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HOW IS THE GAME GOING?

Here contributors may post comments about the Lexicon game, questions about the PARANOIA setting, bitter complaints about how they're not getting payment or other material compensation of any kind whatever for their contributions either now or in the future forevermore, and plugs for their home pages or other projects.

LexiconDiscussionPageArchive

To sign and date your entries, use the @SIG@ macro. All you do is type that in, and when you save the page (but NOT when you preview it!), it will show as something like:

-- YourLoginNameHere 2004-04-08 22:24:25

Log in via UserPreferences first! Speaking of which, you do not need to write it as -- @SIG@ or -- YourName @SIG@. Using just @SIG@ on a line by itself fills it in as above. Nifty, huh? :]

Just out of curiosity, has anyone bothered to select their High Programmer's secret society affiliation? :)

-- EricMinton

Yes.

-- Ben E.

Yep. :)

And I'll second (or third, or whatever) DanCurtisJohnson in preferring no forced climax. I'm vastly looking forward to creating a final report that comes up with utterly different conclusions than everyone else based on the same source material; I'd feel vaguely cheated if there were some sort of Universal Agreement On What Really Happened. In many ways, this is a game about the elusiveness of truth despite presence of facts.

(That being said, the notion that The Toothpaste Disaster itself was something trivial is vastly entertaining.)

-- EricReuss 2004-04-16 01:04:37

Hey... I failed to capitalize my im w/stupid entry, which caused problems with the macro. So I created a Im_w/stupid entry to fix the problem. Could someone please delete the non-capitalized im w/stupid entry, so as to keep it out of the IJ index page. Thanks!

-- Greg I. / Circ-U

Non-capitalized "im" entry deleted.

-- AllenVarney 2004-04-16 04:28:03

Thanks!

-- Greg I. / Circ-U

They still lurk! Staring out at me with blood-shot letters, taunting me in my sleep! What must we do to eliminate the [TOP][BOTTOM] title links?!? Evisceration, perhaps?

-- Jeff G.

I'm assuming you've already clicked your username in the upper right corner, gone through the options and unchecked the "Show top/bottom links" checkbox?

-- KarlLow 2004-04-16 16:51:33

Of course.

-- MikeLemmer 2004-04-16 18:10:47

Okay. I only ask because none of my pages have them, so I'm assuming it must be something in your user config.

-- KarlLow 2004-04-16 18:15:15

They seem to pop up at random. On most of the pages I thought they were on, they mysteriously disappeared. I finally tracked a page that still has them: Leaning_Tower_of_Treason

-- MikeLemmer 2004-04-16 18:36:58

To what extent is it appropriate to parody real people? The entry I'm writing references such folks as Condoleeza-R-ICE, and I'm wondering if, y'know, maybe I shouldn't.

-- Eric M.

It's a matter of personal preference. I hope to distance the published PARANOIA XP rulebook from the blatant parody of the later West End line. I think the game works best as satire, not parody. But hey, you're a High Programmer, so do what you like.

-- AllenVarney 2004-04-17 04:57:02

Speaking of which, see if you can't mention the "Unfocused Anxiety Index" and the "Department of Unspecified Threat Assessment" in the rulebook or somewhere prominent ;) I laughed so hard when I first read of those...

-- MattVenzke

Because I am very bored, I decided to have a look at how many representatives each Service Group has on the committee. (Yes, I am very bored.) It wasn't always possible to figure out exactly who belonged to what, but here's my best guess: 

R&D:
Circ-U-LAT-23, Enkid-U-RUK-4, Paul-U-LEG-5, Toothy-U-NIX-4

PLC:
Drake-U-LAH-1, Jan-U-ARY-31, Knok-U-OUT-6, Omega-U-MAN-5

Power Services:
Costin-U-MOR-8, Ken-U-RON-6, Servs-U-RIT-7

HPD&MC:
Brush-U-TTH-33, Don-U-DON-11

Tech Services:
Cee-U-LTR-5, Watt-U-GOT-9

Armed Forces:
Make-U-CRY-2

CPU:
Err-U-DYT-9, Screwz-U-BAD-3

Unknown:
Dursch-U-WTZ-8 (?), Kill-U-DED-4 (IntSec?), Mesh-U-GNA-1 (IntSec?)

