8: What are appropriate messages for gnu.emacs.help, gnu.emacs.bug,
comp.emacs, etc.?
The file etc/MAILINGLISTS discusses the purpose of each GNU mailing-list.
(See question 20 if you want a copy of the file.) For those lists which
are gatewayed with newsgroups, it lists both the newsgroup name and the
mailing list address.
comp.emacs is for discussion of Emacs programs in general. This includes
Emacs along with various other implementations, such as JOVE, MicroEmacs,
Freemacs, MG, Unipress, CCA, and Epsilon.
Many people post Emacs questions to comp.emacs because they don't receive
any of the gnu.* newsgroups. Arguments have been made both for and
against posting GNU-Emacs-specific material to comp.emacs. You have to
decide for yourself.
Messages advocating "non-free" software are considered unacceptable on
any of the gnu.* newsgroups except for gnu.misc.discuss, which was
created to hold the extensive flame-wars on the subject. "Non-free"
software includes any software for which the end user can't freely modify
the source code and exchange enhancements. Be careful to remove the
gnu.* groups from the "Newsgroups:" line when posting a followup that
recommends such software.
gnu.emacs.bug is a place where bug reports appear, but avoid posting bug
reports to this newsgroup (see question 10).