyone's voice in #Poetry, but On Censorship-- the right to free speech is not the same to the right to a forum. Furthermore, we are private citizens who run this channel, not the government. We cannot censor you, but we can throw you out of our space. You are absolutely free to create your own channel and speak your mind there. #Poetry resembles a newspaper-- the editorial board has the right to not publish all the submissions it receives. Likewise we have the right to kick you out if you're harassing patrons or otherwise making a nuisance out of yourself. This is NOT censorship. You can express your ideas freely; in your own forum, not ours.

4. Link-advertising is not accepted, casual web-referencing should be relevant to conversation.

5. No file sharing.

6. No homework requests. Especially no last minute "My paper is due tomorrow morning help me interpret this poem" requests. And above all, please don't ask us to give you a poem for your English class(girlfriend/boyfriend!). We'll critique a piece and try and help you with the poem itself (if you ask for comments on your poem), but part of the reason teachers give you assignments(partners ask for poems!) is that they want you to write poetry--they're not expecting masterpieces, they're trying to gauge your understanding of the concepts(your understanding of their worth!).

7. No trolling.

8. No on channel personal attacks tolerated.

9. Have fun!

'In a nutshell...' Be polite and courteous, respect others. We ask you to follow some rules so that you, let's say, don't trample over someone's poem. This is the same reason for the ban on automatic messages, which could interrupt a reading. Channel Operators will respect you if you show respect for other's words and feelings. But disregard others, and a channel operator might kick you, perhaps without warning, if in a particularly stormy mood! :).