Transcript edited by Jason Snell
10/19/94 6:28:10 PM Opening Log file.
Moritzmf: What's the subject tonight?
Christy Phillips: Moritzmf, the topic is Etexts, Ezines and Newton books...we'll be starting soon...
Moritzmf: What are Etexts & Ezines?
Jason Snell: Moritzmf: Therein lies a story...
PDC Phil: Ezines, Etexts, and Newtbooks! Join us as we discuss the best portable electronic reading!!! And...welcome our special guest Jason Snell of InterText.
PDC Phil: Also I'd like to introduce Christy Phillips of the PDA Forum and Project Gutenberg :-)
Christy Phillips: Hi everyone....before we get to the questions, perhaps Jason would like to say a few words?
Jason Snell: Gee, Christy... putting me on the spot here!:)
Christy Phillips: ::chuckle::
Jason Snell: My name's Jason Snell, and I'm the creator and editor of InterText magazine... It's an on-line magazine -- we don't publish in paper format at all. And we're read by thousands of people on six continents. I'm hoping to sucker someone in from Antarctica any day now... Anyway, InterText has been publishing since March 1991, and we print short stories, for the most part. And in addition to me, we also have two assistant editors, both of whom live in Seattle. I live in Northern California. My daytime job is as assistant editor of MacUser magazine, for those who are Macintosh-inclined...:) How's that for a brief bio?
PDC Phil: That's great!
Christy Phillips: Sounds good, Jason:-)
JONSUNLITE: Great!
PDC Phil: What about you Christy, what are you up to?
Christy Phillips: All right, now for me.
Christy Phillips: I've been with AOL and Project Gutenberg both for about the past year. I'm active in making electronic books, as well as seeing that the newest and best in electronic books and magazines are put in our libraries as fast as I can find them.
PDC Phil: Can you tell us some of the ones you've made?
Christy Phillips: I've worked on The Arabian Nights, The Jungle, Frankenstein, Phantom of the Opera, and just finished helping with the first volume of The Gutenberg Encyclopedia 10th ed
PDC Phil: Wow, any future ones we can look forward to?
Christy Phillips: Lots of them! Gutenberg is about to double production in January to 16 etexts/month... Anyway, that's good enough for a brief intro for the moment::
PDC Phil: Thanks Christy! Jason: Where do you see your etext going, in say 1-2 years?
Jason Snell: The goal is that InterText will always be free to readers. And right now we're very happy with our editorial process... we try to run it just like a pro print magazine... We produce good stories and some very clean copy. The only catch is, because we are doing this in our spare time (ha, ha, ha...) we don't have any money to pay writers with. Which means we've got the best stories that people are willing to give away. Ideally, I'd like to either find some sponsorship for InterText that would allow us to buy stories instead of beg for them, and perhaps if the right technology is out there, charge something minuscule like 5 or 10 cents per issue in order to pay the writers. I think that it's great to have a market like this one, since there are very few places a fiction writer can sell to these days. It's tough out there.
Poultry: Jason, I am a short story writer. How do I reach you and InterText for possible publishing?
Jason Snell: Poultry: The best way is via e-mail. To submit a story or request writers guidelines, send an Internet e-mail to intertext@etext.org -- and I might say that we're always looking for new stories. We can't pay, but what we do is give a critical reading and, if published, a lot of exposure. And all submissions should go to intertext@etext.org via the Internet.
Poultry: Great, thanks for your help. See ya.
Jason Snell: Look forward to hearing from you, Poultry!
H and Cat: What format is InterText in?
Jason Snell: H&Cat: We publish in several formats. Most common is ASCII/Setext. This can be read as plain text by just about anyone, but the "setext" means that if you've got a setext viewer app, it comes across with headers and italics and stuff. Pretty cool. We also publish a PostScript edition that can be printed on a PostScript printer -- it looks just like a print magazine, complete with cover art and even a picture of me!:) We also print the PostScript edition into an Acrobat PDF file that can be viewed by Mac and Windows users via Adobe Acrobat Viewer. And finally (gasp!), we have a version on the World Wide Web.
PDC Phil: Jason, what do you look for when folks submit i.e.,: types of stories...fiction, non-fiction etc...?
