From: Orin Thomas <orin@lspace.org>
Subject: [FAQ] Pratchett Newsgroups
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett.announce,alt.fan.pratchett,alt.books.pratchett,alt.answers,news.answers
Summary: This is the primary FAQ for Terry Pratchett and the Pratchett
        newsgroups such as alt.fan.pratchett.
Followup-To: poster
Organization: Unseen University, Melbourne Campus. The Wizards of Oz.
Keywords: Pratchett Discworld FAQ alt.fan.pratchett alt.books.pratchett alt.fan.pratchett.announce
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu,afpa-mod@lspace.org
X-Autoposter: This FAQ was autoposted by <leo@lspace.org>
X-Archive-name: pratchett/afp-faq
X-Posting-Frequency: monthly (on the 28th)
X-Last-modified: January 2006
X-URL: <http://www.lspace.org/faqs/>

Archive-name: pratchett/afp-faq
Posting-Frequency: monthly (on the 28th)
Last-modified: January 2006
URL: <http://www.lspace.org/faqs/>


------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE LAWS AND ORDINANCES OF ALT.BOOKS/FAN.PRATCHETT
or
PRATCHETT NEWSGROUP FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
------------------------------------------------------------------------

        "alt.fan.pratchett ... is a little like written CB, and
         something like being at a party. Or several parties.
         all in one go. Blindfolded."

                              - Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs
                                DISCWORLD COMPANION

   Hearin lies a list of frequently asked questions (and, of course,
   their answers) for the internet newsgroups alt.fan.pratchett
   and alt.books.pratchett.

   This tome contains biographical information about Terry Pratchett,
   as well as information about his books, his collaborators, upcoming
   releases newsgroup ettiquette and Pratchettian internet resources.

   Suggestions, comments, bouquets and FAQ additions to orin@lspace.org

-----------------------------------------
CONTENTS.
-----------------------------------------
THE NEXT BOOK.
FAQ SUGGESTIONS WELCOME.
THE USENET NEWSGROUPS.
OTHER INTERNET RESOURCES.
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
TERRY PRATCHETT AND THE INTERNET.
COMPUTER GAMES
MERCHANDISING AND FANDOM.
PTERRY ON THE PTELLY.
COMMON THREADS AND HOW TO COPE WITH THEM. (Or "Not the FAQ")
MISCELLANEOUS.
-----------------------------------------
THE NEXT BOOK
-----------------------------------------

        Night Watch
        Something to do with Vimes and Sybil's child and
        possibly time travel to the "pre-Carrot" watch.
        Due November 2002.

        The NEW Discworld Companion.
        Updated, Revised, Elongated, Stretched and definitely
        not featuring purple cover art.  The long awaited
        update to take into account all of the Discworld stuff
        that has happened since the companion in paperback
        was released.

        The Wee Free Men
        A classic fairy story with the addition
        of the Nac Mac Feegle.
        Nov 2002.

        A Miss Cosmopolite Guide - similar in
        theme to Nanny Ogg's Cookbook.
        (Very Rumoured - Status Unconfirmed)

        Ponder-Osa (not even a working title)
        Even more speculative and *not* Interesting Times.
        Ponder builds some big HEM building device and
        tears a hole in the fabric of reality.  (that bit
        made up).  Something to do with the University and
        the Wizards.

        Reformed Assassin's Diary 2003.

        The next in the Diary series - following on from UU Diary, Fools Guild,
        City Watch, Assassin's Guild and Thieves Guild.

        Map of Unseen University.
        Unconfirmed.

        Uberwald Nights.
        Doesn't Exist. Will Never Exist.
        Made up by the irc channel.
        A Cruel Prank.

        Terry Pratchett paperbacks are always released one
        year after the hardback release. This has not changed
        and will not change in the future.

-----------------------------------------
FAQ SUGGESTIONS.
-----------------------------------------

   Any suggestions, alterations, daquiris or renditions of
   the "Banana Splits" theme song can be emailed to the
   author at orin@lspace.org. A FAQ is as relevant as
   the newsgroup helps it to be. If you reckon something
   is wrong or is not covered give us a yell. Your email
   will be highly appreciated. This document can only be as
   relevant as people help me make it. Needless to say, as
   I've been around AFP since late 1992, my view on what
   constitutes an FAQ is going to be rather different to yours
   - but in a lot of ways *your* interpretation is more
   important as I am perhaps past the point where I can see
   this with clear eyes.

-----------------------------------------
THE USENET NEWSGROUPS
-----------------------------------------

   Welcome to the Pratchett Usenet Newsgroups.

   Where possible, pointers to existing information (such as books,
   magazine articles, and ftp sites) are included here.

   This FAQ is currently posted to news.answers
                                   alt.answers
                                   alt.books.pratchett
                                   alt.fan.pratchett and
                                   alt.fan.pratchett.announce

   All posts to news.answers are archived, and it is possible to retrieve
   the last posted copy via anonymous FTP from

   <ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/pratchett/afp-faq>

   Those without FTP access should mailto:mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu
   with "send usenet/news.answers/finding-sources" in the body to find
   out how to get archived news.answers posts by e-mail.

   This FAQ was mostly written by Orin Thomas who took it on in May
   in 1995 from Nathan Torkington. It includes contributions by Leo
   the Ent (thalt shall worship) and the readers of
   alt.fan.pratchett and alt.books.pratchett (pterry included).

Alt.fan.pratchett, alt.books.pratchett,alt.talk.mended-drum
and afp.announce
-------------------------------------------------------

   There are four newsgroups devoted to the author Terry Pratchett on
   the internet. These are.

   alt.fan.pratchett

        The oldest and perhaps the best known Pratchett newsgroup. It has
        a fairly large amount of traffic much of it not directly Pratchett
        related. Think of it more as the discussion of a group of Terry
        Pratchett fans meeting at an on-line pub.

   alt.fan.pratchett.announce

        AFPA is the noticeboard of the aformentioned on-line pub. People
      post FAQ's like this one, notices of fan meetings and other
      important information. Terry also posts his signing tour details
      here.

   alt.books.pratchett

      alt.books.pratchett is to alt.fan.pratchett as a Cafe is to a Pub.
      This is where the more serious pratchett discussions take place.
        If you want a serious discussion of an idea you want to explore
      this is a better place to start.

   alt.talk.mended-drum

      A low traffic newsgroup frequented by those that have been around
      afp for a reasonably long time and find the hurly burly somewhat
      exhausting. Posting is a complex affair however instructions can
      be found on lspace - <http://www.lspace.org/>

GENERAL NETTIQUETTE.
-------------------

   If you haven't already done so, now is as good a time as any to read
   the guide to Net etiquette which is posted to news.announce.newusers
   You should be familiar with acronyms like FAQ, FTP and IMHO, as well
   as know about smileys, followups and when to reply by e-mail to postings.

