=========================================================================== THE ALT.FAN.PRATCHETT TIMELINE -- 1992 - 1996: The First Four Years Edited by Leo Breebaart (leo@lspace.org) =========================================================================== This is the alt.fan.pratchett Timeline, a personal gift from me to all the a.f.p readers past, present and future, on the occasion of the newsgroup's fourth birthday. I have tried to cover as many events, milestones and historically interesting "first occurrences" as I could remember and/or find in my logfiles. The a.f.p. articles used to illustrate the Timeline were edited down, cleaned up and reformatted, but no original text has been paraphrased or otherwise adapted. This is as close to how it really happened as I could come while still maintaining readability. I'm very grateful to Colm Buckley, Robert Collier and Mike Knell for proofreading draft versions of the Timeline and giving much useful feedback and support. Enjoy, -- Leo Breebaart (leo@lspace.org) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE ALT.FAN.PRATCHETT TIMELINE The First Year: 30 Jan 1992 - 29 Jan 1993 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- =========================================================================== 30 Jan 1992 -- Craig Harding creates alt.fan.pratchett. Strangely enough I cannot find evidence of him subsequently ever posting even a single article to a.f.p, which makes you wonder why he created the group in the first place. I suppose he had his reasons... =========================================================================== Newsgroups: alt.config,alt.fan.pratchett Subject: newgroup alt.fan.pratchett From: kilroy@acme.gen.nz (earthbound misfit, I) Date: Thu, 30 Jan 92 23:50:57 Control: newgroup alt.fan.pratchett This is a newgroup message for the group "alt.fan.pratchett", designed as a place to discuss the writing of humourous fantasy author Terry Pratchett. This was discussed on alt.config where the consensus emerged that this would be a worthwhile newsgroup and alt.fan would be an appropriate location in the altnet, following in the footsteps of groups such as alt.fan.douglas-adams. =========================================================================== 31 Jan 1992 -- In a brilliant move Paul Gillingwater assures himself of a place in a.f.p. history when, with the group not even 24 hours old, he manages to make the first mention of both movie-casting and James Earl Aarrgghh in a single posting. =========================================================================== From: paul@actrix.gen.nz (Paul Gillingwater) Subject: Re: WELCOME TO DISCWORLD. Date: 31 Jan 92 21:37:56 GMT >> HELLO. >> P.P.P.S. I HOPE YOU LIKE CATS. > > Okay, okay, so you're the first. You don't have to SHOUT about it, > now, do you? That wasn't shouting. That's the normal way that DEATH speaks. As Terry himself once said, he'd like James Earl Jones to play that part in the movie... =========================================================================== 2 Feb 1992 -- A.f.p. readers have always been a colorful international bunch. In this article, a Norwegian was the first to propose something that initially found its way into the FAQ maintained by a New Zealander, and which eventually would be picked up, many months later, by a Dutchman. =========================================================================== From: toriver@flipper.pvv.unit.no (Tor Iver Wilhelmsen) Subject: Metaphors (Was: quote poser) Date: 2 Feb 92 18:16:25 GMT Does anyone feel up to compiling a list of the various references to other works that crops up in Pratchett's works, such as the Lovecraftian inspirations (Bel-Shammaroth,the Dungeon Dimensions, The Place The Dragons Dwell etc.), more like an "annotations" collection?? =========================================================================== 7 Feb 1992 -- The first attempt at collecting a file of Pratchett quotes. Unfortunately, nothing came of it. =========================================================================== From: msmith@lssec.bt.co.uk (Martin Smith) Subject: Pratchett Quotes - An Idea Date: 7 Feb 92 09:54:57 GMT I was thinking that a Discworld, or perhaps just TP, section in fortunes.dat would be a good idea containing some of the best lines from the books. Then I thought why spend ages poring over the books when there are millions? of TP fans out there who probably have them all memorized anyway. If people would like to pick their favourite quotes and mail them to me I'll post the results back here. =========================================================================== 15 Feb 1992 -- The first sign of a newly created Usenet newsgroup's popularity usually is when enough people start asking the same questions over and over again for the 'regulars' to become irritated by it. =========================================================================== From: sigrorn@icemark.uucp (B.E.Heinen) Subject: alt.fan.pratchett FAQ? Date: 15 Feb 92 17:03:38 GMT > Could someone please send me the complete list which was posted > recently? Since this is not the first request to this list, I suggest to create an FAQ to this group. Is there already someone building one? If not, I'll do it... =========================================================================== 19 Feb 1992 -- In the true spirit of Usenet (and in this case I use that phrase without sarcasm) it didn't take people too long to work things out, and the most popular a.f.p. document ever was born. =========================================================================== From: gnat@kauri.vuw.ac.nz (Nathan Torkington) Subject: Tentative FAQ Date: 19 Feb 92 00:10:37 GMT I've talked with sigrorn@icemark.uucp (B.E.Heinen) about creating an FAQ for this group and he figures it's probably easiest if I do it as I already have the software set up for autoposting and the like. The first questions should be: a) Do we need an FAQ? Are there sufficient Frequently Asked Questions to justify it? b) What are those FAQs? c) What are their answers? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: gnat@kauri.vuw.ac.nz (Nathan Torkington) Subject: Tentative FAQ v0.2 Date: 10 May 92 10:37:10 GMT ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: gnat@kauri.vuw.ac.nz (Nathan Torkington) Subject: alt.fan.pratchett FAQ Date: 5 Jul 92 01:37:30 GMT ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: tpratchett@cix.compulink.co.uk (Terry Pratchett) Subject: New Questions for the FAQ Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 18:08:01 +0000 You could add to the FAQ that Terry generally answers mail, eventually, but can no longer be having with the blunt 'Hey, are you Terry Pratchett or what?' messages. =========================================================================== 23 Mar 1992 -- The first pubic wig thread is started. =========================================================================== From: f026@uea.ac.uk. (Mike Salmon) Subject: Re: Good Omens Date: 23 Mar 92 18:51:25 GMT > Dick Turpin was a famous 18th century highwayman in England. It just never *occured* to me that they might not have heard of D.T.! Similarly, anyone think of someone that every 'merkin knows of that I don't? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: winalski@tle.enet.dec.com (Paul S. Winalski) Subject: Re: Dick Turpin, etc. in Good Omens (spoilers) Date: 25 Mar 92 01:30:18 GMT As a 'merkin, I also missed the Dick Turpin reference. There was a cross-eyed Hollywood silent film comedian named Turpin, and I thought it was a reference to him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: mark@hpwin052.uksr.hp.com (Mark Bailey) Subject: Re: Good Omens in US (was Re: UK Paperback release dates...) Date: 25 Mar 92 18:45:19 GMT 'merkin? Try looking up "merkin" in the dictionary, it's not just a word for Americans - or did you mean that? =========================================================================== Since then, merkins have continued to fascinate and frustrate countless generations of alt.fan.pratchett readers: =========================================================================== From: TerryP@unseen.demon.co.uk (Terry Pratchett) Subject: Re: WHAT? Date: Sat, 13 Feb 1993 11:16:46 +0000 >> What exactly IS a Merkin then? Anything like a Mere-cat? > > Which reminds me - in Brent Cross there used to be a shop called > "Merkin Opticians". Why would a merkin need glasses? Okay, I suppose it has to be me that says it. An old meaning of 'merkin' is a pubic wig for ladies. It was quite widely known, according to the list of references here. Mind you, my dictionary of slang can find an embarrassing meaning for just about any word, so can we please avoid any cheap jibes on this agreeable international forum? I'm not sure why one would need glasses, or what they would find to look at... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: The Merkin thread Subject: More merkins Subject: Merkins and stuff Subject: Merkins (was Re: Whingeing Poms) Subject: The Merkin Mystery Subject: Merkin Madness (Was Re: Chinese food) Subject: James Earl Jones in a wig (not: 'merkin [1] in a merkin.) Subject: Parties, merkins, and kilts Subject: Codpieces and Merkins ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: nudnik@camelot.bradley.edu (Steven Parks) Subject: Re: The Superior Person's Little Book of Words > I HAD TO TAKE CARE OF A CAT NAMED MERKIN!!!!!!!!!!! here, pussy pussy pussy!!! ;) =========================================================================== Jun 1992 -- The article itself only survives as a quote in someone else's followup, but it was sometime in this month that we first learned that Terry Pratchett could actually be reached by e-mail. =========================================================================== dwindera@cix.compulink.co.uk writes: > Just a quick note to let you know that Terry Pratchett is now a member > of the "pratchett" conference on CIX in the UK (our answer to the Net). > > You can Mail him here as tpratchett@cix.compulink.co.uk =========================================================================== 19 Jun 1992 -- The first 'breadstuff'-related question is asked, and answered. A year later, the issue is still actively under discussion. =========================================================================== From: rizzoe@acfcluster.nyu.edu Subject: Eccles Date: 19 Jun 92 13:00:44 GMT Can anyone from the UK please tell me what an Eccles cake is? I came across the reference in Tom Holt's "Flying Dutch" but I'm sure I've seen the word mentioned on this group before. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: berry@athos.pei.com (Berry Kercheval) Subject: Re: Eccles Date: 23 Jun 92 00:55:23 GMT > An Eccles cake is, basically, raisins cooked inside a crisp, > flakey-pastry shell. They are DELICIOUS! OK, fine. Now, what's a BlueBottle Cake? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: casimira@lcs.mit.edu (Paula Mickevich) Subject: Remember ECCLES cakes??? Date: 16 Jul 93 10:19:47 Boy, I remember when I started reading this newsgroup one of the discussions was an Eccles cakes. No matter how much things change they always stay the same. Please, I beg you all, STOP TALKING ABOUT FOOD, ESP BAKERY PRODUCTS. =========================================================================== 4 Jul 1992 -- Perhaps the most important moment in a.f.p. history: Terry's first appearance on the newsgroup. =========================================================================== From: tpratchett@cix.compulink.co.uk (Terry Pratchett) Subject: DW MUDS Date: 4 Jul 92 11:50:10 GMT This is a little nudge that I hope will find its way to people out there doing Discword MUDS and who didn't take the obvious precaution of asking me first. They've got a month to make contact with my agent (Colin Smythe, PO Box 6, Gerrards Cross, Bucks, SL9 8XA UK) where a little confession would be good for their soul -- and it may just be, if they're running a halfway decent MUD, that they'll be allowed to go legit for free. No promises, but let's just say I'm not looking for excuses to be nasty. I've given lots of permissions for lots of stuff to all kinds of people around the world, and somehow the idea of a situation where people ask permission and the owner of the copyright and trademark says 'fine' seems to me generally decent and clean. All the best, Terry ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: tpratchett@cix.compulink.co.uk (Terry Pratchett) Subject: Hi, people Date: 5 Jul 92 20:02:13 GMT If this works, it's because dwindera gave me painstaking intructions ('place fingers on keyboard...KEYBOARD...it's that oblong thing...) and here I am, maybe. Couple of points (I've been reading a few previous messages). My 33mhz 486 is no longer a goshwow machine, Dell having done their usual trick of waiting until I bought it before dropping the price hugely. I keep vaguely wondering what Macs are like, but the ones I've seen spend too much time being friendly....Bravd and the Weasel were indeed takeoffs of Leiber characters -- there was a lot of that sort of thing in TCOM. But I didn't -- at least conciously, I suppose I must say -- create Ankh-Morpork as a takeoff of Lankhmar. Originally it was just Morpork, then Ankh just sounded nice...hmm...I don't think those are too bad as inconsistencies over 13 books, especially since I could argue about one or two....I'm not happy about the US covers, but they sell better with those than with Josh's, according to Roc; personally, I think most of them are very poor and usually bear the merest relationship to the text. Um. Can't remember any more. Farewell! I must be going! (Hooray for Captain Spaulding....) Terry =========================================================================== 10 Jul 1992 -- Organizing a Discworld Convention; now *there's* a silly idea... =========================================================================== From: nlc@vulcan.xtel.co.uk (Neil Cook) Subject: Re: Covers Date: 10 Jul 92 12:28:32 GMT Or howabout we organise the first DW convention, where we all dress like our favourite characters, and then stand around embarrassed about how ridiculous we must look. And then brighten up as we realise that at least we're not as bad as those trekkies. (Sorry - trekkers). I'm sorry, I think I've gone mad. I'll shutup now. =========================================================================== 29 Jul 1992 -- The Annotated Pratchett File is conceived. =========================================================================== From: leo@ph.tn.tudelft.nl (Leo Breebaart) Subject: Re: Yawn. Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 11:59:02 GMT It's difficult to come up with more Small Gods gags from memory, though. There were so many I'm sure I did not get all of the references. Which brings me to the fact that I more and more wish that there was an "Annotated Pratchett" file somewhere. The FAQ makes a good start, but it could be a whole project in its own right. Tell you what; if people are interested in this, I'm willing to start the Annotated Pratchett Project right here and now. If there is any in-joke in a Terry Pratchett book that you feel people might easily "not get" because they are not familiar with the subject matter it refers to, mail an explanation to me at leo @ ph.tn.tudelft.nl And I will collect and post the results back to the net. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: leo@ph.tn.tudelft.nl (Leo Breebaart) Subject: The Annotated Pratchett File, v1.4 Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1992 14:01:16 GMT Archive-name: annotated-pratchett Last-modified: 1992/08/12 13:56:03 Version: 1.4 Maintained-by: Leo Breebaart (leo@ph.tn.tudelft.nl) [ As promised, here is the first public version of the Annotated Pratchett File. Please don't hesitate to let me know what you think of it, or if you have any suggestions for improvement. Most welcome of all are additional entries. I'm counting on you. -- Leo ] =========================================================================== 11 Aug 1992 -- First use of a footnote in an a.f.p. article. =========================================================================== From: charless@sco.COM (charles stross) Subject: Re: Brentford Trilogy Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1992 12:11:48 GMT > 'The Antipope' (ISBN o 552 13841 X) > 'The Brentford Triangle' (ISBN 0 552 13842 8) > 'East of Ealing' (Not sure about the ISBN of this one, possibly 13843?) In addition, there's a fourth volume in the trilogy[*], called ``The Sprouts of Wrath''. I haven't read it yet, so no comment and no ISBN ... [*] where have I heard this before? Hmmm ... =========================================================================== 19 Sep 1992 -- Terry Tao and Andrew Millard devise and post the rules for Cripple Mr Onion. =========================================================================== From: tao@ginger.princeton.edu (Terry Tao) Subject: Cripple Mr Onion Date: Sat, 19 Sep 1992 17:02:13 GMT I have spent the last summer reconstructing the game "Cripple Mr Onion" from "Witches Abroad", and it seems to be getting quite popular here. If any one is interested in the rules of this (it's sort of a cross between pontoon/blackjack and poker), I'll probably be able to type them in. Andrew Millard (using Terry Tao's account) =========================================================================== 29 Oct 1992 -- The first pedant points are awarded on a.f.p. =========================================================================== From: jwh@doc.ic.ac.uk (James William Handley) Subject: Re: Paperbacks Date: 29 Oct 92 13:42:16 GMT > Pedantic mode on: > > Full quote is - > "We're 106 miles from Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a > pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses. Hit it!" > > Pedantic mode off: Congrats.. take 50 Pedant Points.... ;-) =========================================================================== --------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE ALT.FAN.PRATCHETT TIMELINE The Second Year: 30 Jan 1993 - 29 Jan 1994 