It's interesting how the distribution is skewed. Lots of R&D and PLC isn't surprising, given the subject matter, but I'd have expected more IntSec and Armed Forces folks, because shooting people is fun. Stuff.

-- Eric M.

Drake-U-LAH is evil enough to be IntSec.

-- Jeff G.

Heh, if IntSec has anything like SCI, we shouldn't even know who is in IntSec, even at our clearance without a need to know... :)

-- MattVenzke

Just a quick reminder for everyone regarding new phantoms: if 19 entries per Turn is to be the cap (per Allen's recent mail), we're at 18 for O-P, 17 for S-T, and 18 for U-V. It's starting to get thick back there...

-- Dan J

We had only 17 entries for Turn I-J, so I think it's best to reduce the cap to 17 now unless this screws over someone's plans. I can bring in a couple of waiting-list players, but it seems existing players are suffering information overload. I'd prefer to let the attrition take us down to 14 or less before I bring them in.

-- AllenVarney 2004-04-17 23:57:03

Very well, but if you're going to cut out 4 players, you might as well note which of the UVs have dropped out of the report and why.

-- MikeLemmer 2004-04-18 02:17:10

Of the 21 listed HPs on the Bio page, missing in action at this point (as far as I can tell) are:

(I thought Dursch-U was MIA but it turns out he's spelling his name two different ways. I thought Toothy-U and Watt-U were MIA in a couple of places but it turns out they haven't always signed their entries with their full names.)

-- DanCurtisJohnson 2004-04-18 06:25:14

Andy Fitzpatrick (Make-U-CRY) is busy with Paranoia-Live.net and will have to drop the Lexicon. I assume Jared Sorenson (Brush-U-TTH) is busy with his new game company venture with John Wick, Wicked Dead Brewing Company -- but he hasn't told me anything. I haven't heard from the other two, but just missing a turn here or there certainly isn't grounds for termination.

If I end up drafting the waiting list, would current players prefer to have them create new panelist characters, or take on the abandoned ones?

-- AllenVarney 2004-04-18 07:37:07

New panelists. Trying to catch up on all the nuances & accusations of previous Programmers would be insane.

-- MikeLemmer 2004-04-18 08:08:31

I like the listing of "which High Programmers are in which Service Group" - but Err-U is CPU, not R&D. (His bio starts Citizen Err-U is a celebrated CPU researcher...) I've corrected the chart.

Out of curiosity, what made him seem to be R&D?

-- EricReuss 2004-04-18 14:10:52

Stupidity? :) Seriously, I just saw the word "researcher" and thought "R&D", and elided the "CPU" reference completely.

- Eric M.

Agree that new players should be new HP's-- it's never as much fun to play someone else's character in a game, after all, much less try to piece a sense of that character together from the chaotic mess we've created so far.

-- DanCurtisJohnson 2004-04-18 17:59:08

Quick question: Somewhere, it was posted what the official year was in game terms. I'm working on the Long-Term Projections entry, and I could really use that information... but I have not been able to locate it. Could someone please point me in the direction of that info?

-- Greg/Circ-U -- 198.28.41.215 2004-04-19 05:44:05

Further up the page - The new edition of PARANOIA is set in Year 214 of The Computer.

-- PaulBaldowski 2004-04-19 06:48:22

Given the rapidly dwindling number of Phantom Entries we can reasonably squeeze into the available space, should we stop creating them soon? I have created one for my entry on Legacy_software and realised how little room for maneouvre reasonably remains, given the prospect of dwindling High Programmer numbers/participation. There really is very little more that can be added out there.

-- PaulBaldowski 2004-04-19 13:12:38

Allen recently set a hard limit of 17 phantom entries per letter pair. So if you're looking to squeeze in a phantom entry and there's already 17+ in every letter pair, then we've hit the overall limit and no one can create any more.

-- EricMinton

So, we have room for ONE more entry in each of MN and QR, FIVE more entries apiece in WX and YZ - the rest are full.

-- PaulBaldowski

I'm also seeing the exact opposite of who we expected to be accused. Rather than pinning everything on the absent or low-profile High Programmers, it is the most active & distinctive ones that get embroiled in the proceedings.

