[MFAQ 2.2c] Counterpoint the surrealism of the underlying metaphor
Greg Pacek - CrazyOne
*** The alt.fan.douglas-adams MFAQ (Most Frequently Asked Questions) ***
Version 2.2c / Last changes 3 August 2000 / This posted 28 September 2000
Welcome to alt.fan.douglas-adams!
In this little corner of Usenet we discuss things supposedly related to
British book/game/film/radio author Douglas Adams and his works. This
MFAQ is meant to answer the common questions so that discussion on the
group can be more about the less common and/or totally absurd ones.
This MFAQ is posted weekly on Thursdays; the *new* web home of the MFAQ
is:
http://www.zootle.co.uk/afda/mfaq.shtml
For more in-depth info on Douglas Adams and his work, please visit the
more than complete FAQ at:
http://www.netins.net/showcase/benssite/afdafaq/
A few notes about the alt.fan.douglas-adams newsgroup: This is an
unmoderated group, which means you may see "spam" from time to time. It
is best not to respond to spam, except maybe to send a mail to the
spammer's service provider if you can figure out who it is and you feel
like it. This is also NOT a binary group. That means if you have this
great picture file, background "wallpaper", etc. you should post an offer
to email it to people or a pointer to where they can download it rather
than attaching the file to the post. Binaries to the group will be met
with a flurry of nasty notes from regulars. So if you didn't know before,
now you do. :-) Also, common sense, while not often seen on Usenet, can
be a help. Ridiculous breaches of netiquette tend to result in flames.
If you're totally new to Usenet newsgroups, you might want to look at this
piece on netiquette that I found; it's at
http://songweaver.com/netiquette.html One thing to note is that we're not
particularly picky about being on-topic all the time, which means if you
want to know what Douglas Adams fans think of this or that, you're usually
okay in asking. In fact, these days it's rare to see much on-topic at
all.
The FAQ team is allegedly Greg Pacek, Owen Cameron and Ben Brockert. This MFAQ was developed and is maintained by Greg "CrazyOne" Pacek (email:
craz...@city-net.com) with the help of Iain Barker (web translation), Ben
Brockert (FAQ-MFAQ cross-polination), other a.f.d-a participants and small
furry creatures from Alpha Centauri. Please send comments and suggestions
to Greg.
And now... on with THE ANSWERS!
** The questions/contents (in some sort of order):
(new info since previous post indicated with + in the contents)
1. Who is Douglas Adams anyway?
2. What has he written?
3. What is he currently working on?
4. Does Douglas Adams read this group?
5. What is his email address / web address / snail mail address?
6. What happened to The Salmon of Doubt?
7. What's this I hear about a movie?
8. How do I find the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
or Bureaucracy computer games?
9. Where can I get other CDs, tapes, books, etc.?
10. What do you get if you multiply six by nine?
11. What kind of stuff is in the complete FAQ?
12. Where do I find HHGG/DNA _______ on the web?
13. Where else can I interact with Douglas Adams fans or DNA?
14. Is there a fan club? (ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha info)
1. Who is Douglas Adams anyway?
You really don't know? ;-) Douglas Adams is a British author of humorous
books and other items in various media (radio, tv, computer games, etc.)
By far his best-known work is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (in its
various forms) and its sequels. For a lot more info, please visit the
more than complete FAQ mentioned above. And of course check out
http://www.douglasadams.com
By the way, his name is Douglas Noel Adams, so around here we often call
him DNA for short. He was born March 11, 1952, in Cambridge. For more
off-line info about DNA you can't beat _Don't Panic_ by Neil Gaiman.
2. What has he written?
Well, the best bibliography is with the more than complete FAQ (see also
item 11), but here's a quick list of the most common works (some of these
have co-authors):
Radio Series:
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
TV Series:
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Books:
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Life, the Universe and Everything
So Long and Thanks for All the Fish
Mostly Harmless
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul
Last Chance to See
The Meaning of Liff
The Deeper Meaning of Liff
Computer Games:
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Bureaucracy
Starship Titanic
Feature Film:
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (see item 7)
3. What is he currently working on?
Douglas Adams is one of the principals of a multimedia company formed a
few years ago called h2g2 Ltd. Formerly known as The Digital Village (or
TDV for short) the company has just recently changed their name to reflect
their increased focus on h2g2.com as the main property. Other projects
not related to h2g2.com will still be happening, though, and the
principals of the company remain the same. Only the name has changed.
