Subject: Terry Pratchett FAQ
Date: 28 Feb 1996 02:35:22 GMT
X-Newsreader: TIN [UNIX 1.3 950621BETA PL0]


Posting-Frequency: monthly (28th)
URL: http://connexus.apana.org.au/~orin/pratchett/faq.txt
Maintained-by: Orin Thomas (orin@connexus.apana.org.au)
Previous-maintainer: Nathan Torkington (Nathan.Torkington@vuw.ac.nz)

------------------------------------------------------------------------
..ALT.FAN.PRATCHETT  FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
------------------------------------------------------------------------


."alt.fan.pratchett ... is a little like written CB, and 
. something like being at a party. Or several parties.
. all in one go. Blindfolded."
...      
...      - Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs
....DISCWORLD COMPANION   

   This is the list of frequently asked questions (and their answers) for
   the newsgroup alt.fan.pratchett. There is biographical information
   about Terry Pratchett, as well as information about his books, 
   his collaborators, upcoming releases and other fun stuff. 



IMPORTANT NOTE: Previous editions of this FAQ have mentioned that the
..next Discworld Novel is Words in the Head. My info
..has been muddled ... this is the working title.
..The Next novel will be FEET OF CLAY.


-----------------------------------------
CONTENTS.
-----------------------------------------
INTRODUCTION TO THE NEWSGROUP
.General Nettiquette
.A.F.P. Peculiarities.
..What does *R* and *I* mean?
..What is a spoiler warning and when should I use one?
..alt.fan.pratchett and alt.fan.pratchett.announce
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
.Terry Pratchett.     
..Personal History.         
..How did he come to write?         
..Discworld Book List.
.Neil Gaiman.              
.Stephen Briggs.
.Josh Kirby.
WHERE CAN I GET THE BOOKS?
.Why is the USA so far behind in publishing Terry's Books?
.Reliable Bookstores.
..USA
.Translations.
.What Happened to the Kirby Covers?
COMPUTER GAMES, INTERNET and TP.
.Terry's email address
.Terry's setup
.Computer Games.
..The Colour of Magic.
..Terry Pratchett's Discworld.
.MUDS and MUSEs
MERCHANDISING AND FANDOM.
.ClareCraft.
.CMOT Briggs.
.Octarine.
.Fan Club.
.The Wizards Knob.
PTERRY ON THE PTELLY.
.Truckers.
.Johnny and the Dead.
.The Mort Film.
.Discworld Movie.
.Terry Pratchett's Borneo Adventure.
.Theatrical Plays.
.Discworld CD.
RELATED FILES.
.Annotated Pratchett File.
.Pratchett Archives.
.Pratchett Bibliography.
.Discworld Trivia Competition.
.Pratchett Quote File.
.Alt.Fan.Pratchett WWW page.
.afp recipies
COMMON THREADS AND HOW TO COPE WITH THEM. (Or "Not the FAQ")
.What is UNCLEAR PHYSICS and Where can I get a copy?
.Posting an Annotation.
.Critisising Terry Pratchett on Alt.Fan.Pratchett
.Why Pterry?
.Movie Casting.
.How should I Pronounce Rincewind's Name?
.How should I Pronounce Gaspode's Name?
.What are the Words to The Hedgehog Song?
.What are the rules to Cripple Mr Onion?
.What/Where is The Missing Chapter?
.What is a "Merkin"?
.Does Terry Pratchett post here or what?
        Due South/Frazier/Carrot hey aren't they ...
.What is *A*, *C*, *G*, *O*, *O*, *K*
        Your "Purity Test" Score.
.Ppoints.
MISCELLANEOUS.
.Similar Authors.
.The Future.
..Discworld Calendar.
..Johnny and the Bomb
..Feet of Clay
..Discworld Convention.
.Big "No No's"!
..Posting your own Stories to alt.fan.pratchett
..Posting "Posting Statistics"
..Comments on "Proposals"
..Posting "Test Posts"
.Inconsistencies.
.Appearances.
..Book Signings.
.The Orang-Utan Foundation
.Approximate number of Books Published.


-----------------------------------------                         
INTRODUCTION TO THE NEWSGROUP
-----------------------------------------
   
   Welcome to alt.fan.pratchett!

   Where possible, pointers to existing information (such as books,
   magazine articles, and ftp sites) are included here.
   
   This FAQ is currently posted to news.answers 
....   alt.answers  
....   alt.fan.pratchett and 
....   alt.fan.pratchett.announce 
....   
   All posts to news.answers are archived, and it is possible to retrieve 
   the last posted copy via anonymous FTP from 
   
   ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/pratchett/pratchett/faq
   
   Those without FTP access should mailto:mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu 
   with "send usenet/news.answers/finding-sources" in the body to find 
   out how to get archived news.answers posts by e-mail.
   
   The 'working draft' of this FAQ can always be viewed via WWW at   
   http://connexus.apana.org.au/~orin/pratchett/faq.txt 
   
   This FAQ was mostly written by Nathan Torkington, with numerous
   contributions by Leo Breebaart and the readers of alt.fan.pratchett 
   (the Maestro himself included). Comments and indications of doubt 
   are enclosed in []s in the text. The FAQ is now being maintained by 
   Orin Thomas, with the permission of Nathan Torkington. The FAQ has
   also been HTML'ised by Steven de Brouwer, a copy of which may be
   found at  http://connexus.apana.org.au/~orin/pratchett/faq.html

   If you have any questions *NOT* covered by this document, feel free
   to post them to alt.fan.pratchett (or, if you feel a little intimidated
   by that, email me ... it's what I am here for). If there is something
   you feel should be included in this document ... don't hesitate to
   write.
      
