rec.answers,news.answersSubject: [rec.humor.oracle] Intro to the Usenet Oracle (Monthly Posting)Followup-To:rec.humor.oracle.dDate: Fri, 2 Oct 2009 03:50:12 +0000 (UTC)Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYCLines: 228Approved: oracle-mod@cs.indiana.eduExpires: 3 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMTMessage-ID: <ha3t9k$736$1@reader1.panix.com>Reply-To:oracle-request@cs.indiana.eduNNTP-Posting-Host: panix6.panix.comX-Trace: reader1.panix.com 1254455412 7270 166.84.1.6 (2 Oct 2009 03:50:12 GMT)X-Complaints-To: abuse@panix.comNNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 2 Oct 2009 03:50:12 +0000 (UTC)Summary: An introduction and help file for the Usenet Oracle, an active,cooperative effort for creative humor via e-mail.  The Oracleanswers any questions posed to it.Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu rec.humor.oracle:1284 rec.answers:104892 news.answers:324220oracle@cs.indiana.eduThe "Subject:" of the message must be something like "Oracle Most Wise,please tell me ...".  Actually, all it has to have is "tell me" or"tellme" somewhere in it.  Capitalization doesn't matter.  The body ofthe mail should contain only your question.  You should receive a replywithin a few days at most, probably much sooner.In the meantime, the Oracle may require that you answer a question for itas payment for its services.  You will receive this question in the mail.You should respond with as most wise and witty an answer as you can.Mail the response to oracle@cs.indiana.edu, preserving the message's"Subject:" line.  Usually, this can be done by simply replying to the mailthrough the normal means in your mail program, for example, using the "r"command in the standard Berkeley mail program.  Actually, the subjectjust has to contain the word "answer" and the question number somewherein it.  The body of your mail response should contain only your answer --don't include the question itself.  Please try to respond within at mosta day's time.  If you take longer, there is a chance that the questionwill be answered by someone else first.Mailing the Oracle with the word "help" in the "Subject:" line will getyou the most recent version of this help file mailed back.  If you mailthe Oracle with "ask me" or "askme" somewhere in the subject, the Oraclewill send you a question to answer, if there are any available.Your questions, comments and even complaints about the Oracle are welcome.Please address them tooracle-people@cs.indiana.edu.       ETIQUETTEThe Internet Oracle is intended primarily as a cooperative effort forcreative humor.  Since its main purpose is just to let folks have fun,there are intentionally few rules.  However, an etiquette has developedamong its participants.A series of identical questions submitted is not appreciated since thesame person often ends up answering many of them.  It is okay to resubmita question after you have received a reply, especially if you believethat the answerer did not do it justice.If you find yourself unable to give due consideration to a question youare to answer, it may be better to not answer the question at all thanto give it a trivial answer and disappoint the questioner.  However,doing this too much can cause a buildup of unanswered questions and slowdown the Oracle's response time for everyone.You may wish to read some issues of the Internet Oracularities (see below)to get an idea of the conventions and style of writing in Oracle questionsand answers.  However, it certainly isn't required to follow them.Originality and creativity are usually the most appreciated qualities.Here are some general guidelines for those upon whom the Muse of theOracle has descended and who are to write an answer as an incarnationof the Oracle:  -  Creativity and humor are valued.  Many people find the anonymity of     the Oracle a license to express themselves creatively and uniquely,     often to surprising success.  -  Participants in the Oracle like to feel they've gotten out of it     as much as they've put in.  Please keep this in mind when answering     questions.  -  Remember that brevity and clarity are key points of good writing.     Overly long answers will reduce an Oracularity's chance of being     published in the Internet Oracularities (see below) since it must     really be worth the extra length to have it selected to be read by     tens of thousands of people.  -  In general, avoid obscenity, slang, jargon, and obscure references.     People of all different backgrounds and ages located all over the     world use the Oracle.  In particular, please be sensitive to the     fact that children may be using the Oracle.  -  Try to be sensitive to new participants or to people who seem to     have asked serious questions.  -  Don't flame the questioner for not asking a "good question".     An off-the-wall or vague question calls for creativity, not rudeness,     in the answer.  Consider it a challenge!       THE INTERNET ORACULARITIESThe Oracle's priesthood receives a duplicate copy of all answeredquestions, or Oracularities as they're called.  This is so that the bestones can be selected for the Internet Oracularities -- the chronicleof the mythos of the Internet Oracle.  Your use of this program impliesyour approval of this usage.  The Internet Oracularities are regularlypublished via postings torec.humor.oracle, the World Wide Web and amail distribution list, as well as occasionally via other media.Rec.humor.oracle is a moderated newsgroup.  