Well, the less active ones probably wouldn't respond, and it's the interaction that's fun, whether it's antagonistic or not.

In many ways, I see the sniping as a form of ULTRAVIOLET dominance testing, like wolf-packs do among their own. Those who make themselves more prominent are subjected to more heat - but if they weather it well (where "well" can be in any number of ways) then they get a certain amount of respect (grudging or no). Most (or all) of the casual accusations and intimations of treason that are being flung around won't actually come to anything; they're just bucking for position, feeling out weaknesses.

I wouldn't be terribly surprised if the tables turn around in the ending reports and the lower-profile High Programmers take a fair bit of the rap (on average) - there's no back-and-forthing, so the fun factor doesn't apply; there's less established data about them, so it's easier to fabricate arbitrary charges and have them be consistent with established fact; and those High Programmers who have proved their facility at handling charges of treason are rather more risky targets to try and accuse, whether or not they're actually guilty.

-- EricReuss 2004-04-19 15:32:12

Looks like I forgot to create my phantom for Livebraces when I created the link a couple of turns ago. I've built the phantom now. If this is a problem, let me know. (Note... it does, makes one-too-many links, so I'll go back and kill them. Ben.)

-- Ben E.

Fixed. Please delete Livebraces entry.

Ben E.

Observation #1: Wiki was obviously created for and by engineers. Holy shit. This kinda stuff is impenetrable to me. Observation #2: Brush-U-TTH-32 was terminated by one of his fellow High Programmers. I demand satisfaction. Observation #3: I'm not officially "out" of this game, but durn close to it. I just don't get it, am not into it, etc. So hasta la pasta and don't forget to vote.

-- Jared Sorenson

Livebraces entry deleted.

Jared, I'm sorry the Wiki is giving your heartaches, if not toothaches. If Brush-U's next clone feels like dropping in an occasional comment here and there in future entries, I'm sure the assembled High Programmers would appreciate his message of good cheer and optimism.

On another front, Rob MacDougall (Don-U-DON) informs me he has to spend some time away from the game for some trivial task, what was it -- oh, yes, defending his doctoral dissertation at Harvard. Sheesh, some of these Lexicon slackers have no sense of priorities.

-- AllenVarney 2004-04-20 03:57:39

Moved a variation of the Service Group representatives chart to the High Programmer biographies, where it should be. I also recommend that the Unknown High Programmers list which Service Group they're in, so we can start assigning blame properly.

-- MikeLemmer 2004-04-20 04:33:42

In my time zone, the turn's just ended (I unfortunately had a very busy day, and am far too bleary to write at the moment). However, there are still two entries as yet unclaimed, and I'm starting to wonder if they'll be done by anyone. What happens if something's left over at the end of a turn? I'm sort of hoping for a 'sudden death' sort of thing the next morning, so I can try to write up a quick entry first thing after I wake up... It does seem like something we'll be at risk for as more people drop out.

-- Scott Johnson

Empty Slots Count:

WX: 1 left YZ: 5 left

In addition, both ST and UV have 18 links, one over the limit.

-- MikeLemmer 2004-04-20 05:11:49

ST's okay, cause it's got the Toothpaste Disaster entry, which doesn't really count.

-- KarlLow 2004-04-20 07:00:29

I went to enter my, erm... entry to discover it had already been done. No complaints, the one there's fine, but I'm still active even though I haven't posted this turn.

-- Rob R.

I think we've touched on the dibs process before and the prospect that planning too far ahead for the entries you want to do is only going to lead to heartache. I saw MN this morning and decided I was either doing Mnemonic_Meltdown or Ninth_Item - and either way, it would appear that someone had their eye out for them already. I didn't see Karl's dib, so had no clue he had his eye on the Meltdown. I guess it's important to have some kind of note in the entry and not just on the index page - as I'm guessing I missed Karl's dib because I didn't go back to the index page before pasting in my entry.

On the other hand, dibs are an issue with High Programmers who are not dropping in reports as expected. I noticed that KL had three dibs and a couple were from people who were stretched for time and, therefore, late for posting their entry. Seems unfair for players who are currently active that certain entries are rendered offlimits like that - and it might be in order to allow dibs to stand only until a certain time before the deadline (although, having typed that I'm realising that would probably be a pain in the ass to manage given the multitude of timezones!).