The best way to get the best info on h2g2 Ltd is to go to the company info
page (http://www.h2g2.com/AboutUs). h2g2 Ltd's current DNA-related
projects include the online Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
(http://www.h2g2.com) which is the Guide to everything, Starship Titanic
(http://www.starshiptitanic.com) which supplements the game and novel, and
douglasadams.com (http://www.douglasadams.com), which is a site for DNA's
current goings-on. h2g2 Ltd will also be involved in the HHGG movie and a
new HHGG game to go along with it. They also in theory work on some
projects that have nothing to do with DNA, but I've not heard of any
recently.
h2g2 is the main web project of h2g2 Ltd. Go check out this amazing site,
the guide to everything, as researched by everyone! www.h2g2.com Submit
your own guide entries, comment on others, put up info on the web without
knowing any HTML, and on and on. There are over 50,000 registered
researchers now, and lots of ways to interact with others. You can even
use h2g2 on your WAP-enabled mobile phone, which proves once and for all
that fiction will become reality. DNA is not directly involved in the
production of this site, but the people at h2g2 Ltd who are are wonderful
folks in their own right.
A note about Starship Titanic: it's got that cool website mentioned above
but it's also a fairly elaborate computer game and a novel written not by
DNA but by Terry Jones of Monty Python fame. Reviews of both are mixed.
The Mac version of the game is shipping at long last. The SST website has
forums that have taken on a life of their own, from what I hear.
Douglas himself is currently working on the HHGG movie script (see item 7)
and a novel or two that will be neither HHGG nor Dirk Gently. He is
involved in some of the h2g2 Ltd projects (such as the ones above) but not
all of them. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to suggest that one main
purposes of douglasadams.com would be to keep people up to date, though
I'm sure it's not the only one.
And now, for those of you who are just itching to read a new DNA novel
(and what fan isn't?) we have the latest info from the beeb.com chat of 27
July 1999. DNA's own words in response to the question of there being any
new novels in the works:
"Yes, there is one I'm working on at the moment which I hope to have done
a lot of work on by the end of the year ... but top priority at the moment
is to get my screen play done to everybody's satisfaction."
Later info from October 1999 suggests this work will be out "about a year
from now". An even more recent article from sometime in May 2000 once
again mentioned that he was currently working on a novel. And he mentioned it again on douglasadams.com in July.
This is definitely a non-Hitchhiker, non-Dirk novel, most likely one of the non-Hitchhiker, non-Dirk novel ideas he's mentioned before.
He also mentioned in July 2000 that he's begun playing with a screenplay for Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency.
The Time Europe August 7th 2000 issue has a story about h2g2 in it.
http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/2000/0807/hitchhikers.html
New and notable info in there: it says he's working on an e-book (ala Stephen King I guess) with working title "Brain Box". Cool. I asked him (on the Info Forum at douglasadams.com) if it was the same as the other book he's been working on, and he said no, and that it wasn't an officially announced project yet, just an idea that he was keen on, likely only to be a novella in length.
For those wondering, he has said that he'll likely do another HHGG book,
but again that will not be one of his next couple projects.
4. Does Douglas Adams read this group?
He hasn't posted regularly for several years. In fact, it was significant
hassling from people here on the group that chased him away. He does post
occasionally, generally when there is something of particular import he
would like everyone to know (see item 7). There was a certainly an
indication someone was scanning the group during the time of silly movie
rumors. It seems pretty clear that someone from h2g2 Ltd is scanning
afda, but rarely is anything posted there from them.
He is now posting somewhat regularly in the Info Forum at
douglasadams.com. Threads with posts by DNA are even marked for easy
finding of what he writes. He's very behind the idea of h2g2.com, but
he's not really very active there.