Jason Snell: Phil: Fundamentally, we're looking for good stories. That can mean any number of things. It can be something that's very well written, something that has something important to say... but it really has to be something that will be interesting and entertaining to read. We don't care if it's something "mainstream" or if its Science Fiction -- as long as it's interesting and entertaining. As for non-fiction, well, we're trying to do a non-fiction column about stuff on the Internet. But none of our editors have the time to write it. So we're open to ideas!
H and Cat: How often are issues of InterText released?
Jason Snell: H&C: Every two months, like clockwork. The 15th of every odd-numbered month. We're proud of this..:) But seriously, a lot of people feel that etext is a very ephemeral thing, and that we're not to be taken as seriously as a tangible, print publication. Our commitment to our publication schedule is one way we try to assert that we mean business, and should be treated no differently than a print mag. So expect Vol 4 No 6 on November 15 or so!:)
Christy Phillips: And we try to get InterText online as quickly as I get my hands on it!! :-)
JONSUNLITE: That is commendable indeed!
Jason Snell: Thanks, Jonsunlite!
Jason Snell: Christy's the first one on my list of people to notify!:)
PDC Phil: Okay, what etext do you folks think is the most popular?
Jason Snell: Hmm. Phil, there are so many to choose from. One of my faves is TidBITS, which is a weekly publication (on something like its 138th issue) that covers the Macintosh. It's got a gigantic following. It's probably the most successful etext serial out there.
PDC Phil: I like TidBITS too, I started my own magazine ;-) AOL Newton Magazine-sounds, graphics, everything:-) A Multi-media feast, for Newt folks only though, but one day other PDA's may be able to see it
Jason Snell: Very cool. I think PDAs are great for Etexts because they're so portable. You can't curl up with a PC monitor, or even a laptop.:)
PDC Phil: Yes, I love making etexts for my Newt, especially reference-because of the search capabilities
JONSUNLITE: Tell me more about your AOL Newton magazine?
PDC Phil: Yep, just like AOL, but for Newton folks-since there isn't any AOL interface yet.....Sounds, (you think you're connected) pictures, graphics, reviews, net info everything AOL has but for Newtons
Christy Phillips: Well, Phil, Gutenberg is trying to get you more reference books!! As well as the fiction we all love to forage through!
PDC Phil: Yes, Medical etexts would be great, but I'm biased ;-)
Christy Phillips: well, Phil, there's the problem of copyright...makes it difficult to get current med texts
PDC Phil: Yes, I have a lot of neat stuff I use on my Newt, BUT I can't distribute it...it's a shame
Jason Snell: But watch for Manye Uses of Leeches, coming soon!:)
PDC Phil: Many uses of leeches, how about the benefits of blood draining ;-)
Christy Phillips: ::chuckle::
Jason Snell: Ho, ho...
Christy Phillips: I was just working on the encyclopedia, and its scary to see the medical stuff in it... How things have changed since 1911!!!
Jason Snell: Christy: do you guys use OCR and then edit that? What's your input method?
Christy Phillips: Any way we can do it, Jason!!! Shorter texts are sometimes typed The encyclopedia was scanned, then run through OCR on a supercomputer... (borrowed time), and then edited.... I've done straight typing, and I've done editing of OCR stuff...depends on the text
Jason Snell: Cool.
PDC Phil: Wow, what type of computer did that?
Christy Phillips: I'm not sure...Gutenberg had to pull some favors to get it...their machine was too slow
PDC Phil: What machine did Gutenberg use?
Christy Phillips: I'm not sure, Phil....it wasn't their UNIX...
PDC Phil: BTW Christy when the Newton is more popular I'd love to do some proj GB Newton books, whatcha think?
Christy Phillips: Sounds wonderful, Phil, if you can get more people to help you make them!! That's Gutenberg's biggest problem at the moment....volunteers, or lack thereof. Just like Jason's problems with finding writers.... :-)
Jason Snell: ..we're all too busy making modern etexts!:)
PDA Jeff: Gosh, writing is the hardest thing to do unless you are inspired
PDC Phil: Umm, how do you folks feel about etext censorship?