   Posting a question covered in a well circulated FAQ shows a disregard
   for polite nettiquette. If you note that someone is asking an FAQ then
   email them and say - "did you know they have this thing called a FAQ?"

   Posting a short story of Terry's is not only bad nettiquette but will
   earn you a visit from Lawyers. We are not kidding. Do not do it.

--- Flaming ---

   More recently afp has been subjected to several flame wars where people
   have hurled abuse at one another under the mistaken impression that the
   rest of us actually care. Your views on sex, religion, race and politics
   are of no interest to the group. Your negative views on other posters are
   also of no interest to the group.

   Be very aware now that online defamation law is now gaining ground.
   If you flame a poster who has earnt a significant reputation it is
   very possible that you will be hit by a defamation lawsuit. A
   defamation is an imputation that harms a reputation. Also it is
   very important to note that defendants are almost never awarded
   costs - hence if you are hit with a defamation suit, you will
   most likely have to pay your own legal fees. Finally, given that
   the internet is multi-jurisdictional, a particularly vindictive
   plaintiff might choose to sue you in a country where defamtion
   laws are especially strict. Just because the US has a form of
   free speech doesn't mean that Australia or the UK does as well.

   You have been warned.

   As a further addendum to this particular passage.  One AFPer
   has threatened a defamation suit against an ISP and a particular
   poster.  This threat was later withdrawn.

   Whilst the law might acknowledge your right to litigate such
   a problem - be aware that the newsgroup probably will not.  You
   will want to be standing on extremely solid ground before you
   launch, or threaten, a defamation action.  If you are launching
   it against a group regular - you might as well kiss your future
   postings goodbye.  That may seem unfair to say - but groups do
   tend to watch after their own.  Defamation litigation should be
   your utter last resort - and is guarenteed to do your reputation
   worse harm than any imputations made in someone's original post.

   If you post about religion and it don't involve a turtle named "OM"
   ... well ... you have been warned. Though I must admit it does get
   you added to quite a few killfiles very quickly.

   Flaming Pterry is just stupid and is likely to give you a mailbox full
   of bile. We like him. We probably don't like you. Nuff Said.

PRATCHETT NEWSGROUP PECULIARITIES.
--------------------------------

   Being a rather unique bunch of people we also have some guidelines
   that are more or less being used on alt.fan/books.pratchett.

--- THE USE OF [R] and [I]. ---

   "In theory they are forums for those who appreciate the books, but
    exchanges segue into something completely different with extreme
    rapidity. On alt.fan.pratchett they generally head in the direction
    of the topics of food, traffic roundabouts, drink and, for some reason,
    pubic wigs."
                        - Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs. DW Companion.

    [R] is for Relevant.
    [I] is for Irrelevant.

    Anything about Terry Pratchett, His Books, His Characters,
    the Computer Games, and items Pratchettesque should be labeled
    [R]. Anything else should be labeled [I]. Given the high volume of
    posting to AFP it would be appreciated if you could please modify the
    subject line as often as you can.

    Be aware that some [R] threads can turn [I] very quickly. Make sure
    you don't cross post an [I] thread to the group alt.books.pratchett
    as this will make people very cross. Discipline via Orang-Utan is
    possible.

--- WHAT IS A SPOILER AND WHEN SHOULD I USE ONE? ---

    A spoiler is essentially a warning about information contained in
    a book. For example saying that Nobby lead the revolt in
    Uberwald Nights, or that Rincewind ran away too quickly on
    his wedding night in "The Missing Chapter" would require a
    spoiler if these texts existed.

    Originally we asked that you didn't post information to the group
    about new books not yet available in paperback. Though you should
    be especially careful about the newer books you might wish to take
    care in revealing information about older books as well. Many people
    new to the group will not have read each and every DW book so keep
    this in mind when discussing them and warn people appropriately.

    Terry obviously doesn't have to worry about this. It is rare that
    he *starts* a thread - and if he answers a spoiler article it is
    really up to the person who first put the spoiler in to duly warn.

    Perhaps the best way to warn for spoilers is to take the
    alt.books.pratchett approach of putting the first line of
    your post as

    Spoilers: Jingo, MAA

    and then leaving a few lines of spoiler space. Perhaps even putting
    in something like:

    S
    P
    O
    I
    L
    E
    R
    S

--- Posting to Alt.Fan.Pratchett.Annouce ---

   The Moderated Newsgroup devoted to the important posts that might be
   missed in the clutter of alt.fan.pratchett.
   If you have something important to announce to alt.fan.pratchett then
   mailto:afpa-mod@lspace.org

   Please note, the submission criterion are not particularly strict. If
   you email the moderator  with something (an annotation perhaps) that
   has already been covered by one of the FAQs or files then you will
   be politely pointed towards the aformentioned source (without
   any embarrassment). If you think that it is important and that the
   whole newsgroup should know then post it. A.f.p.a is not just for FAQs!

--- More FAQs than you can poke a stick at ---

        There are a lot of FAQs around the pratchett newsgroups. I don't think
        anyone  knows exactly how many there are now. alt.fan.pratchett.announce
        seems to carry all of them so browse there if you have a question. Perhaps
        at some stage one of us will write an afplopedia which incorporates all
        this knowledge. (though at present the lspace web does this quite nicely)

        It would be novel if people read the FAQs so kindly point any newbies
        at this document if they seem a little clueless.

