{ "export": { "source": "https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/1342", "note": "Exported from an unofficial mirror of a public mailing list. Copyright in each message remains with the person who wrote it. Email addresses are obscured as `user at host`, the form the original archive published. This file was rebuilt from parsed fields rather than retained headers, so it is faithful in content but not byte-exact.", "addresses": "obscured as 'user at host'" }, "archive": "urth", "thread": { "id": 1342, "subject": "Call 4 a FAQulty", "messages": 8, "voices": 6, "first": "1999-01-25T16:31:47+00:00", "last": "1999-01-28T12:29:19+00:00" }, "messages": [ { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "m.driussi", "address": "m.driussi at genie.com" }, "date": "1999-01-25T18:09:00+00:00", "subject": "(urth) Call 4 a FAQulty", "in_reply_to": null, "reply_link": null, "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Here's a thought--maybe a committee (a \"FAQulty,\" if you will) could\nbegin the process of whipping up a FAQ (\"Frequently Asked Questions\"\nand the Answers to Them) for a book by Gene Wolfe. From time to time\nthere is a call for them, or a single voice volunteering for some\nherculean task (e.g., \"Let's do FAQs for =all= Wolfe books at\nonce!\"). Yet nothing is ever actually done.\n\nThe opening steps (in no particular order):\n\nA committee must be formed by volunteers and/or draftees, preferably\na mix of both.\n\nThe target text must be selected. Avoid the series books for the\ntime being; give the committee a break as well as the slim hope of\ngetting a FAQ completed (in any sense of the word). Obviously the\ntext must be one that the committee members are enthused enough to\nwork on (which is why this step might best work if it comes before\nthe committee formation--have potential committee members all cast\nranking votes on a short list to determine which text would be best\nto start with).\n\n=SCORE--MEANING=\n \"5\" I am very interested in working on this text, in fact,\n I've already started!\n \"3\" I am interested in working on this text.\n \"0\" I refuse to work on this text.\n\n=A SAMPLE SHORT LIST=\nPEACE\nTHERE ARE DOORS\nPANDORA BY HOLLY HOLLANDER\nCASTLEVIEW\nOPERATION ARES\nTHE FIFTH HEAD OF CERBERUS\nFREE LIVE FREE\n\nFinally, the glory and the gruntwork: the crafting of the FAQ!\n\nThen, after it is done, a brief rest and then (perhaps) move on to\nthe text ranked number two by the committee preference vote.\n\nThe FAQulty could even put a deadline of one month per FAQ, so that the\nproject doesn't draw out indefinitely. Each FAQ can/will be\nrevised/added to later--the point is to get something up and running.\nIf each one was completed in one month, and there was a one month\nvacation in between each one, nearly the entire short list above\ncould be covered in one year (though since I doubt people will want\nto do work on THE FIFTH HEAD OF CERBERUS or OPERATION ARES or PANDORA\nBY HOLLY HOLLANDER, the official short list will probably be much\nshorter and therefore the FAQs completed more quickly).\n\n=mantis=" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Michael Straight", "address": "straight at email.unc.edu" }, "date": "1999-01-25T16:31:47+00:00", "subject": "Re: (urth) Call 4 a FAQulty", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "I've got another idea that might be less work and more useful. How about\nsomeone volunteer to help Ranjit convert the Urth/Whorl archives into\nan easily searchable format? \n\nDo most frequently asked questions about Wolfe's books have a single,\nbrief answer?\n\n-Rostrum" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "CRCulver", "address": "crculver at aol.com" }, "date": "1999-01-26T03:24:26+00:00", "subject": "Re: (urth) Call 4 a FAQulty", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Mantis suggested:\n<>\n\nA FAQ sounds like a great idea, and we could easily find the frequently-asked\nquestions with a trip through the ol' archives. However, instead of doing a\nFAQ on a single book, I'd rather do a FAQ on the Book of the New Sun itself.\nAfter all, this is the one single book we're here for, anyway, with _Peace_,\netc. being a sort of frill. Besides, I don't think there are any *frequently\nasked* questions on any of the minor Wolfe novels, whereas we've treaded over\ncertain points of the BotNS repeatedly.\n\nI for one would be happy to serve on the commitee for the \"Book of the New\nSun FAQ beta version.\" It would not have to be a big deal, just a few\nquestions in the beginning, more after the list has seen it and wishes to make\nsuggestions.\n\nWe have some bigwigs in the exegesis department here (Mantis, Alga, James B.\nJordan, etc., though sadly John Clute has yet to join us), and this is just\nthe sort of thing they are trained for. It would be wonderful for the literary\nskilled (and myself) to work on this monument to eternity for BotNS readers,\nso to speak.