Archive-name: galactic-guide/DietFAQ Posting-Frequency: biweekly Last-Modified: 1995/01/25 Version: 1.0 Project Galactic Guide Very Frequently Asked Questions FAQLite Release 1.0 25 January 1995 This is the concentrated FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) information file for the Usenet group alt.galactic-guide. It's rather condensed and only addresses the VFAQ's (Very Frequently Asked Questions). For a more in-depth analysis of the social implications of PGG, its effect on global warming and defoliation campaigns, and the PGG perspective on Life, the Universe, and Everything, please consult the PGG FAQ file. Contents -------- 1.0 What is the alt.galactic-guide newsgroup? 2.0 So who do I send articles to? 3.0 Format of the articles 3.1 Article text do's and don'ts 4.0 The PGG Mothership 4.1 Supported computer platforms 5.0 World-Wide Web (WWW) sites 6.0 Miscellaneous questions ============================================================================= 1.0 What is the alt.galactic-guide newsgroup? ---------------------------------------------- This newsgroup was created for the sole purpose of allowing uninterrupted communication between people involved in Project Galactic Guide. PGG, as we like to be called, evolved from the alt.fan.douglas-adams newsgroup. For the uninformed, Douglas Adams is the author of a series of humourous s/f books centering on the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. In these books, the characters write for and frequently consult a sort of electronic encyclopedia which has an entry on just about everything. Our mission is to create something so incredibly useful, so wonderfully handy, so universally resourceful, that no hitchhiker (or, dare we say, traveller in general) could do without one. Reporters, field researchers, recruiters, and average people off the street write and/or find articles about people, places, and things, and submit these articles to editors. The editors make sure the articles are all set, and then send the approved articles to the librarians. The librarians keep the archives up-to-date with the approved articles. ============================================================================= 2.0 So who do I send articles to? ---------------------------------- You should send your articles to one of the PGG Editors: cleggp@rpi.edu -- Paul alexmc@biccdc.co.uk -- Alex swbaker@vela.acs.oakland.edu -- Steve We also have a fourth editor, Michael Bravo, who handles articles written in the Russian language. If you have written an article in Russian, please send them to Michael (mbravo@octopus.spb.su). ============================================================================= 3.0 Format of the articles --------------------------- The articles that are accepted are organized by category and compiled in article "archives." Each archive file contains 25 accepted Guide entries. These archives are stored and available for download from the PGG Mothership. We've decided upon a simple ASCII text format for the article entries. The specs on the format are contained in the "article.new" file. It's really pretty simple, with just a few header token-type things that define useful stuff. 3.1 Article text do's and don'ts --------------------------------- Here are some of the guidelines we've established for the contents of PGG articles. Please observe these and your friendly neighbourhood editors will thank you! 1. Please do NOT use TABS! They are very troublesome on different computer platforms. When writing, use spaces with a non-proportional font like Courier or System. 2. Please put TWO spaces after each sentence stop (period, exclamation mark, etc.) That's an old standard which we've adopted. 3. Please check your spelling if possible; authors from around the world have new and different words and slang which we may not be aware of. If we can't figure out the word, based on its context we'll figure it's a new or foreign word... and that's how typo's slip through the cracks! 4. Please read some existing articles before writing your own. You can learn a lot about the format and style of the articles by observation! In general, please do NOT copy other people's work or ideas. We don't want the project stopped because we violated some silly copyright law! ============================================================================= 4.0 The PGG Mothership ----------------------- The Mothership is an Anonymous FTP site where you can download PGG info, articles, programs, t-shirt images, reports, and other great stuff. To get to the PGG Mothership, FTP to the following site: Lexical: vela.acs.oakland.edu Numeric: 141.210.10.2 URL: ftp://vela.acs.oakland.edu/pub/galactic-guide When you connect, use the "anonymous" user ID and specify your full Internet email address as the password. The Mothership is "pub/galactic-guide", which is actually just a link to "pub/swbaker". Thus, if you're using an FTP server which doesn't show the logical links, go into the "swbaker" directory. NOTE: When downloading files from the Mothership, be sure you are in BINARY mode. A lot of folks have been sending me email complaining of corrupt .ZIP files, etc... it's because they are trying to get the binary file in ASCII mode (which is the default, unfortunately). You only need to type 'binary' once, but unless you're using a web browser like Mosaic, you MUST type this EVERY TIME you connect. 4.1 Supported computer platforms --------------------------------- While having the articles themselves is pretty fun, actually being able to do something with them is even better. The following computer platforms are supported with PGG article reader systems: o Acorn Archimedes Author contact: Alex McLintock (alexmc@biccdc.co.uk) o Amiga o Atari ST o IBM/MS-DOS Author contact: Steve Baker (swbaker@vela.acs.oakland.edu) o Macintosh Author contact: Rickard Andersson (rickard@softlab.se) o Unix Author contact: Dave Gymer (dpg@cs.nott.ac.uk) o X Windows Author contact: David Squire (squizz@cs.curtin.edu.au) Each of the programs is available in its own subdirectory on the Mothership. Questions about a particular program's use or functionality should be directed to the program's author or posted to alt.galactic-guide. ============================================================================= 5.0 World-Wide Web (WWW) sites ------------------------------- For those who can view html documents (including users of Mosaic, Cello, and WinWeb), there are a number of froody WWW sites: URL: http://www.strw.leidenuniv.nl/~vdmeulen/index.html Operator: Roel van der Meulen URL: http://aurora.etsiig.uniovi.es:3080/~~pippin/ Operator: Charles Briscoe-Smith URL: http://web.cs.city.ac.uk/pgg/guide.html Operator: Nick Williams URL: http://www.realtime.net/~lthumper/ Operator: Jeff Kramer URL: http://www.willamette.edu/pgg/ Operator: James Tilton These all have links to the Article Archives, the PGG Mothership, format and article information, and many have on-line archive search and article retrieval capabilities. ============================================================================= 6.0 Miscellaneous questions ---------------------------- Q: What's with 42, who is Douglas Adams, and why should I carry a towel? A: Please see the alt.fan.douglas-adams Usenet group; the a.f.d-a FAQ has answers to all of these questions and more! Q: How can I get a PGG Press Card? A: As soon as they're finished, you'll be able to get an Official PGG Press Card from Jason Kohles (jason.kohles@m.cc.utah.edu). Q: What good are the PGG Press Cards? A: They may actually get you in some places, and besides they look cool. There's an article on what to do with your Press Card; check it out! Q: What's up with the PGG t-shirts? A: Among others, Stephane Lussier (stef@phoque.info.uqam.ca) has come up with some great graphics and motif ideas for the Official PGG t-shirt. They're available for review on the Mothership. As soon as we decide on how the shirts will look, and as soon as someone makes the shirts, then you'll be able to order them! For more information, just follow the t-shirt threads on alt.galactic-guide. Q: Do you need more editors? A: Not really. Alex has now joined the ranks of Editordom, and now we're pretty much all set. Thanks for asking, however! If you really want to help the project, we can always use more researchers, reporters, and recruiters! Q: Are there more miscellaneous questions? A: Yes. Please see the complete PGG FAQ file for more information.