Anyway... sorry Karl and Rob didn't get the MN entries they were after.

-- PaulBaldowski 2004-04-20 15:09:13

I love the multiple timezones. It means I can enter my entries hours before everyone else. "It's past midnight in Siberia. Time to post!"

[EDIT by Allen Varney: Here Jeff makes salient and useful suggestions for the next version of the Lexicon game. To minimize distraction I have moved this section of his post to the new NextVersion page.]

-- MikeLemmer 2004-04-20 17:33:09

Loyal citizen MikeLemmer continues to offer good suggestions for the putative next version of this Lexicon game. I am certainly open to these suggestions and would encourage any interested player to offer them. But the current game isn't even half over, and some players may well regard this discussion as premature at best, and possibly even distractingly noisy.

So I am creating a NextVersion Wiki page and moving the pertinent posts there. If you are interested, please post suggestions and comments there.

-- AllenVarney 2004-04-20 21:09:53

No worries Paul. I realized after the fact that I messed up by not putting the dibs in the actual entry itself. Had I done that, no doubt you would have noticed in the first place. S'okay.. I'm sure I can figure out something else with one of the other ones. I'm just leery about being stuck with the Reactor one. That one's gonna be a bear to figure out.

-- KarlLow 2004-04-20 22:12:19

Krypton_Difluoride_Welding_Rods still doesn't have an entry from last turn. Rob M/Don-U is going to get Little Red Disk taken care of when he has a chance, looks like, but KDWR is currently orphaned. I believe Kill-U-DED is the HP who we didn't hear from for the KL turn. I'm probably not the only player who would have an idea for the KDWR entry of my own... what should we do? Give Kill-U/Paul some time to cover it? Turn it over to Drake-U-LAH-1, Madman At Large? Draw digital straws of some sort? Put in another dead page holder?

-- DanCurtisJohnson 2004-04-21 04:39:56

Drake-U-LAH-1 already did his entry for that turn. Drake-U-LAH-2, on the other hand... give me an hour.

-- MikeLemmer 2004-04-21 05:15:19

Perhaps it would help if we could all spell fluoride? ;] (I fixed your link, BTW)

-- MattVenzke

Finally done. It's beginning to get ugly. The emphasis on things instead of events in the phantom is particularly nasty. Worse, though, are the chronological problems that are cropping up. Anyone volunteer to make a timeline of these events?

-- MikeLemmer 2004-04-21 07:01:52

As opposed as I am to the idea of tools which will help us untangle the web we're spinning :) maybe a timeline would be a good idea-- maybe even a feasible one, as there are very few Lexicon entries now that don't have at least some context (i.e. prior entry references) that will give some idea of when things occurred. Give me twenty-four hours or so; I'll try to have something together by the end of the current turn.

-- DanCurtisJohnson 2004-04-21 14:07:39

I would recommend discussing timing problems in the comments section of the entrys in question. If you're unsure where/when something occurred, ask... and I'd like to point out that we still haven't ruled out the use of time-travel in the Toothpaste Disaster. In fact, it is seeming more and more likely...

-- -- BenEngelsberg 2004-04-21 16:00:38

I almost resorted to time travel myself in the Men in Infrared entry... close call...

-- DanCurtisJohnson 2004-04-21 17:11:15

Heh, you guys up for a little narrative bomb? ;] You might enjoy the Magic_Hate_Ball entry, then. It seems that my next clone has been activated under some VERY suspicious circumstances... I hope that Jan-U doesn't mind this. It's nothing personal, but I quite enjoy our PLC rivalry and I've just taken it to the next level ;-] Mwahahahahahahahahahaha!

-- MattVenzke 2004-04-21 19:44:07

Matt, I think you're setting a very bad precedent here. Thus far, all the sniping has been pretty subtle. This is not only over-the-top, but it's providing direct evidence of rather pathetic incompetence on the part of another player's High Programmer. It's deprotagonizing. I don't mind having Jan-U terminated for treason; I would rather mind having her inescapably defined as a buffoon. She becomes much less fun to play that way.

