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The alt.callahans Allabout
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 this section. Part 2 contains extra
information which you might find interesting, but is not essential to
understanding the group.
Contents: (Areas marked with # have been revised since the last posting.)
[Part 1]
* What the Newsgroup is All About
* What Callahan's Is, and What Callahan's Isn't
* Some VR Traditions
* Parties and Things in Callahan's
* Callahan's and Real Life
[Part 2]
* 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
_________________________________________________________________
What the Newsgroup is All About
Well, this is not really straightforward. A good way to understand
what we do here is to take a guided tour. If you just look over by the
fireplace you'll meet your tour-guide...
The Unicorn in the corner by the fireplace tips his hat to ye in
greeting.
"Welcome to alt.callahans, traveller. I'm Taldin, resident Blue
Unicorn and eternal Patron. Basically, the Place here on the Net is
loosely based on the Callahan's Place books by Spider Robinson; it
used to be more like the books, but has changed in the course of over
four years of operation. Like Callahan's in the books, we have a few
customs; these are customs to work with, not rules to live by. You
don't HAVE to read the books before saying anything; even I hadn't
read them before joining in the fun."
He gets up and walks to the bar, putting a dollar on the bartop. "All
drinks are a dollar, or some other single currency unit depending on
where you're from, though some people like to pay a bit more just for
style." Mike, the Irish bartender, nods at the unicorn. "Spiked Apple
Juice, Mike," Taldin orders.
"You can get just about anything you want; Mike's the universal
bartender and there's almost nothing he can't build for ya." Taldin
picks up his glass, and sips it while walking to a chalk line about
ten feet (or three metres) away from the fireplace. "If you like
preserving glass, you can leave the glass on the bar and collect fifty
cents change from the cigar box at the end of the bar. But most people
toast."
He raises his empty glass towards you. "To strangers; friends we've
just met." And hurls the glass into the fireplace, where it breaks
with a satisfying smash. A few other glasses hit the fireplace right
after Taldin's. "If you agree with someone else's toast, feel free to
pitch your glass right after.
"Please keep in mind, though, that there are lots of postings within
the group; you might have noticed the noise level when you walked in.
If your pitch is just a pitch and nothing more, you might want to
consider showing your support in e-mail to the poster, instead. This
has been a message from the Bandwidth Conservation Society.
"Toasts can be about anything; happy, sad, angry, troubles, thoughts
and feelings. A toast can be private, too; you don't have to talk
about it; but we're listening as best we can, if you do. And we're
here for support, advice, and a bit of fun - and many, many puns.
"Sometimes we might refer to Patrons who don't seem to post, like
Jake, Fast Eddie, Long-Drink, Doc Webster, or Tom Hauptman. These are
characters from the Callahan's books, and are as much a part of the
Place (if not more) than we are. A longer description exists elsewhere
in the Allabout, and if you're really interested, we recommend the
books themselves highly. Again, as I said, knowledge of the books does
not constitute a requirement to be here."
He smiles, and gives up the line. "I'll let someone else have the
stage f'r now. Oh yes. What name do you go by? And what'll you have?"
He winks conspiratorially. "You might want to let people know what
your birthday is, too; birthdays tend to be big things around here."
As he heads back to his shadowy corner (Taldin tends to 'semi-lurk',
or not post too often) he walks by one of the tables, with a peculiar
looking lamp hung above it. The effect of the light is to blur the
humanoid unicorn form about him, leaving a young man in the same
clothes in its place. "Whups. That reminds me; this thing here is the
Light of Reality, or LoR. This Place is a virtual space, yes, and open
to flights of fancy and fantasy, but the key thing to remember is that
it is mostly for reality. Real live people with real life thoughts."
The young man looks back at you. "Be yourself, be what you feel you
should have been, had you had a choice, but above all, be considerate
of others, in this special Place, as well. Danke."
With that, Taldin retires to the seat where you first saw him...