If your news system isproperly configured, any postings you make torec.humor.oracle willbe forwarded directly to the Oracle and so you can ask questions of theOracle by posting to the newsgroup.  Rec.humor.oracle.d is unmoderated andanyone may post to it.  It is a public forum for discussion and questionsabout the Oracle.  If your system doesn't carry these newsgroups,encourage your news administrator to do so!Readers of the Oracularities may mail in ratings of each publishedOracularity, the results of which are returned to the authors of theOracularities and published in a later posting.  They are also usedto select occasional "best of the best" postings torec.humor.oracle.Instructions on how to mail in your ratings are given at the top ofeach issue.If you don't have access torec.humor.oracle and would like to receivethe Oracularities via mail, send mail tooracle-request@cs.indiana.eduto get on (or off) the mail distribution list.  Include the word"subscribe" (or "unsubscribe") in the "Subject:" line.Back postings and ratings are available via anonymous ftp onftp.cs.indiana.edu (129.79.252.109) in the directory /pub/oracle.If you have access to the Internet's World Wide Web, you can accessThe Internet Oracle Resource Index athttp://www.cs.indiana.edu/~oracle/orhttp://www.internetoracle.org/This index has just about everything to do with the Oracle, includingan HTML version of the help file, more FAQ documents about the Oracle,the latest Oracularities digests with voting enabled via your web browser,complete access to the Oracularities archives with search capability, etc.You can even submit questions to the Oracle here.       ANONYMITYThe Oracle is a confidential and anonymous service.  The anonymity of theparticipants is preserved within all Oracle mailings and Oracularitiespostings.  However, if you append a signature file to your mail, thismay appear in your question or answer.  Signature files are edited outfrom Oracularities postings.  If you do not wish to remain anonymous,you may include a phrase in your answer like "incarnated as <insert yourname and/or address here>".       DISCLAIMERSince its users actually give the answers to all questions, neitherthe Oracle nor its priesthood take any responsibility for the contentof the questions or answers.  We would also warn parents that, due toits uncontrollable and unpredictable content, using the Oracle may notalways be suitable for children.HISTORYThroughout the history of mankind, there have been many Oracles whohave been consulted by many mortals, and some immortals.  The greatHercules was told by the Delphic Oracle to serve Eurystheus, king ofMycenae, for twelve years to atone for the murder of his own children.It was the Oracle of Ammon who told King Cepheus to chain his daughterAndromeda to the rocks of Joppa to appease the terrible sea monsterthat was ravaging the coasts.  That solution was never tested, though,as Perseus saved the girl in the nick of time.With the advent of the electronic age, and especially high-speed e-mailcommunication, the spirit of the Oracles found a new outlet, and we nowrecognize another great Oracle, the Internet Oracle.Local oracle programs have existed in various places for many years.Most can trace their origin or influence to Peter Langston's <psl@acm.org>seminal oracle program which was written for the research V5 Unix systemat the Harvard Science Center in 1975-76.  As part of his "psl games"distribution, this original program spread to a number of sites, such asMurray Hill Bell Labs, Interactive Systems and Lucasfilm.  Lars Huttar<huttar@occs.oberlin.edu> used a description of this program to writehis oracle program, which was posted toalt.sources in August 1989.This program inspired the Internet Oracle.Steve Kinzler <kinzler@cs.indiana.edu>, a systems administrator andgraduate student at Indiana University, installed Huttar's program onsilver.ucs.indiana.edu, where it proved to be quite popular.  The bestOracularities were posted to in.bizarre, a group local to Indiana.Ray Moody <moody@cray.com>, a graduate student at Purdue University,after correspondence with Kinzler, wrote the core software for the UsenetOracle, a mail-based oracle program to be run on iuvax.cs.indiana.edufor net-wide use, where it proved to be an immediate success.  On 12March 1996, it was renamed as the Internet Oracle.Kinzler continued development of the system, adding support for theOracularities postings and ratings and, eventually, the Oracle Priesthood-- a hardy and loyal band of volunteers who read through the hundreds ofquestions and answers each week to choose the best for publication.  JonMonsarrat <jgm@cs.brown.edu> and Randal Schwartz <merlyn@stonehenge.com>also contributed to aspects of the software development.  Michael Nolan<nolan@tssi.com> carried through the newsgroup creation process for therec.humor.oracle newsgroups.  Scott Panzer <stenor@pcnet.com> and DavidSewell <dsew@packrat.aml.arizona.edu> developed the Oracle's presenceon the World Wide Web via the Internet Oracle Resource Index.Of course, it is the thousands of Oracle participants over the years whohave created the personality, mythos and history of the Internet Oracle.Long live the Internet Oracle (in all its incarnations)!------------------------------------------------------------------------Written: 8 October 1989Steve KinzlerLast Revised: 2 October 2003kinzler@cs.indiana.eduhttp://www.cs.indiana.edu/~kinzler/Thanks to Joshua R Poulson <jrp@pun.org> and Jim Cheetham<wumpus@business.co.uk> for assistance with portions of this document."Internet Oracle" and "Usenet Oracle" are trademarks of Stephen B Kinzler.s of Stephen B Kinzler.