5. What is his email address / web address / snail mail address?
Well, the web address again is douglasadams.com, where one of the things
mentioned is that he's a bit too overwhelmed to answer direct email right
now. Questions are best posed on the douglasadams.com Info Forum. Snail
mail should be sent to him at h2g2 Ltd's offices. That address would be:
h2g2 Ltd, 11 Maiden Lane, London, WC2E 7NA, UK Even more contact info
(phone, fax, etc.) is available on the h2g2 company info page
(http://www.h2g2.com/AboutUs).
6. What happened to The Salmon of Doubt?
Despite persistent publication dates in some ordering systems and a bunch
of fake reviews on Amazon.com, this book does not yet exist and won't for
some time (if at all). This won't stop some stores from taking your
order, but don't expect to see it anytime this millennium. Basically,
Douglas started writing a Dirk Gently book. Then Dirk didn't fit. Then
later he gave up on the idea for now. He has said that many of the ideas
he came up with belonged instead in a Hitchhiker book, so the eventual
fate of Salmon may be as the sixth part of the Trilogy. Douglas has
several other projects between now and then, though.
Fearless webmaster Iain Barker recently had a conversation with DNA. One
of the things he mentioned is that uninformed people compliment him on how
good this nonexistent book is! "A good return to form" even! Ridiculous.
The word at this point (30 October 1999) was that he's working on a book
that will be out "in about a year's time" that might be called The Salmon
of Doubt, just for the hell of it. (It's no HHGG, no Dirk.) Based on
past deadline missing, we expect to see it sometime in 2003. ;-)
7. What's this I hear about a movie?
"On Christmas Eve [Note: this would have been Christmas Eve 1997] I
agreed the deal with Disney to sell them the film rights, to write the
screenplay, and to be executive producer. Robbie Stamp, my partner from
The Digital Village [note: now h2g2 Ltd], is also executive director.
"I have only just actually signed the deal. Everything in between has been
lawyer stuff. Really. [Note: this would have been September 1998]
"The producer is Roger Birnbaum, of Caravan Pictures (now Spyglass
Pictures). There is no decision about which of Disney's various imprints
(Touchstone, Hollywood, etc) it will go out under. The director will be
Jay Roach, who directed Austin Powers..."
Those are some quotes from a post DNA made back in September 1998. Since
then, a bit more has happened:
At a talk he gave in April 1999 here in Pittsburgh, he mentioned a few new
things. Apparently he's currently doing some rewrites of the script and
involved in some "discussion" about what actually will be in the final
version. He's not at all happy with the hurry up and wait process this
and other Hollywood-associated tasks seem to involve. In fact, he thinks
the slow progress will delay the release about 6 months. (That would put
the release at Christmas season 2000 instead of the summer 2000. Not sure
if it's better or worse positioning; it depends upon when the other big
movies of the year are released.) He also said he thinks the budget will
be around $120 million. That's pretty serious big-event film territory,
and yet another part of the reason things are going slow, since when you
spend that much there are a lot of people who want a say. (That's
something he said, not just me.) The final thing I remember him saying is
that he's a great protector of the Englishness of it, particularly the
character of Arthur Dent. He's not as concerned about the other main
characters, but Arthur must be English, period. Oh, yes, on this note he
said he's very happy at the success of Shakespeare in Love, which seems to
have given him even more leverage with the Englishness position.
Other than that, little has changed from above, except that the release of
Jay Roach's recently completed Mystery, Alaska has been moved to the fall;
it was actually completed before Austin Powers 2. (Mystery, Alaska later
bombed at the box office as I recall.) No casting or really much else has
been decided as they're still doing a bit of wrangling over the script.
DNA moved to California in August 1999. (Not LA; you'll remember that he
hates LA, and that that feeling is somewhat tied up in a previous attempt
to do a film of HHGG. He now lives in Santa Barbara.)
Iain's report from 30 October 1999 included a bit of new info such as:
DNA has written 3 draft scripts, and they've called in another writer to
hack out another draft. DNA expects this outside aspect to help him get
the screenplay in order, as he feels he's too personally tied up in the
story at the moment.