And really, that's about all you need to know to start participating
in the group. To put it perhaps a little more succinctly:
alt.callahans is a newsgroup which operates under a Virtual Reality
(VR) conceit. Many of the people who post here do so in present tense,
third person descriptions of themselves (or themselves as some fantasy
persona), interacting with the other people in a bar called Callahan's
Place. None of this VR stuff is really necessary, and some posters use
a more 'normal' posting style. After a while you will get used to
reading posts in different styles. For your own style, just pick
something with which you feel comfortable.
So what do we talk about in Callahan's? Well, anything really. There
are no restrictions on topic, with the single exception that insults,
abuse, slander, and similar things are not tolerated. If there is
anything on your mind at all, you will almost certainly find people
here willing to talk about it. Just keep in mind that if it's
something controversial, not everyone will agree with you (although
they should respect your right to your own opinion). Another common
conversation topic is the sharing of puns and other jocularities. The
puns stem from the Callahan's books and they're kind of tree-ditional;
you'll find they branch off from any topic imaginable - sorry, I
should leaf it there.
There are other things we do here, which rely more heavily on the VR
nature of the Place. Every so often there is a big tickle, or pillow,
or custard pie fight, and the Place gets really messy for a while. And
sometimes there will be a big birthday party for one of the more well
known or popular Patrons. A lot of other things happen in the bar as
well - it's a pretty lively place!
Just one more thing... If you've been to other newsgroups you may have
been called a 'newbie' at some stage. That's generally not a very nice
experience, and we think of 'newbie' as kind of offensive here. So
here we have newcomers instead. Newcomers are not 'clueless newbies',
they're just friends we haven't known for long yet.
That's about it, really. You'll learn a lot more with experience, or
by reading through the rest of this file. Welcome to Callahan's!
What Callahan's Is, and What Callahan's Isn't
One of the most important concepts borrowed from the Callahan's Place
books by Spider Robinson is the axiom (as paraphrased by Aahz):
"Shared pain is lessened, shared joy increased; thus do we refute
entropy."
This forms the basis of much of the interaction in the group. Patrons
often make a toast when something sad or happy happens in their life.
The sharing seems to do just what the axiom says - it makes the pain
more bearable, or makes the joy more wonderful. Patrons have shared
many significant events in the past; everything from losing jobs,
pets, or close relatives, to falling in love, graduating, or having a
baby.
The shared joy comes pretty easily, but the shared pain can be more
difficult. Often a Patron will simply make a cryptic toast and not
wish to talk about it any more. That is fine. A very important thing
about sharing pain in Callahan's is that we do it voluntarily. People
will always listen if you want to talk, but they should never pry. In
Spider's books there is a character called Fast Eddie, who is quick to
use his blackjack on anyone who asks a prying question. We think
that's reasonable - so prying into other people's business here is
strongly discouraged.
Sometimes, however, a Patron does want to talk about something painful
in detail. While we can almost guarantee that people will be willing
to listen and sympathise, we cannot make any claims that we will be
able to help in any other way. We are a group of relatively normal
people; we have no magic powers to make people's lives better. The
Callahan's of Spider's stories could weave a certain magic, and the
stories always had happy endings. But this Callahan's is just a
newsgroup. This is reality, not a story.
We try very hard to listen to people. If someone has a real problem,
we even offer advice. But advice is not always right, and it's often
worth exactly what you pay for it. The important thing to remember is
not to harbour false expectations about the power of Callahan's. Some
people have, and have been sorely disappointed.
Having said that, however, it is also easy to underestimate the good
things and emotional support which can come from sharing. It is easy
to be cynical and say that Callahan's is just a bunch of weepy pathos
groupies. That is just as much a mistake as overestimating the power
of the Place.
In summary, alt.callahans is just a newsgroup. But it's a newsgroup in
which the Patrons make an honest effort to be real friends with one
another. We are a friendly bunch, in general, and if you need some
friends, we're always here. But we can't do anything which a more
normal sort of friend can't do.
