The RiverUser's Manual
The River
User's Manual
Section 3--Style, Culture & Miscellaneous
The foregoing portion of the User Manual is mostly about how to use specific commands. But that is really just mechanics. The real value of the River is in the content of the conversations. What follows is mostly about accepted conventions, practices and jargon.
"Jerry slipped" or "Cynthia slipped in" may seem weird to read in a topic; it means that while a post was being written, someone else posted first. When this happens Yapp warns you and gives the number of their post. It is a good idea to go to that post and read what was posted, especially if you thought you were responding to the post you thought was immediately before yours. If your post doesn't make as much sense after someone slips in with their post, or gives redundant information, you might make another post to show you know someone slipped in and that you were responding to something else. When a topic is particularly popular or has a lot of activity, there can be a lot of slippage. It's part of the charm of linear conferencing.
Some BBS or conference software is organized by "threads" where people respond to a specific person within a subject. YAPP organizes things differently, and it's this difference that helps define the style of interaction on the River. Our topics flow in a linear manner. Each post is numbered in sequence as the conversation flows from one post to another.
For instance, the first post in a topic about the 60s might ask for memories of what it was like during that time. The first post is created when the topic is created, and it is numbered as response 0. Response 1 might be from another Riverite who writes about her memories of music from that time. Response 2 might come from someone else who remembers TV jingles during that era. Response 3 might react to the first two posts or might continue to come up with other comments related to the topic. Response 4 might be about someone's bell-bottom jeans.
Each of these posts will probably spark an idea in someone else, who will add to the conversation. We don't automatically respond to an individual like you would in a threaded system. If you wish to do this, you must say so in your post: "David, that's great, I didn't know you were into Herman's Hermits, too!" "I love watching reruns of Gilligan's Island, Martha."
We do not have offline readers on the River.
You can also flag your post as a response to a specific earlier post, as described above.
No manual can prepare you for all the nuances of River culture and no one is a definitive authority on River culture. You could read a hundred posts about how to post or what the River is like, and no two would say the same thing. This manual mentions some customs and guidelines, but it certainly isn't a complete education in being on the River. You'll have to experience that for yourself.
Each conference is hosted. A conference might have a single host, or might have several co-hosts. The hosts are responsible for keeping the conversation moving and encouraging participation in the conference. If you have a question about anything pertaining to a specific conference, the host is the person to ask, either in email or in the conference.
The River gives hosts a great deal of authority in their own conferences. You will find that most hosts guide their areas with a very light touch. You are still free to speak as you wish on the River in any conference, but a host might ask you to take your comments to a different topic and/or conference so as not to disrupt a discussion. You'll still see "topic drift" in various River topics. Topic drift can, at times, take on a life of its own. While drift is part of our culture, it is considerate to try to keep on track.
River hosts are as commited to your right to speak your mind as you wish, so you'll find that they rarely intercede. Some hosts are more concerned than others if a conversation gets combative or insulting. Our commitment to free speech means that Gilligan has every right to tell Mr. Howell that his ideas aren't worth what he paid for a three-hour tour. Mr. Howell might come back and suggest uses for a coconut that Gilligan may not like. Hosts do have the authority to limit personal insults or attack, but you'll find most of them will ask you to take things to email, and many will let a thrash continue and then die in its own time. There are no hard and fast rules other than what you received in the User Agreement.
Most conferences have a screen of information or welcome when you go to that conference. This is called the login banner. Some conferences use this screen to update users on what is happening, and most will tell you who the conference host is. There is also usually a logout banner as you leave the conference to go elsewhere.
Launch is a conference for newcomers to the River and beginners online. Please check in there if you need assistance or want to meet the people who are coming to the River at the same time you are. If you have any questions, great or small, don't hesitate to ask in Launch.
Sometimes you will see a message at the beginning of a topic that indicates it is "linked." This means that the topic is seen in another conference. A topic can be linked to several conferences. Linking a topic is done by the hosts of one conference in agreement with the hosts of another conference. This enables greater participation in a topic without duplicating discussion in related conferences.
Suggestions for new conferences are welcome. A committee of three Riverites, appointed by the Board of Directors, oversees the process. Go to the Hosts conference to make your suggestion. Or write directly to the Group of Three by sending email to "confteam".