Jason Snell: Phil: an example?
Christy Phillips: Fanny Hill is a good example, perhaps
Patrickmb: What is wrong with Fanny Hill?
Christy Phillips: Nothing, in my opinion, Patrick....but its about a "woman of the evening" There was a lot of brouhaha when it first hit the nets, people tried to pull it....
PDC Phil: Okay,. I have an example...there is a book of dirty tricks online, should it be censored? It has some really rotten things, BUT should anyone have the right to say someone else can't read it?
Patrickmb: Dirty as in obscene? or Dirty as is rotten to the core?
PDC Phil: Dirty as is rotten to the core.
JONSUNLITE: Let people publish what they want and let the users do their own censorship!
Patrickmb: Well, parents are warned as to their kids. And I figure adults are on their own. ;)
Jason Snell: As for censorship, well, what can I say? It's a bad idea. If somebody feels icky about a text, well, they shouldn't read it. Deleting etexts is the equivalent of book burning. Not to be inflammatory..:)
PDC Phil: Anyway, I think society like to blame everything on something else, no individual accountability..... You can get off a murder charge if you say that a book told you to do it, it's a shame.. so we have all these people try to put warning labels or censor everything, I think it's awful.
H and Cat: Jason, were can I get newer versions of the Acrobat Reader?
Jason Snell: Probably from a Mac forum here on AOL. Also, via FTP, you can get it from adobe at... ftp.adobe.com:pub/adobe/Applications/Acrobat/Macintosh/AcroRead.sea.hqx or ftp.adobe.com:pub/adobe/Applications/Acrobat/Windows/acroread.exe
KLKutner: Censorship is always fine when the objection is in the first person. Never in the second/third.
Jason Snell: There's nothing really wrong with a warning label. That's like an ingredients label. As long as it's accurate, it's fine. But elimination of texts, well, that's another story.
PDC Phil: Jas, you edit for Macworld I think?
Jason Snell: MacUser, actually, Phil. Macworld's The Enemy.:)
Christy Phillips: LOL
PDC Phil: Oh, MacUser-any new Mac info you'd like to share...I just got a PowerMac ;-)
KLKutner: I used to think MacUser was the good guys until they got bought out. It has gotten too glossy.
PDC Phil: I buy both:-)
H and Cat: So do I.
Jason Snell: Well, it depends -- "too glossy" as opposed to what? I'm afraid we're about equal with Macworld on the glossy scale. And it got bought a long time ago... but I will say this: this is a very casual, very nice group of people. True Mac users!:)
PCC KDR: KL: MacUser was, to me, a 'public' mag. Very purty stuff. MacWorld was for the usable info. :D
JONSUNLITE: My Newton is connected to a power Mac, a powerful combination it seems
KLKutner: I started with MacUser in 85. It was very hands on. It doesn't seem that way any more. I guess MacUser has grown with the Mac & become more sophisticated!
Jason Snell: KLK: Yes, the Mac itself isn't quite as "hands on" as it used to be.
H and Cat: How can I volunteer for Gutenberg?
Christy Phillips: Email me, H and Cat, and I'll get you started
Jason Snell: Go get 'em, Christy!:)
Christy Phillips: I'm the Project Gutenberg Director of AOL Volunteers. Let me know what aspects you're interested in, or particular types of etexts and I'll get you started from there....
Jon Pobst: What do you need to do E-texts?
Jason Snell: A computer. And a text editor. And an imagination. And an account somewhere, like AOL!
Christy Phillips: Jon Pobst, a text editor and a PC or Mac... For Gutenberg, some way of making the texts ascii....
Jason Snell: And trust me, while InterText is a bit more of a production, there are lots of homemade e-"zines" out there. And some are very fun.
KLKutner: I may sound simple, but, what is Project Gutenberg? An electronic library/bookstore?
Christy Phillips: Project Gutenberg is a non-profit organization whose goal is to make electronic books freely available to the world at large. It is volunteer-run and donation-driven
PDC Phil: Okay, I have a question for Jason...can you please explain a bit about InterText for the folks who just arrived?