        A good place to find these is:

        <http://www.lspace.org/faqs/>

-----------------------------------------
OTHER INTERNET RESOURCES.
-----------------------------------------

--- The LSPACE Web ---

    Perhaps the most important development in the last years has been the
    setting up of the Lspace web pages. These are essentially an online
    library to Pratchett Fandom. There are mirrors at many places around
    the world and the sites are updated weekly, if not daily. This is sort
    of the "permanent record" of internet pratchettdom. If you log onto the
    main server at <http://www.lspace.org/> you should be redirected to your
    closest lspace mirror.

        Things on the Lspace Web include:

   The Annotated Pratchett File

   This file explains some of the subtleties of Terry's works. It is
   currently at v7.a.5.3 and can be retrieved via anonymous FTP from the
   Pratchett Archives. If you've ever gone ... "I know where he got that
   from" ... this is the file for *YOU*!

   The APF is pretty much the alt.fan.pratchett encyclopedia including
   many of the best quotes from Terry on the net over the years. It is
   in various formats including Windows Help file format. Reading this
   will answer almost any question about the books.

   Pratchett Quote File

   Another Leo Breebaart production this is a file of all the best of Terry's
   quotes from all the books. If you want to look up a quote in a hurry,
   or look for something impressive in a .sig file, take a gander
   at this one. Now moderated by Kimberley Verburg.

   The Discworld Timeline

   A highly impressive document suggesting which events followed other
   events which might have preceded certain events but only after
   particular events which are known to have caused final events.
   Available on Lspace.org

   Rogues Gallery.

   Photos and personal information on some of the Pratchett Newsgroup's
   more active denizens. Find out what your favorite posters look like.
   The Rouges Gallery is getting a little outdated these days. It is
   more representative of the 1996-1997 AFP crowd than today's posters.

   Soon will be coming the A-Files - a more current collection of AFPers.

   You will also find the words to the "Hedgehog Song" and "A Wizard's Staff"
   as well as the rules to Cripple Mr Onion sitting in the Rouges Gallery.

   Discworld Monthly.

   This excellent resource has been around for many a year now. I'd
   advise that you subscribe to it as it keeps you very up to date
   on the goings on in the Pratchett Universe. Go to

       http://www.discworldmonthly.co.uk/

   Where you can enter your email address on a web based form to subscribe.

--- Fan Fiction Mailing List ---

   This gives pratchetteers a chance to write their own stories without
   violating the 'don't post your own fiction to AFP' rule. (reasons
   for this rule detailed in the NO-NO's section). If you want to get
   onto the mailing list send empty email with "Subscribe" in the
   subject to:

        history-monks@lspace.org

--- AFP Recipes ---

   You can all submit your favourites to the address:

     recipe-submit@lspace.org

      To get an index of the current recipes, send an email to:

     recipe-serv@lspace.org with "send index" in the subject line.

    This resource also resides at the Lspace Web.

--- irc.lspace.org ---

    As with the Newsgroups try to get a hang of the site by
    listening to the conversation for a while instead of barging
    in, announcing yourself and pissing everyone else off.
    (a sure way to be banned)

--- The 'Terry Pratchett Bibliography' ---

   This contains ISBN numbers, titles and blurbs for all TP's books. It is
   available at the pratchett archives and maintained by ppint.

   This is posted around the first of every month to alt.fan.pratchett,
   alt.fan.pratchett.annouce alt.answers and news.answers.

-----------------------------------------
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
-----------------------------------------

This is stuff about Terry Pratchett himself. Information about Terry is
usually hard to find if only because he prefers to talk about his works
rather than himself. This information is condensed from the "About the Author"
sections of his books.

TERRY PRATCHETT.
----------------

--- PERSONAL HISTORY ---

    "People never read these biographies anyway, do they? They want to
     get on with the book, not wade through masses of prose designed to
     suggest that the author is really a very interesting person so look,
     okay, he wrote these other books, all right. Most were also about the
     Discworld, and actually quite a lot of people liked them."

                         - From the "About the Author" section of the
                           earlier Discworld books.

     Terry Pratchett is, on average, a sort of youngish middle-aged.
     He was born on the 28th of April in 1948 in the village of Forty Green
     (now a part of Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire) and is still not dead.

     He lives in the west country with his wife Lyn and daughter Rhianna
     where he writes books in between answering the mail. He lives in
     constant dread that someone will find out how enjoyable he finds
     writing, and stop him doing it.

     He chose journalism as a career because it was indoor work with no
     heavy lifting. He's managed to avoid all the really interesting jobs
     authors take in order to look good in this sort of biography.
     He started work as a journalist one day in 1965 and saw his first
     corpse three hours later, work experience meaning something in
     those days. After doing just about every job it's possible to do in
     provincial journalism, except of course covering Saturday afternoon
     football, he joined the Central Electricity Generating Board and
     became press officer for four nuclear power stations just before
     Three Mile Island, which shows his unerring sense of timing.

     He'd write a book about his experiences if he thought anyone would
     believe it. All this came to an end in 1987 when it became obvious
     that the Discworld series was much more enjoyable than real work.
     Occasionally he gets accused of literature. He says writing is the
     most fun anyone can have by themselves.

     He grows carnivorous (which, he argues, are really insectivorious)
     plants as a hobby (which are doing quite well by the way) and tells
     us that they are a lot less interesting than people believe. He likes
     people to buy him banana daiquiris (he knows people don't read author
     biographies, but feels this might be worth a try). He tries to make
     computers do things they were never intended to do. He also feels that
     the world could use more orang-utans.

     He has a two speed Hedge Cutter and there is no truth to the rumor that
     he likes being presented with Dried Frog Pills. Someone's father once
     sold him a carrot.

--- HOW DID HE COME TO WRITE? ---

   The first story he ever wrote was for a school assignment and was called
   "The Hades Business". He managed to get 10 out of 10 for it. It was the
   first time he had gotten 10 out of 10 for anything except for a painting
   which his teacher *thought* was two dinosaurs fighting. This story was
   then published in his school magazine.

   There it would have ended, except for his school headmaster who
   addressed an assembly shortly afterward and announced that he didn't
   approve of the "moral tone" of the story. The magazine, which would
   have struggled to break even, sold out within 15 minutes. He learned
   an important lesson, right then -- by writing it is possible to
   infuriate your enemies as well as please your friends.