- EricMinton

I'm not sure that she need be inescapably defined as anything. I think I left you a number of outs... something about a "Jan-U-ARY-32" (an impostor?), and you can certainly disagree with my assessment of the forms (as I believe you have before), and/or find someone else to scapegoat for any which thing... or... :]

Addendum: Very clever, deflecting blame like that :] That's more in the spirit of things! As usual, Omega-U-MAN-6 will have no malice towards whoever might be implicated as having killed him, but beyond that... :]

- MattVenzke

Honestly, Eric, you sort of opened yourself up to it from the very start with Jan's bio, which explictly refers to the (apparently well-known) rumors of senility and incompetence... :) Nonetheless, Knok-U has faith.

-- DanCurtisJohnson 2004-04-21 21:57:34

Sorry about flipping out, y'all... hard day at work, ExaltedWiki having a meltdown, etc. All should be fine from here on out. :)

-- EricMinton

No worries :]

-- MattVenzke 2004-04-22 05:07:19

Hi folks. Thanks for your patience - the Little_Red_Disk entry is finally up. Worth the wait? I dunno. But I had some fun with it. Obviously I'm having a hard time keeping up with all y'all's brilliance. As Allen says, my dissertation may have something to do with it. I'll try to pop back in over the next couple of turns, but if you don't hear from me, well, that's where I'm at. If there are people chomping at the bit to get in on the game, Allen, it's OK if you want to give up my slot. I'll certainly keep reading. There's a lot of great stuff here. It's not easy to keep it all straight in your head, but there's a lot of great stuff.

-- RobMacDougall 2004-04-22 05:13:58

The Little_Red_Disk entry was hi-larious! Please continue in whatever moments of spare time you have.

-- EricMinton

First off, let me say kudos to Knok-U-OUT for completing v1.0 of the Speculative_Ongoing_Subjective_Timeline_of_Events. It really is a marvel. Behold the extant of our investigation! I would kiss you if it didn't lead to summary execution.

That isn't to say I've been slacking on my end. The fiasco I had writing the Krypton_Difluoride_Welding_Rods has been bugging me. Spending a half-hour writing the article followed by an hour of finding suitable links for it is not my idea of an excellent time. Every time I checked out a potential phantom link for a connection, I would have to click on every link that linked to it, check relevant data, perhaps click on MORE links to relevant data, and make sure it would work. Our goal of "Simulated Information Overload" is a success. As much as we love simulating Ultraviolets, however, I have to make a few points:

What I wanted was a quick way to check the important data & tidbits of a phantom link to see whether it was worth connecting (or whether it was in desperate need of some fleshing out). So I started adding Notes to the Phantom Entries.

I decided to do it the easy way: I went to the related links, then copied & pasted the important bits. In case the entire article was relevant, I tacked on a little note to read the whole article for more details. It's too late tonight to put up notes on potential links or my own twisted possibilities.

I know some will argue that this ruins the "Information Overload" simulation. I say that at this rate we're getting enough information overload to result in massive drops in our GPA or unemployment. Anything we can do to help others write articles as fast as possible will increase participation, reduce absentees & late entries, and give them more time for additional information and comments. Those are more important than a simulation that vaporizes once the Lexicon's complete.

-- MikeLemmer 2004-04-22 07:21:17

I think bring existing entry information forward to phantoms so they're waiting there for whoever picks it up isn't a bad idea-- it will alleviate some of the information overload, I suspect, and hopefully minimize the number of continuity paradoxes that crop up from here. (We only have a couple as it is, it turns out, not including commentary discussion, but I think that's been as much luck as anything else...) And it doesn't involve a huge tangled wiki web, which (having tackled the more objective and elementary subject of sequential order... pretty much on and off all day... and non-stop all this evening...) I am pretty sure would become an even harder effort than just keeping up with making new entries...

-- DanCurtisJohnson 2004-04-22 08:00:41

Bringing entry information forward to phantoms does seem rather helpful. And I like the tentative timeline! Very nice.

My first reaction upon noting the existence of Zed/Omega-38458-QYT - IntSec Investigation of Jan-U was to break down laughing, followed by declaring to the room at large, "Jan-U Wins!". (While several High Programmers have had entire entries broadsided at them, Jan-U was the first one to become so high-profile as to merit inclusion of a phantom entry specifically targeted at her by name.) Not that I think this should become a trend - funny-once - but oh, it was good. And Jan-U having dibs on writing it is the icing on the cake.

