General Advice

This file contains advice for players joining in the madness we call the Callahanian Army of Light. After having a few players have rough starts, we decided to try to make life easier for future newcomers. HTH, HAND ;-). (For the Internet Acronym Challenged, that's "Hope That Helps, Have A Nice Day.")

• Remember that, despite the fact that many of us don't hang out on the news group any more, this IS the Callahanian Army of Light. The fact that we all consider ourselves Callahanians is core to who we are as a 'family'. Don't worry if you've never read any of Spider Robinson's "Callahan's" books -- several of our members hadn't when they first joined. But if you've never read them or hung out in any of the cyber versions of The Place, talk to us to try to get a feel. You're not just joining a band of adventurers here, you're joining a family, and if we seem a little slow to accept you at first it's probably that we're getting to know you and how you fit in (both in and out of character).
• Don't take offense if people don't seem to be paying a lot of attention to you at first. There's often a lot going on and writers sometimes need to pick and choose what their characters will respond to. Also, the more you interact with others, the more they'll interact with you. If you keep your character on the periphery, you'll likely not get much attention.
• In the years we've been doing this, I don't think anyone has ever deliberately insulted another player (characters will get into it on occasion, though <g>). However, there have been more than enough perceived insults. Remember all the basics about how written communication is void of all the facial and vocal cues we're used to, that sometimes writers forget to mark sarcasm or add the smileys, and take a deep breath before getting defensive. If you're not sure, ask. The person you think may have just blasted you probably didn't mean it that way, and will likely apologize profusely for the unintended slight.
• Someone may post something after you that conflicts with what you did. Don't take it personally -- they're probably answering mail on the fly and haven't read your post yet. We retrofit things on a regular basis, so don't consider anything cast in stone (exception: if the current GM says, "No, you didn't," accept it gracefully and move on <g>). The usual method for solving conflicting actions is to discuss it in the Green Room, come to an agreement, and post the results back to the main list.
• Speaking of posting, some basics:
  • Remember which list you're on. Don't post personal stuff (or anything that may be seen as a slight) to the main list -- keep it in the Green Room.
  • Some of us post daily or more, some get to their mail less often. Give folks time to respond before charging ahead.
  • Like all things computer, sometimes the list server goes down. When it gets real bad we just keep going by cc-ing posts to everyone we know of. If you've been posting you'll probably be included. If you're not sure if you're missing things, write to one of the regulars and ask :-).
  • If whatever you're discussing is getting very technical, take it to the Tech Room. That list is for those who enjoy debating the finer points of various sciences, both RL and SF/fantasy.
• Fuzzy's comments:
  • This is Obvious for Main Characters, but may apply to Arch Villains even More. An Author's Arch Villain is At Least as Important and Proprietary as His/Her Main Characters, take your time and learn how they act before trying to have them do something.
  • No one likes to have to watch things happen, While unable to do anything about it, Try to leave room for the others to make an input. Or report that it happened after the fact.
  • No one person controls what is possible, Try too keep your actions reasonable within the plot, Most of the time... ;)
  • Infinite is the most mis-used word, Beware using it.
  • Omniscience is a pain in the neck to everyone, Especially in a Player Character, Arch Villain, or a NPC that is seen too frequently. Try to avoid even the appearance of it, Unless really needed for a plot point.
• Which reminds me: We're a high-powered bunch sometimes. But don't think that just because your character can't move worlds that you can't fit in. If you're having trouble, ask. We'll try to help.
• LucFrench's input:
  * Don't move another person's character into a context that the owner does not agree with.
• Remember that although we're 'family', we have very different outlooks on life. Roland won't kill (OK, he did once, but it was to save his beloved from an eternity of slavery to an evil immortal); Morgan (the lady-love Roland saved) will gladly wade into battle sword-first. One person may be uncomfortable with something another wouldn't give a second thought. If someone seems to have a problem with something you're doing (and it's far more likely to be with your actions that with you) remember that other members of the group may not agree with him/her.
• If you put your character in danger, assume that someone (and sometimes several someones) will attempt to come to your aid. If you don't want them to, either clearly arrange it IC so they can't or, even safer, inform everyone OOC to please leave it be. We'll respect that request, but if you don't ask we will try to help. That's what family's for :-).
• In character, we communicate by a lot of different methods besides "normal" speech. After some bouts with confusion, a more or less uniform system of notations has been agreed on so that we can tell the difference between "speech," /telepathy over the CAoL Lens Link/, *other telepathy*, etc. These are sometimes used in combination when more than one method is being employed simultaneously.
• There are several sub-lists for AAE. Aside from the main list [CAoL@ModusVarious.com], which goes to everyone and to the alt.callahans news group, there are the "Green Room" [GR.CAoL@ModusVarious.com], the "Tech Room" [TR.CAoL@ModusVarious.com], the "Spin-off" list [SO.CAoL@ModusVarious.com]. More info from Fuzzy:

• From: ADMIN.CAoL@modusvarious.com
  Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 10:36:23 -0700 (PDT)
  To: GR.CAoL.member@modusvarious.com
  Subject: List Address's and Features

  Just a reminder... For the Callahanian Army of Light the List Name {1} = CAoL.

  In the Text below
  {1} = List Name
  {2} = SubList Prefix

  Current SubList Prefixes
  GR = GreenRoom Address, Internal discussions not shared with Newsgroup, Or General Lurkers
  TR = Tech Room Address, For Tech and Other Detail Discussions :)
  SO = Spin Offs Address, For those stories that the Group is not in... Such as one member goes off for a private adventure.
  FD = First Draft, If you want to run the First Draft of a Posting past others before posting (Optional)
  BILLS = Billboard Address, for activist issues and political discussions
  RISQUE = Risque Room Address, for discussions of an unabashedly adult nature, which may be deemed offensive by some

  By default all sublists start with the same Subscriber list that the GreenRoom had, Let me know if you want to be removed from any of them, I will shift anyone to Sabbatical Status on any Sublist on request.

  Main List Address,
  {1}@ModusVarious.com, This is where to send traffic.
  {1}.member@ModusVarious.com, This is what the To: line shows, When traffic arrives in your mailbox.

  ADMIN Address, Command Interpreter to come, Not a Sublist
  ADMIN.{1}@ModusVarious.com, This is where to send admin requests.

  SubList Address's,
  {2}.{1}@ModusVarious.com, This is where to send traffic.
  {2}.{1}.member@ModusVarious.com, This is what the To: line shows, When traffic arrives in your mailbox.

  Subscriber Status types
  Lurk = The main List is E-Mailed to you, but the server will not Hear you.
  Sabbatical = The Server Hears you, but does not Send you anything at this address
  Full = You are sent The Main List and any or all Sublists, and The Server Hears you
  Cc = Your address is listed as a Cc: if required to pass your ISP's Spam Blocking. This is recommended for AOL Users.
  Bcc = Same as Full

  Alias: This feature allows your Character Name to appear in the automatically Generated List Header which also contains the Message Number.

  You may have several addresses Subscribed, each with it's own Status and Alias Configurations

  The Decimalized Dual Percentile Dice Roller, 'DDPDR'
  This Feature, adds a line to the List Header containing, from one to nine Dual Percentile Roll in the format of ##.##%
  This can be enabled individually, to any count (Max 9), for any List, or SubLists,
  If the Scenario Master desires a given number of probability tests to be dynamically generated in that List or SubList, as each message is processed.
  The Purpose of this feature is to assure all parties that the probability tests are impartially generated, after the Action is announced, while minimizing Delays.
  The current Scenario Master should inform all Author/Players of the intended method of applying the probability tests in each List or Sublist, At the time of configuration or earlier (for discussion).

  At this time only Main Lists can be linked to Newsgroups, However, It can now be linked to more than one Newsgroup at a time. ;)