\n\nIncidentally, as for your survey, the BotNS gets a five, the rest get 0's. \n\n\nLet the FAQ happen,\n\nChristopher R. Culver \nPresident Pro-Tempore of USEJ\nPrezidanto Dumtempa de USEJ\n--------------------------------------------------\nhttp://ttt.esperanto.org/usej/" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Kevin J. Maroney", "address": "kmaroney at crossover.com" }, "date": "1999-01-26T11:19:29+00:00", "subject": "Re: (urth) Call 4 a FAQulty", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "At 10:24 PM 1/25/99 EST, Christopher wrote:\nAfter all, this is the one single book we're here for, anyway, with _Peace_,\netc. being a sort of frill. Besides, I don't think there are any *frequently\nasked* questions on any of the minor Wolfe novels, whereas we've treaded over\ncertain points of the BotNS repeatedly." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Here are a few Wolfe FAQs which have nothing to do with BotNS and one which\ndoes but isn't *about* BotNS: \n\n\"What's up with Dennis Weer?\"\n\"Which egg contained the hallucinogen?\"\n\"What became of John V. Marsh? And what does VRT stand for?\"\n\"How is the _Long Sun_ related to the _New Sun_?\"\n\"What is a memory palace?\"\n\"Where should I start reading Wolfe?\"\n\"What Wolfe short story collections are there?\" \n\"What is Cheap Street? What other small-press Wolfe am I missing?\"\n\"Did Gene Wolfe really invent Pringles?\"\n\nI agree that the most Frequently Asked Questions are about _BotNS_, because\nit's the largest, densest(*), and most-read of Wolfe' works. But it's\nhardly the only work about which the same questions come up again and again. \n\n(*)Actually, I think that _Peace_ might be denser. \n\nWombat, a.k.a. Kevin Maroney kmaroney at crossover.com\nKitchen Staff Supervisor, New York Review of Science Fiction\nhttp://ebbs.english.vt.edu/olp/nyrsf/nyrsf.html" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "CRCulver", "address": "crculver at aol.com" }, "date": "1999-01-26T17:21:37+00:00", "subject": "Re: Re: (urth) Call 4 a FAQulty", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Wombat said:\n<>\n\nHa, that is a different thing entirely. What you are talking about is a\ngeneral Urth-list FAQ, whereas Mantis and I were talking about single-book\nFAQs. Nonetheless, your questions above are good, and really could help the\nperson new to the list. I should note that we should try to reduce the\npossibility of spoilers for those who have not read certain books. For\nexample, I've yet to read _The Fifth Head of Cerberus_\n\n<>\n\nYes, and the BotNS needs exegesis to be fully appreciated. The first time I\nread it, I treated it just as a sword-and-sorcery epic. But, after reading\nabout the many Christian allusions and references to Borges, I enjoyed it a\nlot more.\n\n\n<<(*)Actually, I think that _Peace_ might be denser.>>\n\nThat is a good possibilty, because _Peace_ never has what could be called a\nstraightforward narrative, there are always myriad meanings behind each\naction. Whereas in the BotNS one could say \"The uhlan was on horseback,\" and\nbe very clear about what you are trying to describe, _Peace_ is a different\nstory, literally. A FAQ on _Peace_ wouldn't be a frequently asked questions\nlist, it would be more of a running commentary.\n\nChristopher R. Culver \nPresident Pro-Tempore of USEJ\nPrezidanto Dumtempa de USEJ\n--------------------------------------------------\nhttp://ttt.esperanto.org/usej/" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "William H. Ansley", "address": "wansley at warwick.net" }, "date": "1999-01-27T00:05:33+00:00", "subject": "Re: (urth) Call 4 a FAQulty", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "Here's a thought--maybe a committee (a \"FAQulty,\" if you will) could\nbegin the process of whipping up a FAQ (\"Frequently Asked Questions\"\nand the Answers to Them) for a book by Gene Wolfe. From time to time\nthere is a call for them, or a single voice volunteering for some\nherculean task (e.g., \"Let's do FAQs for =all= Wolfe books at\nonce!\"). Yet nothing is ever actually done." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "I have been reading this list quite a while and have read all the archives\nat one time or another and I think I know why \"nothing is ever actually\ndone\" and why nothing is likely to be done this time. It is very easy to\nmake a list of Questions (perhaps not all of them Frequently Asked) about\nvirtually *any* Wolfe work, even very short stories, (remember the lengthy\ndiscussions about \"A Solar Labyrinth\" and \"Cues\"?) but it is very hard to\ncome up with any definite answers that everyone (or even a majority) will\nagree on (remember the lengthy discussions about \"A Solar Labyrinth\" and\n\"Cues\"?).\n\nI assume that this lack of agreement is at least part of the reason that\nmantis (m.driussi at genie.com) said \"I doubt people will want to do work on\nTHE FIFTH HEAD OF CERBERUS\": in a very lengthy discussion of that work on\nthis list there was very little agreement about the answers to the\nquestions it raised or even about whether those questions had answers.\n\nActually, if a committee decides to write a FAQ containing the answers to\nquestions they can all agree on the answers to, then the FAQ should be\nquite short and easliy completed.