NOTE: This is not an official mirror for the alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo FAQ.
It will not be updated, so don't link to it - updates are posted to the 'group. I just figured The Chat needs some introduction/explanation.
(as posted 1999.01.31)
From joel (at) netcomuk (dot) co (dot) uk Sun Jan 31 04:15:48 1999
Newsgroups: alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo,alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo.d
Subject: ADMIN: FAQ
From: joel (at) netcomuk (dot) co (dot) uk (Joel Benford)
Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 18:15:48 GMT
The alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo FAQ
==============================
The Chatsubo got going in November 1990. I gather that this FAQ was
originally put together by Liralen Li (aka Phyllis Rostykus) and Jim
Gaynor some time around 1991, but that's long before my time (I've
been here since August 95). Ken Stone looked after it for a while,
Kane had it for a while, there may have been others. I've given this
FAQ a working over to reflect current reality (things have changed in
six or seven years) and added some new bits. Please assume liberal
sprinklings of "IMHO", "sort of", "usually" etc throughout the text
to save me cluttering it up.
This is closely related to the text as written by Liralen and Jim
(about half the words are theirs), but the word "I" now refers to me,
Joel Benford, joel@netcomuk.co.uk. Any comments on the FAQ would be
welcome.
As the last FAQ editor would say, enough static -- here's the deal.
* CONTENTS
What is alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo?
What is Cyberpunk
What's "on topic" here?
Are there any rules?
What are these ADMIN postings? What's alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo.d?
I'm completely new to this place. Where do I start?
Where can I find archives of old stories and articles?
Links to advice on writing
* What is alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo?
"Literary virtual reality in a high-tech, low-life hangout."
"The Chat", as a.c.c is also known, is basically about DIY cyberpunk
fiction. People post stories here. Some of them are solo efforts but
there is a also great tradition of co-operative fiction. This runs
the gamut from "somebody posts an intro then watches to see what
happens", to carefully co-ordinated efforts with five words exchanged
between the authors by email for every one you see posted to a.c.c.
You are also welcome to post poetry, song lyrics, plays, you name
it...
If you're going to post general discussion rather than actual stories
you are encouraged to post "in character" -- i.e. to write short
snatches of fiction involving your "bar persona" to put the message
over.
-- FADE IN --
A stranger walks into the bar and signs to the barman for beer.
"So, ah, Ratz, what is this place anyway?"
"I don't know Mein Herr, I just sell drinks and clean up after the
gunfights."
"But I heard something about stories..."
"It is true. Sometimes people come in here to tell each other
stories, or they leave them for other people to read. Sometimes the
stories spill out into the real life in the bar, and then you have to
watch yourself. My customers seem to get involved in such violent
stories..."
"Yes, I heard about tha" (commotion)
A bunch of corporate thugs in matching body armour chase a lone
woman through the bar, firing sloppy bursts of automatic fire. Every
body dives and yanks their cannons, except a geeky guy in a corner
who's too busy with a passionate argument about the practicalities
of implant maintenance under battlefield conditions. A white
phosphorous grenade brings a promising story about corporate
infiltration of the body-politic to keep ever-nastier designer drugs
legal. And an old Arab is garrotted under cover of the smoke for
trying to start a cultural relativist examination of the moral issues
involved.
Fifteen minutes later, when the corporate enforcers have been swept
up, the Chat returns to relative quiet. Ratz sends out refills and
goes back to moving grease around the bar counter.
Two regulars in a dark corner exchange glances. "Cultural
relativism?"
-- FADE OUT --
Well, stuff like that happens. Oh, and Ratz is the Barman.
* What is Cyberpunk
I swore I would never define cyberpunk...
"The Cyberpunks" were a bunch of mid-eighties SF writers who had
enough in common to be called a movement. They had a propaganda rag
(called "Cheap Truth") and they used it to slag off the long-winded,
formulaic, soggy SF which dominated at the time and hype the good
stuff. Their own sharp, street-wise fiction came to be known as
"cyberpunk".
Cyberpunk fiction tends to be near-future. Common themes are the
rapid pace of change, the increasing intimacy/invasiveness of
technology and the trouble people have dealing with it ("techno-
shock"). The information society/economy are fertile ground, and
computer hacking in particular is a standard cyberpunk story element.
Cyberpunk is also notable for its ruthlessly unsentimental analysis
of human, political and corporate motivations - "if there were a
devilish drug around that could extend our sacred God-given lifespans
by a hundred years, the Pope would be the first in line." (Bruce
Sterling).
