Subject: ADMIN: The Allabout II (16aug03)
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
Keywords: admin, allabout, 16aug03
From: [email protected] (David Harden)
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                         The alt.callahans Allabout

                                [PART 2]


  This file contains information Allabout the newsgroup alt.callahans.
  If you just want to find out what the group is about and what sort of
  posts you might see, you only need to read the first section of PART 1,
  which is not too long. This part contains extra information which you
  might find interesting, but is not essential to understanding the
  group.

Contents of PART 2:  (Areas marked with # have been revised since the last
posting.)

    * Callahan's Books by Spider Robinson (and others)
    * Other Callahan's Resources on the Net (and off)
    * Other Regular Informational Postings in Callahan's
    * The Growth of Callahan's
    * Archives and Databases
    * Dedication and Credits

Callahan's Books by Spider Robinson (and others)

  The alt.callahans newsgroup, as mentioned earlier, is based on some
  books written by a fellow called Spider Robinson. Here is a list of
  his Callahan's books:
    * Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, Ace, 1977, ISBN 0-441-09043-5,
      (paperback) ISBN 0-441-09035-4
      (Tor paperback, re-released 12/1999, ISBN 0-812-57227-0).
    * Time Travellers Strictly Cash, Ace, 1981, ISBN 0-441-80713-5,
      (paperback) ISBN 0-441-81277-5, also has non-Callahan's material.
      (Tor paperback, re-released 8/2001, ISBN 0-812-57229-9).
    * Callahan's Secret, Ace, 1986, ISBN 0-441-09074-5,
      (Berkley paperback, ISBN 0-425-09082-5).
    * The Callahan Touch, Ace, 1993, ISBN 0-441-09075-3,
      (paperback) ISBN 0-441-00133-5.
    * Off The Wall at Callahan's, Tor, 1994, ISBN 0-312-85661-X.
    * Callahan and Company: The Compleat Chronicles of the Crosstime Saloon,
      Phantasia Press, 1990, ISBN 0-932-09648-4  small press omnibus of
      the first 3 books, and very hard to find.
    * Callahan's Legacy, Tor, 1996, ISBN 0-312-85776-4,
      (paperback) ISBN 0-812-55305-8.
    * The Callahan Chronicals, Tor, 1997, ISBN 0-812-53937-0, an omnibus
      edition of the first 3 books, excluding the non-Callahan's parts of
      _Time Travellers Strictly Cash_.
    * Callahan's Key, Bantam, 2000, ISBN 0-553-11163-9
      (paperback) ISBN 0-553-58060-4
    * Callahan's Con, Tor, 2003, ISBN 0-765-30270-5

  Spider has also written two books about Lady Sally, Mike's wife and
  proprietor of a very classy bordello...
    * Callahan's Lady, Ace, 1989, ISBN 0-441-09072-9.
    * Lady Slings the Booze, Ace, 1992, ISBN 0-441-46929-9.

  Spider has also written several science fiction books which have nothing
  to do with Callahan's, including a few with his wife, Jeanne Robinson.

  _Callahan's Crosstime Saloon_,_Time Travellers Strictly Cash_, and
  _Callahan's Secret_ are collections of short stories, while the other
  books (except for Off The Wall, explained below) are novels.
  [The Callahan Touch and Callahan's Legacy are about Mary's Place, which
  is named for Mike's daughter and run by Jake Stonebender. Callahan's Key
  starts at Mary's Place; if you want to know where it ends, you'll have
  to pick it up.]  All of them (plus his other books) come highly
  recommended by most of the Patrons who have read them, although some of
  us don't like them - hey, we encourage diversity and nobody ever said
  you have to think any particular way to post here!

  The Callahan's Place described in the books is quite similar to the
  one in the newsgroup in some respects, but quite different in others.
  The general philosophy is pretty much the same, but the decor and
  traditions vary a bit. In the books, the characters indulge in regular
  pun contests every Tuesday night, Wednesdays are for tall tales, and
  Monday is Fireside Fillmore night, in which some of the characters jam
  with their musical instruments. There is a counter-clock (a
  mirror-image of a normal clock) on the wall, an ornate iron spiral
  staircase leading up to the roof, no bar stools, a free lunch of ham
  sandwiches on the bartop, and no mirror behind the bar (the wall is
  covered with scrawls of some of the best (worst?) puns from Tuesday
  contests - and this stuff comprises the Off The Wall book). Much of
  this has is not regularly referred to in the newsgroup, but occasionally
  someone might mention some of it.