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- =========================================================================== 3 Feb 1993 -- A second attempt at collecting Pratchett quotes is made. =========================================================================== From: leo@cp.tn.tudelft.nl (Leo Breebaart) Subject: Send me your Pratchett Quotes Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1993 16:09:23 GMT Ok, let's get this show on the road -- now that I have established an ftp-site I might as well find a few more files to fill it with. I'm willing to collect and store all your favourite Pratchett quotes, be they short ("Oook!"), long ("No-one would have believed, in the final years of the Century of the Fruitbat, that Discworld affairs were being watched keenly and impatiently by intelligences greater than Man's, or at least much nastier; that their affairs were being scrutinised and studied as a man with a three-day appetite might study the All-You-Can-Gobble-For-A-Dollar menu outside Harga's House of Ribs..."), or just plain memorable ("The knuckles! The horrible knuckles!"). =========================================================================== 1 Mar 1993 -- The first beer thread. =========================================================================== From: stevensm@p4.cs.man.ac.uk (Mik Stevens) Subject: Re: Lecture Games Date: 26 Feb 93 09:30:53 GMT > If the lecture is that boring, why go? (speaking as someone who has > done just that! :) How about, going to the pub. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: crosby@ucsu.Colorado.EDU (Matthew Crosby) Subject: Re: Lecture Games Date: 1 Mar 93 18:16:48 GMT > How about, going to the pub. Yes, but in this sorry excuse for a country the nazi-like laws are such that those of use under the age of 21, while being quite allowed to go and join the army, aren't allowed to go get pissed in the local beer hall, so we have to create other diversions :-( Not that it matters, anyway. American beer is HORRIBLE stuff. The old joke about sex in canoes is qute appropriate. =========================================================================== Reading through the log files it quickly becomes apparent that a.f.p. readers are much more interested in alcohol than in sex or food, because the beer discussions vastly outnumber the merkin and bread threads as illustrated by the following partial list of Subjects. =========================================================================== Subject: Guiness advertisement Subject: Please!! No more Guiness! Subject: Re: Australians, Rutger Hauer and Beer Subject: Re: student funds(beer) Subject: Re: Ginger Beer Subject: Beer?(was: What Happenened 'Twixt "Equal Rites" and "Wyrd Sisters"?) Subject: Re: It's a Beer Thread! Duck! (was Re: Units (was Disc spinn Subject: Re: beer Subject: Re: Increasingly Irrelevant, but still beer (was Re: beer) Subject: Re: Still increasingly irrelevant (was Re: beer) Subject: Terry, do you fancy a beer?? Subject: Ice Beer (was Re: killing) Subject: FREE BEER Subject: Re: BEER THREAD RANT! (was Balck Sheep...) Subject: beer and roundabouts Subject: Re: ANNOUNCE: U.S. Senate Bill S. 314 (and beer) Subject: Re: Irish beer - Nectar of the Gods, or Urine of Satan? Subject: Re: *I* Interesting Guiness Travels (was ANNOUNCE: A.F.P Meet: Cam) Subject: BEER (Which is by definition *R* to everything!) Subject: Re: Canadian Beer is good D**nit! =========================================================================== 15 Apr 1993 -- The first version of the Pratchett Quote File is posted. =========================================================================== From: leo@cp.tn.tudelft.nl (Leo Breebaart) Subject: The Pratchett Quote File, v1.0 Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1993 16:09:13 GMT Asking someone to repeat a phrase you'd not only heard very clearly but were also exceedingly angry about was around Defcon II in the lexicon of squabble. -- (Terry Pratchett, Witches Abroad) 'I saw a film where there was an alien crawling around inside a spaceship's air ducts and it could come out wherever it liked', said Johnny reproachfully. 'Doubtless it had a map', said the Captain. -- (Terry Pratchett, Only You Can Save Mankind) [...] =========================================================================== 13 May 1993 -- "The Missing Chapter" is a.f.p.'s perennial running gag and newbie teaser. Ever wonder how it all began? And just who started it? =========================================================================== From: paul@actrix.co.at (Paul Gillingwater) Subject: Terry's posts don't make it to Austria Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 21:16:02 ECT It's nice to see Terry still commenting, but there appears to be a problem with distribution of news articles. Here in Austria, I only ever get to see articles that quote Terry, but never his originals. This may be due to some problem with the Distribution: field, but I'm puzzled by the fact that others in Europe seem to see them. How about it, Leo? You're in the Low Country -- do you see his originals? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: tpratchett@unseen.demon.co.uk (Terry Pratchett) Subject: Re: Terry's posts don't make it to Austria Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 07:18:08 +0000 I know I occasionally get mail bounced when I reply to mail from Janet sites. As far as I'm concerned, I just post to the net. I don't know where it lands, I just throw it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: leo@cp.tn.tudelft.nl (Leo Breebaart) Subject: Re: Terry's posts don't make it to Austria Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 08:49:45 GMT > Now that you come to mention it, I never seem to see the original posts > either.....Does anyone on JANET get to read the original posts? You mean, not everybody has seen the draft chapter of the new Discworld novel-in-progress that Terry posted here last week? It was the most hilarious thing I've ever read -- especially the scene with the Librarian and the Patrician. If you haven't seen it at your site there is really something wrong with your site's news software... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: andyh@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Andy Holyer) Subject: Re: Terry's posts don't make it to Austria Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 11:57:08 GMT You mean the section about the football match? Match of the day will never be the same again. :-) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: mcodogno@nyx.cs.du.edu (Maurizio Codogno) Subject: Re: Terry's posts don't make it to Austria Date: Tue, 18 May 93 14:34:53 GMT > If you haven't seen it at your site there is really something with your > site's news software... No, the problem was with the typo in the Distribution: field in Terry's message. I had to directly dig in the spool area to get it... but it was worth the effort. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: u9253513@wampyr.cc.uow.edu.au (Timothy Connal Delaney) Subject: New Chapter ... HELP !!! Date: 19 May 1993 08:21:04 +1000 HELP !!! I've been hearing about this new chapter Terry has written, but it hasn't got here (which is strange because all his other posts make it). If anyone has it, could they possibly e-mail it to me (beg, plead, grovel). ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: wald@theory.lcs.mit.edu (David Wald) Subject: Re: New Chapter ... HELP !!! Date: Wed, 19 May 1993 17:14:15 GMT Breebaart, you are a nasty, nasty man. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: mcvos@cs.vu.nl (Vos MC) Subject: Re: New Chapter (was: Re: Terry's posts don't make it to Austria) Date: Wed, 19 May 1993 13:37:35 GMT Did I miss anything? I thought I read this group regularly, but I haven't seen any Discworld chapter here! Can someone repost it please? I wanna read it too! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: tpratchett@unseen.demon.co.uk (Terry Pratchett) Subject: Re: New Chapter ... HELP !!! Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 01:08:05 +0000 Me, me, me! I want to see it too! Only I lost a file when the power went during the thunderstorm so _the_only_copy_of_the_missing_chapter_is_somewhere_ _on_the_net... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: andyh@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Andy Holyer) Subject: Re: New Chapter ... HELP !!! Date: Wed, 19 May 1993 11:27:20 GMT Hang on... I'll look in our spool file..... Yup, got it. Only problem is that it's 194K, and the dreaded Confusion Circus will only let us post or mail 100K at a go. Can you handle ZIP format? I've got a feeling my version may have got corrupted. It stops in mid sentence in the passage about Rincewind, the bicycle pump and the pineapple chunks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: int720n@lindblat.cc.monash.edu.au (Aaron 'Wigs' Wigley) Subject: Re: New Chapter ... HELP !!! Date: Thu, 20 May 1993 10:05:53 GMT Relax people, I've got great news for you. I've snarfed the missing chapter off the group, compressed it, and made it available for anonymous ftp at: yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au:/pub/pterry/chapter.1.Z Go for it! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: v206gb6c@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu Subject: Re: New Chapter ... HELP !!! Date: Thu, 20 May 1993 14:50:00 GMT Could you set the protection on this file so it is world readable please? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: pmj@cs.nott.ac.uk (Peter M Jamieson) Subject: Re: New Chapter ... HELP !!! Date: Thu, 20 May 93 19:22:53 GMT i tried to get this chapter, but the permission was denied!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: pe95003@black.ox.ac.uk (C Paul Fisher) Subject: Re: New Chapter ... HELP !!! Date: Thu, 20 May 1993 20:24:56 GMT Wonderful. Thankyou. Except that when I get as far as typing get chapter.1.Z it responds: permission denied. Isnt that nice. Could you a> fix it ? and/or b> email me a copy ? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: int720n@lindblat.cc.monash.edu.au (Aaron 'Wigs' Wigley) Subject: FTP access to the missing Chapter.. Date: Fri, 21 May 1993 00:48:10 GMT ook. Sorry folks, this humble librarian has goofed. Ok, I have fixed the problem (for the experts - the file wasn't chmod to world readbility). It is now. Try again later (but please bear in mind yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au is a heavily loaded machine, so only try to ftp outside the hours of 6pm to 9am AEST (thats about 8am GMT to 11pm GMT). ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: int@ukc.ac.uk (I.N.Taylor) Subject: ftp address of missing chapter Date: 21 May 93 13:54:28 GMT OK, so maybe I'm just stupid. I've been searching the group for the ftp address of THE MISSING CHAPTER and can't find it. Can somebody email the address or better still, to save me the effort email THE CHAPTER. Thanks in advance. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: int720n@lindblat.cc.monash.edu.au (Aaron 'Wigs' Wigley) Subject: The Missing Chapter Date: Wed, 2 Jun 1993 23:56:07 GMT Ok, the moment you've all been cringing for.. I present for your inspection the summaries of the ftp logs on the Missing Chapter: TOTALS FOR SUMMARY PERIOD Fri May 21 1993 TO Wed Jun 2 1993 Files Transmitted During Summary Period 212 Bytes Transmitted During Summary Period 14157280 Systems Using Archives 147 Average Files Transmitted Daily 16 Average Bytes Transmitted Daily 1089022 =========================================================================== 20 May 1993 -- The weekly mini-FAQ is posted for the first time. =========================================================================== From: leo@cp.tn.tudelft.nl (Leo Breebaart) Subject: Welcome to alt.fan.pratchett! (mini-FAQ, please read) Summary: Lots of information about Terry Pratchett is available on the Internet. Why not check out this article before posting to the newsgroup? This reminder is posted weekly to alt.fan.pratchett. Date: Thu, 20 May 1993 15:27:47 GMT Archive-name: mini-FAQ Last-modified: 20 May 1993 Version: 0.1 (Beta) [ This is a first draft. Comments, suggestions, and improvements are welcome. My main goal is to cram as much info in as short a space as possible, so that people may actually end up *reading* this. -- Leo ] =========================================================================== 13 Jul 1993 -- Greater philosphical depth is brought to the bread discussions when Curt Widerhoeft introduces the burning issue of confusion caused by transatlantic linguistic differences (always a favourite a.f.p topic). =========================================================================== From: curtw@euler.jsc.nasa.gov (The Senile Scrutinizer) Subject: Annotation ideas: _Good Omens_ (long) Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 12:35:48 GMT British "crisps" are known in the US as "chips." What the Brits call "chips," we call "French fries." Now, the only burning questions are these: What do the French call strips of fried potatoes, and what's the British word for what Americans call "biscuits?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: andyh@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Andy Holyer) Subject: Re: Annotation ideas: _Good Omens_ (long) Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 13:50:06 GMT I'd like to know this too. They're a bit like a scone, but you usually eat scones as a sort of cake, not the way you eat biscuits. Especially not warm. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: udap913@oak.cc.kcl.ac.uk (Silver Omega) Subject: Chips, crisps, fries (Re: Annotation ideas...) Date: 13 Jul 93 16:56:02 BST I think the Americans call scones ("sk-ons") "biscuits", but I'm not certain. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: klein@egr.msu.edu (Jeffrey Klein) Subject: I say po-tay-to, you say po-tah-to Date: 13 Jul 1993 17:06:02 GMT Well, biscuits are smaller and rounder (I think, the scones I've had were large and wedgy). And I suppose they don't even -have- English Muffins in England. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: hdavies@rx.xerox.com (Hugh JE Davies) Subject: Re: I say po-tay-to, you say po-tah-to Date: 14 Jul 93 08:30:22 GMT There is no British equivalent of what the Americans call a "biscuit". The nearest thing is a "scone" (UK). Americans use "biscuits" (US) to mop up gravy, whereas Brits put jam and cream on scones. English muffins are normally only obtainable in the UK in American style fast food restaurants, although just plain "muffins" are commonly available. Now if only we can get the Americans to start eating crumpets. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: winalski@adserv.enet.dec.com (Paul S. Winalski) Subject: Re: I guess I shouldn't have mentioned food... Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1993 02:27:48 GMT Crumpets are not like English muffins in the same way that American biscuits are not like scones. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: gordon@robots.ox.ac.uk (Gordon Buxton) Subject: Re: Chips, crisps, fries (Re: Annotation ideas...) Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1993 12:02:12 GMT > Another bit of interesting trivia in this vein is the flattish baked > good that we Americans call "English muffins". The closest English > equivalent is crumpets. Our "English muffins" apparently really are > English (witness the old song, "Have you seen the muffin man?"), but > they disappeared from England earlier in this century. That's not true, I saw some 'Muffins' in Sainsbury's only the other day, right next door to the crumpets. I particularly remember because I thought to myself "so *that's* what a muffin is." ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: palmer@cis.ohio-state.edu (sharon ann palmer) Subject: Re: Annotation ideas: _Good Omens_ (long) Date: 16 Jul 1993 02:11:00 -0400 According to _The Joy of Cooking_ Scones are similar to biscuits, but richer, with butter, eggs, and cream rather than milk or buttermilk and oil or shortening. Biscuits are usually rolled thin and cut in 2-3" circles. But there are also drop biscuits, which is a thick batter pushed into a mound on the baking sheet. Scones are usually rolled into a larger (6-8") circle and cut into quarters (farls). They both are made with baking powder and baked. Rolls are made with yeast, milk (or buttermilk or water) and no fat. Usually. They are a bread dough made into indiviual portions and baked. English muffins are made with yeast, milk and butter, the dough is cut into 3" circles and cooked on a griddle. Crumpets are like English muffins, but have more liquid. The batter is poured into a ring on the griddle. Oh yes, they all have flour. :-) =========================================================================== Etcetera -- you get the picture. Dough discussions form a modest, but very well-established part of a.f.p. history. =========================================================================== Subject: Breadstuffs and all that Subject: Chips, crisps, fries (and Muffins!) Subject: Dough-related products Subject: Bread Products Subject: CAMBRIDGE AND SCONES Subject: Golden Nuggets - the best breakfast cereal in the world Subject: Gritsu^H^H^H^H^H Vertically disadvantaged bread. Subject: Mornington Crescent (was Re: Scones, anyone?) Subject: Muffins Subject: Muffins! Stop it! Subject: NOT NOT NOT bread products. Subject: Re: CarpetPeople, and muffins :-) Subject: Re: Pennies & bread, cats & toast Subject: TP for King of Bread Products (was New to this group) Subject: Wildfowl; Flora and fauna; Mallards; Biology; Natural History; Scones. Subject: Bread in the US (Was: Question on US pub dates) Subject: Buttered paws (this is not a bread thread...) Subject: Chaos and bread (Was: a.f.p.etc?) Subject: Give Me the Donut, Dibbler (Please)! Subject: Re: *I* Bagels (Bread thread?) was {*A*} General Discworld Annotation Subject: Re: The Bread Thread Subject: The price of bread (was Re: Guards Guards!) =========================================================================== 27 Jul 1993 -- Terry announces the Discworld Computer Game. =========================================================================== From: tpratchett@unseen.demon.co.uk (Terry Pratchett) Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1993 22:20:07 +0000 Subject: DW computer game We've just signed a deal with TWG Ltd (Tweeny Weeny Games) for a Discworld graphic game, initally in CD-Rom and PC versions. They're the guys actually *writing* it -- it'll be marketed by...er...well, there's a couple of big names involved at the moment, but the dust should settle by next week. I've been talking to these people for over a year and I like their approach -- there's a lot of Discworld 'fine detail' in the game. You saw it here first; the press release has just gone out to the industry magazines. =========================================================================== 23 Nov 1993 -- The first Terry Pratchett Web Page is created. Many more will follow. =========================================================================== From: nlc@cs.nott.ac.uk (Neil L Cook) Subject: World Wide Web Pratchett Site Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1993 03:01:36 +0400 I have setup a World Wide Web page with all the ftp sites for TP related info. as hypertext links. You can use a client such as mosaic (X, Mac, PC) to browse the sites. It's a lot easier for novice users to snarf stuff, and it even launches appropriate viewers for pictures etc. Anyway, it's at: http://web.cs.nott.ac.uk/~nlc/pratchett.html I don't think this has already been done... Anyone? =========================================================================== 23 Nov 1993 -- Terry introduces us to Stephen "CMOT" Briggs. =========================================================================== From: tpratchett@unseen.demon.co.uk (Terry Pratchett) Subject: Wow-Wow Sauce -- the recipe Date: Mon, 22 Nov 1993 07:06:34 +0000 Stephen Briggs, who's helping me with The Discworld Companion, has been researching the_original_Wow-Wow sauce recipe, which is a couple of hundred years old (it really exists). He reports: "I think I've got hold of something close to the original and it is delicious. But there's butter and flour in it and I'm not sure how long it'd keep, although hitherto this hasn't been a problem because we scoffed the lot. Are there any food scientists on afp who could advise me if I give them the recipe?" I said there food, and there's scientists...that's all I know. He's sbriggs@cix, who would welcome any genuine assistance. =========================================================================== 20 Jan 1994 -- The humble beginnings of CMOT Briggs' vast merchandising emporium. =========================================================================== From: tpratchett@unseen.demon.co.uk (Terry Pratchett) Subject: Re: That scarf business (again) Date: Thu, 20 Jan 1994 14:52:14 +0000 Stephen Briggs is getting some UU scarfs made up (based on the UU coat of arms from the Mappe and also on a description in The Discworld Companion) to celebrate the finishing of The Discworld Companion. I told him that there might be some interest in getting some extra done. He said that's not a problem. =========================================================================== --------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE ALT.FAN.PRATCHETT TIMELINE The Third Year: 30 Jan 1994 - 29 Jan 1995 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- =========================================================================== 28 Jan 1994 -- Andrew Ellam introduces the concept of the "carrier bag" as a device for answering Frequently Asked Questions. =========================================================================== From: andy@drebin.demon.co.uk (Andrew Ellam) Subject: Re: When? When? When? Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 17:06:49 +0000 > The latest discworld release here is Small Gods, so this newsgroup can > get very frustrating when books are being discussed that I have never > seen (but would dearly love to!). If you're that bothered, do that mail-order thang. Forbidden Planet Mail Order, 71 New Oxford St, London, WC1A 1DG should be quite willing, for appropriate sums of money. Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with Forbidden Planet (except for the fact that there happens to be a carrier bag next to me which has the address on it). =========================================================================== For a while, Andrew reposted that reply every time the subject came up. The carrier bag concept quickly caught a.f.p.'s fancy, and its meaning was gradually extended until it eventually became a group catchword signifying *any* kind of reference work, dictionaries in particular. =========================================================================== From: cbuckley@cs.tcd.ie (Colm Buckley) Subject: Re: Mail Order Date: Wed, 16 Mar 1994 00:24:46 GMT Andy, what's with you and these carrier bags? You always seem to have one "sitting next to you".... They didn't start to appear soon after you obtained all those little glass paperweights with a snowstorm in, did they? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: gnat@kauri.vuw.ac.nz (Nathan Torkington) Subject: Re: Mail Order (The Return of the Carrier Bag) Date: 28 Mar 1994 21:59:53 GMT > Virgin Peasant Blood goes for at least 20ukp/litre, these days! I'm not going to ask how you know this, but I will presume the answer begins ``I happen to have this carrier bag ...'' ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: JONESM@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz (Michael Jones) Subject: Re:WWW and the APF (Was Re: Pratchett Archives: New Stuff) Date: Tue, 5 Apr 1994 16:27:01 ObCarrierBag: All this information is from a carrier bag I just happened to have in front of me :-). ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: udap913@bay.cc.kcl.ac.uk (Silver Omega) Subject: Re: Mail Order -- how much is Soul Music? Date: 4 Jun 94 15:49:01 BST >> So, what's the going rate for Soul Music in Pounds, plus postage to >> Europe? Well, I just happen to have a carrier bag ... oops, Royal Mail price list. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Mike Subject: Re: Are Pratchett's Date: Mon, 26 Jun 95 14:22:02 GMT I ran "Terry Pratchett" through the spell checker. It came out as "terse prate". Using a convenient Concise OED carrier bag, this translates as: Terse: Brief, concise, to the point. Prate: Talk foolishly or irrelevantly. =========================================================================== 8 Mar 1994 -- And it's another first for a.f.p. as none other than the legendary Rocky Frisco goes on record as being the first person to propose marriage to another member of the newsgroup. =========================================================================== From: weh3@aber.ac.uk (weh3) Subject: Fan club (?) Date: Sat, 5 Mar 1994 20:06:35 GMT Dear Terry, I'm a great fan of your books but i just have to ask "What Next?" You've had people falling of the world, and onto it in the case of the water troll with tides. There have been gods and DEATH, and ginger-bread cottages. Magic stuck round mage's battlezones. And one of those places.... I really like the way you got Rincewind out of Hell in Eric, nice touch, could we have more?? Just got to say a big ooook!!!! Wendy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: rocky.frisco@bgbbs.com (Rocky Frisco) Subject: Fan club (?) Date: Tue, 8 Mar 94 19:16:00 -0600 Nice letter. Will you marry me? =========================================================================== 21 Jun 1994 -- The a.f.p. drinking game is conceived. The game is a big success, to say the least: for months, the newsgroup has more one-line "" replies than normal articles. =========================================================================== From: dh39@unix.brighton.ac.uk (Dan Howell) Subject: The Alt.Fan.Pratchett Drinking Game Date: Tue, 21 Jun 1994 18:36:28 GMT Well, someone has to do it... - 1 whenever a newbie posts. - 1 for every food thread. - 1 for every alcohol thread. - 1 for every "My university's better than yours..." - 1 for the first time you see Pterry post in a day. - 1 for every casting thread. - 2 if it includes the phrase "James Earl Jones". - 1 for every Pratchett quote. (Sigs not included) - 2 if it's non-Discworld. - 2 if it's oblique. - 1 for every use of the word "merkin". - 1 every time someone complains about books not being available. - 1 for the use of the word "o/ook" - 3 if it turns into a flamewar about the number of Ohs. - Tip the bottle down the sink if anyone posts anything R...