GENERAL NETTIQUETTE.
-------------------

   If you haven't already done so, now is as good a time as any to read
   the guide to Net etiquette which is posted to news.announce.newusers
   regularly. You should be familiar with acronyms like FAQ, FTP and
   IMHO, as well as know about smileys, followups and when to reply by
   e-mail to postings. 

   Posting a question covered in a well circulated FAQ shows a disregard
   for polite nettiquette.
   
ALT.FAN.PRATCHETT PECULIARITIES.   
--------------------------------
   
   Being a rather unique bunch of people we also have some guidelines
   that are more or less being used on alt.fan.pratchett.

--- THE USE OF *R* and *I*. ---
.
   "In theory they are forums for those who appreciate the books, but
    exchanges segue into something completely different with extreme
    rapidity. On alt.fan.pratchett they generally head in the direction
    of the topics of food, traffic roundabouts, drink and, for some reason,
    pubic wigs."   
...- Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs. DW Companion.

    *R* is for Relevant.
    *I* is for Irrelevant.

    Anything about Terry Pratchett, His Books, His Characters, 
    the Computer Games, and items Pratchettesque should be labeled 
    *R*. Anything else should be labeled *I*. Given the high volume of
    posting to AFP it would be appreciated if you could please modify the 
    subject line as often as you can.

--- WHAT IS A SPOILER AND WHEN SHOULD I USE ONE? ---

   Spoilers, like *R* and *I*, should be mentioned in the subject line of
   your post. A spoiler would be information in a book just released or in
   the Discworld game at the moment. Again a judgement call is in order.
   It would be prudent to put a spoiler in your post for the first two or 
   so months after a book has been released. This gives the rest of the
   newsgroup time to 'catch up' so to speak.

   For any book after Men at Arms, please include the title initials in
   the subject line. This is mostly for the American readers of the group
   who haven't had the books released there yet.

   For Example: *R* Rincewind (IT) as a subject line would be good.

--- Alt.Fan.Pratchett.Annouce ---

   The Moderated Newsgroup devoted to the important posts that might be
   missed in the clutter of alt.fan.pratchett. Mike Knell is the moderator
   and if you have something important to announce to alt.fan.pratchett then
   mailto:afpa-mod@eniac.demon.co.uk 
   
   Please note, the submission criterion are not particularly strict. If 
   you email Mike with something (an annotation perhaps) that has already
   been covered by one of the FAQs or files then you will be politely
   pointed towards the aformentioned source (without any embarrasment). 
   If you think that it is important and that the whole newsgroup should
   know then post it. A.f.p.a is not just for FAQs!

-----------------------------------------
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
-----------------------------------------    

Condensed from the "About the Author" sections.

TERRY PRATCHETT.
----------------

--- PERSONAL HISTORY ---

    "People never read these biographies anyway, do they? They want to 
     get on with the book, not wade through masses of prose designed to 
     suggest that the author is really a very interesting person so look, 
     okay, he wrote these other books, all right. Most were also about the 
     Discworld, and actually quite a lot of people liked them."
..
... - From the "About the Author" section of the
...   earlier Discworld books.
   
     Terry Pratchett is, on average, a sort of youngish middle-aged. 
     He was born in 1948 in the village of Forty Green (now a part of 
     Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire) and is still not dead.
     
     He lives in the west country with his wife Lyn and daughter Rhianna
     where he writes books in between answering the mail. He lives in 
     constant dread that someone will find out how enjoyable he finds 
     writing, and stop him doing it. 
     
     He chose journalism as a career because it was indoor work with no 
     heavy lifting. He's managed to avoid all the really interesting jobs 
     authors take in order to look good in this sort of biography. 
     He started work as a journalist one day in 1965 and saw his first 
     corpse three hours later, work experience meaning something in 
     those days. After doing just about every job it's possible to do in 
     provincial journalism, except of course covering Saturday afternoon 
     football, he joined the Central Electricity Generating Board and 
     became press officer for four nuclear power stations just before 
     Three Mile Island, which shows his unerring sense of timing.
     
     He'd write a book about his experiences if he thought anyone would 
     believe it. All this came to an end in 1987 when it became obvious 
     that the Discworld series was much more enjoyable than real work. 
     Occasionally he gets accused of literature. He says writing is the 
     most fun anyone can have by themselves.

     He grows carnivorous (which, he argues, are really insectivorious) 
     plants as a hobby (which are doing quite well by the way) and tells 
     us that they are a lot less interesting than people believe. He likes 
     people to buy him banana daiquiris (he knows people don't read author 
     biographies, but feels this might be worth a try). He tries to make 
     computers do things they were never intended to do. He also feels that 
     the world could use more orang-utans.

     He has a two speed Hedge Cutter.

--- HOW DID HE COME TO WRITE? ---              
...
   The first story he ever wrote was for a school assignment and was called
   "The Hades Business". He managed to get 10 out of 10 for it. It was the
   first time he had gotten 10 out of 10 for anything except for a painting
   which his teacher *thought* was two dinosaurs fighting. This story was 
   then published in his school magazine.
   
   There it would have ended, except for his school headmaster who
   addressed an assembly shortly afterward and announced that he didn't
   approve of the "moral tone" of the story. The magazine, which would
   have struggled to break even, sold out within 15 minutes. He learned
   an important lesson, right then -- by writing it is possible to
   infuriate your enemies as well as please your friends.

   He then had the story typed up by his Aunt and sold it to the magazine
   Science Fantasy (#60, vol 20, 1963), and with the profits bought a 
   typewriter. This his first act as an income earner was to fire his Aunt. 
   His mother rewarded this Thatcherite attitude and paid for his typing 
   lessons and he was on his way.
  