Jason Snell: InterText is a bi-monthly fiction magazine available only on-line. We've been publishing since 1991, and are currently read by thousands of people on six continents via AOL, CompuServe, and -- last but most -- the Internet itself. Our issues can be found right here in the PDA forum. And via internet FTP at ftp.etext.org, /Zines/InterText. InterText is free and is edited on a volunteer basis by myself and two assistant editors. How's that?
Christy Phillips: sound good, Jason!
PDC Phil: How many different languages do we currently have etexts in?
Abowen : Three?
Patrickmb: 7
Christy Phillips: yes, Abowen....do you know which 3?
Abowen : English, spanish, and french?
Christy Phillips: English, French and Latin, at the moment....can't find a spanish ftp site yet with ET's
Abowen : How far has electronic publication gotten with "paper" publishers?
Jason Snell: I'd love to do a "best of InterText" book in paper sometime... but that's just a dream. At least one etext editor, Adam Engst, has become quite the successful author with his "Internet Starter Kit" books... (he edits TidBITS).
JONSUNLITE: Do it Jason, I deal better with paper at the moment.
Jason Snell: JonSunLite: That's the beauty of two of our formats: you can print 'em, and then they're on paper and look like a real paper magazine!:) (Granted, it's a little more complicated than reading email, but I think it's worth it!)
JONSUNLITE: Got it, I need to do that!
Jason Snell: I think there's one PostScript issue in the PDA archives. If you've got a PostScript printer, you might want to check it out. And if you like what you see, the other PostScript files are on our Internet FTP site. As well as Acrobat files, which don't require a PostScript printer.
Christy Phillips: There were more PostScript issues, but they weren't being downloaded at all:-(
Jason Snell: Christy: Yeah.. they're *really* big. Compared to ASCII, anyway. It's too bad -- the PostScript version is the one we lovingly assemble. The ASCII version is created by exporting text out of PageMaker and formatting it. It takes me about 5 hours to do, and is the very end of the process!:)
JONSUNLITE: The postscript version sounds more elegant!
Jason Snell: But people who want those files can go to the Internet if they need to. And the cover art is very cool. Hopefully the World Wide Web version will strike some balance, but you can't print it. The print-it-yourself edition of InterText is my favorite. It looks nice. Of course, all we can use are Times and Helvetica, but we manage to vary it a lot!:)
JONSUNLITE: I know this sounds a little on the touchy feely side of things but I appreciate the enthusiasm and passion that seems obvious in much of what is being said here.
Jason Snell: Jonsunlite: We like touchy feely. Thanks!
H and Cat: Is the Acrobat version the PostScript version, distilled?
Jason Snell: Yes, but with hyperlinks and "articles" (so you can read along on-screen easily if you wish thrown in. (At least, beginning with v4n5, which was distilled with Acrobat 2.0.)
Jason Snell: If any of you have more questions or comments to send to me offline, mail via the Internet to intertext@etext.org. If you'd like writers guidelines, that's the place to go. Also, if you'd like to receive a brief message telling you that the issue is out and ready to be downloaded from the Internet or from PDA, just mail to intertext@etext.org and ask to be put on the "notification list." Whew. Did I miss anything?
Christy Phillips: Think you covered all the bases, Jason
PDC Phil: Wow, thanks Jas!
Jason Snell: I'd also like to plug Quanta, which is a cool Sci-Fi magazine that's been printing even longer than we have. It's in PDA, I believe. It comes out a bit irregularly, but is worth looking at if you like science fiction.
Christy Phillips: Quanta can also be found in our e-zine libraries!:-)
Christy Phillips: Thanks a lot for coming by tonight!! We really appreciate it!!
JONSUNLITE: Jason, you did a good job, I'll ask more questions later!
PDC Phil: Yes, please feel free to drop by anytime!
Christy Phillips: Have a safe trip home Jason, and thanks once again!
Jason Snell: Thanks to you all! Good night!
H and Cat: Bye Jason!
PDC Phil: Yeah, thanks for coming I really enjoyed it Jason!
Jason Snell: Bye! If you read InterText, be sure to let us know what you think! And on that note, I exit, stage left.
10/19/94 8:03:41 PM Closing Log file.