(sssch! you know what...) - Drink the entire contents if Pterry quits writing...you'll need to. =========================================================================== 20 Jul 1994 -- As we see so often with geniuses, Rocky was way ahead of his time and marriage proposals did not become a regular occurrence on a.f.p. until a few months later, when Ray Pugh became smitten with Laura Johnson. =========================================================================== From: lauraj@cnd.hp.com (Laura Johnson) Subject: Re: Political correctness and Librarians Date: 20 Jul 1994 14:57:39 GMT Raymond Pugh (rpugh@arcadia.win-uk.net) wrote: > I just watched Hot Shots Part Deux yesterday for the first time. > Definite falling off the chair material (or was it the drink?) Check the carpet. If it's wet, it was the drink falling off the chair; otherwise, it must've been you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: rpugh@arcadia.win-uk.net (Raymond Pugh) Date: Wed, 20 Jul 1994 22:36:08 GMT Subject: Re: Political correctness and Librarians Hurrah!! My quest is finally at an end. I've found someone with a sense of humour even more suspect than mine! Will you marry me? :-) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: lauraj@cnd.hp.com (Laura Johnson) Subject: Re: Political correctness and Librarians Date: 21 Jul 1994 19:02:24 GMT What, marry someone with a name like Ray Pugh? I'm sorry, it would be too embarrassing.[1] [1] and might annoy my husband as well[2] [2] but I'm flattered. I've worked hard for this questionable sense of humor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: peagreen@void.tdcnet.nl Subject: Re: Political correctness and Librarians Date: Sun, 24 Jul 1994 11:33:34 GMT > Hurrah!! My quest is finally at an end. I've found someone with a sense > of humour even more suspect than mine! Will you marry me? :-) Thought crossed my mind in the past as well, but Laura is already hitched. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: lauraj@cnd.hp.com (Laura Johnson) Subject: Re: Political correctness and Librarians Date: 25 Jul 1994 19:39:18 GMT > Thought crossed my mind in the past as well, but Laura is already > hitched. Gentlemen. Please. Let's be civilized about this. The queue forms to the left, behind my present husband. No shoving, no pushing; the queue will please order itself by color of anorak; within color groups you may order yourselves by date and time of proposal or by cleverness of .sig. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: lauraj@cnd.hp.com (Laura Johnson) Subject: Re: *NO* a.f.p.etc! Date: 8 Sep 1994 19:57:16 GMT > That's one of the problems with afp - I am reading afp since the > beginning (before Terry joined us), and I find it more and more > unreadable. It was JUST FINE all summer. Aren't you people supposed to be STUDYING? OK, everyone post your favorite tactics for dealing with all the traffic. I do the following: 1) Author search for terryp. I forget who he is exactly, but he says funny things. 2) Author search for sbriggs 'cos he might be selling something good. 3) Author search for lauraj, then read a few responses to see if anyone actually reacted to anything I said (usually they either ignore me or propose marriage). 4) Scan the thread titles and read the least relevant thing I can find, meaning a thread that is about neither bread products nor beer. =========================================================================== 28 Aug 1994 -- 14-year old Matthew Buchanan arrives on a.f.p. =========================================================================== From: matthew@matthew1.demon.co.uk (Matthew Buchanan) Subject: Re: Discworld Computer Game! Date: Sun, 28 Aug 1994 09:56:22 +0000 In the FAQ, or something, there is mention of CD-32, Acorn RISC, and IBM-PC compats. being coded initaially, with perhaps Sega and Nintendo and something else following up....keeerrrrap =========================================================================== 17 Oct 1994 -- The duskiness of a.f.p. net.goddess Ms Reap, a.k.a. the Fair Colette, causes testosterone levels on the newsgroup to rise. Not merely content with collecting proposals, she incites her suitors to fight duels over her, thus establishing another long-standing a.f.p.-tradition. =========================================================================== From: Colette@reaphear.demon.co.uk (Colette Reap) Subject: Re: Laura Date: Mon, 17 Oct 1994 22:58:10 +0000 > Colette, will you marry me? What would you *do* if I said 'Yes'! > Does this mean some one has beaten me to it? 'Fraid so. Alan Bellingham, about 2 weeks ago. Pistols at dawn, anyone? =========================================================================== 24 Oct 1994 -- Matthew Buchanan manages to alienate the remaining two or three a.f.p.-readers who hadn't kill-filed him yet. =========================================================================== Date: Mon, 24 Oct 1994 22:00:21 +0000 Subject: Re: Matthew Buchanan IsayIsayIsay. What has been happening while I was gone? Ayayayayay. I though this thread was dedicated to complaints about me? Well, here's something else to complain about.... hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh [Continues for 150 or so lines more] =========================================================================== 26 Oct 1994 -- After posting the following threat, no-one on alt.fan.pratchett ever heard anything from Matthew Buchanan ever again. =========================================================================== From: matthew@matthew1.demon.co.uk (Matthew Buchanan) Date: Wed, 26 Oct 1994 18:42:46 +0000 Subject: Re: Matthew Buchanan >>> lot's of h's deleted.. >> >> Oh well, a V42.bis modem will pack that down to a byte or two. > > Appropriate, really, isn't it: he can't even manage to produce > flamebait with any information content... If you want, I could post some very large binaries. They have information content. I could post AlienDoom, uncompressed. That's around 7MB. =========================================================================== 1 Nov 1994 -- Bernard and Isobel Pearson at Clarecraft join a.f.p. =========================================================================== From: Bernard@behemoth.demon.co.uk (Bernard Pearson) Subject: Re: Question about Clarecraft Figurines Date: Tue, 1 Nov 1994 18:20:41 +0000 > (PS. Just got Lord Vetinari. A skullcap?) The master decreed that lord Vetinari was a mixture of Alan Rickman, and our own beloved thespian and entrepreneur cmot Briggs. We obtained the photo of Rickman through the good offices of his studios, and Briggs c/o the Metropolitan police. Carefully blending the combined physiognomy we presented the finished article to the master, who having worked his magic, decreed that there should be a skullcap. So there is, except ... cmot Briggs has one that hasn't. =========================================================================== 12 Nov 1994 -- Tony Sidaway proposes a moderated alt.fan.pratchett.announce. After a short discussion period, the group is created with Mike Knell as moderator. =========================================================================== From: tony@sidaway.demon.co.uk (Anthony Sidaway) Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett,alt.config Subject: PROPOSAL: alt.fan.pratchett.announce Date: Sat, 12 Nov 1994 21:05:36 +0000 I'm a Terry Pratchett reader. I'd like to be able to subscribe to a newsgroup to find out about forthcoming Pratchett-related events, and receive FAQ updates. But there is a problem. There are so many Pratchett people that their (often fascinating) chatter is deafening. It's one of the busiest groups on the net. I cannot afford to stay subscribed to afp for long, and when I do I have to wade through acres of posts I could do without just to find out if something relevant is going to happen. What we need is a means for the large body of people in the existing group to post their Pratchett-related announcements. I therefore call for a discussion on the creation of a new newsgroup, to be called alt.fan.pratchett.announce. This will be a relatively low-volume newsgroup available for the convenience of all Pratchett fans. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: mpk@frink.demon.co.uk (Mike Knell) Subject: Re: PROPOSAL: alt.fan.pratchett.announce Date: Sun, 13 Nov 1994 14:31:52 GMT alt. newsfroups can indeed be moderated, and it's simple enough to sort out. Traffic should be kept fairly low as with most of the .announce groups, basically just to stop the entire alt.fan.pratchett group getting crossposted there.. I'll volunteer as moderator if nobody else is suicidal enough to take on the job. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Terryp@unseen.demon.co.uk (Terry Pratchett) Subject: Re: PROPOSAL: alt.fan.pratchett.announce Date: Sun, 13 Nov 1994 19:03:50 +0000 I don't have any problem with this idea. It's sounds okay. I might even post stuff to it more frequently -- and at least it'd stop people constantly asking me to email them various items because they missed them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: mpk@frink.demon.co.uk (Mike Knell) Subject: ANNOUNCE: alt.fan.pratchett.announce created! Date: Thu, 17 Nov 1994 16:57:21 GMT As the response to the proposal for an alt.fan.pratchett.announce group has been overwhelmingly favourable, I have this afternoon sent out a newgroup message to create the group as moderated. All the usual guidelines were followed during the creation process. The group submission address is: afpa-mod@frink.demon.co.uk =========================================================================== 16 Nov 1994 -- Thanks to Colm Buckley, Clarecraft get a Web presence. =========================================================================== From: cbuckley@tcd.ie (Colm Buckley) Subject: ANNOUNCE : Clarecraft miniatures WWW page Date: Wed, 16 Nov 1994 00:39:01 GMT Well, I've just finished work on the Clarecraft miniatures Web pages. Some further information is still to be added, and some of the existing information is possibly wrong (concerning the prices of the newer figures and so on), but I thought I would post up the URL today to let you all take a look and see what you think. The URL is : http://vangogh.cs.tcd.ie/cbuckley/clarecraft =========================================================================== 2 Dec 1994 -- The use of *R* and *I* as Subject tags is first proposed. Public opinion is divided, but for better or worse a large section of the a.f.p. populace has since then adopted the convention, adding a few more tags whenever warranted. =========================================================================== From: DEREK.MAHONY@BSV199 (Derek Mahony) Subject: Re: PROPOSAL: alt.mindless.drivel (was Re: a.f.p killfile st Date: Fri, 2 Dec 94 15:52:26 GMT > PROPOSAL: create a new group called alt.mindless.drivel for those who > really find it fascinating to see who's jocularly proposed to whom this > morning, and those who think it's really interesting to reminisce about > Sinclair Spectrum games. Then maybe the Pratchett fans could have their > group back -- moderated for relevance, if necessary. A possible solution: Could the subject line in some way reflect the relevance of the posting? What if we prefix the subject line with, say, *R* for a relevant thread and *I* for an irrelevant one? So you could have: Re: *R* PROPOSAL: alt.mindless.drivel (was Re: a.f.p killfile strategies) *R* alt.fan.pratchett FAQ Re: *I* 0 = 1/2 = 1 (Honest !) Re: *R* Bride of Rincewind Re: *I* IT Annotation ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: *A* Possible Reaper man annotation Subject: *F* A.F.P Meet: Cambridge 3.0 Subject: *G* Re: discworld game help!! =========================================================================== 18 Dec 1994 -- The first serious suggestion for a Discworld convention is made. Lots of enthousiastic responses followed, but no real action. =========================================================================== From: cbishop@netcom.com (Charles Bishop) Subject: A Modest Suggestion Date: Sun, 18 Dec 1994 03:58:17 GMT I propose that there be a gathering of fans of PTerry, whence there will be festivities celebrating the words of the great man. It will take a bit of organizing so I propose the following. [...] =========================================================================== --------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE ALT.FAN.PRATCHETT TIMELINE The Fourth Year: 30 Jan 1995 - 29 Jan 1996 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- =========================================================================== 27 Feb 1995 -- A release date for the Discworld game is finally given. =========================================================================== From: Chris@scrofula.demon.co.uk (Chris Hopkin) Subject: Discworld game for PC, release info Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 07:34:21 +0000 I spoke to Psygnosis about their imminent release of an adventure game based on the discworld series. It will be released on 17th March on two formats; Floppy disk, 44.99 CD-ROM, 49.99 =========================================================================== A.f.p. is enthousiastic about the game (less so about the buggy implementation), and inevitably, pretty soon, the familiar, ancient Usenet cycle begins all over again. =========================================================================== Subject: Discworld - stuck at the Unseen Uni. Subject: STUCK IN ANKH-MORPORK Subject: Help Needed With Discworld Game - Possible spoiler, maybe Subject: Discworld GAME: help in act 2 ! Subject: How do get prunes? Subject: Discworld Help please Subject: Discworld: Stuck with breath. Subject: Discworld: Stuck in Act III Subject: Help needed get the Imp Subject: Re: stuck at the very start... Subject: Re: need HELP to get the staff (Act I) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: freedy@8oakley.win-uk.net (Frank Reedy) Date: Mon, 20 Mar 1995 08:27:54 GMT Subject: Re: Finished: Disc world game! If someone has finished the discworld game, perhaps they could post a solution (perhaps as a game FAQ) to stop all the "Help I'm stuck at ..... " posts. Thanks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: p7003ad@sun3.lrz-muenchen.de (Thomas Niederreiter) Subject: Discworld: FULL WALKTHROUGH HERE! Date: 7 Apr 1995 19:47:57 GMT Here it comes! At last! The full walkthrough of ____ _ _ _ | _ \(_)___ _____ _____ _ __| | __| | | | | | / __|/ __\ \ /\ / / _ \| '__| |/ _` | | |_| | \__ \ (__ \ V V / (_) | | | | (_| | |____/|_|___/\___| \_/\_/ \___/|_| |_|\__,_| ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Terryp@unseen.demon.co.uk (Terry Pratchett) Date: Wed, 12 Apr 1995 09:34:19 +0000 Subject: Re: Discworld: FULL WALKTHROUGH HERE! > Only...uhm...uhm....where can I find the walkthrough...uhm...(feeling > sheepish and embarrassed)... please tell me!! Thanx anyway! Okay. To get the walkthrough, you have to take the sponge from Nanny Ogg's pantry and stick it in the ear of the troll with the tutu, then take the lumps and put them in the pouch with the zombie's razor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: sccmcmul@ucsalf.ac.uk (christopher.mcmullen) Subject: Game hints/faq Date: 24 Apr 1995 08:22:33 GMT I currently have a list of hints for discworld, and a list of known bugs.. I am thinking of combining them with some other info, to make a Discworld Game FAQ... what does everyone think of this? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: sccmcmul@ucsalf.ac.uk (christopher.mcmullen) Subject: Discworld Game Faq! Date: 1 May 1995 08:15:58 GMT DISCWORLD GAME FAQ - V1.0 ------------------------- =========================================================================== 27 Feb 1995 -- A.f.p. regular "ppint." coins the abbreviation 'ppoint' for "pedant point". It doesn't really catch on until Jimmy Brokaw uses it again, half a year later, but then it becomes a true a.f.p. catchword. =========================================================================== From: ppint@i-m-t.demon.co.uk ("ppint.") Subject: Re: Spellcheckers Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 23:25:12 +0000 - love, ppint. (can't have the <.> in my usenameaddress, so i s'ppose you've scored a ppoint...) (*curses*) (- never mind, my revenge will be truly awful.) (- if a little delayed.) (- or do you claim the <.> to be subsumed within the ?) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jimmy Brokaw Subject: Re: Web Page Date: Sat, 14 Oct 95 22:56:18 GMT > --------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Ben Blundell EMail Ten@bdell.co.uk First ppoint: Your address is wrong in your .sig. > Is there ever going to be a Terry Pratchett web page? Second ppoint: Message content tends to go *ABOVE* the .sig.[1] =========================================================================== 13 Mar 1995 -- The first a.f.p. 'meet' is announced. It would be the start of one of a.f.p. most unique and charming customs. =========================================================================== From: cbuckley@tcd.ie (Colm Buckley) Subject: *Announce/Invitation* REMINDER : Small a.f.p get-together in London, 22 March Date: 13 Mar 95 01:21:00 GMT For no better reason than that I will be visiting London next week, there is a minor alt.fan.pratchett get-together planned for the evening of Wednesday, March 22, 1995. If you're within spitting distance of London, please come along and join us - this is your chance to meet some of the people you've always wondered about [1]... :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: ANNOUNCE: A.F.P Meet Mailing List Subject: *R* London AFP Meeting - Minutes Subject: *M* North West mini meet Subject: Re: *I* Ealing - Possible W3/5 meet? Subject: *M* North West Mini meet Subject: *R* AFP London (Book signing) Meet-type-thingie Subject: PROVISIONAL: Reading AFP Meet Subject: *F* Keele (UK) area meet Subject: Melbourne AFP meet - who are these folks? Subject: Oxford afp meet Subject: (possible)AFP Boston meet. Subject: AFP Cambridge Meet Subject: ANNOUNCE: *F* Glasgow meet Subject: *F* A.F.P Meet - Broomcon Subject: *F* Ealing meet 2.0 report Subject: Clarecraft Meet 12/13 August Subject: Proposed East Surrey meet Subject: *F* AFP Edinburgh Meet Subject: AFP Hemel Meet Pt 1.0 Subject: Alt.fan.pratchett Melbourne Meet II Subject: Manchester Meet Subject: *F* Cambridge 3.0 last call Subject: *F* Warwick 0.5b (codename 'Reykjavik') Subject: Covent Garden Mini-meet Subject: *F* Ealing 3.1 Minutes Subject: *F* Reading 2.0 Subject: *F* Dutch AFP meet Subject: *F* Oz afp meet: Melbourne & Sydney Subject: ANNOUNCE: AFP Xmas party *F* Subject: Re: Possible afp-meet in Canterbury =========================================================================== 20 Apr 1995 -- The Discworld Convention. From inspiration to realization in less than two months. =========================================================================== From: Paulr@cmacloed.demon.co.uk (Paul A Rood) Subject: A.F.P Mini-confrence1995 Date: Thu, 20 Apr 1995 21:38:38 +0000 Dear all Alt.Fan.Pratchett lurkers, contributors, would-be members, authors The proposal is, that sometime in the not too distant future, a get together be organised in a location mutally acceptable to most to drink, eat, discuss and generally be merry. Lets party! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Paul A Rood Subject: ANNOUNCE: The Discworld Convention 1996 Date: 5 Jun 1995 01:13:54 +0100 The First International Discworld Convention June 21st - 23rd 1996 The First Discworld Convention is now officially declared "in season" Venue: ENGLAND - High level negotiations continue with various English hotels to get best deal for our delegates. We care. Guests confirmed include: Mr Terry Pratchett Esq - Author extrordinaire and general good bloke (with a beard, hat to be confirmed). Mr Josh Kirby - Artist, errm, and thats about it, but he his also a good bloke. Mr Stephen Briggs - (AKA CMOT Briggs) - Entrepeneur, recently described as the best thing since sliced rat and a good bloke (with a beard). =========================================================================== 21 Apr 1995 -- The Merchandise FAQ is conceived. =========================================================================== From: leo@cp.tn.tudelft.nl (Leo Breebaart) Subject: DRAFT FAQ: Pratchett/Discworld Merchandise Date: Fri, 21 Apr 1995 11:50:31 GMT This is a draft version of a new alt.fan.pratchett(.announce) Frequently Asked Questions list I eventually intend to maintain and post every two weeks to the a.f.p newsgroups as well as to the relevant *.answers groups. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: leo@cp.tn.tudelft.nl (Leo Breebaart) Subject: FAQ: Terry Pratchett/Discworld Merchandise Date: 5 Jul 1995 21:59:35 GMT Summary: Quanti Canicula Ille In Fenestra? This FAQ consists of the following sections: 0. Before we begin... 1. Where and how do I buy Terry Pratchett novels? 2. Where and how do I buy Clarecraft Discworld figurines? 3. Where and how do I buy Discworld clothing items? 4. Where and how do I buy CD's, CD-ROM games, and audio/video tapes? 5. Where and how do I buy other Discworld paraphernalia? 6. Where and how do I join commercial fan activity? 7. Where and how do I get things for free? 8. FAQ Maintainer's disclaimer. =========================================================================== 24 Apr 1995 -- The Clarecraft Discworld Event is announced. =========================================================================== From: Isobel Pearson Subject: Clarecraft Discworld Event Date: Mon, 24 Apr 1995 17:23:55 GMT Clarecraft are planning a Discworld Event in the summer. Terry and Stephen have agreed to be there. (What more could you ask for?) [...] =========================================================================== 1 May 1995 -- Orin Thomas takes over FAQ and Bibliography maintenance from Nathan Torkington. =========================================================================== From: Orin Thomas Subject: Alt.fan.pratchett Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Date: Mon, 1 May 1995 20:12:13 GMT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ALT.FAN.PRATCHETT FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Last Modified : APRIL 1995 "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 This is the list of frequently asked questions (and their answers) for the newsgroup alt.fan.pratchett. There is biographical information about Terry Pratchett, as well as information about his books, his collaborators and other fun stuff. =========================================================================== 22 Jun 1995 -- The first mention of using cabbages as a weapon for fighting a.f.p. duels. =========================================================================== From: Alex Ridge Subject: Re: Flying dragons? (LONG) Date: Thu, 22 Jun 95 10:24:48 GMT > Since Alex has chickensed out of the duel, I declare myself victor. NO! I ain't chickened out of no duel. Mouldy cabbages at dawn. Have at you! And this time it's to the death, no first blood stuff. TO THE DEATH, you hear me? =========================================================================== 7 Jul 1995 -- Jimmy Brokaw introduces the hedgehog signature. This action firmly establishes the hedgehog as official a.f.p. mascotte, and within months hedgehogs can be found in people's signatures all over the place. Eventually, they are collected and preserved for eternity. =========================================================================== From: Jimmy Brokaw Subject: Re: Radio Wyrd Sisters - last night's tape wanted Date: Fri, 07 Jul 95 18:28:54 GMT Organization: The Flaming Hedgehog -- \\\\\ -------->jimmy@juggler.demon.co.uk<----------- \\\\\\\__o Bringing hedgehogs to the common folk since 1994. ____\\\\\\\'/___________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: rob@lspace.org (Robert Collier) Subject: *I* The Hedgehog Files II *H* Date: 26 Jan 1996 21:02:59 -0000 _____ _ |_ _| |__ ___ ///// | | | '_ \ / _ \ o__/////// | | | | | | __/ ___\`///////___ |_| |_| |_|\___| _ _ _ _ | | | | ___ __| | __ _ ___| |__ ___ __ _ | |_| |/ _ \/ _` |/ _` |/ _ \ '_ \ / _ \ / _` | | _ | __/ (_| | (_| | __/ | | | (_) | (_| | |_| |_|\___|\__,_|\__, |\___|_| |_|\___/ \__, | |___/ |___/ _____ _ _ | ___(_) | ___ ___ \\\\\ | |_ | | |/ _ \/ __| \\\\\\\__o | _| | | | __/\__ \ ___\\\\\\\'/___ |_| |_|_|\___||___/ ******* Yes, this is the AFP Hedgehog Signature Collection ******** =========================================================================== 3 Aug 1995 -- The Usenet tradition of using abbreviations as often as possible is firmly supported on a.f.p, where the Discworld novels are prime candidates for this practice. Sometimes, problems arise. Sometimes, brilliant solutions are found... =========================================================================== From: Richard Kettlewell Subject: Re: Disc World Books - Where to start Date: 3 Aug 1995 12:33:05 +0100 >> TCOM, TLF, ER, M, S, WS, G!G!, E, MP, RM, WA, >> SG, L&L, M@A, SM, IT, M >> ^ Arg! 'twill clash with Mort > > Simple solution! In the style of G!G! and M@A just make sure there is > some punctuation in the title to distinguish it. Since it's ``Maskerade (not Mort)'' one could call it M!M... =========================================================================== 8 Jan 1996 -- A new level is reached in the ever-ongoing food discussion thread when Glinda Wilson first proposes an a.f.p. recipe exchange service. It is just possible that she may not have been *entirely* serious, but such things do not stop a.f.p. from taking swift action. =========================================================================== From: glinda@eskimo.com (g.l.wilson) Subject: Re: Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday Date: Mon, 8 Jan 1996 07:25:29 GMT > beetroots, now,... - with beetroots, one can make _borscht_ Yum![1] [1] Is there such a thing as an afp recipe exchange, I wonder? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Darrell Ottery Subject: *I* Recipes (was Re: Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday) Date: Mon, 08 Jan 96 19:03:22 GMT If not, why not? And where can we set one up? I'm quite willing to donate both my double-chocolate cookie recipe, and the one for the home-brewed mead to start with, as I guess these might well be popular. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: tap@afawcett.demon.co.uk (Andy Fawcett) Subject: Re: something from Interesting Times Date: Sat, 13 Jan 1996 07:33:12 GMT -- AFP Recipe Archive Discworld Convention Mirror afp-serv@afawcett.demon.co.uk send mail to 'discserver@..' w/subject 'send index' w/subject 'send Discon96.Info' =========================================================================== 27 Jan 1996 -- Mike "a.f.p.announce" Knell, Robert "L-Space Web" Collier, and Leo "Pratchett Archives" Breebaart announce the new Internet domain lspace.org, intended to unite all Pratchett-related resources on the Internet under one roof. =========================================================================== From: Mike Knell Subject: ANNOUNCE: Lspace.org now available Date: 27 Jan 1996 17:49:47 -0000 Announcing... another revolution in Pratchettational network resources! The alt.fan.pratchett Network Resources Politburo are proud to present.. ---> l s p a c e . o r g <--- ------------------- Yes, we threatened to do it in the past, but we've finally got everything sorted, shuffled the paperwork and bribed the NIC, and now have our very own domain. ===========================================================================