--- THE DISCWORLD BOOK LIST ---
   
   Here is a list of Terry's Discworld Book Titles. A more complete listing 
   including the Nome, Pre-Discworld, Collaborations and Young Adult books 
   (including ISBN etc) is in the PRATCHETT BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
.
.The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic, Equal Rites, Mort
.Sourcery, Wyrd Sisters, Pyramids, Guards! Guards!, Eric
.Moving Pictures, Reaper Man, Witches Abroad, Small Gods
.Lords and Ladies, Men At Arms, Soul Music, Interesting Times,
.Maskerade, The Streets of Ankh Morpork (with Stephen Briggs),
.The Discworld Companion (with Stephen Briggs), Mappe of the
.Discworld (with Stephen Briggs) and Maskerade.


NEIL GAIMAN
-----------

   Neil Gaiman used to be a journalist, but gave it all up to write
   comics, which he claims are a totally valid late twentieth century
   art-form, and he's even won awards for them, so that's all right.
   He's 5'10'' tall, owns a number of black T-shirts, and, although
   he's not overly keen of banana daiquiris, is always very flattered 
   when appreciative fans send him money.
   
.....from "Good Omens" written with
.....Terry Pratchett.
   
   There is a Neil Gaiman FAQ at: 
   
   gopher://info.tamu.edu:70/00/.data/comic/sandman/
   http://haven.uniserve.com/~puck/sandman/

STEPHEN BRIGGS.
---------------

   Stephen Briggs, with the assistance of Terry Pratchett, helped with
   the creation of the 'Streets of Ankh-Morpork', 'The Discworld Companion'
   and the 'Map of the Discworld'. He was born in 1951 and lives in 
   Oxfordshire with his wife Ginny and their sons, Philip and Christopher. 
   He has been involved for many years in the sinister world of amateur 
   dramatics, which is how he came to discover the Discworld.

   Oxford's Studio Theatre Club went on to stage Stephen's adaptations of
   Wyrd Sisters, Mort, Guards! Guards!  and Maskerade. Stephen is currently
   working with Pterry on publishing some of the plays.
..... 
JOSH KIRBY
----------

   Josh Kirby is an artist who has been drawing covers for many years
   now. He has done the covers for (among others) Terry Pratchett, Craig
   Shaw Gardner, Esther Friesner, Dan McGirt and the new editions of Tom
   Holt's novels.
   
   He also illustrated the Discworld (sort-of picture) book "Eric". He
   has at least two poster books out, one with large versions of the
   first seven Discworld covers. One is "In the Garden of Unearthly
   Delights", published by Paper Tiger in 1991. Its ISBN is
   1-85028-154-8. It costs #9.95 (pounds sterling) and runs to 143 pages
   of artwork. The other is "The Josh Kirby Poster Book" published by
   Corgi in 1991, ISBN 0 552 99382 4.
   
--------------------------
WHERE CAN I GET THE BOOKS?
--------------------------                                       

   Terry's books are available to varying degrees in the different
   countries around the world. Enclosed here is some information on which
   books were released where, as well as some addresses for stores that
   are reliable.
   
--- Why is the USA so far behind in publishing Terry's Books? ---

   Terry's publishers in the USA, most likely, haven't got much of a
   clue as to how hot a property they have on their hands. There is no
   really valid reason as to why the books are published so late. Feel
   free to make up your own ... (better yet, if you are from the USA
   hassle the publishers!). None of the later books seem to
   have been generally released in the USA. (this situation seems to be 
   improving)
   
   My email informs me that the dedicated American fan should be able to 
   get their hands on most of the books. Some of the recommended ones are
   listed below.

--- USA ---

     University Bookstore 4326 University Way N.E. Seattle, WA  98105  
     Dark Carnival        3086 Claremont Avenue    Oakland, CA  94705  
     Future Fantasy       3705 El Camino Real    Palo Alto, CA  94306
     Waterstone's         26 Exeter St. (at Newbury St.) Boston, MA

     The University Bookstore was able to get Interesting Times within
     three weeks. Dark Carnival apparently imports the paperbacks. 
     Future Fantasy has a WWW page (http://futfan.com/home.html ) and 
     could get IT in. Waterstone's apparently achieved this as well.
     {Can someone please email me with Waterstones Postcode?}
     
     Or you could contact ppint (see address below).

     If your country (or city) isn't mentioned and you think it should 
     be, please email me with the information. Especially appreciated
     would be any more U.S. bookstores that import new books from the U.K.
     as well as good bookstores in Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and
     the rest of Europe.

--- Reliable Bookstores ---
     
     Several Bookstores reliably stock books quickly after the release
     date. 
     
     Andromeda Books  84 Suffolk Street, Birmingham  BA1 1TA  UK
     Minotaur Books   220 Bourke St,     Melbourne   3000.    AUS
     Bolen Books 78-1644 Hillside Ave Victoria, BC   V8T 2C5  Canada
     House of Speculative Fiction
..105 Fourth Avenue       Ottawa, ON  K1S 2L1   Canada


     AFP'ers might also want to consider mailing the incredibly reliable 
     ppint, who can also arrange things via email. The address is:

.ppint@i-m-t.demon.co.uk

--- Translations ---

   TP's work has been translated into several different languages. 
   See the Bibliographic FAQ for more information.
   
--- What happened to Josh Kirby's covers? ---

   Non-Kirby covers are coming out on reprints of his earlier Discworld
   books, in the hopes of attracting an audience that would otherwise be
   put off by the Kirby covers. Later books ("Men At Arms" onward) have
   only a single Kirby illustration in the middle of the cover, for much
   the same reason.
   