   He then had the story typed up by his Aunt and sold it to the magazine
   Science Fantasy (#60, vol 20, 1963), and with the profits bought a
   typewriter. This his first act as an income earner was to fire his Aunt.
   His mother rewarded this Thatcherite attitude and paid for his typing
   lessons and he was on his way.

--- I WANT TO CONTACT TERRY FOR AN INTERVIEW OR SOMETHING ---

   Contact his agent, Colin Smythe (CPSmythe@aol.com) - that is the best
   way to ensure that your request gets to Terry.  You can try to email him
   directly - but given the volume he gets, there is a good chance that it
   might not be responded to.

--- THE DISCWORLD BOOK LIST ---

   Here is a list of Terry's Discworld Book Titles. A more complete listing
   including the Nome, Pre-Discworld, Collaborations and Young Adult books
   (including ISBN etc) is in the PRATCHETT BIBLIOGRAPHY.

        The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic, Equal Rites, Mort
        Sourcery, Wyrd Sisters, Pyramids, Guards! Guards!, Eric
        Moving Pictures, Reaper Man, Witches Abroad, Small Gods
        Lords and Ladies, Men At Arms, Soul Music, Interesting Times,
        Maskerade, The Streets of Ankh Morpork (with Stephen Briggs),
        The Discworld Companion (with Stephen Briggs), Mappe of the
        Discworld (with Stephen Briggs),Maskerade, Feet of Clay,
        The Pratchett Portfolio (with Paul Kidby), Hogfather, Jingo,
        The Last Continent, A Tourist Guide to Lancre (with
        Stephen Briggs), Carpe Jugulum, The Science of the Discworld
        Death's Domain, The Fifth Elephant, The Truth, Thief of Time,
        The Last Hero, The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents and
        Science of Discworld II.


NEIL GAIMAN
-----------

   Co-wrote the fan favorite "Good Omens" with Pterry.

   Neil Gaiman used to be a journalist, but gave it all up to write
   comics, which he claims are a totally valid late twentieth century
   art-form, and he's even won awards for them, so that's all right.
   He's 5'10'' tall, owns a number of black T-shirts, and, although
   he's not overly keen of banana daiquiris, is always very flattered
   when appreciative fans send him money.

                                        from "Good Omens" written with
                                        Terry Pratchett.

STEPHEN BRIGGS.
---------------

   Stephen Briggs was born in 1951 and lives in Oxfordshire.

   With the assistance of Terry Pratchett, he helped with the
   creation of the 'Streets of Ankh-Morpork', 'The Discworld
   Companion' and the 'Map of the Discworld'. He also collaborated
   with Terry on the Discworld Diaries and Nanny Ogg's Cookbook.

   Oxford's Studio Theatre Club went on to stage Stephen's adaptations of
   Wyrd Sisters, Mort, Guards! Guards!, Maskerade, Jingo and Carpe
   Jugulum. Stephen is currently rehearsing a production of the Fifth
   Elephant. Six of the plays have been published as has his version
   of Johnny & the Dead.

   There is a photo of him on the lspace web. He would like the publishers to
   pay for more trips to exciting places than they have currently sent
   him to. He deeply suspects that Terry gets sent really cool places
   that have daquiris and dancing girls and wants in.

   There is no truth to the rumor that his most exciting experience on
   tour with Terry involved a senior citizens club and some cucumber
   sandwiches.

   His merchandise can be found at http://www.cmotdibbler.com/

JOSH KIRBY
----------

   Josh Kirby is an artist who has been drawing covers for many years
   now. He has done the covers for (among others) Terry Pratchett, Craig
   Shaw Gardner, Esther Friesner, Dan McGirt and the new editions of Tom
   Holt's novels.

   He also illustrated the Discworld (sort-of picture) book "Eric". He
   has at least two poster books out, one with large versions of the
   first seven Discworld covers. One is "In the Garden of Unearthly
   Delights", published by Paper Tiger in 1991. Its ISBN is
   1-85028-154-8. It costs #9.95 (pounds sterling) and runs to 143 pages
   of artwork. The other is "The Josh Kirby Poster Book" published by
   Corgi in 1991, ISBN 0 552 99382 4.

   Josh passed away in October 2001 aged 72.

   <http://www.lspace.org/art/joshkirby.html>

PAUL KIDBY
----------

   Paul Kidby has collaborated with Terry Pratchett on a number of
   projects including the exceptionally interesting Pratchett Portfolio
   as well as Nanny's Cookbook and the Discworld Diaries and most recently
   The Last Hero.

-----------------------------------------
TERRY PRATCHETT and the INTERNET.
-----------------------------------------

--- Terry Pratchett and Usenet ---

   Terry Pratchett was a regular on alt.fan.pratchett between
   1992 and 1999. He was a regular on alt.books.pratchett between
   its inception an 1999. He has had several periods where he
   hasn't posted - between 1999 and late 2000 being one.

   To give you an idea of exactly how long TP has been on usenet,
   if internet years are like dog years - Terry has been around more
   than 50 internet years. This is a monumental effort. Consider this,
   of the regulars that were on the group when Terry joined in
   1992, only 2 or so are still around now.

   His last hiatus was caused by the posting of speculative
   stories about future discworld events. TP felt that this put him
   in an awkward legal position. It meant that he could not use these
   ideas if he had independantly developed them because of possible
   litigation. There is a *rumour* that a few paragraphs of The
   Fifth Elephant had to be cut because someone posted a speculative
   article about the future of Sir and Lady Vimes.

   So this is a warning - don't post speculative stuff.

--- His E-Mail address ---

   "When I first went on line I left myself open to about a thousand
    mailings on the lines of "Are you Terry Pratchett or what?" It
    didn't matter what I replied. If I played it straight and said
    "yes" some of them would reply, "oh, go on, you're not, are you?"
    and I was damned if I was going to say "no"."

                                 Terry Pratchett - Discworld Companion.

    "Well, it's happened...

    "I have to announce:

    "I can no longer answer all my email.

    "There's simply too much.  It's hard to catch up even if I'm away from
     the machine for a day or two, and now I've realised that despite me
     continuing to give it as much time as I can the inbox is actually
     getting bigger, possibly because the apparent sudden surge in US fans.
     Sorry.  From now on, an email to me is going to be a shot in the dark,
     I'm afraid.

