RAILFANS POLICY STATEMENT                         RAILFANS.RUL June'97
 
The RAILFANS echo was originally conceived to be a free conference 
for railfans to discuss PROTOTYPE RAILROADING and train-watching, 
i.e. railfanning. The Railfans echo is shared over Fidonet and RBBSnet. 
 
Reviews of railfan-related products (such as books, videos, and new 
types of film) are encouraged.  Model reviews belong in the TRAINS echo. 
If you've come here looking for model railroading, please look up the 
TRAINS echo.  (TRAINS includes model railroads, RAILFANS is 
prototype-only.) 
 
ALIASES & PEN NAMES - We appreciate knowing who's on the other end of 
the wire. We have some participants who have an abbreviated user name 
(Marti Ann, Mary S) and we have others who use both an alias and their 
real name, with one of them as the user name and the other at the end 
of their messages. 
 
On the other hand, the right to privacy can be a very important thing; 
for example, railroad employees might not be able to speak as freely if 
they used their real name. (We have one like that participating, and I 
still don't know who he is.) So: I will allow pseudonyms, if you feel a 
need to protect your privacy. However: pick a username and stick to it. 
Be consistent. I may need to contact you directly on your local BBS 
someday... 
 
COPYRIGHT ISSUES - Fair Use & Public Domain, one of the thornier 
subjects in an information medium like this.  Basically, everything 
posted in the RAILFANS echo is understood to be posted on a "use 
freely" basis, i.e. equivalent to freeware or public domain.  This has 
two implications. First, it's your responsibility to make sure that 
what you post is free & clear.  If you've written it, or rewritten it, 
there's no problem; if you have a newspaper clipping or other story, 
especially if it's professionally produced, the safest course of action 
is to paraphrase it.  Pretend you're writing a report in 8th grade by 
rewriting the encyclopedia, and you'll do just fine.   
 
Certain information providers have pre-authorized use "as is" of their 
material.  In particular, Southern Pacific "Update" which is their 
weekly news release & employee newsletter, has been approved by San 
Francisco HQ to be freely distributed over the modems; and Railway Age 
broadcasts canned excerpts from recent issues in the same fashion.  The 
issue of AP and UPI wire stories has not been resolved by company 
representatives; unless you have something to report from a company 
rep, this sort of thing is off-topic! If you have a question about 
somebody else's conduct in this regard, please contact me privately 
(netmail me, or use my voice number), and allow me to do the actual 
moderating in the conference. 
 
"300 WORDS" RULE: If you post less than 300 words of an article, it's 
"quoting" and is generally permitted. If you use more than 300 words of 
an article (without rewriting it) it's "copying" and is generally 
prohibited. 
 
As far using something you find on the RAILFANS echo, you should be 
able to go right ahead.  Three items of courtesy to follow: Credit the 
originator of the message. (I credit the user and the BBS, and provide 
the BBS phone number, when I reprint messages.)  
 
Railroad news items posted on this echo (unless marked "DO NOT PRINT") 
may be reprinted on a one-time basis in railfan magazines or 
newsletters, with credit identifying the writer and originating BBS. If 
you are an editor reprinting RAILFANS material, please let me know so 
we can list you here. 
 
 
Larry E. Files - Teleterm Amiga West, 1:218/103, (909) 984-9580 
Railfans Moderator
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