Aus.politics FAQ

Version 1.0

6 June 1999

Originally compiled by David Moss (dmoss@geocities.com)

1.1

Aus.politics is the Internet network news forum for discussing Australian politics.

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1.2

1.3

No-one.

We are free to post anything we want here. Bear in mind however that people may take exception to what you write and sue you for defamation, report you to the HREOC for racial or sexual vilification or even send copies of your article to people you know in real life (like your employer). In this way aus.politics is "self moderating", which can sometimes be more effective than having a human moderator.

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1.4

Many private individuals also keep archives of topics that interest them. Be careful, what you write here may come back to haunt you!

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2.1

Everything about Australian politics in on topic. However,

the domestic politics of other nations is definitely off

topic. As are posts which are not about Australian politics.

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2.2

If the advertisement is for something new and relevant to Australian politics it is generally welcomed in aus.politics. Examples are events, new political parties and groups, new services etc. Posting multiple advertisements, repeating the advertisement frequently or being unwilling to continue discussion on the article is frowned upon.

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2.3

No. It is considered extremely bad netiquette to post the contents of personal e-mail without the permission of its author. If the author had wanted to post the material to aus.politics he/she would have done so.

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2.4

Years ago some political parties posted their complete policies here in aus.politics. This was welcomed warmly at the time. Most political parties now have Websites. Nowadays posting a summary of your tract along with a URL pointing to where the complete material can be found is the polite thing to do. It is also considered polite to defend anything you post to aus.politics with follow up articles if the material is challenged.

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2.5

Yes. And they _will_ be challenged!

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2.6

No, although you may be forgiven for thinking they are after reading many of the articles in aus.politics.

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2.7

That’s up to you. Contacting people by e-mail for further discussion of aus.politics articles is quite usual. If the other person requests that you do not contact them by e-mail you should respect that request.

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2.8

Only if you want to be nominated as NKOTY.

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2.9

Only if you feel the need to compensate for a lack of clever ideas.

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2.10

Use of your real name is optional. Some people are in positions where using their real name in aus.politics discussion may cause embarrassment to their employer or political party.

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2.11

This is a common debating technique in aus.politics known as ad-homenium or just ad-hom. It is usually construed as an admission of defeat on the point under debate.

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2.12

Should individual posters state formal party affiliations?

Only if they want to. It is possible for individuals to hold divergent views on topics from the political parties they belong to. If someone claims to be speaking on behalf of a Party it makes sense to disclose their affiliations, but if speaking as an individual then party affiliation is irrelevant.

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2.13

Yes.

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2.14

Argumentum ad Hominem is literally "argument directed at the man".

The Abusive variety of Argumentum ad Hominem occurs when, instead of trying to disprove the truth of an assertion, the arguer attacks the person or people making the assertion. This is invalid because the truth of an assertion does not depend upon the goodness of those asserting it.

Ad-hom is usually interpreted in aus.politics as an admission that the person who resorts to abuse has lost the argument.

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2.15

Newbies (new comers to aus.politics) often begin to post messages in the newsgroup without reading many of the messages already posted. This leads to making statements that have already been thoroughly refuted, or gaffes like threatening the livelihood of other posters. In a forum where even the smallest mistake can lead to criticism, newbies are an easy target. They either learn to be more careful or move on.

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2.16

The Net Kook of the Year Award. An annual award for the "kookiest" poster of the year in aus.politics. Further information including the awards themselves can be found on the WWW at

Unfortunately, this site hasn't been updated much lately.

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2.17

There are three types of abbreviations used in aus.politcs:

ALP - Australian Labor Party (also Labor)

Demorats - a less than complimentary tag for members of the Australian Democrats.

Laboral - a combination of Labor and Liberal which implies that there is little difference between the two major parties.

Libs - Liberal Party of Australia

Nats - National Party of Australia

PHON - Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party

PHONies - a less than complimentary tag for members of PHON

tory - a supporter of conservative politics, often used to describe

dedicated Liberal or National party supporters. (note lowercase t)

True Believer - dedicated supporter of the ALP.

