frequently asked question

convention (FAQ, or rarely FAQL, FAQ list) A document

provided for many Usenet newsgroups (and, more recently,

World-Wide Web services) which attempts to answer questions

which new readers often ask. These are maintained by

volunteers and posted regularly to the newsgroup. You should

always consult the FAQ list for a group before posting to it

in case your question or point is common knowledge.

The collection of all FAQ lists is one of the most precious

and remarkable resources on the Internet. It contains a

huge wealth of up-to-date expert knowledge on many subjects of

common interest. Accuracy of the information is greatly

assisted by its frequent exposure to criticism by an

interested, and occasionally well-informed, audience (the

readers of the relevant newsgroup).

The main FTP archive for FAQs is on a computer called RTFM

at MIT, where they can be accessed either by group or byhierarchy .

There is another archive at Imperial College, London, UK and a

World-Wide Web archive in Ohio,

USA.

The FAQs are also posted to Usenet newsgroups:

news:comp.answers, news:news.answers and

news:alt.answers.

(1997-12-08)