-- EricReuss 2004-04-22 13:52:18

18 entries for Turn M-N! Woohoo! Welcome back, mysterious earlier incarnation of Brush-U-TTH!

-- AllenVarney 2004-04-23 15:26:42

Just so you all know, I'm alive, but I won't be able to do an entry again until late Sun night or so. It's up for debate whether my ULTRAVIOLET will ever get an entry for this turn done in time for this turn, since he's being repeatedly terminated by the Magic Hate Ball :] Hopefully, Omega-U-MAN-1337 or maybe 13370 or so will have fixed things by then ;] We shall see...

-- MattVenzke

Well, my attempt to differentiate between completed articles & phantom links via Categories got ugly. I finally abandoned it, with the only signs of my work the 2 new Category pages left out. Mind deleting them, Varney?

-- MikeLemmer 2004-04-25 08:21:15

You can call me Allen, Jeff. Deleting the pages...

-- AllenVarney 2004-04-25 18:31:50

I notice that activity has plummeted over the weekend. With Finals and projects around the corner, I can see why. I'm in the 2-week panic mode now. I'd be in favor of lengthening the deadline to a week for the next 2-4 entries. Any other students agree with me, or am I the only one with finals?

-- MikeLemmer 2004-04-25 19:15:27

Does "two-week panic mode" mean you're done in two weeks? I don't see any crisis if you just ducked out for a few turns. If you do, I think the gentlemanly thing to do would be to give up dibs you've called on entries due in those turns. Or you might bequeath rough ideas to another, less stressed player, who could write your entries by proxy.

Good luck with your finals!

-- AllenVarney 2004-04-25 22:58:27

Heh. I'd support some tinkering with the schedule as well but only for selfish reasons, since I'm out of the country from May 3rd to May 15th. My current plan is to miss those turns as Knok-U, but pre-supply some simply Lexicon entries courtesy of Pepe, and then catch up on everything and write my Knok-U wrap-up (however those are being done) when I get back.

-- DanCurtisJohnson 2004-04-26 01:06:12

Anyone want to post/argue a bit in character in the Paranoia Blogs comments section regarding the Lexicon game?

-- Ben E. / Mesh-U

Grr. I seem to have been out-dibbed by Cee-U, and while I don't want to fight it out for the entry, I'm uninspired by the few other entries remaining. Hmm...

-- EricMinton

Omega Hybrizine (or whatever) looks pretty good... lots of back links. I grabbed Penbots this turn because I'm not going to have alot of time to write up an entry... but if you want it, I'll grab Omega H, or Omnipipe whatsis. Not choosy this turn, just pressed for time.

-- Ben E.

Performance_Art is up, and I think it turned out rather well! If Cee-U or anyone else still needs an OP entry, the Physiological_Effects_of_Happiness_Report is still open, as is Omega-Hybrizine (sort of).

-- EricMinton

I notice that someone's been putting up reference lists on all the articles. Although I tolerated them before, I will not stand for this! Surely everyone knows that you can get a full list of references just by clicking on the title; this redundancy merely clutters up the page. Clean up your mess and leave the reference lists to the phantom links.

-- MikeLemmer 2004-04-28 08:42:12

I'll second that. There's no need at all for these lists, and they clutter up the page. Cut them!

-- JoshuaMoretto 2004-04-28 08:53:26

I'll third it. I've been leaving them in my entries lately simply for the sake of consistency, but all in all I'd rather not have them present. (Particularly because they can make phantom loops - once Entry A lists Entry B in its Referenced By section, that causes Entry B to list Entry A in its Referenced By section...and now, even if the original reference from B to A is deleted, both entries will still show up as referencing each other due to the lists!)

-- EricReuss 2004-04-28 13:14:26

I'm using them as a quick and dirty mechanism, not for finding specific references, but for counting how many other entries link to the entry in question. This is for the purpose of being able to browse around quickly in order to see what entries need some lovin' when I'm creating a new entry; and for that particular purpose, clicking on the title and browsing down through all the references is much, much slower.

-- EricMinton

I just put up my entry for RED-Clearance_Revolution. I hope I didn't break the rules about contradicting other sources, though. I think I may have. If I did, I apologize.