DNA had some thoughts on casting (remember, nothing set in stone here!)
that I'll quote directly from Iain & Carole:
"Regarding casting DNA said he wants Hugh Laurie to play Arthur, and he's
expecting that out of the four main characters - Ford, Arthur, Zaphod and
Trillian - two will be English and two American; Trillian will probably be
the other English one. On the subject of Trillian, apparently she now has a much stronger role in the story, although much of it has been cut out again. What's left is still stronger though.
"Carole couldn't get over the fact that when she asked about casting, DNA
asked *her* what she thought! She suggested Jeff Goldblum for Ford, but DNA
said that he thought Goldblum is too typecast as silly people in sci-fi movies... DNA suggested Nicholas Cage might be in it, although I'm not sure whether he would play Ford or Zaphod.
"DNA would have liked Simon Jones to play Arthur, but he's too old; and Richard Vernon to play Slartibartfast, but he's dead (yes he did put it almost like that!). Nigel Hawthorne is DNA's choice for Slartibartfast, as he's 'the best actor in the world'."
New quote from DNA on 21 June 2000 (he posted this to the douglasadams.com
Info Forum):
"I've not been able to say much about what's been happening, because it's
continually been sensitive for one reason or another. But a great deal has
actually been happening -- in the normal three steps forward, two steps
(at least) back fashion.
"There are a lot of new developments at the moment, none of which I can
share with you. But there is one solid, straightforward piece of good news
I can pass on, which is that I finished an all-new draft of the screenplay
last week and Jay loves it. It's the first time in all these years that
we've had a screenplay which clearly works and seems to solve all the
problems of it needing to be both a real version of Hitchhiker and also a
proper movie. It's been a very hard circle to square.
"There were some anxious postings here about a month back about a leaked
script someone had seen. Not my script, nor anything like it. I can't
really say anything more than that.
"Please be patient. I have to be discreet. Don't believe anything you read
here that doesn't come directly from me, especially anything from
so-called 'informed, insider sources', most of which belongs in the
Half-Witted Crap Forum.
"I hope that before long we will be able to set up a new forum here
dedicated entirely to the movie, and that Jay and others will make their
own contributions to it as well. (Oh, you can believe what you hear from
him, as well.)"
There you have it folks! The up-to-the-minute status of things. And
confirmation that that bad script review was at best of a draft never
intended to be filmed and at worst of something that really had nothing to
do with the project.
DNA has said that the film will be based roughly on the first book with a
bit of new material added in. It will not try to cover the whole series
or anything. If it's successful, they will do more.
By the way, this is not a second movie of HHGG. The other version is the
BBC TV Series, no matter how it's packaged on video. And despite it being
released and funded by a division of Disney, it's not an animated film.
8. How do I find the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
or Bureaucracy computer games?
Well, the deal is that the rights to the HHGG game have reverted back from
Activision (successor to Infocom) to Douglas Adams. In fact, this is why
the game did not appear on the most recent Infocom collections. (It does
appear on "The Lost Treasures of Infocom" and "The Infocom Sci-Fi
Collection", both of which are now apparently out of print, or at least
very difficult to find.) If you do have an old version of the game,
however, it is possible to take the data files from it and use it on
virtually any type of operating system. Infocom designed the game (and
other text adventures they did) to use the same data file on any sort of
computer and utilize an interpreter program that was written for that
platform (often refered to as a Z Interpreter). The practical upshot is
that you can get a shareware or freeware Infocom interpreter for nearly
any platform you like. This FTP site has been recommended as a source for
several such interpreters:
ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/infocom/interpreters/
Occasionally people sell their copies of these collections on the auction
website eBay (http://www.ebay.com).
Please note that unauthorized distribution of the game remains illegal,
and h2g2 Ltd may well take action against such distribution (including but
not limited to closing of web sites, lawsuits, concrete shoes, calling in
the Vogons, etc.)
You can now play a Java version of the HHGG game online at
douglasadams.com. (This was done with little fanfare. Not sure if the
Comic Relief site one is still meant to work or not.) Just hop on over to
http://www.douglasadams.com/creations/infocomjava.html to play the game.