Some VR Traditions
The Virtual atmosphere in Callahan's can take some getting used to.
There are several traditions and bits of Virtual scenery which are
often mentioned. The long-time Patrons know these from familiarity,
but newcomers can probably do with an explanation.
But first, a brief technical note. You've probably already noticed how
busy the Place is. In order to make finding the sort of posts you're
looking for a little easier, we have an informal keyword system to
label specific types of post. Most posts don't have any keyword, but
those which do are labelled in the Subject line with an upper-case
word, such as TOAST. Some of these keywords are mentioned below in
association with their appropriate VR traditions; all of them are
listed and described fully in the Guide to Keywords post, which is
periodically posted to the group.
Okay, with that out of the way, here's a list of Callahan's
traditions:
The Toast:
As already mentioned, this is the usual method of sharing some
big news in your life, whether it be good or bad. Basically,
you buy your drink from Mike (no, it doesn't have to be
alcoholic), walk to the chalk line which is marked on the floor
in front of the fireplace, declare your toast, drink, and throw
your glass into the fire. If you want to keep talking after the
toast, the floor is yours, so go ahead. If not, that's okay
too. Toasts are usually labelled with the keyword TOAST.
Hugs! (and Backrubs!):
A lot of the folks in Callahan's are pretty affectionate, and
what better way to display the way you feel towards your
friends than to share hugs? Hugs are very comforting and
therapeutic in Real Life, and can be in VR as well. Being
greeted with a Magda Wolf-Attack Hug (tm), or a Very Big Beth
Hug (tm), or whatever other style of hugs folks are offering
when you're feeling a bit down is sure to make you feel better!
Well... some people are a little nervous about physical
contact, so we should keep that in mind too. Hugs in Callahan's
are always offered, never given against someone's will. And
ditto for backrubs, which are even better than hugs, 'cause
they last so much longer!
Peanuts:
The traditional missile weapon of choice to be used against
inveterate punsters. A hail of peanuts has ended the rain of
more than one pretender to the pun-throne. Ouch! Who threw
that? Oh, while on this topic, although it doesn't really
involve peanuts, be wary of buying drinks by saying "Drinks are
on me". A lot of people often take this literally, and you will
probably end up dripping! [In recent years, this has mutated
into a tendency for the drinks to act on their own.]
Soapboxes:
Sometimes a Patron will make a long, opinionated speech, which
espouses personal views which might not necessarily agree with
someone else's. When this happens, the speaker often finds him
or herself standing on top of a pile of spontaneously appearing
soapboxes. This follows the venerable English tradition of
making public speeches while standing on, you guessed it, a
wooden soapbox. People in Callahan's will also often use the
word 'soapbox' as a synonym for 'pontificate', though in a
good-natured way. Soapbox posts can be labelled with the
keyword SOAPBOX.
At times, a Patron may refer to 'IMO' or 'an IMO' (pronounced
eye-mo). Basically, an IMO is a semi-sentient soapbox that
wanders around the floor looking for people to stand on it.
The term was introduced by Leslie after several people stared
referring to wandering soapboxes.
X-Windows:
You may be familiar with this as an operating environment on
some computer systems, but in Callahan's an X-Window is more
like a normal window. The X-Window is on a wall and you can
look through it. But sometimes it displays different things to
what you might expect - a bit like a film screen. Patrons who
wish to describe events or places from Real Life usually do so
by looking into the X-Window. An X-Window post will usually
contain some beautifully detailed descriptive prose. Such posts
are often labelled with the keyword WINDOW.
The Danger Room:
Callahan's is generally a peaceful sort of place, but we
recognise that anger is a valid emotion and a lot of good can
often be done by venting it in a safe way. If something really
frustrating happens to you and you feel like smashing some
furniture, you can go into the Danger Room and be as violent as
you like. All we ask is that you don't take others in there and
be violent to them. Danger Room posts should have the keyword
DANGER ROOM in their Subject header line.
