What is RASSM?		What is a newsgroup?		So what can RASSM offer me?
Is there anyone famous on RASSM?		So how do I get onto RASSM?		RASSM related FAQs

The RASSM FAQ

What is RASSM?

For those of you here who have no idea what RASSM is, it would be easiest to explain now. RASSM is the abbreviated term for the location of the popular Star Wars discussion group Rec.Arts.Sf.Starwars.Misc. This in itself is an abbreviation of the location Recreation.Arts.Science-Fiction.Starwars.Miscellaneous. There are a lot of other Star Wars related newsgroups. These are most of the ones that exist and are available:

alt.games.dark-forces	alt.games.xvt
alt.fan.wedge	alt.binaries.starwars
alt.fan.starwars	alt.startrek.vs.starwars
alt.starwars.xvt	de.rec.sf.starwars
fido.starwars	it.fan.starwars
rec.arts.sf.starwars.collecting.customizing	rec.arts.sf.starwars.collecting.misc
rec.arts.sf.starwars.collecting.vintage	rec.arts.sf.starwars.games
rec.arts.sf.starwars.info	rec.arts.sf.starwars.misc
z-netz.sf+fantasy.starwars.allgemein	alt.binaries.games.lucas-arts
alt.binaries.lucas-arts	fido7.star-wars
ncf.sigs.star-wars	alt.games.tie-fighter
alt.games.x-wing

Most of these are discussion groups, but some are binaries groups where people send encoded Star Wars pictures; kind of like an art gallery. It is poor netiquette to post binaries to a non-binary newsgroup.

RASSM is like a forum; a place where any Star Wars fan from around the world can converse with other fans about any aspect of the Star Wars universe. There is no limit to the amount of people who can access the newsgroup, because it is not conducted in "real-time" but in "relay-time".

What is a newsgroup?

Newsgroups are meeting places for fans of a certain subject to talk freely about the subject discussed within the group. In nearly all cases the main subject of a newsgroup is determined by it's title. For example, it's evident that the people who visit Alt.Fan.Furry are fans of furry things. However, despite the title of a newsgroup, it doesn't necessarily mean that that subject is the only subject discussed. Many newsgroups, RASSM included, stray from the original intent of the group.

A newsgroup consists of threads, which in turn consist of messages. A thread is like a title of a subject being talked about. For example, "Behind the Magic" is the title for a discussion about the new Behind the Magic CD released by LucasArts. And within these threads are messages, which are the basis for the discussion, and are written by individual "posters".

To read a newsgroup, you either type "news:rec.arts.sf.starwars.misc" into the GoTo on your Web browser (and read the group on-line) or configure your mail software so that when you do a download for e-mail, you also download all the most recent messages for the newsgroup you have "subscribed" to (meaning you read and reply off-line). The same goes for sending messages (they get sent off when you make a download).

So what can RASSM offer me?

RASSM deals with just about anything that might involve Star Wars. It deals with the ethics, continuity and quality of the movies and the cascading list of pre and post movie literature, as well as plenty of other completely ridiculous topics. RASSM can also offer a wide range of participating personalities: from the completely serious to the downright crazy (of which many people qualify). Most of the time it is a lot of fun, although RASSM does get the occasional post-and-run trollers.

It could be said that RASSM is known for it's infamous wars, namely the FIVE Sith Wars and the Gonk War (see the History Archive), and it's likely that even after the fifth Sith War is over, another will start. There is always some history being made on RASSM.

Is there anyone famous on RASSM?

If by famous, you mean George Lucas or one of the actors/actresses from any of the Star Wars films, then the answer is no. However, there are several authors, artists, and various other LFL associates that have, at one time or another, posted to RASSM. They include:

• Michael P. Kube-McDowell (K-Mac)
  Author of Black Fleet Crisis Trilogy.

  Ann C. Crispin

  Author of Han Solo Trilogy.

  Kevin J. Anderson

  Author of Jedi Academy Trilogy, Darksaber, and various other works.

  Mike Stackpole

  Author of I, Jedi and various X-Wing novels.

  Pablo Hidalgo

  Former West End Games author and current employee for LFL.

  Craig Robert Carey

  Former West End Games author.

  George Elfinger

  Author for one of the Tales of anthologies.

  Scott Tice

  Graphics designer for Dark Horse comics.

  Darko Macan

  One of the authors of X-Wing comics series.

  Dan Wallace

  Author of Essential Guide to Planets and Moons.

  Christopher Trevas

  Former West End Games artist.

  Charlene Newcomb

  Former West End Games author.

  Rich Handley

  Freelance writer and former West End Games author.

  John Hudgens

  Former video editor/animator for West End Games.

  Mike Beidler

  Tom Veitch's technical assistant on Empire's End.

  Paul Ens

  Former TF.N associate and current LFL employee.

So how do I get onto RASSM?

Simply click here and Netscape (or whatever browser you use) should take you straight to RASSM. If it doesn't work the first time, come back to this site and click on the link again. It should work the second time. To read the newsgroup off-line, you will have to configure your mail software so that when you when you make a download for e-mail or just to come on-line for a surf of the Net, you will also download RASSM and all its most recent messages. Look at the Help option of your software and try searching for "newsgroup".

This is as far as A Brief Introduction To RASSM can take you. A suggestion would be that before you access RASSM to browse through the following table of FAQs.

RASSM Related FAQs

ORHP Index

Constructed: 15 August 1999
Last revision: 12 June 2001