Subject: ADMIN: Keywords FAQ (17apr02) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Keywords: admin, keywords, 17apr02 From: dharden@shell1.iglou.com (David Harden) NNTP-Posting-Host: 192.107.41.17 X-Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: 192.107.41.17 Message-ID: <3fca5b1f$1_1@news.iglou.com> Date: 30 Nov 2003 16:03:27 -0500 X-Trace: news.iglou.com 1070226207 192.107.41.17 (30 Nov 2003 16:03:27 -0500) Lines: 271 X-Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: 192.107.41.17 Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!news2.wam.umd.edu!nntp.abs.net!ash.uu.net!news.iglou.com!shell1!dharden Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu alt.callahans:690147 Guide to Keywords in Callahan's Lots of people find alt.callahans a fun place to be. The group can therefore be quite busy at times, and many people may find it hard to follow what they find important in all the goings-on. Callahanians can help out their fellow patrons by using Subject lines which clearly state what a particular discussion is about or like. One way you can do this is to use keywords which are relevant to your post. With keywords in the Subject: line, many newsreaders will let you search ahead for any post with a keyword in which you're interested. Or you can skip all the posts with a keyword in which you're not interested at the moment. Either way, people find it easier to participate in alt.callahans as they like. (Note that we're talking about keywords in the Subject: line. You may also see a header line in some articles labelled Keywords:, but most newsreaders pay a lot more attention to the Subject: line.) You may use more than one keyword in a Subject: line, or none at all. There will, in fact, be many posts where none of the keywords listed below apply. The set of keywords given here is not meant to be cast in stone, and may change as conventions change. However, if a keyword given here does not apply to a post, please don't use it. Likewise, if part or all of a thread drifts so that one or more keywords in the Subject line no longer apply, please remove them, even if you don't make any other change to the Subject line. That will be very helpful to people who are trying to filter by keyword. If nothing else, remember the keyword TOAST. These is a keyword you can use for signalling a fireplace toast, as described in Spider Robinson's Callahan's stories and in the alt.callahans Allabout. The keyword can also appear in replies to the person making the original TOAST. Here's what Spider said about toasts in his first Callahan's story: ``If a patron, having proposed his toast and smithereened his glass, feels like talking about his troubles, he receives the instant, undivided attention of everyone in the room. (That's why the toast is obligatory. Many a man with a hurt locked inside finds in the act of naming his hurt for the toast that he wants very much to talk about it. Callahan is one smart hombre.) On the other hand, even the most tantalizingly cryptic toast will bring no prying inquiries if you display no desire to uncork. Anyone attempting to flout this custom is immediately blackjacked by Fast Eddie the piano player and dumped in the alley.'' Toasts are the heart of Callahan's. They deserve attention, and the toaster may well expect some sort of reply or followup, though not always. Toasts can have several purposes, whether a cry for help, simply sharing news, or just a private reflection and dedication to something. Read the post carefully and you should be able to figure it out. But an e-mail response to a heartfelt toast is often welcome. Keep in mind that some posters may not use an established keyword when they want the room's attention, particularly if they're newcomers. Some other words to watch for might include HELP. But we recommend using a keyword people will know. Here are some well-established keywords. Some are very common, others more rarely used, but anything on this list should be recognised by most of the Patrons in the Place: * AAE: This keyword is used by members of the Callahanian Army of Light, to label posts describing their continuing search for Action, Adventure, and Excitement. Also, posters to these threads sometimes use the keyword OOC (for Out Of Character), to indicate that they're speaking as themselves, but within the shared fiction they're creating. * ABEND: Originally meaning ABnormal END to a program run, it has come to be an acronym for Absent by Enforced Net Deprivation, and is used to announce absence from the newsgroup due to technical problems, travel, and the like. Also seen is ABVND, where the `V' stands for 'voluntary' and ABSEND, where 'SE' stands for 'self-enforced'. Sometimes accompanied by GOODBYE (see below). * ADMIN: For posts and discussions about alt.callahans itself. Most posts which use this keyword will be regular informational posts ('FAQs') such as this one. * AMOTQ: A thought question, typically of the 'what would you do if ...?' variety, with no right answer. The 'if' may be, and very often is, something that's not actually possible. Named after a Patron known as Amot, who had a habit of asking such questions. * BEST BRAINS: or BB: Denotes a request for advice on or assistance with a topic. It's sometimes used with requests for information, but those are more likely to use EC (see). * BOARD: For posts on the `message board'; announcements, notices, or queries to the group in general. Lamplighter's Almanac uses it. The Board is also a good place to post changes of e-mail address or temporary absences from the group. * CEPT: Originally stood for Callahan's Ecumenical Prayer Team, but several other phrases have been fitted to the acronym. CEPT posts are requests for prayers, good thoughts, good wishes, etc. * DANGER ROOM: Used to label posts involving the Danger Room, a sealed area of Callahan's where Patrons