Amazons International FAQ file ------------------------------ Index to FAQ file: Topic (Question no.) Anonymity (2, 3, 10) Archives (5, 12) Bboard subscription (7) Biography (4) Contact Service (2) Copyright (8, 9) FAQ file (0) Frequency of publication (1) FTP (12) GIF files (13) Giving out names and addresses (see privacy) gzip (12) Issue size (1) Male editor (11) Matchmaker (2) Paper subscription (6) Picture files (13) Posting (10) Privacy (2, 9) Redistribution (8, 9) Sharing (8, 9) Volume (see issue size) (0) What is a FAQ file? A FAQ file is a file that contains answers to Frequently Asked Questions about an electronic forum. (1) How often is Amazons International published? There are two factors determining frequency of publication: the amount of material (including submissions from YOU!) to be posted and restrictions on my time. On average there will be 1-2 issues per month; once there was 5 months between two issues, and once there were two on the same day. Each issue is typically somewhere about 10-20 k. (2) What is your policy with respect to giving out names and addresses of subscribers? I don't give anybody's name and address to anybody without explicit permission. I may, to a limited extent, forward messages to specific users. However, I do keep the from-field (with E-mail address) in submissions unless I'm told otherwise. Notice that A.I. archives are available by anonymous FTP and gopher. Let me stress that Amazons International is not a contact service. One of the purposes of AI is to create an environment in support of the people as well as the ideals/values. If this results in people getting in contact, falling in love etc., that's great. But it is not the primary purpose of A.I. However, let me recommend Eric Klien's electronic MatchMaker Service for those who are interested in a contact service. This service is based on a very thoughtful and thought-stimulating questionnaire which permits you to specify your wants, preferences and priorities as well as stating your own characteristics. Even if you are not going to use the service, you may still benefit from pondering the issues in the questionnaire. And thanks to my input during its creation, you can specify Amazon traits or preferences there. This contact service is world-wide and gratis. You may be able to find new friends or lovers this way. For further information, send a mail to perfect@match.com containing these two words: send form. (3) Can I subscribe anonymously through one of the anonymous-mail services? No. I want to have some idea of who is subscribing. (Also, those services frequently move around, and some of them have size- or other limitations on mail submitted through them.) However, submissions to Amazons International may be anonymous, in the sense that only I know where the posting came from. If you want a submission to be anonymous, you must tell me at the beginning of the submission, and I'd like you to provide an alias to insert for your name. You must follow this procedure each time you want to submit something anonymously. (4) Is there a bio form? No. The bio is a voluntary thing and you may do it as you please. The bio should contain something about your own perspective on Amazons and how or why you developed an interest in the issue(s). (5) Is an archive available? Yes, all back issues are available, either by anonymous FTP (see question 12), or, if that for some reason is unavailable to you, you may request them from me, and I will mail them manually to you (please allow for some response time). I normally mail some of the recent issues to new users upon registration. I invite everybody to read previous issues, and I welcome new comments on old issues, as well as raising new issues. (6) I've heard about Amazons International, but I don't have net access. Can I get a paper subscription? Sorry, but no. I did intend a parallel paper distribution, but it's just too much work/too time-consuming. Maybe when I get rich and can hire a secretary. (If you publish something that may interest me, we may trade subscriptions.) If you're _really_ desperate, I can send you a floppy with the issues. I won't do this more than once a year for you -- and I'd rather not at all -- and you send me an empty floppy and $ 10 for shipping & bothering first. (Get yourself a net access. You're heading for the Pleistocene without it.) (7) Can I subscribe to Amazons International as a local bulletin board at my site rather than getting it in my personal mailbox? No. Amazons International contains personal and sometimes sensitive material, and therefore it is a private, not a public, group. It is specifically designed for people who share Amazon values, therefore it is in principle a closed, not open-to-everybody forum. However, notice that A.I. archives are available by anonymous FTP and gopher. The bottom line is that I want people to find A.I. when they are actively looking for it. Notice that there has been created an Amazon newsgroup, alt.amazon-women.admirers. The newsgroup is a separate entity with a somewhat different scope, structure and dynamic. This is your bboard. (8) Can I share Amazons International with my friends? Certainly, I welcome sharing A.I. with other persons on an individual basis, as well as quoting in reviews, and other PR for AI. You may not charge money from anybody you distribute Amazons International to. (They may provide you with a floppy.) You may not publish or forward Amazons International to any forum (including other mailing lists) without prior permission. You may not spread any E-mail address that you learn from submissions in Amazons International without that user's permission. You may not use such addresses for purposes of solicitation or business without permission from each individual user. Amazons International is available by anonymous FTP (see question 11). (9) Who owns Amazons International submissions, what's the copyright issues? Any author retains the right to publish his or her submission elsewhere. In such cases I'd appreciate the author mentioning Amazons International, but I do not require it. I retain the right to redistribute or publish material from Amazons International in other fora, however: (a) I will not forward submissions of a personal nature without permission from the author. (b) I will not give away or publish the name or E-mail address of the author without explicit permission from the author (that also applies to non-anonymous submissions, of course). Notice that A.I. archives are available by anonymous FTP and gopher. (10) How do I post to Amazons International? Send your submission to amazons@math.uio.no. Alternatively, send the submission to thomas@math.uio.no and put a note on the top of the article stating that it is a submission to A.I. If you want anonymity (i.e., your name and E-mail address withheld from the posting), you must say so in the note, and please provide a fictional name or pseudonym. You must do this every time you want to submit an anonymous posting. If the mail bounces, try again later. If you still can't get through, try one of these addresses: simstim@math.uio.no sigar@ifi.uio.no (11) If Amazons International is for and about women, why is a man in charge of it? I'm in charge of it because I created it. Hopefully you don't hold the specifics of my reproductive system against me. As I see it, males and females have the potential for _all_ psychological characteristics in common -- there is no inherent "masculinity" or "femininity" determined by biology. All psychological characteristics are a part of our common human condition. Amazons International is working for recognition, acceptance and expression of this truth on a cultural as well as an individual scale. Personally, I'm just as much opposed to 'femininity feminists' as I am to male chauvinist pigs. They are just flip sides of the same counterfeit coin. On this background, it should be clear that the plumbing of the editor of Amazons International is not an issue. If you have a problem with that, you probably don't want to subscribe to Amazons International. As to the why's and how's of the creation of Amazons International, I refer you to the interview in Amazons International # 11. (12) Are previous issues of Amazons International available by anonymous FTP? Yes, all the files may be retrieved at: red.css.itd.umich.edu They are in /pub/Politics/Amazons.Intl The files have been compressed, and have the extension .gz. In order to decompress them, you need to use GNU zip. This program is available in DOS, Macintosh and a variety of UNIX binary forms on the ftp server in the directory /gzip. Direct all questions about decompressing to the archive administrator: Paul Southworth pauls@fir.cic.net (13) Is there an Amazon picture/GIF archive? Contact Jamie Gairns at gairns@ccrs.emr.ca. ********************************************************** * Amazons International * * Thomas Gramstad, editor: thomas@smaug.uio.no * * Administravia: amazons-request@math.uio.no * * Submissions: amazons@math.uio.no * ********************************************************** "A Hard Woman is Good to Find" -- The Valkyries