I don't know to what degree they care about downloading the z datafile
itself, but its location can't be hidden anyway. It's at
http://www.douglasadams.com/creations/hhgg.z5 You can use it with any z
interpreter as mentioned above. Keep in mind the above remark about
unauthorized distribution. You should direct people to the site, nowhere
else.
There will be an all-new Hitchhiker game to go along with the movie,
though. The newest info from douglasadams.com
(http://www.douglasadams.com/news/) suggests both computer and console
versions will be available at the time of the movie's release. Work on
this game has in fact already started.
Bureaucracy is slightly easier. It appeared on a couple of Infocom
collections in the past, and appears on Activision's newest collection of
old Infocom stuff called "Masterpieces of Infocom", just released on their
"Essential Collection" budget label. This collection is very inexpensive
(around 10UKP/probably about US$10) runs on PC or Mac and includes 30 or
so other old Infocom text adventure games.
Look, it's simple. DO NOT post the games on your web site. DO NOT post
the address of any site (yours or otherwise) where the games supposedly
have been posted. DO NOT post requests for the games or offers to send
them. And most of all DO NOT post the games themselves to the group.
(It's NOT a binaries group.) Unauthorized distribution of the games
REMAINS ILLEGAL. Play the Java game online for HHGG; buy the inexpensive
collection for Bureaucracy.
9. Where do I get other CDs, tapes, books, etc.?
As of very recently, you can now start with the shop at douglasadams.com!
They carry the Radio Series on CD and cassette, signed copies of the
Illustrated Guide, the TV Series (PAL format only so far; don't order this
if you have a standard US VCR), Douglas Adams - Live At The Almeida (this
is a video available in both NTSC and PAL formats!) and the Starship
Titanic 1st Class Cruise Kit (cross-platform Mac/Win game CDs, strategy
guide and audiobook of the novel by Terry Jones). More products may be
added eventually. They're running a "summer sale" of sorts at the
douglasadams.com store. At the very least people in the US should get a
much better deal on shipping than before.
The Radio Series is otherwise notoriously hard to get ahold of, at least
in the US, and the TV Series is approaching that point. In the UK and
other places in the EU you can still get these directly from the BBC
(www.bbcshop.com/bbc_shop/ and click on the Science Fiction section), but
the BBC won't ship across the pond, or, indeed, outside the EU. As for
walking into a store, well, the BBC shops do usually have them. Info from
Australia suggests the ABC shops are a good source for the radio series.
Info from the US suggests Media Play for the tv series and possibly even
the making-of video. I saw US-edition videos recently at amazon.com. The
best place for most of the world to look for the radio series is probably
amazon.co.uk or bookshop.co.uk, which carry the latest BBC editions and
ship anywhere. (The new US shipping options for douglasadams.com make
this a viable choice as well, if you live in the US.) If you're a member
of ZZ9 (see item 14) you can buy the radio series (and other merchandise)
through their members-only merchandise catalog. (Remember you have to be
careful with video because the North American format is different from
most other places in the world including Europe and Australia. Japan is
the same as the US and Canada, though.)
Some of the books are more difficult (impossible) to get than others. My
recent experience indicates that the UK-based online bookstores (Internet
Bookshop at www.bookshop.co.uk and amazon.co.uk) hold possibility of
getting UK editions of many of the books and audiobooks. US-based online
stores (Borders, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, etc.) and their brick and
mortar counterparts offer varying success at getting US editions. The
Dove Audio unabridged editions of all the novels read by DNA himself are
best purchased at audiouniverse.com, which is a division of the same
parent company as Dove Audio. Smaller bookshops both on and off the web
can be great sources of hard-to-find stuff. If you scoore a radio scripts
book at this point you are very lucky indeed. Don't forget to check
ebay.com for people selling used stuff. Or, to search a large database of
used and rare books, try www.abebooks.com.