The Rafters:
There are quite a few people who like to read Callahan's, but
who never post. These people are known as 'lurkers', and in the
VR of the Place, they sit up near the vaulted ceiling on the
rafters. Okay, for the architecturally minded they are
technically joists (rafters are higher up, snug against the
roof), but most folks just call them rafters.
Lamplighter's Almanac:
The Lamplighter posts an Almanac page each day. This lists
interesting events and happenings for the day in question, as
well as any Patrons whose birthday it happens to be. [Note that
the Almanac lists many Patrons who haven't been in for quite some
time.] The Almanac uses the keyword BOARD, indicating the
bulletin board on the wall of the Place where it hangs.
The Hot Tub:
If you need to relax your muscles, there is a magical hot tub
(always the right temperature) to climb into. It's always the
right size, too, for either one person, or a huge hot tub
party. Bathing costumes are optional, but please keep your
hands to yourself unless granted permission to give a backrub.
The Lounge:
The Lounge was a gift to The Place on November 7th, 1993 in a
post by Jezebel, the Didi-Sprite, Draco, Tink, and kitten. It
was constructed as a space for respite - a place to let go of
our cares. Postings from the lounge are often quiet stories or
threads, usually denoted with the keyword LOUNGE in the Subject
line. The lounge is a large sunken pit located near the
fireplace and the bar, ringed by open rails and wide polished
wooden steps and ramps which lead down from all sides. It is
carpeted with a plush white woollen rug adorned with an
intricate fractal dragon pattern. The area is also decorated
with overstuffed chairs, footstools, tables, lamps, pillows,
Libby the Lounge Lizard, and George the stool pigeon. The NULL
Sound (tm) equipment built into the railings diminishes the
usually raucous Callahan's hubbub to a soft soothing murmur,
like the gentle crash of ocean waves.
The French Doors:
The French Doors were introduced by the Didi-Sprite, as a way
of opening a portal out of the Place and into whatever magical
setting she would design for the extravagant parties she
organized. They are sort of like X-windows, except that Patrons
are able to step through them and take part in whatever lies
beyond. Other people have used them for special celebrations as
well. Often the Doors lead directly into Didi's Meadow, which is
the perfect place for a picnic.
Firelizards:
These beautiful and affectionate flying dragonets abound
plentifully in Callahan's. Originally brought in from Rukbat 3
aka P.E.R.N. (c), the telepathic firelizards have established
well hidden breeding grounds throughout the nooks and crannies of
The Place. On occasion, clutches of eggs are presented to those
people who choose to impress one for a lifetime of deep
friendship. The eggs usually hatch on Valentine's Day, February
14, so most of the firelizards in the Place share that
birthdate. Firelizards sometimes hang out in the rafters, but
more often they stay cozily wrapped around their life-mates who
speak for them. If you wish to speak for them, secure
permission first. For more information on firelizards, see Anne
McCaffrey's "The Dragonriders of Pern" (c) series. Those who
are already familiar with the Pernese firelizards might note
some of them have unusual colourations and patterns like mauve,
grey, stripes, and flecks. These hybrids were the union of a
Pernese firelizard and an enchanted dragon named Ace, from
Gian-Paolo's Dragon Poker card deck. Their capabilities are not
fully known. And some of the small dragons seen in Callahan's
are not Pernese at all, most notably DragonRose and
DragonOrder, who were introduced to the Place by Chauntilly
Lais and Tink respectively.
Those Virtual items seem to be in fairly regular use. There are also
some other things which used to be popular in the past, and which get
referred to once in a while these days:
The VPM:
The Virtual Pizza Machine was introduced by Nicarra for the
1990/91 New Year's Pizza Party. It is voice activated and can
produce anything with a dough crust and a filling or topping.
So it can make pizzas, and also calzones, pies, spring rolls,
spanakopita, apple turnovers... use your imagination!