AFAIK - as far as I know

AIUI - as I understand it

BTW - by the way

BYKT - but you knew that

CMIIW - correct me if I'm wrong

FWIW - for what its worth

IIRC - if I recall/remember correctly

IOW - in other words

IM(H)O - in my (humble) opinion

LOL - lots of luck or laugh out loud

NIMBY - not in my back yard

ROFL(GO) - rolling on the floor laughing (my guts out)

VBG - very broad grin

gdr(vvf) - grin, duck and run (very very fast)

<g> - grin

:) or :-) or :^) - smiling, happy, that last comment

was a joke

;-) - a winking smile - definitely a joke

:-> - biting sarcasm - more than just a joke

>:-> - devilish remark

:( or :-( - frown, upset, depressed, or disapproval

:-7 - a wry remark

:-/ - scepticism

:-I - indifference

:-o - surprise

:-p - nyaahh - poking the tongue out

<:o) - just clowning around

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3.1

They do.

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3.2

Yes. The Democrats and Liberals both monitor the group and occasionally post announcements here. The ALP monitor the group and occasionally ALP insiders post messages. One Nation insiders also participate.

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3.3

Yes. Speaking personally I use aus.politics to float new ideas and test my arguments before taking them further in the political process. I also find the group a great source of entertainment.

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3.4

Yes. Regulars on aus.politics have been approached by the Australian media for interviews and some have been approached by the international media to provide background information on Australian issues.

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3.5

If you need to ask, you don't need to know ;-)

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3.6

There have been some allegations of this kind of thing in the past but no proof has been tendered.

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3.7

Yes.

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4.1

A troll is an article intended to elicit lots of heated replies.

Common trolls in aus.politics include topics about:

Aborigines; Guns; Homosexuality; Multiculturalism; Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party; Racism; and Religion.

An article about PHON condemning the homosexual activities of Athiest Aboriginal gun owners could possibly be a troll.

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4.2

This question is one of oldest trolls on aus.politics. Be warned: there are passionate defenders for a range of conflicting views. However, such a spirited debate is not a surprising outcome, as academics, lawyers and even former high court judges cannot agree on the answer to this question. How one answers this question depends on their definition of a "head of State" and on the priority they give to onstitutional and legal theory over Australian practice. Of the two more common views, one is that Australia has a single head of State, namely the British monarch, who is also styled as the Queen of Australia. The other view is that Australia has two heads of State: a ceremonial or Constitutional head of State in the Queen; and a working or de-facto head of State in the Governor-General. Both views have been well argued in the past, and doubtless they will continue to be argued in the future.

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4.3

It is polite to post the URL of any website you refer to in an aus.politics article, but there are a number of websites regulars on aus.politics should be aware of.

These are by no means all the political websites, but most of the others can be located through their pages.

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4.4

4.5

This question refers to "The Dismissal" of Gough Whitlam's Labor government by the Governor General, Sir John Kerr, 11 November 1975.

The answer is "yes", unless you are a "True believer".

Bryan Palmer's excellent description of "The Dismissal" can be found at:

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4.6

Political Parties allow people of similar political views to organise themselves with a view to formulating policy and contesting elections.

The members of political parties are ordinary Australians who believe in certain policy directions and are motivated enough to do something practical to steer Australia closer to these ideals.

Most Parties have a defined structure.

At the most basic level are the grassroots members. These members may attend Branch meetings, vote for delegates to higher levels in the Party, discuss policy direction and provide practical help at election time. many grassroots members are content to contribute their fees and receive news about Party activities. Others take a more active role.

Many parties have "Conferences" to organise activities at a local, State and Federal level. These conferences are responsible for organising and running election campaigns.

Some Parties have a State Council comprised of delegates from Branches and conferences as the primary decision making body. In addition, these Parties have a State Executive comprised of delegates from State Council charged with the day to day running of Party affairs.

Some Parties have a Federal Council comprised of delegates from State Executive and a Federal Executive which co-ordinate Party

activities on a national level.

Because of this efficient organisational structure, political parties have a huge advantage over Independents in State and federal elections.

The following people have contributed information to this FAQ:

End of work - please feel free to contribute

further questions, or answers, by e-mailing

dmoss@geocities.com

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