You can still get The Voyager Company's CD-ROM version of Last Chance to
See. This has the full text of the book plus photos and the entire book
read on audio by DNA. Comes in Windows or Mac version. Here's a direct
link to the info (Win versions appear to be out of stock again, call for
info): http://voyager.learntech.com/cdrom/catalogpage.cgi?lcts
Please note that like the game, the Radio Series and TV Series are under
copyright. Uploading or downloading audio or video files of them could
get you into trouble. Use a bit of common sense. Fair use should allow
short audio clips of under 30 seconds, though. (Standard disclaimer
applies. I do not have intimate knowledge of the law.) Same with the
books. Quotes are okay, but posting the whole things are a big no-no.
Expect to be shut down or worse if they catch you.
10. What do you get if you multiply six by nine?
Well, 54, of course. It can be argued that in base 13 you get 42. Those
of us who have followed this group for some time have seen the revelations
of those who have newly discovered this. (Some of us have even been there
ourselves.) It's an extremely tired discussion, though. The joke, when
Douglas wrote it, was simply that it was the wrong question for the answer
(or the wrong answer for the question, if you prefer.) He has said
himself "Nobody writes jokes in base 13."
11. What kind of stuff is in the complete FAQ?
Well, all kinds of good stuff, like differences between US and UK versions
of the books, more answers to less frequently asked questions, song
lyrics, biographical info about Douglas, all sorts of silly info about the
making of things, DNA and Dr. Who, links to other cool stuff and the
Question to the Ultimate Answer. Well, maybe not the last one. Again,
the address is http://www.netins.net/showcase/benssite/afdafaq/
Two of the better things linked to the FAQ page are the Ultra-Complete
Indices. These were undertaken a few years back by Mathias Maul and are
very useful when you are looking for a certain quote. You can find The
Ultra-Complete Index to The Hitchhiker's "Trilogy" or The Ultra-Complete
Index to Dirk Gently on the FAQ website.
In the places where these two documents overlap, info there should be in
agreement with info here. If we have any incorrect info, we are therefore
at least definitively inaccurate. Or maybe it's more like this: the FAQ
is definitive; reality is frequently inaccurate.
12. Where do I find HHGG/DNA _______ on the web?
Looking for sound clips, bad poetry, quotes, indices of certain passages
from the books and other such stuff? Check the FAQ site above (item 11),
douglasadams.com, the ZZ9 website (see item 14) and the sites below first!
You're bound to find nearly anything you're looking for.
http://www.floor42.com/
(Kate Brown's very professional-looking site with general info, message
boards, a trivia quiz and more. The best lofoking DNA fan site I've seen,
period. Sometimes the info here is better than the info in the FAQ. This
site also has the best DNA bibilography, definitely better than the one in
the FAQ.)
http://come.to/afda/ or http://www.zootle.co.uk/afda/
(The unofficial official homepage of a.f.d-a, under direction of webmaster
Iain Barker. Includes this very MFAQ for your reading pleasure.)
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=00/06/21/1217242
(June 2000 "interview" with DNA, conducted by email so it's basically just a list of questions they sent him that he answered. Not much new info, but still probably worth reading.)
http://www.zinezone.com/zones/arts/literature/science/adams/interview.html
(This June 1999 interview is probably the best I've seen. There is quite
definitely some info in here that isn't found anywhere else that I know
of.)
http://www.chat.beeb.com/chat/transcripts/990727_adams/t990727_adams.html
(The transcript of the beeb.com (BBC) chat from 27 July 1999, probably the
best online chat with DNA that has taken place so far.)
(Note: new chats, interviews and such are cropping up frequently. Stay
tuned to douglasadams.com and the group for a heads-up on most of them.
Can't promise to catch them all!)
http://www.megadodo.com/
(Home of Project Galactic Guide. Conceived and executed long before
h2g2.com, the idea is a similar one. Everyone contributes entries on a
wide variety of subjects. While the execution may not be as flashy as
h2g2, it's worth a visit for the content alone.)
http://www.viracocha.demon.co.uk/
(Kieran John's slightly rough but promising site with a character database
and recreations of the guide entries among its unique features. Currently
awaiting an update, so don't base your impression on what's there now.)
http://studio42.iwarp.com/
(Megan Branning's page now called Studio 42. Home of Bart's Guide to the
Galaxy. ;-)
http://hem1.passagen.se/fist/hhgttg/
(Tomas Wallin's page has a large selection of audio samples from the radio
series in RealAudio format.)
http://www-personal.umd.umich.edu/~nhughes/dna/
(Nathan Hughes' Douglas Adams Worship Pages - the original source for lots
of cool stuff. He used to maintain the FAQ.)
