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ALT.SEX.PROSTITUTION.TIJUANA
A Quick Guide for Beguinners at Casa de EL CHAMUCO		 ASPT icon


NOTE FROM EL CHAMUCO:

This is far from being an official ASPT FAQ, but it is a quick guide for those who are new to the newsgroup and would like to participate. If you are unfamiliar with ASPT and its workings please read this guide carefully before you post. It addresses a handful of key points which will are of optimum importance in order to make your ASPT experience a pleasant one.

ASPT stands for alt.sex.prostitution.tijuana, which is a UseNet newsgroup for the discussion of LEGAL commercial sex mainly in the city of Tijuana, Mexico, but also allowing for the discussion of the trade in other parts of Mexico.

This guide will inform the reader on the basics of ASPT, its guidelines and ups and downs. Hopefully, it will make your visit a much more pleasant one.

GETTING THERE
There are different ways for accessing ASPT. The most logic one is by directly subscribing to the newsgroup through your newsreader. Netscape users, and of browsers with similar capabilities, can access the newsgroup simply by clicking HERE.

Unfortunatelly not every ISP carries ASPT in their servers. For those of you whose ISP fits into this category you have a couple of alternatives. The first one, and the most common, is to access DejaNews and do a search for the keywords ASPT and alt.sex.prostitution.tijuana--I will explain the significance of the ASPT tag later on. This will give you any valid articles posted to ASPT stored in DejaNews.

Another method to quickly access valid messages to ASPT is through TJParty's ASPT page, which stores articles posted to the newsgroup on a daily basis. The only drawback is that the page is updated daily, therefore if a message is posted after the page got updated you won't see it there until the next day.

Finally, if your ISP does not carry ASPT you can try accessing the newsgroup through ann OPEN NNTP SERVER. An open NNTP server is a UseNet server open to anyone. Usually NNTP servers will only allow access to members of certain ISPs, but from time to time there is a server or two which will allow anyone to access it. One of the better open NNTP servers is Demonews.mindspring.com. This server has a very decent newsfeed, but usually it's VERY busy. This means that usually you won't be able to log into the server, but if you keep trying you might get lucky. Another setback is that although you can receive messages from this server, you can't POST through it--but don't sweat; I'll get to the issue of posting later on. For a more complete list of open NNTP servers try HERE. You just might find another open server that better fits your needs.

GETTING FAMILIARIZED
So you made it to ASPT. The next step is to get familiar with the newsgroup. One of the main rules for any newsgroup is to get familiar with it before you post. You are recommended to "lurk around" for a few days so you get a feeling of the group and thus improve your ablility to post relevant messages. Some people have made the mistake of posting without lurking around and have ended up posting messages that have been dismissed by the regulars as absurd or ignorant.

You are also strongly recommended to read Sir Brockton O'Toole's TJ FAQ before you post to the newsgroup. Many people tend to ask questions which are already answered there. Once there was a certain fellow who asked about where to find commercial sex in Tijuana, and when he didn't see a response shortly after he got pissed and insulted the newsgroup. Had he read the FAQ this have not happened.


GETTING READY TO POST
So you've been lurking around and now you feel ready to post to ASPT. If this is the case then there a couple of rules to folow.

RULE 1: Use the [ASPT] Tag.

In order to separate actual messages to ASPT from SPAM (which ASPT gets in copious amounts), it was decided that some form of marker should be used. In ASPT we use the [ASPT] (with brackets []) at the beginning of each message. This help us identify relevant messages faster. Further, the tag allows for faster retrieval of messages from DejaNews or using browsers with spam filters.

Here is an example of the use of the tag:

[ASPT] Report on latest TJ trip.

You don't really need to add the tag if you are responding to a message that already includes it unless you want to change the subject line to something different. Lets say the original message had the subject of the example above and you want to change it to "Question on bars." Your subject should read like this:

[ASPT] Question on bars (was: Report on latest TJ trip.)

Usually this only happens when a thread's topic has shifted direction towards something different from the original post.

The one thing we do not tolerate is people using the [ASPT] tag for posting spam. So far two spammers have been caught using the tag for commercial messages, and both times we asked them to stop doing this.

RULE 2: Don't ask what's already in the FAQ.

It's standard Netiquette (or Net etiquette.) It's annoying when people ask what's already been answered. If you were to ask something that's alredy in the FAQ you'd probably get a bunch of responses saying "read the FAQ" anyway.