     Terry Pratchett

    "Certainly at lot of the emails I get suggest that the writer doesn't
     read afp -- there's a daily sprinkle of 'What's the next book about?'
     and 'When's the next tour?'

    "But in reality people often aren't writing because they want that
     information.  They want to write an email to a favourite author, and
     they don't want to sound too fanboy, so asking a real question gives
     them, they feel, a reason.  This is fine.  It's just that there's so
     many:-)

    Terry Pratchett

    Terry gets a staggering amount of email and because he is getting
    snowed under to the point of being unable to write books, his address
    has been removed from this document.  Smart people tend to be able
    to figure it out all by themselves though.


--- His Setup ---

   Terry's house is probably similar to the computer version of an Elephant's
   graveyard. Many relics stored around the place. The house has a network.
   He is currently using a Pentium II with Word Perfect for Windows. Although, in
   a concession to tradition, he has Word Perfect set up to run like Word
   Perfect 4.2 for DOS :-)

   He also used to own an Amstrad, and is a fan of the classic isometric
   perspective games, Batman and Head Over Heels, as well as being a
   ZX-81 maniac. He is a declared fan of the Wing Commander series and
   also is quite fond of the game Doom. Future historians of computer
   science will probably look upon his extensive collection with awe.

   I don't know what he is playing at the moment but it probably involves
   lots of explosions ... Rabbits probably figure prominently as well ...
   and don't get him started about that 2 speed hedge trimmer!

   According to dejanews the group which he posts to the 3rd most
   is alt.games.tombraider so he *probably* plays that as well.

   Think of it this way - if you were a technophile like him and had
   the oppertunity to get all the kit you wanted - wouldn't you make
   sure that you were bleeding edge?

-----------------------------------------
COMPUTER GAMES.
-----------------------------------------


--- "The Colour of Magic" Game ---

   There was a game called "The Colour of Magic" released by Delta 4,
   which contained passages straight from the book. It was available for
   8-bit machines, the Spectrum and C64.
   It should be available at the Pratchett Archives.

--- "Terry Pratchett's Discworld" Game ---

  Released by Psygnosis the new Discworld game has been released for the
  PC on both CD-ROM and Floppy. The difference between the two being that
  the CD-ROM contains full speech by Eric Idle, Tony Robinson, Jon Pertwee
  and Kate Robbins. The basic plot is Guards! Guards! with Rincewind thrown
  in.

   An FAQ for the game is regulalry posted by Christopher McMullen
   mailto:chrismc@lspace.org This FAQ is also available at the
   Pratchett Archives.

  A demo of this game is also available from the pratchett archives.

--- Discworld II ---

  Chris McMullen is "da man" when it comes to walkthrus and FAQ's for
  this new game. (Bright Orange Box - you can't miss it!). These are
  available at lspace web. <http://www.lspace.org/>

--- Discworld Noir ---

  Not manufactured by Psygnosis this game involves you playing
  Ankh-Morpork's first private detective. More information at
  lspace web in the games section.

-----------------------------------------
MERCHANDISING AND FANDOM
-----------------------------------------

There is a Merchandise FAQ posted regularly to AFP. There are
two main sources of merchandise. Stephen CMOT Briggs and ClareCraft.
CMOT can be contacted at http://www.cmotdibbler.com/ and ClareCraft
has a WWW page on the lspace web

--- Discworld Convention 2002 ---

There is to be a Discworld Convention held on the 16th - 19th of August
2002 at the Hanover International Hotel in Leicestershire (UK).  Guests
include Terry Pratchett, Stephen Briggs, Paul Kidby,  Bernard & Isobel
Pearson, Graham Higgins, Dave Langford, Colin Smythe, Stephen Player,
Jay Hurst, Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart.

<http://www.dwcon.org/>

The merchandise FAQ can be found at the pratchett archives.

--- ClareCraft ---

Further information about Clarecrafts Discworld range of products,
can be requested from elton@lspace.org Including your
postal address means that they can send you a free brochure, etc ..

--- Octarine ---

   Terry has this to say:

     The officially unofficial Not-the-Terry-Pratchett-Fan-Club. The guy
     to write to is

        Chris Tregenza
        22 The City
        Beeston
        Nottingham
        NG9 2ED

    "It's like this: a couple of years ago they approached me, and I said
     I thought it would be an amazingly bad idea (I mean, what do you do
     after issue three of the magazine: Um. Hes done another book. It's
     great/okay/not as good as the last one IMHO. Um. Is he losing more
     hair, or what?' So I suggested they broaden the base to include
     humorous sf/fantasy generally."

--- Fan Club ---

     `The Guild of Fans and Disciples' is the unofficial fan club of
     Terry Pratchett and Josh Kirby. It is run on a non profit-making basis
     by a group of fans who produce a bi-monthly newsletter to keep other
     fans up to date with events.  Terry has no direct involvement in the
     club, other than supplying news and consenting to their existence as
     long as they avoid commercialism.

     For more information you can e-mail mailto:gofad@bigfoot.com

--- CLARECRAFT COLLECTOR'S GUILD ---

     According to ClareCraft has about 1500 members and its newsletter is
     practically becoming a fanzine in its own right. Information from
     ClareCraft.

-----------------------------------------
PTERRY ON THE PTELLY
-----------------------------------------

--- The Bromiliad ---

   The film rights to the Bromiliad have been picked up by Dreamworks SKG
   - there is a rumour that they will do this CGI like they did Shreck.

--- Good Omens: The Film ---

   A movie about this is in pre-production now. Being filmed in Germany
   it is going to be directed by Terry Gilliam. According to Gilliam
   the contracts have been signed with Renaissance Films.

--- Truckers Video ---

   There is a video of "Truckers" available. The details are: Thames
   Television International, video Collection International VHS TV 8159,
   110 minutes, VHS-PAL, price: approx. 8 pounds.

--- Johnny and the Dead ---

        This is also available.

