Vol. 1 No. 2

Hello everyone and welcome to my home. No, I'm not our webmaster. I'm Booby Trapper and I've been asked to author this edition of the YAB Newsletter. This is an opportunity to give everyone some looks behind the scenes.

The very first thing I wish to do is to personally and publicly thank YAB's newest moderators. it_is_me and trip. These two people have performed above and beyond the call of duty. It's just my opinion but I think these two people are the very best of Usenet. We are able to work together as a true team effort. I value and appreciate their efforts. But most of all I value their friendship. Thanks guys because you both deserve a "job well done."

Everyone should be keeping a close eye to the Y-A-B domain http://www.y-a-b.com New things will be added there and some may not be announced in the newsgroups. So what is the YAB domain? What is its purpose?

The YAB domain is more than just the FAQ. It is meant as an extension of our newsgroups. So what's the latest news? We are adding functions to our domain. For instance, if you need to search the web then our domain is a "one stop" search. Searches from most global sources can be performed from our domain. Need something translated? That too can be performed from our domain. Simple words to entire web pages can be translated. Why? You just may get lucky by translating some simple words and searching with those translated terms on other search engines.

The searches don't end there. Our domain enables you to search out specific viruses. Find them and how to eliminate them. Our domain also enables you to search newsgroups and other groups.

We are now including links on the domain as well. Links to programs that may be beneficial and useful to our viewers and posters. These have just started and will continue to grow.

But there's more. Keep watching our domain. I have just entered into agreements to partner with other web sites. What does this mean? It means new and exciting web sites. So you think there's nothing new available on Usenet? Not true. You just need to know where and how to look. Our domain will feature that content on a regular basis and the results of that effort can be posted in our newsgroups.

There was a recent discussion in the YAB newsgroup that I appreciated. What is YAB and what is our purpose? A lot of discussion has been made about the YAB "no post" guide. Prior to the creation of the YAB newsgroup I have contributed and posted to most of the youth oriented newsgroups. All of them have their goals and purposes. All of them have their own standards, rules and regulations. I support them. But I saw a need and started YAB. The YAB newsgroup is meant to be an alternative type of newsgroup. The YAB newsgroup is meant to fill the gaps that the other newsgroups may have. That is our goal and purpose. YAB has only two rules. One...nothing illegal. Two...age limit is age 17 and under. In other newsgroups I was limited to age. Posts too young or too old. In other newsgroups content was limited. Either too much skin or too little skin. No fashion or limited to fashion only. I wanted to remove those restraints. In the beginning the posters of "original content" loved the idea of posting without those restraints and flocked to YAB. No, I'm not talking about reposters of web site images. I'm talking about those that actually scan or videotape their own posts. These original content creators loved the freedom of YAB. But there were others who felt the need to "steal" the works of these creators and post them elsewhere. Some of these original content creators did not wish to be associated with certain content elsewhere. That's their prerogative. So the "no post" guide was created. The "no post" guide was later expanded to include certain copyrighted images that may cause problems to posters. That's how I personally got to know and talk with a lot of these copyright owners. They are not only simple posters but some have been photographers and webmasters as well. Posting alongside with the rest of us in YAB and .youth. Sharing with the rest of us.

A moderator will not attempt to cancel your news account because you posted copyrighted material. Stated openly and publicly, a moderator does not have that authority. But the owner of the copyrighted material may cancel your news account. A moderator may inform you if you post something that shouldn't be posted. Just don't take this information in the wrong way. We value and support our posters. A moderator may inform you in case you didn't know or possibly made a mistake. It is rare, but it does happen on occasion. Sometimes a moderator is contacted privately by a copyright owner when a copyright violation occurs. A moderator will tell them the same thing I am telling you here. It is the duty of a copyright owner to enforce their own copyrights and not the duty of a moderator. Almost all of the time a moderator will defend our posters. We tell the owners that we advised the poster and the poster stopped.

I started out by mentioning the first rule of YAB is nothing illegal. That includes copyrighted posts. The posting of certain copyrighted materials may get you into trouble. Not by the moderators but by the copyrighted owners. Not only in YAB but in any newsgroup they may be posted in. That is the purpose of the "no post" guide. So that our posters may post safely and wisely.

With that bit of a history lesson you know how YAB and the "no post" guide evolved. Therefore we have become known as a "safe" newsgroup. With that much said, if you remove the "no post" guide YAB would be the same as all other newsgroups. Minus all the other rules and regulations of those other newsgroups, of course. Without the "no post" guide there would be no unique identity to YAB. Without a unique identity every newsgroup would be the same.

This is my own opinion. Personally, I hate the idea of a "no post" guide. I admit that it is restrictive. But I wanted a newsgroup with nothing illegal. Out of necessity that includes materials on the "no post" guide. Even including the "no post" guide, YAB is still the most non-restrictive youth related newsgroup in Usenet. Remember, just two rules...nothing illegal and age 17 and under.