Subject: ADMIN: The Allabout II (31may02) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Keywords: admin, allabout, 31may02 From: dharden@shell1.iglou.com (David Harden) NNTP-Posting-Host: 192.107.41.17 X-Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: 192.107.41.17 Message-ID: <3f273787$2_1@news.iglou.com> Date: 29 Jul 2003 23:12:07 -0400 X-Trace: news.iglou.com 1059534727 192.107.41.17 (29 Jul 2003 23:12:07 -0400) Lines: 383 X-Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: 192.107.41.17 Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!nycmny1-snh1.gtei.net!news.gtei.net!priapus.visi.com!green.readfreenews.net!blue.readfreenews.net!news.readfreenews.net!news-out.visi.com!petbe.visi.com!ash.uu.net!news.iglou.com!shell1!dharden Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu alt.callahans:669639 The alt.callahans Allabout [PART 2] This file contains information Allabout the newsgroup alt.callahans. If you just want to find out what the group is about and what sort of posts you might see, you only need to read the first section of PART 1, which is not too long. This part contains extra information which you might find interesting, but is not essential to understanding the group. Contents of PART 2: (Areas marked with # have been revised since the last posting.) * Callahan's Books by Spider Robinson (and others) # * Other Callahan's Resources on the Net (and off) * Other Regular Informational Postings in Callahan's * The Growth of Callahan's * Archives and Databases # * Dedication and Credits Callahan's Books by Spider Robinson (and others) The alt.callahans newsgroup, as mentioned earlier, is based on some books written by a fellow called Spider Robinson. Here is a list of his Callahan's books: * Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, Ace, 1977, ISBN 0-441-09043-5, (paperback) ISBN 0-441-09035-4 (Tor paperback, re-released 12/1999, ISBN 0-812-57227-0). * Time Travellers Strictly Cash, Ace, 1981, ISBN 0-441-80713-5, (paperback) ISBN 0-441-81277-5, also has non-Callahan's material. (Tor paperback, re-released 8/2001, ISBN 0-812-57229-9). * Callahan's Secret, Ace, 1986, ISBN 0-441-09074-5, (Berkley paperback, ISBN 0-425-09082-5). * The Callahan Touch, Ace, 1993, ISBN 0-441-09075-3, (paperback) ISBN 0-441-00133-5. * Off The Wall at Callahan's, Tor, 1994, ISBN 0-312-85661-X. * Callahan and Company: The Compleat Chronicles of the Crosstime Saloon, Phantasia Press, 1990, ISBN 0-932-09648-4 small press omnibus of the first 3 books, and very hard to find. * Callahan's Legacy, Tor, 1996, ISBN 0-312-85776-4, (paperback) ISBN 0-812-55305-8. * The Callahan Chronicals, Tor, 1997, ISBN 0-812-53937-0, an omnibus edition of the first 3 books, excluding the non-Callahan's parts of _Time Travellers Strictly Cash_. * Callahan's Key, Bantam, 2000, ISBN 0-553-11163-9 (paperback) ISBN 0-553-58060-4 Spider has also written two books about Lady Sally, Mike's wife and proprietor of a very classy bordello... * Callahan's Lady, Ace, 1989, ISBN 0-441-09072-9. * Lady Slings the Booze, Ace, 1992, ISBN 0-441-46929-9. They may not the easiest books to find, and you may have better luck perusing second-hand book stores for some of the earlier ones. Spider has also written several science fiction books which have nothing to do with Callahan's, including a few with his wife, Jeanne Robinson. _Callahan's Crosstime Saloon_,_Time Travellers Strictly Cash_, and _Callahan's Secret_ are collections of short stories, while the other books (except for Off The Wall, explained below) are novels. [The Callahan Touch and Callahan's Legacy are about Mary's Place, which is named for Mike's daughter and run by Jake Stonebender. Callahan's Key starts at Mary's Place; if you want to know where it ends, you'll have to pick it up.] All of them (plus his other books) come highly recommended by most of the Patrons who have read them, although some of us don't like them - hey, we encourage diversity and nobody ever said you have to think any particular way to post here! The Callahan's Place described in the books is quite similar to the one in the newsgroup in some respects, but quite different in others. The general philosophy is pretty much the same, but the decor and traditions vary a bit. In the books, the characters indulge in regular pun contests every Tuesday night, Wednesdays are for tall tales, and Monday is Fireside Fillmore night, in which some of the characters jam with their musical instruments. There is a counter-clock (a mirror-image of a normal clock) on the wall, an ornate iron spiral staircase leading up to the