The River has private conferences that are accessible only by specific users approved by the host. Some private conferences are listed, like ROW (River of Women) or Recovery. Other private conferences include those where River volunteers gather to work on various projects. You must ask the hosts of these conferences for admission.
Any River user can have a private conference. Send email to "confteam" and they will let you know if the name you have selected for your conference is available. You will need to learn a few commands to set up your conference. You can ask for help in Hosts. You may invite anyone into your conference to talk in a more private setting.
Each private conference has its own rules and guidelines set down by the host(s). If a host in a conference asks that everything in that conference, including the names of the people in the conference, be kept confidential, it is considered extremely rude to give out that information. The host will probably take you out of the conference, and you might have a very hard time getting into any other private conference. If you feel the request for confidentiality is not one you can keep, you may choose to decline the offer to join a private conference.
Need to experiment with creating topics, posts, using the editors, etc? Go to the Test conference and have at it. Please try to do your experiments there, and not in the other conferences.
A number of conferences deal with River news, policy, announcements and what is generally called meta-discussions. River is the main conference for River news and policy discussions. It is a must-have on your .cflist. Launch assists new users. Hosts is all about conferences and hosting. BOD95 is a read-only conference where the Board does some discussion and makes some announcements.
YAPP provides many help screens. Type "help" or "?" at the OK prompt to get reminders of the commands you can use. Type "help command" for more information about a specific command. For instance "help enter" gives details about the "(e)nter" command. At the More and Response prompt, you can type "help" or "?" for assistance.
There is a direct way to talk to another user if you are both online at the same time. You can "send" a message, or "reply" to a message you've been sent.
To send, type "send loginID" at the OK or Response prompt. Enter your message, and then a period on a new line, to finish it. The period must be in the first column of that new line. Once you finish it, the other person sees the message immediately on their screen. To respond, type "reply" at the OK or Response prompt. Be *sure* to type "reply" and not "re" or "r" if you are reading in a topic or at the Response prompt, or your message back to someone will be posted instead. Depending on what you are talking about, this can be embarrassing or amusing.)
This can get confusing if you are in the middle of typing a post or email. The send you receive will sometimes cause what you are typing to look odd. Your formatting is still there, though. You might need to clear the screen before continuing. The help screens in your editor can give you information on how to do this. There are several ways to answer send, or to make one, while you are in the middle of writing a post. The easiest way is to temporarily go back to the shell by typing CTRL-Z. When you are finished, type "fg" (for foreground) to return to where you were before. If you were in the middle of a post, that's where you will return, but you won't see the beginning of your post. Don't let this confuse you, you can continue typing your post where you left off.
If you are very busy online and do not want to be interrupted by sends, type "mesg n". If someone tries to send you a message, they will be told you aren't available. When you are ready to receive sends again, type "mesg y". If you exit the River without turning sends back on you will still be back in receive mode when you next log in.
There are many talented programmers on the River who have written programs that add to the functionality of the system. In order to keep the system as flexible as possible, and allow for easy changes and updates, these programs are part of what we call "Public Software" and are stored separately from the basic YAPP and UNIX files. While these programs are available to all River members, information about their use and support for them are not handled by the regular support volunteers. Please go to the Public Software conference to learn about the various tools available. To get there, type "g public".
The River Web site is at http://river.org.
If your Internet Service Provider only offers a Slip/PPP account, you have probably used graphical interface programs to do various things on the net. A bonus of being on the River is a shell and command line interface for those who prefer them. Once you are on the River, you can use telnet, FTP, ping, gopher, and other net commands.
All good things must come to an end. When you are finished with your session on the River, type "exit" at the OK prompt, and another "exit" at the shell prompt. And don't stay away too long.
If your question has not been answered by these manuals, you can send mail to (support03@river.org).
Conferencing Main PageHome PageThis Manual was prepared by a team of River volunteers, under the leadership of Elizabeth Lipson. Send comments or revisions about manual content to (support03@river.org).
These web pages are maintained by webmaster03. Send notes about the page coding itself to (webmaster03@river.org)
Last modified 5/28/03