Ingredients are not a problem; the VPM once made a small
birdseed pizza for a hamster. The VPM has made regular
reappearances on New Year's Eve, though it is available for
round-the-year use.
[Recently, a copy of an earlier version of the VPM's output
control software was found. This version allowed it to produce
any food which begins with the letter 'P'. Attempts to get this
to coexist with the present software are being made, but it is
still too early to tell if they will succeed.]
Radio Free Colorado:
RFC is a radio station which Mike sometimes tunes into for the
entertainment of the Patrons. It will play any song you request
(as long as you supply the words!). You can request favourites,
or perhaps something with words relevant to your feelings.
Requests are usually made by calling the station on the phone
at one end of the bar. If you make a post with the words of a
song, please give credit to the artist.
Warm Fuzzies:
These were introduced by Gilly Rosenthol way back in 1989. A
warm fuzzy looks like an animate ball of fur, rather like a
tribble, although with feet and hands if they need them. They
are the embodiment of caring and are freely given to others in
friendship. They hum when they are happy - which is most of the
time! And they come in any colour or combinations of colours
imaginable.
VAX:
VAX is an animated, mobile vacuum cleaner, brought into the
Place by Nick Chopper. He cleans up any errant glass by the
fireplace, and gets the Place looking respectable again after
any particularly feathery or custardy play-fights.
The Floating Dance Floor:
If RFC plays a song which gets your feet tapping, you can take
to the dance floor. The dance floor floats above the normal
floor, of course, so people who don't want to dance don't have
to walk around it.
The Folx Room:
This is a non-sexist bathroom, complete with a shower in case
you need to clean up for any reason.
Parties and Things in Callahan's
We've already mentioned the New Year's Pizza Party, which was held at
the appropriate time each year. It was started because the newsgroup
used to be a pretty empty place over the holiday season, with people
on vacation and all, and it's a nice way for the ones left behind to
share some holiday spirit. [It hasn't been held for several years.]
There are also birthday parties occasionally.
Since there are so many Patrons, every day is someone's birthday, so
parties tend to be held only for long-standing or very well-known
Patrons.
What happens is: Someone contacts a large bunch of the victim's
friends, collecting birthday greetings and Virtual mayhem from them in
e-mail, then formats it all together and posts a humongous birthday
party built from everyone's messages. It's quite an honour to have
such a surprise party thrown for you, but the sheer number of Patrons
means nobody should feel bad about not getting one.
Party posts are often quite long, and the threads can go on quite a
while, so the keyword PARTY should always be included in the Subject
line of any party post.
Callahan's and Real Life
Since Callahan's is full of real people, they sometimes find they live
close enough together to meet up in Real Life (RL). This has led to
the idea of the RealSpace, in which a bunch of Callahanians get
together and have a great time. There are several groups of people who
met in Callahan's and now get together regularly in RL. A few romances
have started this way, and even a marriage or two!
There are other ways in which Callahanians can share RL experiences.
People have posted invitations to open parties, and stage performances
in which they appear, and to events like science fiction conventions.
The keyword REALSPACE is sometimes used to announce, organise, or
report on any such gatherings.
And when a Callahanian travels, well! There are often other
Callahanians scattered around the destination and this makes a great
excuse for a get-together. Several Patrons have had dinner or attended
parties with people from other countries, and many a Patron has given
free travel accommodation to a visiting Callahanian from across the
country or across the world. There have been Real Spaces across North
America and in South Africa and England. They have occured in North
America in: Denver; Detroit; Champaign, Illinois; Washington, DC;
Pittsburgh; Boston; several in California; Baltimore; and Montreal.
Several impromptu Real Spaces have occured at Science Fiction and Gaming
conventions.
[END OF PART 1]
_________________________________________________________________
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, by David Harden until August 2004, and by Janet
Miles until March 2005.
If you have any suggestions for additions or changes to this file,
please send mail to Mephistoff Ellis at <
[email protected]>.