--- The Mort Film ---

   Terry wrote a couple of script drafts which went down well and
   everything was looking fine and then the US backers said "Hey, we've
   been doing market research in Power Cable, Nebraska, and other
   centres of culture, and the Death/skeleton bit doesn't work for us,
   it's a bit of a downer, we have a problem with it, so lose the skeleton".
   The rest of the consortium said, did you read the script? The Americans
   said: sure, we LOVE it, it's GREAT, it's HIGH CONCEPT. Just lose the
   Death angle, guys.

   Whereupon, Terry is happy to say, they were told to keep on with the
   medication and come back in a hundred years. Power Cable Nebraska doesn't
   appear to exist BTW. (at least my Encarta 96 Atlas didn't have it!)

   Maybe someone wants to go to Nebraska and plant a sign declaring
   Lincoln to actually be Power Cable. If there is ever an American
   DWCon we should hold it in Nebraska. There is even a place called
   Terrytown in Nebraska. Perhaps someone should get a photo of them
   selves infront of the sign with a P infront of the T.

--- Soul Music/Wyrd Sisters ---

        Also available on video for those that are interested. Details in the
        merchandise FAQ.

--- Terry Pratchett's Borneo Adventure ---

   He also helped out with a wildlife documentary in Borneo on Orang-Utans.
   This was recently (May 1995) shown in the United Kingdom and no one really
   knows if it is going to be released on video. I heard from the production
   company and if there is enough interest it will be.

--- Theatrical Plays ---

   Oxford's Studio Theatre Club went on to stage Stephen's adaptations of
   Wyrd Sisters, Mort, Guards! Guards!,Maskerade and Jingo

   If you are interested in more information, please E-mail:
   mailto:sbriggs@cix.compulink.co.uk

   Some of these plays are available in book form as well. (see Bib)

--- From the Discworld CD ---

   A mainly instrumental collection written by Dave Greenslade, a friend
   of Terry's probably best known for the Pentateuch double album. A
   Discworld Theme album.

-----------------------------------------
COMMON THREADS.
-----------------------------------------

Some threads, like the perennial bad penny, just keep turning up. At
least read this section of the FAQ before indulging yourself in posting
about any of the following subjects. Remember your [I]'s and [R]'s please!

--- Using groups.google if you want ---

Sometimes it is a great idea to trawl groups.google to look at threads past.
Interestingly enough, this very document comes up in the database as one of
the oldest posts on AFP. Though it is fair to say that it has already been
said before you will most likely pull some pearls from an afp of the past.
This is definitely recommended if you are posting a new thread that you
suspect may have been discussed before.

Point your browser at <http://groups.google.com/> and in the search terms box
place your topic and alt.fan.pratchett.

Just because something has been discussed before doesn't mean it can't
be discussed again - but if you are looking for an answer to a question
(which is what this FAQ is about) then groups.google is a great start.

--- What is the "N-Word" in Soul Music ---

Quoth, the Raven, won't say the N-Word. The N-Word is "Never More".
You can find out more about the literary relevance of this
phrase (if you don't recognise it) and the answers to questions
that you didn't know that you had in the Annotated Pratchett File
available at your friendly neighborhood lspace web.

<http://www.lspace.org/>


--- Old AFP versus New AFP ---

Every now and then the group gets very restless. I suspect this has
more to do with people deciding that what they once found was funny
is now somewhat tiresome. The "good old days" are brought up and
handed around. This at times has lead to the creation of the
new groups like alt.books.pratchett. Other times this leads to flame
wars.

My only advice on this one is that you consider that at some stage
you are likely to be, or have been, on the other side of this
argument. If you stick around you WILL become an oldbie. You will
probably get annoyed at newbies. Those that seem locked in their
ivory tower of oldbieness you will note as time goes on have
very similar views to you. It is kinda funny that way.

--- What is UNCLEAR PHYSICS and Where can I get a copy? ---

  Unclear Physics was the WORKING TITLE of the book INTERESTING TIMES.
  This particular FAQ writer gets at least three letters a month asking
  for the ISBN of this book (which I am sure amuses everyone else on
  the newsgroup :-). This happens so often that I got my copy of
  IT signed as THIS IS NOT UNCLEAR PHYSICS.

  I dunno if it was a joke but Terry recently said that he might
  actually write a book called "unclear physics" as the title was
  about a particular plot point in IT that never came to fruition.
  This is speculation.

--- Posting an Annotation ---

  An annotation (usually marked [A]) of a Terry Pratchett book is a
  reflection of a small "inside joke" used in the text. An example of
  which is the "Soul Food Cafe" scene in "Soul Music".

  Something written or filmed after the publication of a TP book obviously
  does not constitute an annotation. The television show "Due South"
  might have been influenced in some way by "Guards! Guards!" but it is
  impossible for it to have happened the other way around.

  You might also want to consider how you phrase a prospective annotation.
  Some annotations sound more like allegations of plagiarism rather
  than a helpful attempt to point out an inside joke. Such allegations might
  even be considered libelous.

  When posting an annotation it would be helpful if you included:

        1) The original text you are annotating (TP's) (include page number)
        2) The year of the source of the annotation. (Blues Brothers (1981))
        3) As close an approximation as you can get of the text of the
           source. (i.e. writing out the conversation in the Soul Food Cafe)

  If you are worried that your annotation may have been covered before I
  suggest that you trawl Dejanews with the original "TP" text. As we
  would like you to quote the original when annotating anyway this means
  that simply by searching on the original text you should be able to
  find any extra commentary.

--- Criticising Terry Pratchett on Alt.Fan.Pratchett ---

The following is some quotes that Terry Posted after a mini flame war
erupted through one group of people suggesting that book X was much
worse than book Y and another group of people suggesting "get out of
your tree ... this is AFP ... we don't critisise *him* here".

Note this was from before "The Last Continent" was even a gleam
in Terry's eye.

These are Terry's exact words:

   "Oh dear..."

    "   Let me drop a few things into this quite interesting thread.

    "1 I always listen to advice.  It's polite.

    "2  If I *heeded* all the advice I've had over the years, I've have
        written 18 books about Rincewind.  Absolutely true.  The most
        common plea in my mail right now is 'when are we going to read
        about Rincewind in XXXX?'

    "   I'm being instructed that I have a duty to my readers -- if I was
        innocent, I'd be attaching corks to that battered pointy hat even
        now.  But perhaps this is an issue on which I have thought long
        and hard.  After all, it's my living and ten years of my life.