\n\nIn other words I this the answer to Rostrum's (Michael Straight\n) question:" }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "Do most frequently asked questions about Wolfe's books have a single,\nbrief answer?" }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "is \"No.\"\n\nI like Rostrum's idea:" }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "I've got another idea that might be less work and more useful. How about\nsomeone volunteer to help Ranjit convert the Urth/Whorl archives into\nan easily searchable format?" }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "I am not sure about the \"less work\" part; the archives are easily\nsearchable as plain text (I have downloaded all of them except the most\nrecent to my computer in this form) but because of inconsistencies in\nreferences (different abbreviations, referring to a character by a nickname\nor by a humorously altered form of the name, simple typos, etc.) as well as\nthe shear bulk of the material over several different files, it is\ndifficult to find specific information.\n\nI suppose some sort of electronic index could be created, but I don't know\nhow to go about this. Editing the archives for consistancy (perhaps adding\ntags for content) for plain text searching also seems a daunting prospect.\n\nDoes anyone one else have any ideas about this?\n\nWilliam Ansley" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Michael Straight", "address": "straight at email.unc.edu" }, "date": "1999-01-28T11:33:18+00:00", "subject": "Re: (urth) Call 4 a FAQulty", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "On Wed, 27 Jan 1999, William H. Ansley wrote:\nI am not sure about the \"less work\" part; the archives are easily\nsearchable as plain text (I have downloaded all of them except the most\nrecent to my computer in this form) but because of inconsistencies in\nreferences (different abbreviations, referring to a character by a nickname\nor by a humorously altered form of the name, simple typos, etc.) as well as\nthe shear bulk of the material over several different files, it is\ndifficult to find specific information." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Still, I think it would be a big improvement if either:\n\n1. Someone with programing knowledge would help attach a search engine to\nthe archives (I have no idea how big a job that would be), or \n\n2. Each archive were available as a single large text file one could\nsearch online with one's browser.\n\nWhen I mentioned option #2 to Ranjit, it sounded like limited server space\nat his site was the main obstacle.\n\nAs it is, I am regularly unable to find conversations in the archives when\nI go back to try to find something someone wrote, largely because it takes\nso long to search each of the archive volumes individually. \n\n-Rostrum" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Jason Voegele", "address": "voegele.6 at osu.edu" }, "date": "1999-01-28T12:29:19+00:00", "subject": "RE: (urth) Call 4 a FAQulty", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "I'm a programmer, but I don't think it takes any programming skill \nwhatsoever if you use some of the search forms provided by standard search \nengines. HotBot, for example, provides a search form that you can embed \nwithin your Web page, and all you have to do is provide the domain through \nwhich it is supposed to search. This would require a domain name \nspecifically for the faq (such as www.wolfe-faq.com), so it may not be \nflexible enough. It's worth looking into, though, and if it's not enough \nfeel free to contact me and I'll see what I can put together for searching \nonly those pages relating directly to the Wolfe FAQ.\n\nJason Voegele\n\n-----Original Message-----\nFrom:\tMichael Straight [SMTP:straight at email.unc.edu]\nSent:\tThursday, January 28, 1999 11:33 AM\nTo:\turth at lists.best.com\nSubject:\tRe: (urth) Call 4 a FAQulty" }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "On Wed, 27 Jan 1999, William H. Ansley wrote:\nI am not sure about the \"less work\" part; the archives are easily\nsearchable as plain text (I have downloaded all of them except the most\nrecent to my computer in this form) but because of inconsistencies in\nreferences (different abbreviations, referring to a character by a \nnickname\nor by a humorously altered form of the name, simple typos, etc.) as well \nas\nthe shear bulk of the material over several different files, it is\ndifficult to find specific information." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Still, I think it would be a big improvement if either:\n\n1. Someone with programing knowledge would help attach a search engine to\nthe archives (I have no idea how big a job that would be), or\n\n2. Each archive were available as a single large text file one could\nsearch online with one's browser.\n\nWhen I mentioned option #2 to Ranjit, it sounded like limited server space\nat his site was the main obstacle.\n\nAs it is, I am regularly unable to find conversations in the archives when\nI go back to try to find something someone wrote, largely because it takes\nso long to search each of the archive volumes individually.\n\n-Rostrum\n\n\nworks" } ] } ] }