  Spider Robinson knows about alt.callahans, and has been in contact
  with Danger Mouse, while he does not post here, nor will he probably
  ever post here. He has written a short story, 'Post Toast' talking about
  why he hasn't come here, and also what he thinks of what has been
  created here, which you can read at Kate's or Leslie's Web pages.

  There is another book related to Callahan's - it happens to be a
  source book for the role-playing game GURPS by Steve Jackson Games. It
  was written by Chris W. McCubbin, with help from Spider: GURPS
  Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, 1992, ISBN 1-55634-221-7.

  And if you turn to page 73 of this book, you will see alt.callahans
  mentioned specifically. As a Patron of this Place you are therefore,
  in some small way, famous -- even more so now that Spider Robinson has
  included a couple paragraphs about us in the endnote to _Callahan's
  Legacy_ [pp. 218-219], and 'Post Toast' can also be found at the end of
  _The Callahan Chronicals_, along with a listing of a few of the many and
  various places Callahan's could be found in Cyberspace as of May, 1997,
  which is when the book went to press.

Other Callahan's Resources on the Net (and off)

  The Callahan's Round Table:
         Apart from the newsgroup alt.callahans, there is a #callahans
         channel on Internet Relay Chat (IRC). When this Allabout was
         first written, it was busiest on Wednesdays and Sundays, but you
         can find folks there just about any time you look. If you know
         how to use IRC, simply join the channel #callahans on the
         Undernet. To reach the Undernet, choose whichever Undernet server
         works best for you, and you should find several other
         Callahanians on-line and willing to chat.  (A list of servers
         should be available at http://www.undernet.org .)

         The IRC #callahans Page is maintained by Buttrfly, and can be
         found at http://www.windblossom.com/callahans/index.html

         As originally envisioned by the IRC denizens of #callahans, the
         VR space used in IRC was a big, round, oak table situated at the
         bar. Now, it's the whole bar. The people there do all the things
         they do in alt.callahans, except that it all happens instantly
         instead of posting messages and waiting for a reply. Often, the
         conditions there are much less crowded than in the newsgroup, but
         the VR conceit is pretty much the same as the bar itself. The
         fireplace, the lounge, the Folx Room, the Danger Room are just
         some features they have in common with the newsgroup. Some
         patrons visit both, some just one, whatever works for you.

         #callahans is ideal for anyone with access to IRC and who feels
         the volume of posts in alt.callahans is just too overwhelming.
         The Round Table was set up by Elana Beach, and is managed by
         zem.

         If you don't know how to use IRC, then you should check your
         on-line help (type /HELP at the IRC prompt), the Undernet's web
         site or ask a local expert on your system. There are several
         downloadable clients available on the internet as well.

  HoloMUCK:
         HoloMUCK is a multi-user game running on a machine in Montreal.
         Many current and ex-Callahanians have characters on HoloMUCK,
         and logging in is another way of meeting up with them in real
         time.

         The telnet address for HoloMUCK is 132.206.78.1 (port 5757).
         (URL: telnet://132.206.78.1:5757/)

         The e-mail contact is Sjade, at these addresses:

           For HoloMUCK information; [email protected]
           To set up a character; [email protected]

         Webpages for HoloMUCK are at:
           http://home.intranet.org/~estin/holo/

         If you want to have a look at Holo first, telnet to the above
         address and connect as a guest. Instructions appear when you
         open the telnet connection. If you don't know how to use
         telnet, either check your on-line help or ask a local expert.

  Callahan's on the World Wide Web:
         Several people maintain World Wide Web pages with Callahan's
         related information. Here are the URL addresses and brief
         descriptions for some.

         The Callahan's Web Group ([email protected]) maintains
         a WWW page with links to several other Callahan's related sites,
         including some that have pictures. It also has a link to a list
         of Patrons' birthdays, info about major RS gatherings, and more.
         http://www.callahans.org
         [Thanks to D'Arcy Cain and vex.net for hosting the callahans.org
         domain.]