    "   If Discworld continues, then old characters will continue --
        Rincewind will get red dust in his sandals, the Watch will be back,
        Gaspode will probably limp into stories.  And new characters will
        arise.  Why not?  It's not as if there are *rules*.  What will
        probably *end* Discworld is simple crowding -- the Watch already
        make Ankh-Morpork based stories a little problematical, and I won't
        get into the comic book convention of having Captain Courage out
        of town so that Commander Socko can take centre stage.

    "3  I wish people wouldn't feel obliged to put in the 'no offence
        meant, pterry' rubric.  I'm a big boy.  I don't take offence easily
        at criticism above the 'Moving Pictures is crap' level and can tell
        if offence is meant, on the whole. If something *is* offensive, to
        me or anyone else, 'NOM,P' is superfluous. As they say elsewhere,
        you own your words - in all senses of 'own'.

        Anyway, as I've harped before, afp isn't mine.  If I log on and
        read something I don't like, I have the same options as anyone else
        (actually, I probably don't, come to think of it -- but that's my
        problem)

    "   I do get embarrassed when people give me a lecture on my duties,
        approach to writing, tell me book X isn't a patch on book Y, and
        then send me a private email hastening to assure me that 'no
        offence is meant'.  But I do grin when, after all of this, they
        tag on that "it's about time we saw Gaspode again" or they're
        waiting for Rincewind's adventures on XXXX..."

        - Terry Pratchett

Terry's views are here for all to see. It would be advisable for all
sides to take note. AFP *is* about discussing the books, characters
excetra - how that discussion goes is up to you. Remember though ...
politeness is a virtue.

Terry would also like to point out that anything you post is
"Your Words in EVERY SENSE". They are stored in groups.google and
other places - they are likely to be around a very long time.

--- WHY PTERRY? ---

   Pterry is an affectionate nickname in the tradition of his book
   Pyramids. Pteppic, Ptracy and therefore Pterry.

--- CASTING MOVIES ---

    Leo Breebaart went through 13 Mb of a.f.p. logfiles, extracted 450 Kb of "Let's
    cast a Discworld movie" articles, and put together a complete list of
    all the suggestions ever made, leaving out the less serious
    possibilities. This can be found at the Pratchett Archives.

    This thread seems to be fairly virulent at the moment so I hope all
    potential posters have had a look at the casting page at www.lspace.org

    You CAN post a casting thread - but I recommend you check out all
    that has been suggested before so you don't do the obvious.

    "I reckon that James Earl Jones would make a gread Death."

    Some of us suspect that this phrase was the first ever transmitted
    over the internet. It was soon followed by:

    "Does Pterry Post here or What?"

    What has been amusing me even more of late is the thread of casting an
    AFP movie. In traditional AFP style everyone is arguing which actor would
    best represent them while completely ignoring the question of the proposed
    film's plot. Then again this is AFP ... there would not be a plot!

--- How should I pronounce Rincewind's Name? ---

   Terry himself pronounces it to rhyme with "Mince pinned" and in Eric,
   Rincewind meets his ancestor whose translated name means "Washer
   [Rinser?] of Winds". Evidence would then tend to point to this
   pronunciation (like the pronunciations in the Discworld Game)

--- How should I pronounce Gaspode's Name? ---

   According to the game the wonder dog's name is pronounced to rhyme
   with Gas-Mode. Not Gas-Po-Dee. As I thought. Apparently no one else
   did. But I did. So Nyeh.

--- What are the words to the The Hedgehog Song? ---

   The words to the Hedgehog song (many different versions) can be found
   at the Pratchett Archives. Download, Print, Visit the pub, consume
   alcohol and sing. (It probably sounds better)(Well .. to you at least)
   There is no line about a two speed hedge trimmer in this song.

--- What/Where is the Missing Chapter? ---

   There is *NO* Missing Chapter!

   If some guy comes up to you at a meet and says "hey baby, wanna
   come back to my place, see my local area network and download
   the missing chapter?" he probably just wants sex.

   One of the more recalcitrant threads that pops up, much like the
   legend of the Yeti, Yowie or Bigfoot, is the legend of the Missing
   Chapter. The story goes that, late one night whilst working on a
   particularly hilarious section of the Discworld Chronicles Terry
   accidently transmitted a section of his work to alt.fan.pratchett
   and then had his computer suffer something akin to a complete hard
   disk failure. Fun is had by all as alt.fan.pratchett regularly mounts
   search parties around the internet looking for this particular untamed
   ornithoid. (this was Leo's Fault! (and TP went along with it!))

--- What is a "Merkin"? ---

   Merkin is an affectionate name used by some of the denizens of
   alt.fan.pratchett for citizens of the United States. If you want
   to know what the word really means I suggest that you consult a good
   dictionary.

   Apparently on one of the larger US networks AFP's newsgroup description
   says "Book signings and the sale of Merkins". One unfortunate
   actually posted asking where could he order a merkin. Apparently he needed
   one due to an embarrasing personal problem.

   No one on AFP sells Merkins. (although it could signal a strange new
   diversification of the CMOT Briggs enterprise :-). CMOT replied that
   he didn't really want to explain all this to the British Postal Service.

--- Does Terry Pratchett post here or what? ---

   He does - and sometimes he doesn't.  It is kind of Quantum really.

--- Due South/Frazier/Carrot/Hey aren't they ... ---

   A television series  came along which was based around  a wide
   eyed Canadian Mountie working as a cop in deep dark Chicago. Many
   have noted that similarities exist between the character Frazier
   and the beloved Discworld "Dwarf" Carrot. Well Terry's books were
   written first so no, he didn't copy the idea. I have no information
   suggesting that the creators of Due South are even aware of the
   adventures of Carrot. So it is likely that they didn't copy either.
   If they did, I missed the episode where Frazier fought the Dragon,
   or the one where a crazy man with a Gonne tried to make Frazier
   mayor of Chicago ... and I am sure that the woman at the police
   station who likes Frazier is *not* a werewolf.

