From owner-freebsd-chat Wed May 12 19:37: 4 1999 Delivered-To: freebsd-chat@freebsd.org Received: from queasy.outpost.co.nz (outpost.inspire.net.nz [203.96.157.150]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with SMTP id CADCC14CFB for ; Wed, 12 May 1999 19:36:59 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from crh@outpost.co.nz) Received: (qmail 9284 invoked from network); 13 May 1999 02:36:57 -0000 Received: from officedonkey.outpost.co.nz (HELO officedonkey) (192.168.1.3) by queasy.outpost.co.nz.1.168.192.in-addr.arpa with SMTP; 13 May 1999 02:36:57 -0000 Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Craig Harding" Organization: Outpost Digital Media Ltd To: Licia Date: Thu, 13 May 1999 14:36:39 +1200 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Re: Is it ok to use the FreeBSD name in a cyberpunkish fiction Reply-To: crh@outpost.co.nz Cc: freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG References: <3.0.6.32.19990512202146.00958db0@mail.bfm.org> In-reply-to: X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Windows (v2.52) Message-Id: <19990513023700.CADCC14CFB@hub.freebsd.org> Sender: owner-freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG Precedence: bulk X-Loop: FreeBSD.org Licia wrote: > On Wed, 12 May 1999, G. Adam Stanislav wrote: > > At 18:42 12-05-1999 -0500, Licia wrote: > > > > >(smiles) I've got to get around to writing that glossary :) c&e > > >is slang the characters use to mean 'compress and encrypt', I'll > > >try to start a glossary when I get episode 2 online, and update > > >it with each new episode :) > > > > I have a better suggestion: Incorporate it in the story. When a > > slang term is used for the first time, find some excuse to explain > > to the reader what it means but not in an obvious way. > > (smile) I thought of that, and I've done it before, but in this case > it would become far too artificial, because there will be a lot of > terminology that various readers might not know, and not just > fictional terms. I've had a few readers so far, who haven't known > what words like feeb (feeble minded person), twitch (a person who > tends to make you uncomfortable, hurt your brain, make you twitch), > and even a couple who needed me to explain "message archives" to > them. If your story is reasonably well-written (and I'm not implying that it isn't, I haven't looked), then the pluggandisp of any of the nonsklarkish English flutzpahs you've used should generally be able to be glorked from context. -- C. (with apologies to Mr Hofstadter) PS personally, I find the most convincing and immersive SF will simply just go hell for leather in use of jargon and let the reader catch up as they can; but then maybe that's just because I have a high glark skill quotient or something. -- Craig Harding Head of Postproduction, Outpost Digital Media Ltd "I don't know about God, I just think we're handmade" - Polly To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message