In every society, there are low-lifes and outsiders living on the
fringes. These people are not married with two kids, a dog and a
mortgage. They would be a bad influence on your children. They may
not earn their livings in an entirely legal fashion, and they
sure as hell don't pay full taxes. In cyberpunk they are the
hackers, muscle, back street implant doctors, dealers in this and
that, and the associated wannabees and hangers on. And they come
to the Chatsubo to drink, hustle, swap stories and lurk in dark
corners.
There are many other definitions of cyberpunk, some of them radically
different from the above, but that seems to be the one that matters
around here.
* What's "on topic" here?
- Fiction (solo stories, joint stories, poetry, lyrics etc).
- Commentary and feedback on the above.
- Anything posted "in character".
- Discussion of writing, cp technology, world building, storylines
etc.
- Admin stuff, like the FAQ.
- Anything else you can get away with.
Discussion which is not posted "in character" is frowned on by some
participants and tolerated by others. You will certainly be more
popular if you pay lip-service to posting in character.
* Are there any rules?
"Suffice it to say, if you violate the rules, society will let you
know. And in here they let you know by burning you down, and leaving
you to mingle with the wads of gum and half smoked cigarette butts
in the bottom of the ash-bin. But there's no pressure." -- Dead End
OK, so it seems like the general consensus is as follows:
GIVE FEEDBACK. If someone writes something you like, tell them so! If
you don't like it, tell them! If there's one thing that people
posting here are after, it's feedback. You don't have to provide a
detailed deconstruction of the writer's prose. Something like "This
is what I particularly liked about it, this is what I particularly
disliked, these bits were hard to follow, those bits went on too
long" would be massively welcome. You can email the author or post
your comments in the bar as you fancy.
Everyone writing here is writing to be read.
PARTICIPATE. Write something yourself. Join in a conversation, join
in a story-line, start up something yourself.
BE CONSIDERATE. If you decide to participate in a story-line, be sure
to be considerate of the efforts others have made. Don't go whomping
on continuity. If you make changes in a story, or use someone else's
character, get permission. Basically, use your brain.
One additional thing: if someone is inconsiderate, inform them of the
mistake in email first. Try not to ascribe to malice what might
simply be cluelessness. After that, there is a playground sorta rule
in that if someone's stomping on things right and left, they can be
very easily ignored into non-existence. Flaming someone that is
fishing for the negative response is exactly what they are looking
for, so let them wait for it. (Former Ed's note: "Unless it's a SPAM
advertisement.. then let them have it!")
* What are these ADMIN postings? What's alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo.d?
As an exact opposite for most other groups, instead of marking story
pieces, all things which *aren't* story should be flagged with the
string ADMIN in the subject header. E.g. this FAQ.
A few years back, alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo.d was created. I have heard
several reasons for its formation, some less repeatable than others.
It's generally been moribund since then, but every so often somebody
tries to kick it into life as an "out of character discussion" forum.
Whatever happens, happens.
* I'm completely new to this place. Where do I start?
A good place to start is with as much cyberpunk literature as you can
get your hands on. You could also look at the archives. There are
lists later.
Some folks like using the background worlds from RPG games for a
starting point. Shadowrun used to be very popular and CP2020 is quite
common these days. By using a setting most readers know you save
yourself some effort and don't have to ladle on heaps of background
when you want to get on with the story. Of course for other people
the world-building is what it's all about, the plot is just an excuse
to tour this wonderful fictional world they've invented. So make up
your own world if that's what turns you on, or you don't feel
particularly comfortable with what's there already.
The one thing that isn't subject to do-it-yourself is the Chatsubo
itself, as the bar is a nexus for a number of stories and there is
already some consensus on what is there. The keyword is 'some'. If
you want to get a feel for what's happened in the bar, check out the
archives listed at the end of this article. Or just read the group
for a while...
* Should I use the bar in my stories?
The word 'chatsubo' = 'cha' (tea) + 'tsubo' (pot/bowl).
Most of the interactive fiction is centred around the bar, the
Chatsubo, as created by William Gibson in his novel Neuromancer and
embellished by the folks in the group. Ratz, the Chatsubo's barman
and a key figure in a.c.c, is straight out of the book. You'll also
come across occasional mentions of Lonny Zone, a pimp who did
business around the Chatsubo in Neuromancer.
In Neuromancer the Chatsubo is an expatriate bar in Chiba City,
Japan, down near the docks. But the location of the bar in this
group is TBD by anyone that wants to play in/around/with it. The
stories have had it in Boston, along the Eastern Seaboard, in Chiba,
in Seattle, in Ohio, in Chicago, and in unknown worlds. The year has
been 2050, 2020, 2029, 2035, 2033, etc... usually in the next century
plus some, depending on how far along you think your technology is.
Since Neal Stephenson's novel "Snow Crash" swept the world, the
Chatsubo has also been written as a Virtual Reality hangout rather
like the bar in that book. Posters write of patrons visiting a
virtual reality bar and later 'de-rezzing' instead of walking out the
door, giving software VR within literary VR ;-).