can work off any frustrations by being as violent as they like, with no possibility of harm to anyone else in the bar. * EC: Used to label requests for information about a subject. (The collective knowledge of the Patronage has, at times, been called the 'Encyclopedia Callahanica'.) * FILK: A song parody, often containing science-fiction elements. * GOODBYE: Sometimes posted by people who are going away for some time. Occasionally accompanied by ABEND (see above). * GRUMBLE: A post about something that irritates or annoys the poster, but not enough to provoke a RANT. It's more of a 'this bothers me' than a 'this angers me'. * HELLO: If you'd like to introduce yourself, particularly if you're a new arrival, use this keyword to help welcomers spot you. You may want to watch for INTRO too, but HELLO is preferred. * LOUNGE: For resting, recuperating, and blowing off steam. The lounge was designed to let the weary relax, to carry quiet conversations, and just hang out a little outside of the normal din of The Place. See the Allabout for more details. * LPS: For readings and discussion of poetry. Many posts which use this keyword will be from Patrons reading their own work. (LPS stands for Live Poets' Society.) * PARTY: Lets you find virtual parties (planned and in progress). * PLAQUE: A posting in memory of someone close to a Patron. Often, but not always, accompanied by a TOAST. Consult the Plaque FAQ for further information. * RANT: This one is used when you want to vent steam at something which bothers you, or the world in general. This is sort of like a DANGER ROOM post, except the Patron just yells a lot and doesn't smash any furniture. * REALSPACE: or RS: Used to announce, discuss, and report on gatherings of alt.callahans folks out in Real Life. Meeting fellow Callahanians outside the Net can be one of the most enjoyable aspects of the Place. * RETURN: Sometimes used by returning patrons who have been away for some time, announcing their re-appearance. * SERIOUS: In the past, this was often used for labeling serious discussions about possibly contentious issues, such as abortion, gun control, and so on. If it's used nowadays, it's more likely to be with posts about events the poster views as serious and/or urgent. * SOAPBOX: Used for traditional `soapbox style' posts, where people stand up and give their opinions on a topic, sometimes in quite emphatic terms. Such talk frequently leads to other people getting on their own SOAPBOXes to engage in discussion and debate. While ideas and positions can be challenged or even attacked in SOAPBOX threads, SOAPBOXes, like the rest of Callahan's, should not be used for flaming or personal attacks. If you find a SOAPBOX thread becoming unpleasant for you, it's perfectly fine to just climb down from the soapboxes. * TOAST: Used for fireplace toasts meant for everyone to hear. Discussed in more detail above. * WINDOW: For posts describing scenes occurring `outside' the walls of Callahan's Place, usually in things called X-windows. Past examples include lakeside cookouts, stargazing sessions, and visual descriptions of real places, like the Australian outback. * WORMS: Sometimes used to label posts that may be likely to open, well, a 'can of worms'. WORMS threads can get very large very quickly. and will frequently become rather ... heated. Here are some keywords which aren't firmly established yet, but have potential, or have been used a few times: * [GUNS] For threads about guns, gun control, use of guns, etc. * [URL] To label posts that are essentially suggestions to check out a website. * FUN: A sometimes-used keyword for general amusement threads not fitting under more specific keywords here. (The synonym FLUFF is also sometimes used.) Many such posts have no keyword. * POLITICAL: This word labels posts which are specifically devoted to either RANTing or SOAPBOXing about politics. It's such a common subject that it may well need its own keyword! * PUN: Used in threads specifically devoted to puns. In Spider's Callahan's stories, Punday (Tuesday) was specifically devoted to them. Here, people puntificate all through the week. * STORY: People sometimes post pure works of fiction in Callahan's, and this keyword can be used to label them. * TALL TALE: Used to label an elaborate pun or shaggy dog story, which usually rambles on a bit before delivering the pun-chline. Here are some hypothetical examples of these keywords in action: Subject: ADMIN: New Patrons' Guide I Subject: SOAPBOX: Why I hate duck hunters Subject: PARTY: Slartibartfast's Celebration! Subject: Re: TOAST: To lost love Subject: Favorite books Note that the last example uses no keyword. This is fine; you shouldn't try to make established keywords cover cases where they don't really apply. And in many cases, they won't. You're also welcome to try a keyword not mentioned here, if none of the keywords mentioned above apply. Successful keywords tend to define a clear category, which won't be likely to change over the normal course of a discussion thread. If you're introducing a new keyword, you may want to explain in the post what you intend it for, so other people know how to use it. If it's successful enough, it may appear in later editions of this post. If this seems a bit confusing to you, just try watching the group in action for a while. Or pick out a friendly-looking regular and ask them for help in e-mail. Most of us will be happy to get newcomers into the stream of things. _________________________________________________________________ This file was originally written by John Ockerbloom, with help from Lamplighter, Merrigold, Nick Chopper, and lots of others who gave suggestions and encouragement. Thanks to all. It is now being maintained by David Harden. Any suggestions for changes or additions can be sent to him at dharden@iglou.com , or simply posted to the group for discussion.