C++ FAQ Celebrating Twenty-One Years of the C++ FAQ!!!
(Click here for a personal note from Marshall Cline.)
Section 5:
5.1 Acronyms used in newsgroups?
5.2 How do I get other people to do my homework problem for me?
5.3 What should I do if I see someone else posting a homework problem?
5.4 General netiquette?
5.5 What do I do if someone else posts a question that's already in the FAQ?
5.6 Really? Don't answer questions already in the FAQ?
5.7 What makes a good Subject: line?
5.8 How do I post a question about code that doesn't work correctly?
5.9 Which newsgroup should I post my questions?
5.10 Should I post job advertisements and/or resumés on comp.lang.c++?
5.11 What if I really need a job; should I post my resumé on comp.lang.c++?
5.12 What should I do to someone who posts something off-topic?
5.13 What about spam?
5.14 How do I get the FAQs for a particular newsgroup?
[5.12] What should I do to someone who posts something off-topic?

An extended flame war against an off-topic posting is just as off-topic as the original off-topic posting. The cure can be worse than the disease.

Instead use something brief and professional such as in the previous two FAQs (which, by the way, were adapted from other sources; see the credits in those FAQs). And please don't get personal or nasty — that just prolongs the (off-topic) exchange.

Remember the 5 "B"s of correction: Be Brief Brother, Be Brief.