   Note however, that the Paperbacks after MAA have different covers to the
   Hardbacks (which is a perfect reason to buy both :-) ). They are the
   big Kirby illustrations like the earlier books.

-----------------------------------------
COMPUTERS, GAMES, INTERNET AND TP
-----------------------------------------

   Terry is not only interested in computers, but can also be found
   driving around the information superhighway.
   
--- His E-Mail address ---

   "When I first went on line I left myself open to about a thousand
    mailings on the lines of "Are you Terry Pratchett or what?" It
    didn't matter what I replied. If I played it straight and said
    "yes" some of them would reply, "oh, go on, you're not, are you?"
    and I was damned if I was going to say "no"."

.... Terry Pratchett - Discworld Companion.

   His e-mail address is TerryP@unseen.demon.co.uk. 
   
   He tends to be a little brief with the 'Are you TP' type and other
   questions that are regularly raised on AFP. Apart from that he 
   promptly replies with polite and informative email to intellegent
   and comprehensible questions. Try to avoid the 'I wannannother
   Rincewind novel syndrome' :-)

--- His Setup ---

  "I still have the same setup -- two 486s plus a welter of older machines --
   although something fairly watty in the Pentium line will probably happen
   soon.  Everything's hooked up to a network around the house.

  "I still use WordPerfect 4.2.  No current reason to change and I know 
   how to use it fast." 
   
   He also used to own an Amstrad, and is a fan of the classic isometric
   perspective games, Batman and Head Over Heels, as well as being a
   ZX-81 maniac. He is a declared fan of the Wing Commander series and
   also is quite fond of the game Doom.

   No one knows if he will upgrade to Win 95 or stay with the MS-DOS
   system. (I guess it depends on the games that come out on Win 95 :-)
  
--- "The Colour of Magic" Game ---

   There was a game called "The Colour of Magic" released by Delta 4,
   which contained passages straight from the book. It was available for
   8-bit machines, the Spectrum and C64. It was produced by the company
   behind Bored of the Rings, Robin of Sherlock and The Boggit, using the
   Quill adventure creator. It even had a picture of Death when you died,
   wearing a "Have a nice day" badge.
   
   Available at the Pratchett Archives. (would someone be nice and upload
   an emmulator with instuctions for running on PC and Mac?)

--- "Terry Pratchett's Discworld" Game ---

  Released by Psygnosis the new Discworld game has been released for the
  PC on both CD-ROM and Floppy. The difference between the two being that
  the CD-ROM contains full speech by Eric Idle, Tony Robinson, Jon Pertwee
  and Kate Robbins. The basic plot is Guards! Guards! with Rincewind thrown
  in. 
  
  From the Game itself.

  "A Dragon is now ravaging Ankh-Morpork, the world's leading city. Many
   people would consider that this falls under the heading of civic 
   improvement, but what Ankh-Morpork needs right now is a hero. All it's
   got, however, is Rincewind the wizard, whose only talent is that he is
   not in fact dead - yet. He also has the Luggage, the nastiest piece of
   travelware in the Universe. With that at his side, there is probably
   no limit to the things he can fail to do ... "
....  
   An FAQ for the game is regulalry posted by Christopher McMullen
   mailto:sccmcmul@ucsalf.ac.uk This FAQ is also available at the 
   Pratchett Archives.

  A demo of this game is also available from the pratchett archives.

  Discworld II will be released sometime in late 1996. The graphics will
  be much better and the gameplay more intuitive. (at least, that's what
  I have been told!)

--- MUDs, MUSEs and MUSHs ---

   Terry wants you to seek his OK before you write Discworld MUDs. His
   e-mail address is above.
   
   There is a Discworld Mud on the Net, it can be accessed through
   
   telnet://discworld.imaginary.com 4242

   and http://discworld.imaginary.com:5678/

-----------------------------------------
MERCHANDISING AND FANDOM
----------------------------------------- 

There is a Merchandise FAQ posted regularly to AFP. There are
two main sources of merchandise. Stephen CMOT Briggs and ClareCraft.
CMOT can be contacted at mailto:sbriggs@cix.compulink.co.uk and ClareCraft
has a WWW page at http://vangogh.cs.tcd.ie/cbuckley/clarecraft

The merchandise FAQ can be found at the pratchett archives. It is also
posted by Leo "Pamela Anderson" Breebart on afpa quite regularly.

--- ClareCraft ---

Further information about Clarecrafts Discworld range of products,
can be requested from Isobel@behemoth.demon.co.uk. Including your
postal address means that we can send you a free brochure, etc ..

--- Octarine ---

   Terry has this to say:
   
     The officially unofficial Not-the-Terry-Pratchett-Fan-Club. The guy
     to write to is 
     
.Chris Tregenza
.22 The City
.Beeston
.Nottingham
.NG9 2ED
     
     It's like this: a couple of years ago they approached me, and I said 
     I thought it would be an amazingly bad idea (I mean, what do you do 
     after issue three of the magazine: `Um. He's done another book. It's 
     great/okay/not as good as the last one IMHO. Um. Is he losing more 
     hair, or what?' So I suggested they broaden the base to include 
     humorous sf/fantasy generally. 
     
--- Fan Club ---

     ``The Guild of Fans and Disciples'' is the unofficial fan club of
     Terry Pratchett and Josh Kirby. It is run on a non profit-making basis
     by a group of fans who produce a bi-monthly newsletter to keep other
     fans up to date with events.  Terry has no direct involvement in the
     club, other than supplying news and consenting to their existence as
     long as they avoid commercialism.
     