roof, no bar stools, a free lunch of ham sandwiches on the bartop, and no mirror behind the bar (the wall is covered with scrawls of some of the best (worst?) puns from Tuesday contests - and this stuff comprises the Off The Wall book). Much of this has is not regularly referred to in the newsgroup, but occasionally someone might mention some of it. Spider Robinson knows about alt.callahans, and has been in contact with Danger Mouse, while he does not post here, nor will he probably ever post here. He has written a short story, 'Post Toast' talking about why he hasn't come here, and also what he thinks of what has been created here, which you can read at Kate's or Leslie's Web pages. There is another book related to Callahan's - it happens to be a source book for the role-playing game GURPS by Steve Jackson Games. It was written by Chris W. McCubbin, with help from Spider: GURPS Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, 1992, ISBN 1-55634-221-7. And if you turn to page 73 of this book, you will see alt.callahans mentioned specifically. As a Patron of this Place you are therefore, in some small way, famous -- even more so now that Spider Robinson has included a couple paragraphs about us in the endnote to _Callahan's Legacy_ [pp. 218-219], and 'Post Toast' can also be found at the end of _The Callahan Chronicals_, along with a listing of a few of the many and various places Callahan's could be found in Cyberspace as of May, 1997, which is when the book went to press. Other Callahan's Resources on the Net (and off) The Callahan's Round Table: Apart from the newsgroup alt.callahans, there is a #callahans channel on Internet Relay Chat (IRC). When this Allabout was first written, it was busiest on Wednesdays and Sundays, but you can find folks there just about any time you look. If you know how to use IRC, simply join the channel #callahans on the Undernet. To reach the Undernet, choose whichever Undernet server works best for you, and you should find several other Callahanians on-line and willing to chat. (A list of servers should be available at http://www.undernet.org .) The IRC #callahans Page is maintained by Buttrfly, and can be found at http://www.windblossom.com/callahans/index.html As originally envisioned by the IRC denizens of #callahans, the VR space used in IRC was a big, round, oak table situated at the bar. Now, it's the whole bar. The people there do all the things they do in alt.callahans, except that it all happens instantly instead of posting messages and waiting for a reply. Often, the conditions there are much less crowded than in the newsgroup, but the VR conceit is pretty much the same as the bar itself. The fireplace, the lounge, the Folx Room, the Danger Room are just some features they have in common with the newsgroup. Some patrons visit both, some just one, whatever works for you. #callahans is ideal for anyone with access to IRC and who feels the volume of posts in alt.callahans is just too overwhelming. The Round Table was set up by Elana Beach, and is managed by zem. If you don't know how to use IRC, then you should check your on-line help (type /HELP at the IRC prompt), the Undernet's web site or ask a local expert on your system. There are several downloadable clients available on the internet as well. HoloMUCK: HoloMUCK is a multi-user game running on a machine in Montreal. Many current and ex-Callahanians have characters on HoloMUCK, and logging in is another way of meeting up with them in real time. The telnet address for HoloMUCK is 132.206.78.1 (port 5757). (URL: telnet://132.206.78.1:5757/) The e-mail contact is Sjade, at these addresses: For HoloMUCK information; holomuck@collatz.mcrcim.mcgill.ca To set up a character; jrw@cyberspace.com Webpages for HoloMUCK are at: http://home.intranet.org/~estin/holo/ If you want to have a look at Holo first, telnet to the above address and connect as a guest. Instructions appear when you open the telnet connection. If you don't know how to use telnet, either check your on-line help or ask a local expert. Callahan's on the World Wide Web: Several people maintain World Wide Web pages with Callahan's related information. Here are the URL addresses and brief descriptions for some. The Callahan's Web Group (callahan@callahans.org) maintains a WWW page with links to several other Callahan's related sites, including some that have pictures. It also has a link to a list of Patrons' birthdays, info about major RS gatherings, and more. http://www.callahans.org [Thanks to D'Arcy Cain and vex.net for hosting the callahans.org domain.] Kate (herself@thatsmartblonde.com) maintains the original Callahan's WWW page (originally produced by John Ockerbloom, maintained for some time by Danger Mouse, then by Shadowcat from spring of 1995 to August 2000). The page contains links to several Callahan's documents, and also a few classic posts from the past. http://www.thatsmartblonde.com/callahans.html Leslie's home page has a section devoted to Callahania, as well as copies of the FAQs and a list of Patrons' home pages. http://www.vex.net/~leslie/ Claudia maintains an archive of favorite posts, along with some links to other Patrons' home pages. http://www.tiac.net/users/cmarie/callahans-index.html Also, the Lamplighter's Almanac sometimes includes a list of Callahan's websites. As usual on the Web, these pages all contain numerous links and cross-references. A bit of searching, and who knows what you will find! If you don't know how to access the Web, ask a local expert about it. The Callahan's FTP Sites: frood (korz@cs.columbia.edu) maintains the main Callahan's FTP site at bach.cs.columbia.edu (128.59.28.19). This site contains an archive of Callahan's posts, as well as a copy of the Callahan's Cookbook (see sections on the Cookbook and Archives below). Leslie's FTP site, at ftp.vex.net/pub/users/leslie, also has the Callahan's FAQs and Cookbook. DO NOT try to log in (via TELNET) to these sites as "guest" or "anonymous". No such accounts exist on either machine, and your request will be denied. These sites are for anonymous FTP only. The Callahan's Cookbook: Back around 1993, Danger Mouse compiled a collection of recipes from Callahanians. While he no longer has an FTP site, the Cookbook is still available from the Callahan's FTP Sites. It exists in three formats: Plain ASCII (a text file like this), LaTeX (a text formatting language), and PostScript (a graphics format suitable for laser-printing). On frood's FTP site, the appropriate directory is /pub/cookbook . The files there are in GNU zip compressed format, with file names: cookbook.asc.gz, cookbook.ps.gz, cookbook.tex.gz . The Callahan's Coffeehouse: This is a collection of songs performed by Callahanians and compiled by John Ockerbloom in 1991. It contains songs by the Mandelbear (Steve Savitzky), Windsinger (Rhodri James), The Green Tiger (James Birdsall), and Taldin (Jeff Young), all original compositions. The recording quality is not very good, but the songs are fun. Getting a copy of the tape for yourself these days may prove difficult, however. Please don't bother John for a copy - he hasn't the necessary equipment to make new copies. If you want a copy, the best way is to find another Patron who has a copy and ask nicely for a duplicate. Other Regular Informational Postings in Callahan's In addition to this Allabout file, there are a few other regular posts which appear in Callahan's. The reason they are separate from the Allabout is that they contain information which is either posted or updated much more frequently than the information here. You will see them posted every so often, or you can grab them from the Callahan's FTP Site or the Callahan's World Wide Web Page. The files are: Flames: Probably the most important regular post, this describes the action to take (or not to take) when people start getting insulting or abusive in the newsgroup. To summarise: ignore the flamer and e-mail or post friendly support to the victim. New Patron's Guide to Callahan's Posting: This gives a rundown on net-etiquette and technical information on posting to newsgroups for new Usenet users. Callahan's Keyword Guidelines: This post describes the practice of labelling posts with Subject line keywords (to assist readers) and lists the keywords in common use. The Growth of Callahan's The newsgroup alt.callahans was created in November 1989 by Chris Davis. Since then there have over 600,000 posts to the group. (The number listed at your site may be smaller, since many sites did not receive the group until much later.) Nobody really knows how many posters have contributed, but it must be several hundred, perhaps over a thousand. Many of those have since disappeared, but now there are about a hundred 'regulars' and perhaps a similar number of semi-lurkers who post occasionally. Real Spaces, especially the annual Callahanicon and related Annexes have been boasting attendance records of over 50 and are growing every year. It is impossible to tell exactly how many people read the group at any given time, but the last known official estimate (February 1995) was 61,000. So it seems that lurkers outnumber regular posters by quite a