         Kate ([email protected]) maintains the original
         Callahan's WWW page (originally produced by John Ockerbloom,
         maintained for some time by Danger Mouse, then by Shadowcat from
         spring of 1995 to August 2000). The page contains links to
         several Callahan's documents, and also a few classic posts from
         the past.
         http://www.thatsmartblonde.com/callahans.html

         Leslie's home page has a section devoted to Callahania, as well
         as copies of the FAQs and a list of Patrons' home pages.
         http://www.vex.net/~leslie/

         Claudia maintains an archive of favorite posts, along with some
         links to other Patrons' home pages.
         http://www.tiac.net/users/cmarie/callahans-index.html

         Also, the Lamplighter's Almanac sometimes includes a list of
         Callahan's websites.

         As usual on the Web, these pages all contain numerous links and
         cross-references. A bit of searching, and who knows what you will
         find! If you don't know how to access the Web, ask a local expert
         about it.

  The Callahan's FTP Sites:
         frood ([email protected]) maintains the main Callahan's FTP
         site at bach.cs.columbia.edu (128.59.28.19). This site contains
         an archive of Callahan's posts, as well as a copy of the
         Callahan's Cookbook (see sections on the Cookbook and Archives
         below).

         Leslie's FTP site, at ftp.vex.net/pub/users/leslie, also has the
         Callahan's FAQs and Cookbook.

         DO NOT try to log in (via TELNET) to these sites as "guest" or
         "anonymous". No such accounts exist on either machine, and your
         request will be denied. These sites are for anonymous FTP only.

  The Callahan's Cookbook:
         Back around 1993, Danger Mouse compiled a collection of recipes
         from Callahanians. While he no longer has an FTP site, the
         Cookbook is still available from the Callahan's FTP Sites. It
         exists in three formats: Plain ASCII (a text file like this),
         LaTeX (a text formatting language), and PostScript (a graphics
         format suitable for laser-printing).

         On frood's FTP site, the appropriate directory is /pub/cookbook
         . The files there are in GNU zip compressed format, with file
         names: cookbook.asc.gz, cookbook.ps.gz, cookbook.tex.gz .

  The Callahan's Coffeehouse:
         This is a collection of songs performed by Callahanians and
         compiled by John Ockerbloom in 1991. It contains songs by the
         Mandelbear (Steve Savitzky), Windsinger (Rhodri James), The
         Green Tiger (James Birdsall), and Taldin (Jeff Young), all
         original compositions. The recording quality is not very good,
         but the songs are fun. Getting a copy of the tape for yourself
         these days may prove difficult, however. Please don't bother
         John for a copy - he hasn't the necessary equipment to make new
         copies. If you want a copy, the best way is to find another
         Patron who has a copy and ask nicely for a duplicate.

Other Regular Informational Postings in Callahan's

  In addition to this Allabout file, there are a few other regular posts
  which appear in Callahan's. The reason they are separate from the
  Allabout is that they contain information which is either posted or
  updated much more frequently than the information here. You will see
  them posted every so often, or you can grab them from the Callahan's
  FTP Site or the Callahan's World Wide Web Page. The files are:

  Flames:
         Probably the most important regular post, this describes the
         action to take (or not to take) when people start getting
         insulting or abusive in the newsgroup. To summarise: ignore the
         flamer and e-mail or post friendly support to the victim.

  New Patron's Guide to Callahan's Posting:
         This gives a rundown on net-etiquette and technical information
         on posting to newsgroups for new Usenet users.

  Callahan's Keyword Guidelines:
         This post describes the practice of labelling posts with
         Subject line keywords (to assist readers) and lists the keywords
         in common use.

The Growth of Callahan's

  The newsgroup alt.callahans was created in November 1989 by Chris Davis.
  Since then there have over 600,000 posts to the group. (The number
  listed at your site may be smaller, since many sites did not receive the
  group until much later.) Nobody really knows how many posters have
  contributed, but it must be several hundred, perhaps over a thousand.
  Many of those have since disappeared, but now there are about a hundred
  'regulars' and perhaps a similar number of semi-lurkers who post
  occasionally. Real Spaces, especially the annual Callahanicon and
  related Annexes have been boasting attendance records of over 50 and are
  growing every year.

  It is impossible to tell exactly how many people read the group at any
  given time, but the last known official estimate (February 1995) was
  61,000. So it seems that lurkers outnumber regular posters by quite a
  margin!