     For more information you can e-mail mailto:philip@yrsk.demon.co.uk

--- THE WIZARD'S KNOB ---

     The Wizard's Knob (TWK) is a fan magazine dedicated to the works of
     Terry Pratchett. It features a wealth of news, reviews, opinion and
     artwork and is sometimes even funny. For information on how to
     subscibe look at the merchandise FAQ.

--- CLARECRAFT COLLECTOR'S GUILD ---

     According to ClareCraft has about 1500 members and its newsletter is 
     practically becoming a fanzine in its own right. Information from 
     ClareCraft.

-----------------------------------------
PTERRY ON THE PTELLY
-----------------------------------------

--- Truckers Video ---

   There is a video of "Truckers" available. The details are: Thames
   Television International, video Collection International VHS TV 8159,
   110 minutes, VHS-PAL, price: approx. 8 pounds.
   
--- Johnny and the Dead ---

   I assume this will become available as well seeing it has made it to
   the small screen recently. (Someone emailed me with details but my
   #ucin% computer crashed so I lost it)

--- The Mort Film ---

   Terry wrote a couple of script drafts which wet down well and 
   everything was looking fine and then the US backers said "Hey, we've 
   been doing market research in Power Cable, Nebraska, and other 
   centres of culture, and the Death/skeleton bit doesn't work for us, 
   it's a bit of a downer, we have a problem with it, so lose the skeleton". 
   The rest of the consortium said, did you read the script? The Americans 
   said: sure, we LOVE it, it's GREAT, it's HIGH CONCEPT. Just lose the 
   Death angle, guys.
   
   Whereupon, Terry is happy to say, they were told to keep on with the
   medication and come back in a hundred years. Power Cable Nebraska doesn't
   appear to exist BTW. (at least my Encarta 96 Atlas didn't have it!)
   
--- Discworld Movie. ---

   Apparently there is some talk of putting together a sort of 'Hill
   Street Blues' mixed with the Guards books. More news as it eventuates.

--- Terry Pratchett's Borneo Adventure ---
 
   He also helped out with a wildlife documentary in Borneo on Orang-Utans.   
   This was recently (May 1995) shown in the United Kingdom and no one really 
   knows if it is going to be released on video.

--- Theatrical Plays ---

   Oxford's Studio Theatre Club went on to stage Stephen's adaptations of
   Wyrd Sisters, Mort and Guards! Guards! (Maskerade out soon!).
.....    
   If you are interested in more information, please E-mail: 
   mailto:sbriggs@cix.compulink.co.uk
   
--- From the Discworld CD ---
   
   A mainly instrumental collection written by Dave Greenslade, a friend
   of Terrys probably best known for the Pentateuch double album. A
   Discworld Theme album.

-----------------------------------------
RELATED FILES
-----------------------------------------

.We have been INSPIRED by Terry on AFP. These are 'some' of the
.things that we have put together over the years. Feel free to
.make up your own 'pratchettesque' file.
   
--- The Annotated Pratchett File ---

   Circulated by leo@lspace.org
   
   (Leo Breebaart), this explains the subtleties of Terry's works. It is
   currently at v7.* and can be retrieved via anonymous FTP from the
   Pratchett Archives. If you've ever gone ... "I know where he got that
   from" ... this is the file for *YOU*! Version 8 will be out sometime
   in the future (when Leo gets some time!)

   The APF is pretty much the alt.fan.pratchett encyclopedia including
   many of the best quotes from Terry on the net over the years. It is
   in various formats including Windows Help file format. Reading this
   will answer almost any question about the books.

--- The Merchandise FAQ ---

   Also circulated by Leo Breebaart this contains lists of Pratchettesque
   items that are available from various suppliers. Includes Web sites 
   for International Bookshops, mailing addresses for Clarecraft and where
   to get the Album.

--- The Pratchett Archives ---

   Leo Breebaart (leo@lspace.org) maintains an FTP site of
   Pratchett related material that is mirrored around the world. The home
   site is:

.ftp.lspace.org
   
   It is mirrored by
   
   ftp-usa.lspace.org:/pub/people/pratchett (USA)
   ftp-au.lspace.org:/Mirror/Pratchett  (AUS)
   
   This FAQ, the Annotated Pratchett, the bibliographic information,
   rules for Cripple Mr Onion, lyrics to the Hedgehog Song, and gifs of
   all the covers are kept on these sites.

.There is a mail server as well for the archives.
.In order to learn how to use the server, send mail to:

        archives@lspace.org

.with in the body (commands should *not* be in the Subject line) 
        the lines:
        
   .send help
        index

   The first line will cause the server's help file to be sent to you. This
   file lists and explains all the commands the server recognizes, most of
   which you'll never need, but be sure to check out the "index" search
   command.

   The second line will cause the current index file for the Archives to be
   sent to you.

--- The 'Terry Pratchett Bibliography' ---
..  
   this contains ISBN numbers, titles and blurbs for all TP's books. It is 
   available at the pratchett archives. The working copy can be found at

   http://connexus.apana.org.au/~orin/pratchett/bib.txt

   This is posted around the first of every month to alt.fan.pratchett, 
   alt.fan.pratchett.annouce alt.answers and news.answers. Circulated by 
   Orin Thomas. (HTML version coming soon)
   
--- Discworld Trivia Competition. ---

   Reckon you know more about the Discworld Books than CMOT Briggs? Then
   this is the competition for you! Show off your amazing retentive powers
   and complete in the Discworld Trivia Competition.

   To get on the Mailing list email orin@lspace.org 
   
--- Pratchett Quote File ---

   Another Leo Breebaart production (does this guy sleep?) this is a file
   of all the best of Terry's quotes from all the books. If you want to
   look up a quote in a hurry, or look for something impressive in a
   .sig file, take a gander at this one. 
   