margin! The volume of posts in Callahan's can be quite daunting. A report from February 1995 listed alt.callahans as the 151st top newsgroup by number of bytes, and 172nd top by number of articles, with 3100 articles, totalling 6300 kilobytes, posted during January 1995. (Both those figures were passed within the first two weeks of January, 2000.) A few times people have suggested a split of alt.callahans in order to make the group more structured and hence manageable. Each time there was a lot of discussion and a general consensus that splitting the group would rob it of one of its chief virtues - diversity. The great range of topics and cross-linking of conversation threads is probably the most important thing in maintaining that special and somewhat magical atmosphere which seems to pervade the Place. And that same conclusion will almost certainly be reached any time someone ever suggests that a split might be a good idea. It should also be noted that past attempts to 'colonize cyberspace' by creating more groups like Callahan's have, at best, met with mixed success. This is likely to put a damper on the idea of creating more such groups. On the other hand, if you find an abandoned net.pub and want to try reviving it, go to it! (However, you should realize that it may not be as abandoned as it appears to be. Best to ask if anyone's around before starting a virtual remodeling job.) Archives and Databases An archive of the first 14 months or so (November 1989 to about February 1991), is available at ftp://eddie.mit.edu/pub/alt.callahans/ . This site has a limit of 10 simultaneous users, so please don't go there just to rubberneck. frood has an archive of all posts received at his site since August 1991 to the present. You can FTP single month's worth of articles from bach.cs.columbia.edu (128.59.28.19). The files are tar files compressed with GNU zip (gzip), and have names like: /pub/callahans/Y-yyyy/Mmmyy.tar.gz e.g. /pub/callahans/Y-1992/Aug92.tar.gz Individual articles or Subject threads cannot be searched for or retrieved. If you have any questions about this archive, send e-mail to frood at korz@cs.columbia.edu . If anyone has the resources to set up a better article retrieval system (including search facilities, for example) from such a large archive, please contact frood to arrange details. Calishar maintains a searchable and browsable archive, which incorporates the two listed above, at http://callahans.calishar.com . You will need a Javascript-enabled browser to be able to access all features, but searching and browsing search results does not require Javascript. Google (http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search) maintains a searchable Usenet archive which goes back to sometime in 1981. The Birthday List is maintained by JakeStone,and is located at: http://www.chaos.org/callahans/patrons/birthdays/ . Contact info is at: http://www.chaos.org/contact/ . Dedication and Credits This Allabout is dedicated to: * Caeilte - The first to leave us. * The Artful Dodger - May you forever roam the deserts you loved so much and which you shared with so many of us. * Viola - Life was a stage - may the intermission be short. * Tony Kidson - Ever thoughtful, always wise, the words from your Bromley cat-warmer will be sorely missed. * Speaker to Minerals - Resident Curmudgeon, you will be missed. * The Preacher - A Friend in Deed is a Friend Indeed. * Guenndolyn- A Lady of the first order. * Dan Briggs - Clear skies, for observing and diving. * maenad - fun is good! None of you are forgotten. "I've traveled all the nations, ta'en delight in all creation I've tried a wee sensation when the company did prove kind And when parting was no pleasure, I've drunk another measure To the good friends that we treasure, for they always are in our minds" From Rambling Rover, by Andy M Stewart. _________________________________________________________________ The original Allabout file was written by Taldin the Blue Unicorn. Nick Chopper maintained and upgraded the information for several years, with the help of many un-named Callahan's Patrons. This version was compiled by Danger Mouse, with much help and input of text from both Taldin and Nick, as well as Firehawk, the Didi-Sprite, kitten, /*, Jezebel, Draco, Elana Beach, Nicarra, Big Al, Aurora, frood, Tink, John Ockerbloom, Rowan, and Red Bear. It was maintained by Shadowcat until 31 August 2000. If you have any suggestions for additions or changes to this file, please send mail to Kate at herself@thatsmartblonde.com , with a copy to David Harden at dharden@iglou.com .