  The volume of posts in Callahan's can be quite daunting. A report from
  February 1995 listed alt.callahans as the 151st top newsgroup by number
  of bytes, and 172nd top by number of articles, with 3100 articles,
  totalling 6300 kilobytes, posted during January 1995. (Both those
  figures were passed within the first two weeks of January, 2000.)

  A few times people have suggested a split of alt.callahans in order to
  make the group more structured and hence manageable. Each time there
  was a lot of discussion and a general consensus that splitting the
  group would rob it of one of its chief virtues - diversity. The great
  range of topics and cross-linking of conversation threads is probably
  the most important thing in maintaining that special and somewhat
  magical atmosphere which seems to pervade the Place. And that same
  conclusion will almost certainly be reached any time someone ever
  suggests that a split might be a good idea.

  It should also be noted that past attempts to 'colonize cyberspace' by
  creating more groups like Callahan's have, at best, met with mixed
  success. This is likely to put a damper on the idea of creating more
  such groups. On the other hand, if you find an abandoned net.pub and
  want to try reviving it, go to it! (However, you should realize that it
  may not be as abandoned as it appears to be. Best to ask if anyone's
  around before starting a virtual remodeling job.)

Archives and Databases

  An archive of the first 14 months or so (November 1989 to about February
  1991), is available at ftp://eddie.mit.edu/pub/alt.callahans/ . This
  site has a limit of 10 simultaneous users, so please don't go there just
  to rubberneck.

  frood has an archive of all posts received at his site since August
  1991 to the present. You can FTP single month's worth of articles from
  bach.cs.columbia.edu (128.59.28.19). The files are tar files compressed
  with GNU zip (gzip), and have names like:

      /pub/callahans/Y-yyyy/Mmmyy.tar.gz
e.g.   /pub/callahans/Y-1992/Aug92.tar.gz

  Individual articles or Subject threads cannot be searched for or
  retrieved. If you have any questions about this archive, send e-mail
  to frood at [email protected] .

  If anyone has the resources to set up a better article retrieval
  system (including search facilities, for example) from such a large
  archive, please contact frood to arrange details.

  Calishar maintains a searchable and browsable archive, which
  incorporates the two listed above, at http://callahans.calishar.com .
  You will need a Javascript-enabled browser to be able to access all
  features, but searching and browsing search results does not require
  Javascript.

  Google (http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search) maintains a
  searchable Usenet archive which goes back to sometime in 1981.

  The Birthday List is maintained by JakeStone,and is located at:
  http://www.chaos.org/callahans/patrons/birthdays/ .  Contact info is at:
  http://www.chaos.org/contact/ .

Dedication and Credits

  This Allabout is dedicated to:
    * Caeilte - The first to leave us.
    * The Artful Dodger - May you forever roam the deserts you loved so
      much and which you shared with so many of us.
    * Viola - Life was a stage - may the intermission be short.
    * Tony Kidson - Ever thoughtful, always wise, the words from your
      Bromley cat-warmer will be sorely missed.
    * Speaker to Minerals - Resident Curmudgeon, you will be missed.
    * The Preacher - A Friend in Deed is a Friend Indeed.
    * Guenndolyn- A Lady of the first order.
    * Dan Briggs - Clear skies, for observing and diving.
    * maenad - fun is good!
  None of you are forgotten.

"I've traveled all the nations, ta'en delight in all creation
I've tried a wee sensation when the company did prove kind
And when parting was no pleasure, I've drunk another measure
To the good friends that we treasure, for they always are in our minds"

From Rambling Rover, by Andy M Stewart.


    _________________________________________________________________

  The original Allabout file was written by Taldin the Blue Unicorn.
  Nick Chopper maintained and upgraded the information for several
  years, with the help of many un-named Callahan's Patrons. This version
  was compiled by Danger Mouse, with much help and input of text from
  both Taldin and Nick, as well as Firehawk, the Didi-Sprite, kitten,
  /*, Jezebel, Draco, Elana Beach, Nicarra, Big Al, Aurora, frood, Tink,
  John Ockerbloom, Rowan, and Red Bear. It was maintained by Shadowcat
  until 31 August 2000.

  If you have any suggestions for additions or changes to this file,
  please send mail to Kate at [email protected] , with a copy to
  David Harden at [email protected] .

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