   Available at the Pratchett Archives.

--- Alt.Fan.Pratchett WWW Page. ---

   Alt.fan.pratchett's revolutionary WWW pages are mirrored across the
   globe. That way you can read some of the best pages on the WEB from
   a nearer sight than far off Europe. The main sight is at
   
   http://www.lspace.org

   Mirrors of which include:

   http://www-au.lspace.org/~orin/Lspace
   http://www-uk.lspace.org/~mautx/Pterry

   Includes almost everything you could thing of related to the Books.

--- The Discworld Timeline ---

   A highly impressive document suggesting which events followed other
   events which might have proceeded certain events but only after
   particular events which are known to have caused final events.
   Available in the pratchett archives (and hopefully soon in HTML)

--- Fan Fiction Mailing List ---

   This gives pratchetteers a chance to write their own stories without
   violating the 'don't post your own fiction to AFP' rule. (reasons
   for this rule detailed in the NO-NO's section). If you want to get
   onto the mailing list send email to:

.mailto:listserver@dairyho.demon.co.uk
   
   in the body of the message have the following

     subscribe tp_fanfiction Your_Real_Name_Goes_Here
     end

   Subscriptions to the mailing list should be sent to
   mailto:tp_fanfiction@dairyho.demon.co.uk.

--- AFP Recipies ---

   Starting immediately, you can all submit your favourites to the address:

     recipe-submit@lspace.org

      To get an index of the current recipes, send an email to:

     recipe-serv@lspace.org with "send index" in the subject line.

-----------------------------------------
COMMON THREADS.
-----------------------------------------

Some threads, like the perennial bad penny, just keep turning up. At
least read this section of the FAQ before indulging yourself in posting
about any of the following subjects. Remember your *I*'s and *R*'s please!

--- What is UNCLEAR PHYSICS and Where can I get a copy? ---

  Unclear Physics was the WORKING TITLE of the book INTERESTING TIMES.
  This particular FAQ writer gets at least three letters a month asking
  for the ISBN of this book (which I am sure ammuses everyone else on
  the newsgroup :-). This happens so often that I am getting my copy of
  IT signed as THIS IS NOT UNCLEAR PHYSICS.


--- Posting an Annotation ---

  An annotation (usually marked *A*) of a Terry Pratchett book is a 
  reflection of a small "inside joke" used in the text. An example of
  which is the "Soul Food Cafe" scene in "Soul Music".

  Something written or filmed after the publication of a TP book obviously
  does not constitute an annotation. The television show "Due South"
  might have been influenced in some way by "Guards! Guards!" but it is
  impossible for it to have happened the other way around.

  You might also want to consider how you phrase a prospective annotation.
  Some annotations sound more like allegations of plagurism rather
  than a helpful attempt to point out an inside joke. Such allegations might
  even be considered libelous.

  When posting an annotation it would be helpful if you included:

.1) The original text you are annotating (TP's) (include page number)
.2) The year of the source of the annotation. (Blues Brothers (1981))
.3) As close an approximation as you can get of the text of the
           source. (i.e. writing out the conversation in the Soul Food Cafe)  

--- Critisising Terry Pratchett on Alt.Fan.Pratchett ---

The following is some quotes that Terry Posted after a mini flame war
errupted through one group of people suggesting that book X was much
worse than book Y and another group of people suggesting "get out of
your tree ... this is AFP ... we don't critisise *him* here". 

These are Terry's exact words:    

   "Oh dear..."    
    
    "   Let me drop a few things into this quite interesting thread.    
    
    "1 I always listen to advice.  It's polite.      
    
    "2  If I *heeded* all the advice I've had over the years, I've have 
.written 18 books about Rincewind.  Absolutely true.  The most 
.common plea in my mail right now is 'when are we going to read 
.about Rincewind in XXXX?'
    
    "   I'm being instructed that I have a duty to my readers -- if I was
.innocent, I'd be attaching corks to that battered pointy hat even 
.now.  But perhaps this is an issue on which I have thought long 
.and hard.  After all, it's my living and ten years of my life.    
.
    "   If Discworld continues, then old characters will continue -- 
.Rincewind will get red dust in his sandals, the Watch will be back,
.Gaspode will probably limp into stories.  And new characters will 
.arise.  Why not?  It's not as if there are *rules*.  What will 
.probably *end* Discworld is simple crowding -- the Watch already 
.make Ankh-Morpork based stories a little problematical, and I won't
.get into the comic book convention of having Captain Courage out 
.of town so that Commander Socko can take centre stage.     
    
    "3  I wish people wouldn't feel obliged to put in the 'no offence 
.meant, pterry' rubric.  I'm a big boy.  I don't take offence easily 
.at criticism above the 'Moving Pictures is crap' level and can tell 
.if offence is meant, on the whole. If something *is* offensive, to
.me or anyone else, 'NOM,P' is superfluous. As they say elsewhere, 
.you own your words - in all senses of 'own'.  
.
.Anyway, as I've harped before, afp isn't mine.  If I log on and 
.read something I don't like, I have the same options as anyone else
.(actually, I probably don't, come to think of it -- but that's my 
.problem)    
.
    "   I do get embarrassed when people give me a lecture on my duties, 
.approach to writing, tell me book X isn't a patch on book Y, and 
.then send me a private email hastening to assure me that 'no 
.offence is meant'.  But I do grin when, after all of this, they 
.tag on that "it's about time we saw Gaspode again" or they're 
.waiting for Rincewind's adventures on XXXX..."