The bar provides common ground for writers, it can save you some work
and give you something to riff off. Also, people *like* being
acknowledged in someone else's posts and are flattered when they make
a big enough impression to be included in someone else's story, even
as a cameo.
* Can I use magic in my stories?
You can do what you like in your stories. Just remember you're
posting them in public, and the loudmouth who keeps the FAQ takes the
piss out of elves and those who write about them. Sink or swim,
kiddies...
* What about copyright, publication etc?
[Disclaimer: this is my understanding, I'm no lawyer. Corrections
welcome.] Copyright rules vary around the world and they have changed
in recent years with new GATT agreements. In most places where having
copyright means anything, you now have automatic copyright on
anything you write. There is no longer some official form of words
for claiming copyright. Just make sure you stick your name on your
posts. Your real name...
A pragmatic view is that by posting you might as well have put your
work in the public domain. As Tim Kuehn pointed out, it isn't really
public domain, as you still will have all the legal rights to the
piece. The trick is in enforcing those rights. A copyright notice
informs the honest and the uninformed. It doesn't always work.
These days, publishers basically won't want to know about anything
that you've already posted to the net. If your name is something like
W Gibson or B Sterling they *might* think about it, but don't make
any assumptions. Publishers' attitudes are getting harsher as the net
gets bigger. You're posting here for fun, feedback, practice or out
of a deep seated pathological need to do so.
* Some story/character guidelines that may be thrown out if you like:
The biggest thing is to Have Fun.
Parodies are *WONDERFUL* and are well accepted here, and they break
every guideline that follows.
Interesting characters aren't ones that are all-powerful. This isn't
a place for 'My-character-can-beat-up-your-character-dick-waving'.
It's pointless and uninteresting for most readers. If someone asks
"What is the most interesting thing about your character?" and the
only answer is something like "the 90mm cannon mounted in her ---- "
then it's time to think the character over again. The same holds for
magic, as well. Unlimited magic is wish fulfilment and makes for a
bad basis for a story.
A good story has tension, suspense, emotional involvement by the
reader. If a character is obviously going to mow over everything in
their path, then there simply is no point to it. This goes for groups
as well as singles. If a 'group' can pull everyone that it might ever
need out of a hat, it gets boring. It's also a good idea to have a
designated 'bad guy' if a story is a polarisation between good and
bad, because then the bad guys aren't just idiots that can be
steamrollered. Again... a playing for style as opposed to
munchkinism.
One particular thing to be avoided is creating brainless cretins just
so that your character can disembowel, slice and dice, and generally
make soup out of simply to show how 'bad' your character can be.
Again, it's boring and pointless and should bring on the cops or
whoever and whatever gang, corp, or organisation that poor shmuck
belonged to. Without consequences, any action is pointless.
* Fiction
Here's a short list for reading. Some people would argue over whether
all of these are cyberpunk (including me), but hey...
Bruce Sterling, Ed: Mirrorshades The Cyberpunk Anthology. This must
be the obvious place to start. The intro has a better answer to "what
is cyberpunk" than I can manage.
William Gibson: Burning Chrome (short stories); Neuromancer, Count
Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive (the Sprawl trilogy), Virtual Light,
Idoru. In cyberpunk, WG is *the man* and Neuromancer is *the book*.
Bruce Sterling: Schismatrix Plus (novel and 5 shorts); Islands in the
Net; Crystal Express and Globalhead (shorts). Many columns, essays,
speeches etc are available online (he's known as 'Chairman Bruce').
Pat Cadigan, Rudy Rucker, Lewis Shiner, John Shirley (the other
original core cyberpunks): anything you can actually find.
Neal Stephenson (a latecomer) : Snow Crash.
Richard Kadrey: Metrophage (online, do a search).
Walter Jon Williams: Hardwired.
Yukito Kishiro: Battle Angel Alita (manga/comic)
Many more than I could list here.
Some cyber-style Videos/Movies: Bladerunner, Nemesis, Split Second,
Lawnmower Man (for Virtual Reality), The Robocop and Terminator
movies, Freejack (there's an original cp storyline), Hardware, Akira
(anime), Bubblegum Crisis (anime), Videodrome (style not content),
Looker (content not style).
* Where can I find archives of old stories and articles?
Severin and I have built a web archive using a lot of Hubert's
material above and some other stuff. It has Chatsubo relevant links,
including other regulars' home pages:
The Tea Bowl - A Chatsubo Archive.
Huge story archive plus group history, the FAQ,
character and author databases e.t.c.
www.netlink.co.uk/users/joel/teabowl/ and www.imv.aau.dk/~sdi/