--- What is [G], [C], [G], [O], [O], [K] ---

  Several other "bracketed capitals" have cropped up on alt.fan.pratchett
  These are not "official" and sometimes I wonder if people make up new
  ones just to keep life interesting. [I], [R], and the occasional [A]
  are simple ... anything more is bordering on the anal-retentive. You
  shouldn't constantly need to refer to a manual to read Usenet!

  Karen posts an FAQ explaining all of this.

--- Your Purity Test Score ---

  I have a hard time reconciling this topic with anything in the TP books,
  as, as mentioned in the DW Companion, there is no real sex in the DW or
  other TP books. (No actual sex, just some before bits and some after
  bits - as in Good Omens and Men at Arms). So unless you have something
  to post about Carrot's purity score, maybe these admissions are best
  left to the alt.sex groups :-)

--- Will there be a sequel to "Good Omens" ---

  Nope. What is left to say?

--- What is Slood? ---

  Slood is a substance only invented by intelligent civilisations.
  Our civilisation hasn't invented slood. Draw your own conclusions.

-----------------------------------------
MISCELLANY
-----------------------------------------

   Here's some stuff that didn't fit into any other category.

--- Similar Authors ---

   P.G. Wodehouse, Douglas Adams, Jerome K. Jerome, Robert Rankin, Tom
   Sharpe, Tom Holt, Calvin Trillin, P.J O'Rourke and Dave Barry are some
   people whose styles are similar. He reminds me a bit of Joseph Heller
   (Catch 22) as well ... although not so cynical.

   Terry occasionally also posts information about books that interest
   him or have impressed him recently. Keep a look out on alt.fan.pratchett

--- The Future ---

   DISCWORLD POST PTERRY.

   Terry is a fairly young bloke (well my dad would say so as they were born
   only 2 months apart) so is only old enough to be Uncle Pterry instead of
   Grandpa Pterry so there is at least 40 years left in him yet. However, in
   recent times, other author's work has been "resurrected" after their death.
   This brings up the possibility, of course, of Discworld (or Johnny Maxwell
   and Truckers) Novels being written by "someone else". Terry had obviously
   given this some thought and has put in place the legal framework so that
   NO ONE BUT TERRY PRATCHETT WRITES DISCWORLD.

   Whether or not this means that a "50th Anniversary Tribute" to the Discworld
   could be written for Terry whilst he is still alive in 2033 similar to what
   Terry himself did for Tolkien in "After the King" (see the Bib for details)
   or Asimov had this done in "Friends of the Foundation" is questionable.
   (You can email Terry in 2033 to ask if you want :-)

   I wonder if someone changed their name by deed pole to "Terry Pratchett"
   that they would be allowed to do this :-)

--- Big NO NO's! ---

 The following things are advised not be done on alt.fan.pratchett. The
 reasons why they should not be done are detailed here. The internet is,
 of course, free and 'youcanpostwhateveryouwant' but I hope that you see
 the following as an intelligent and logical set of rules.

        Posting Fan Fiction to alt.fan.pratchett

        It is asked that you do not post your own discworld/pratchettesque
        Stories to the newsgroup. Someone might feel that an idea in a newly
        released TP novel was similar to one they posted on day X. They might
        even have the audacity to take TP to court on this. (this *HAS*
        happened to television people on other newsgroups). To avoid the
        possibility of this ever occurring Pterry politely asked that we not
        post our own stories to alt.fan.pratchett. See the 'Fan Fiction
        Mailing List' for where you can post your stories in safety.

        Posting 'Posting Stats'

        After several bad experiences it has been generally decided that
        putting forward lists showing the people who contribute the most
        articles to afp is a really bad idea. The reaction has been 'gosh
        I only posted X articles ... better post more to improve my ranking'
        This generally means alt.fan.pratchett is flooded with a higher than
        usual amount of rubbish.

        Posting "Test Posts"

        There is a newsgroup which automatically responds to test posts
        via email telling you where your news post has landed around the
        world. Test posts on alt.fan.pratchett are likely to be followed
        up and become long winded threads in their own right. The newsgroup
        is alt.test. Although nothing is wrong with this, there is a more
        effective way of testing your news server :-)

      This got so out of hand that there is now a newsgroup (lspace.test)
        devoted purely to afp test posts.

--- Inconsistencies ---

   Well, he is fallible. Known inconsistencies are documented in the
   Annotated Pratchett File. (available at the Pratchett Archives).
   The Author suggests, however, that there are few inconsistencies
   merely several alternative pasts. :-). These are getting rarer
   as time goes on and a discworld "lore" builds itself up.

--- Appearances ---

   Book signings:

   He'll post when he's going walkabout, so just bide your time and see.
   The alt.fan.pratchett www page usually has some information in this area
   if you missed it. Generally he will sign three novels per person, and,
   if there is time, get on to the others.

   The Stamp which reads EX LIBRIS MORTIS - HIC EST VITA VESTER
   means
           FROM THE LIBRARY OF DEATH
           THIS IS YOUR LIFE (S Briggs Translation)

   There is a Web Page on the Lspace Web with tour details.

        He generally goes on tours after a book is just published.

--- The Orang-Utan Foundation ---

   Those who enjoyed the program where Terry went to Borneo and want
   to find out more about Orang-Utans can contact:

   The Orangutan Foundation
   7 Kent Terrace,
   London NW1 4RP
   United Kingdom.

--- Approximate Number of Books Published ---

   The current estimates that there are over 40 million Terry Pratchett
   books published worldwide at the moment. This will probably increase
   at a rate of a million per year. (A LOT of books)

   If each Pratchett book was placed on top of another Prachett book -
   There would be over 40 million of them! (you didn't see that joke
   coming did you!)

-----------------------------------------
CREDITS
-----------------------------------------

   Many people have contributed to this FAQ (so much so that almost two
   whole pages of text were taken up with credits). In the interests of
   bandwidth I removed them. If you want a list of those who have
   contributed to the FAQ (and Bibliography) email me and I will forward
   one to you. Thank you to all people who have helped out with this FAQ,
   it is very very very very very very very much appreciated.

   Thanks to Leo for all his help over the years. If it wasn't for him
   there wouldn't really be any order to the online pratchett universe.

   Thanks to my fiancee Oksana - you are the best!

Orin
<http://primus.lspace.org/>