.- Terry Pratchett

Terry's views are here for all to see. It would be advisable for all
sides to take note. AFP *is* about discussing the books, characters
excetra - how that discussion goes is up to you. Remember though ...
politeness is a virtue.

--- WHY PTERRY? ---

   Pterry is an affectionate nickname in the tradition of his book 
   Pyramids. Pteppic, Ptracy and therefore Pterry.
   
--- CASTING MOVIES ---

    Leo went through 13 Mb of a.f.p. logfiles, extracted 450 Kb of "Let's
    cast a Discworld movie" articles, and put together a complete list of 
    all the suggestions ever made, leaving out the less serious 
    possibilities. This can be found at the Pratchett Archives. 
    
--- How should I pronounce Rincewind's Name? ---

   Terry himself pronounces it to rhyme with "Mince pinned" and in Eric,
   Rincewind meets his ancestor whose translated name means "Washer
   [Rinser?] of Winds". Evidence would then tend to point to this
   pronunciation (like the pronunciations in the Discworld Game)
   
--- How should I pronounce Gaspode's Name? ---

   According to the game the wonder dog's name is pronounced to rhyme
   with Gas-Mode. Not Gas-Po-Dee.

--- What are the words to the The Hedgehog Song? ---

   The words to the Hedgehog song (many different versions) can be found   
   at the Pratchett Archives. Download, Print, Visit the pub, consume
   alcohol and sing. (It probably sounds better)(Well .. to you at least)

--- What are the rules to Cripple Mr Onion? ---

   Rules to Cripple Mr Onion also appear at the Pratchett archives.

--- What/Where is the Missing Chapter? ---

   There is *NO* Missing Chapter!

   One of the more recalcitrant threads that pops up, much like the
   legend of the Yeti, Yowie or Bigfoot, is the legend of the Missing
   Chapter. The story goes that, late one night whilst working on a
   particularly hilarious section of the Discworld Chronicles Terry
   accidently transmitted a section of his work to alt.fan.pratchett
   and then had his computer suffer something akin to a complete hard 
   disk failure. Fun is had by all as alt.fan.pratchett regularly mounts
   search parties around the internet looking for this particular untamed
   ornithoid. (this was Leo's Fault! (and TP went along with it!))

--- What is a "Merkin"? ---

   Merkin is an affectionate name used by some of the denizens of 
   alt.fan.pratchett for citizens of the United States. If you want
   to know what the word really means I suggest that you consult a good
   dictionary.

   Apparently on one of the larger US networks AFP's newsgroup description
   says "Book signings and the sale of Merkins". One unfortunate
   actually posted asking where could he order a merkin. Apparently he needed 
   one due to an embarrasing personal problem. 
   
   No one on AFP sells Merkins. (although it could signal a strange new
   diversification of the CMOT Briggs enterprise :-)

--- Does Terry Pratchett post here or what? ---

   YES! He does! He even reads most of the articles posted to the group
   (when the posting isn't excessive). For some people in this group 
   posting this question is like a red rag to a wossname. The more *R* the
   discussions ... the more likely he is to post.

--- Due South/Frazier/Carrot/Hey aren't they ... ---

   Recently a television series has come along which depicts a wide
   eyed Canadian Mountie working as a cop in deep dark Chicago. Many
   have noted that similarities exist between the character Frazier
   and the beloved Discworld "Dwarf" Carrot. Well Terry's books were
   written first so no, he didn't copy the idea. I have no information
   suggesting that the creators of Due South are even aware of the
   adventures of Carrot. So it is likely that they didn't copy either.
   If they did, I missed the episode where Frazier fought the Dragon,
   or the one where a crazy man with a Gonne tried to make Frazier
   mayor of Chicago ... and I am sure that the woman at the police
   station who likes Frazier is *not* a werewolf.


--- What is *G*, *C*, *G*, *O*, *O*, *K* ---

  Several other "starred capitals" have cropped up on alt.fan.pratchett
  These are not "official" and sometimes I wonder if people make up new
  ones just to keep life interesting. *I*, *R*, and the occasional *A*
  are simple ... anything more is bordering on the anal-retentive. You 
  shouldn't constantly need to refer to a manual to read Usenet!

--- Your Purity Test Score ---

  I have a hard time reconciling this topic with anything in the TP books,
  as, as mentioned in the DW Companion, there is no real sex in the DW or
  other TP books. (No actual sex, just some before bits and some after
  bits - as in Good Omens and Men at Arms). So unless you have something
  to post about Carrot's purity score, maybe these admissions are best
  left to the alt.sex groups :-)

--- Ppoints ---

  Pedant points are best left to email replies. Nuff said.

-----------------------------------------
MISCELLANY
-----------------------------------------

   Here's some stuff that didn't fit into any other category.
   
--- Similar Authors ---

   P.G. Wodehouse, Douglas Adams, Jerome K. Jerome, Robert Rankin, Tom
   Sharpe, Tom Holt, Calvin Trillin, P.J O'Rourke and Dave Barry are some
   people whose styles are similar. He reminds me a bit of Joseph Heller
   (Catch 22) as well ... although not so cynical.
   
   Terry occasionally also posts information about books that interest 
   him or have impressed him recently. Keep a look out on alt.fan.pratchett

--- The Future ---

   Discworld Calendar.

   There has been some discussion about producing a Calendar where many
   of the top SF/Fantasy artists each do a picture representing some
   aspect of the Discworld Chronicles. Apparently the publishers have
   the rights to this one. [Source: Stephen Briggs] Whether this will
   turn up for 1996 is presently unknown.

   Johnny and the Bomb.