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Hollow/1535/
(Lee Haslam has totally overdesigned this site, but it's one of the cooler
overdesigns I've seen. I like how all the info of the site appears on a
sort-of HHGG-like screen when you press the link.)
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Station/4711/
(Slartibartfast, from the country with the award-winning coastline, has
put together a bit of useful info. Most of it can probably found
somewhere else, but it was the button at the bottom that says "Do not
press this button" and how that is set up that did it for me. Maybe I'm
just easily amused.)
http://www.vogon.com/
(Vogon Heavy Industries is home to an impressive Java HHGG implementation
which I finally did get to work recently. Alas, it appears to have been
neglected for some time. Still, the design is good and concept is
certainly sound, worth visiting just to see how similar it is to the Guide
described in the original versions.)
[If you want me to plug your website, please post or email your web
address, and I'll take a look.]
13. Where else can I interact with Douglas Adams fans?
Since this group has filled with so much, er, off-topic silliness (nothing
bad if you like it! but hey, some don't), Stuart has created the
douglasadams-news moderated mailing list at egroups.com. All messages
sent to the list will be approved by a moderator before being sent to
everyone else. To join, go to
http://www.egroups.com/subscribe/douglasadams-news and follow the
instructions. In fact, there are around a dozen other lists on eGroups
with DNA-related subjects, but none of them receive that much traffic,
even though they are unmoderated. I've joined several to see what goes on
in them, and the answer is basically nothing different than what happens
on afda. Nobody seems to have any extra insight to offer.
The forum at douglasadams.com is a good place to check out. If you post a
thoughtful enough question in the info forum, you might even get an answer
from DNA himself! In other sections, much silliness can be found.
The new h2g2.com is certainly full of DNA fans, and is just a cool concept
in all respects.
The forum at Floor 42 (www.floor42.com) has become rather active as well.
It's populated by some of the same people who frequent the
douglasadams.com forum, as well as some others. Many of these people do
not frequent afda, so you might meet some new fellow fans. Floor 42 also
maintains a contact list. AOL Instant Messenger seems to be the most
likely chat method, though you'll also find some ICQ numbers and possibly
even more ways to be in contact with the people listed there. And you can
add your own listing, of course, if you'd like people to contact you.
Some afda regulars chat via Internet Relay Chat. Fire up your IRC client,
login to irc.slashnet.org and join channel #afda. If you need an IRC
client, it seems that mIRC is rather popular for Windows. For Mac it's
IRCle. And there are clients for other assorted operating systems as
well. You can find these in the usual software download places. I'm not
going to write a primer for IRC in here, partly because it would take too
long, but mainly because I'm not really qualified. Floor 42 has an IRC
channel as well, #Floor42 on irc.dal.net. I mention this mainly because
DALnet's homepage, www.dalnet.com, has some good general info if you're
new to IRC.
14. Is there a fan club? (ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha info)
ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha (aka ZZ9) is the official Hitchhiker's Guide To The
Galaxy Appreciation Society. It was established in 1980 and have released
a quarterly magazine, Mostly Harmless, full of interviews, fiction, news,
art, discussion, and so on, ever since. They also produce a wide range of
merchandise related to Douglas Adams exclusively for members of ZZ9. They
come highly recommended by many people on the newsgroup. They also
arrange and coordinate meetings for fans of Hitchhiker's Guide, mainly
based around the UK. The society is based in the UK, but they're able to
accept membership dues in US dollars. Current details, including contact
addresses and so forth can be found at their homepage:
http://www.zz9.org/
Thanks for reading!
That's all I have for now. If you have suggestions for more questions or
new info on these ones, please send it/them!
CrazyOne <---
--
craz...@city-net.com | "I say what it occurs to me to say
Greg Pacek | when I think I hear people say
Pittsburgh, PA, USA, Earth | things. More I cannot say."