RULE 3: Respect other users.

One of the coolest things about ASPT is the almost lack of flames between regular users. ASPT is one of the few newsgroups where the regular participants (most of them anyway) are true gentlemen and keep the insults to a minimum and only when absolutely called for. This is achieved through respect of one another, and we expect the same amount of respect from any new participant.

RULE 4: Keep it on-topic.

As its name indicates, ASPT is for the discussion of the topic of LEGAL commercial sex in Tijuana. If you want to ask questions regarding any other places outside Mexico then you'll be better off posting your messages to ASP (alt.sex.prostitution) where the issue is discussed at a global level. Questions, for example, regarding prostitution in San Diego, will generally be dismissed as irrelevant. First because it's off topic (even though San Diego is at the border with TJ), and second because prostitution in San Diego is illegal anyway.

Still there are exceptions to the rule. There once was a very interesting thread making a comparative analisis of the Sex Trade in Tijuana and in Toronto, where it is also legal. The key is to keep the issue within the context of ASPT.


POSTING TO THE NEWSGROUP: WHAT TO POST?
Usually there are three most common types of messages to ASPT; Reports, Comments, and Questions.

REPORTS:

"Field Reports" are posts containing accounts of the author's experiences in TJ, or any other place in Mexico, regarding commercial sex. While some reports are veritable narrative epics, some others keep straight to the facts. You are welcome to use any of these variations, but keep in mind that dry facts sometimes are not as informative as one thinks they would when it comes to this type of reports.

COMMENTS:

These are usually additional remarks to somebody's report or to any other post. Often they fill in important issues, and other they are just humorous additions that keep ASPT fun to read.

QUESTIONS:

The term is self explanatory. Just remember not to ask what has already been answered.

These by no means are the only types of messages posted to ASPT. But in general they are the most common.


POSTNG TO THE NEWSGROUP: HOW TO POST?
Given the fact that not all ISPs carry ASPT, and some open NNTP servers, while allowing you to read messages, do not allow you to post, some people have asked how to post to the newsgroup from an outside source. There are two ways to do this:

SIR BROCKTON O'TOOLE:

The Sire is one of the best known contributors to ASPT---among other things because he penned the Tijuana FAQ. He offers to anonymously forward messages containing field reports to the Newsgroup. What he does is to strip the headers from the message and thereby keeping the author's identity safe.

So if you have a report to post Sir Brockton is one way to send it. Keep in mind, though, that the Sire is not a remailer, and that you should not send him just about anything for forwarding; only REPORTS. To find his e-mail address please visit the O'TOOLE FAQ section.

DEJANEWS:

DejaNews allows postings to ASPT, but you'll have to use a valid e-mail address in your messages. This is so they can send you a note which you have to respond confirming that you do want to post the message. This is done to keep people from abusing other's addresses.


SPAM AND OTHER ANNOYANCES:
Lastly, be aware that, as most newsgroups in the alt.sex.* hierarchy, ASPT is daily bombarded by hundreds of SPAM messages--usually from adult pay-sites. In a period of 24 hours up to 800 messages can accumulate of which only 5 to 10 are actually relevant.

This has been a major source of concern for the regulars at ASPT, and it possible solutions to the problem have been discussed. Some of the solutions that had been suggested are

1. To create a MODERATED version of ASPT in the rec.* hierarchy. However, due to the fact that it's not that easy to create a newsgroup in the rec.* hierarchy, the idea has been pretty much dismissed.

2. To create a new version of ASPT outside the alt.sex.* hierarchy and move it to another hierarchy such as alt.fan.* or directly to alt.*. But since it's not that simple to create a new group here either, and spam always finds a way through, the idea has been also dismissed.

In light of this, the most common solution to filtering SPAM has been to search for ASPT messages in DejaNews. This has been the preferred method thus far.

HEMORROIDS:

Like other newsgroups, ASPT ocasionally has to put up with some imbecile looking for entertainment by means of annoying other people online. This kind of people, known in UseNet as "trolls," basically post messages to UseNet in the hope of tempting people to respond to the message in a less than amicable manner and thus start a flame war. Usually the reason why these people do this is simply to get attention that otherwise they can not get anywhere else.

ASPT local annoyance comes from a certain kid known to the regulars as "the san franciscan hemorroid", or "the hemorroid" in short. For more information on how to dismiss this kid's garbage please see the TROLL WARNING page.


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