   Terry has mentioned at several signings that he is working on a third
   Johnny Maxwell book (title unknown). It will involve time travel to
   the 1940s and will, in some ways, be similar to the BACK TO THE
   FUTURE series without the gadgets. (Terry is quite fond of this series
   even once considered buying a Delorean) 

   Feet of Clay

   Currently a 'work in progress' it is a detective story set in
   Ankh-Morpork and would appear to be the third book in the
   highly impressive and popular "Chronicles of Carrot".
   (To be released in May 1996)

   The Discworld Plays.

   Stephen and Terry are putting together the DW plays that have been
   performed by Oxford's Studio Theatre Company. 

   Discworld Convention.

   This is the information so far on the 1996 Discworld convention.
   It will be updated as more information becomes available.

.The event: The first international Discworld convention 1996
.Date: June 28,29,30th June 1996
.Venue: The Britannia "Sachas" Hotel, Manchester.

.Events: any thing and everything you ever imagined plus a couple more!
.VIP's: Terry Pratchett, Stephen Briggs, Josh Kirby. 
.Information: discworld@cmacloed.demon.co.uk
.snail mail: A5 stamped, addressed envelope to:
.The Discworld Convention,
.P.O. Box 3086,
.Chelmsford,.
.CM1 6LD.
.England

  Activities at the Convention include:

 Unseen University Challenge, First official Cripple Mr Onion allcomers 
 Tournament,Banananana Dakrys and Dried Frog Pills on tap,Discworld 
 Kareoke, The Unseen University Midsummers Lecture, The Reduced Discworld 
 Theatre Company, Clarecraft exculsive Commemortive limited edition
 collector piece,Dead Monk^H^H^H^H Ape Survivors Party,Maskerade Ball 
 and Gala Dinner,Opening Ceremony, featuring Detritus, City Guard,Closing 
 Ceremony, not featuring Detritus, City Guard.Filk/Clicks room, with 
 previously unreleased octo-cellulose footage. Fire extinguishers optional.
 Dealers room, Discworld Charity Auction.

--- Big NO NO's! ---

 The following things are advised not be done on alt.fan.pratchett. The 
 reasons why they should not be done are detailed here. The internet is, 
 of course, free and 'youcanpostwhateveryouwant' but I hope that you see 
 the following as an intellegent and logical set of rules.

.Posting Fan Fiction to alt.fan.pratchett

.It is asked that you do not post your own discworld/pratchettesque
.Stories to the newsgroup. Someone might feel that an idea in a newly
 .released TP novel was similar to one they posted on day X. They might
.even have the audacity to take TP to court on this. (this *HAS*
.happened to television people on other newsgroups). To avoid the 
.possibility of this ever occuring Pterry politely asked that we not 
.post our own stories to alt.fan.pratchett. See the 'Fan Fiction 
 .Mailing List' for where.you can post your stories in safety.

.Posting 'Posting Stats'

.After several bad experiances it has been generally decided that
.putting forward lists showing the people who contribute the most 
.articles to afp is a really bad idea. The reaction has been 'gosh
.I only posted X articles ... better post more to improve my ranking'
.This generally means alt.fan.pratchett is flooded with a higher than
.usual amount of rubbish.

.Comments on "Proposals".

 .As a bit of fun it has become traditional to "propose" to any new
.(or old) female/male poster on alt.fan.pratchett. Whilst not wanting 
        to mention long words like "Sexual Harassment" I do want to caution
.people that not everyone on the increasingly public internet has
.our sense of humour. For those who are new to this newsgroup and
.do recieve proposals of marriage, such proposals are not meant with
.any malice or threat and are usually done out of fun (and the
.expectation of rejection :-)

.Posting "Test Posts"

.There is a newsgroup which automatically responds to test posts
.via email telling you where your news post has landed around the
.world. Test posts on alt.fan.pratchett are likely to be followed
.up and become long winded threads in their own right. The newsgroup
.is alt.test. Although nothing is wrong with this, there is a more
.effective way of testing your news server :-)

--- Inconsistencies ---

   Well, he is fallible. Known inconsistencies are documented in the
   Annotated Pratchett File. (available at the Pratchett Archives).
   The Author suggests, however, that there are few inconsistencies
   merely several alternative pasts. :-)
   
--- Appearances ---

   Book signings:
   
   He'll post when he's going walkabout, so just bide your time and see. 
   The alt.fan.pratchett www page usually has some information in this area 
   if you missed it. Generally he will sign three novels per person, and,
   if there is time, get on to the others.

   The Stamp which reads EX LIBRIS MORTIS - HIC EST VITA VESTER  
   means
           FROM THE LIBRARY OF DEATH    
           THIS IS YOUR LIFE (S Briggs Translation)


--- The Orang-Utan Foundation ---

   Those who enjoyed the program where Terry went to Borneo and want
   to find out more about Orang-Utans can contact:
   
   The Orangutan Foundation   
   7 Kent Terrace,   
   London NW1 4RP   
   United Kingdom.

--- Approximate Number of Books Published ---

   Terry's agent conservativly estimates that there are over 8 million
   Terry Pratchett books published worldwide at the moment. This will
   probably increase at a rate of 1/2 a million per year. (A LOT of books)
   
-----------------------------------------
CREDITS
-----------------------------------------

   Many people have contributed to this FAQ (so much so that almost two
   whole pages of text were taken up with credits). In the interests of
   bandwith I removed them. If you want a list of those who have 
   contributed to the FAQ (and Bibliography) email me and I will forward 
   one to you. Thank you to all people who have helped out with this FAQ,
   it is very very very much appreciated.

   An incomplete list can be found at 
   http://connexus.apana.org.au/~orin/pratchett/credits.txt