-- Rob R.

Don't forget to sign it.

-- 17.201.25.86 2004-04-29 17:17:27

Uh, says the guy who forgot to log in first.

-- DanCurtisJohnson 2004-04-29 17:18:13

In terms of the rules, I think this entry works fine -- for a PARANOIA game. It would probably be out of bounds in a more typical Lexicon game. Here, given the premise that everyone is looking for traitors and is possibly a traitor him- or herself, I think this kind of contradiction works. Let a thousand accusations and backbites bloom.

But yes, remember to sign your entry.

-- AllenVarney 2004-04-29 17:58:13

By the way... how to INFRAREDs read? I mean, in order for any sort of writing to fall within their security clearance, doesn't it have to be in black lettering on a black surface?

-- EricMinton

Black lettering, grey or tan paper. (Think recycled newsprint, or used paper bathroom towels)

-- BenEngelsberg 2004-04-29 18:35:43

*nod* Blackish-on-different-blackish works well. If one rules that "Metallic" = "INFRARED clearance", one can also have black-on-metallic, or metallic-on-black.

Alternately, the black letters could be printed on something clear, such as laminated plastic.

Or, finally, Black paper with the words cut out of the sheet.

-- EricReuss 2004-04-29 18:43:24

In the new edition I am trying to make Alpha Complex a more ominous and slightly less silly place -- not less funny, mind you, only less silly. The idea that you can't even touch a white piece of paper without being terminated -- that's silly, on par with the idea that INFRAREDs can't have blonde hair. Paper can be white, though in practice I expect it would be grayish recycled stuff as Ben suggests, and thin as military-grade bathroom tissue.

-- AllenVarney 2004-04-29 18:55:55

thin as military-grade bathroom tissue.

So, you're saying it's made from recycled forms? (and by "recycled" I generally include "repurposed" -- as in the forms might be used for ... unintended ... purposes, perhaps even treasonously, if a desperate clone "repurposed" the wrong form) ... :)

-- MattVenzke

Greg Ingber and Matt Venzke, my latest status report mailing to you bounced. I know Matt is leaving / has left on vacation. Greg, apparently your mailbox is full.

-- AllenVarney 2004-04-29 22:14:27

Just got in from a very exhausting daycycle spent in the outdoors. I'm way too tired to have a look through Rose-Tinted Macro-Goggles right now. Entry will be forthcoming after a brief rest period.

-- TopiMakkonen

I just wanted to apologize for really just kind of "phoning in" this deadline's entry. The insomnia's been hitting pretty hard and I'm all out of steam at the moment. Back to speed for the next one.

-- 68.44.231.156 2004-04-30 03:16:26

Allen, sorry about the mail bounce. I cleared out stuff this afternoon, I think I got your status report.

--- Greg -- 198.28.41.215 2004-04-30 05:15:00

AGH!

I was typing in the entry for ROM sector, and by the time I hit Preview, somebody else had gotten in and and pasted their material. I can only assume that they started after my warning period had expired, because I can't see anybody going in and ignoring that.

Next time, can we have a *much* longer editing time? My time is limited as it is, so trying to get research etc. done is hard enough without having to worry about hitting preview every ten minutes.

-- KarlLow 2004-04-30 05:37:26

Just so you know, I'd posted 'dibs' for ROM Sector about forty-five minutes to an hour before I actually posted anything... I saw that you'd been editing the page, but it also said that your lock had expired. I'd presumed that you hadn't been working on it, since I didn't think anyone would have been working on an entry for that long without making a note about it or noticing mine...

If you're worried about time constraints, why not just post your dibs or an 'in progress' message on the index page before starting your entry? That way you don't have to rely on the ten minute timeout lock, and people can see at a glance what entries are still free. I'm sorry if I stepped on your toes -- I can even retract my entry if you want -- but I just didn't realize you were working on it. Sorry.

-- ScottJohnson 2004-04-30 05:54:50

I'd have no objection to a more prolonged locking period. However, I'd recommend that you avoid overwriting problems by writing up your entries in a word processor rather than directly in the Wiki's editing screen. I've found that it helps avoid a lot of problems.

-- EricMinton 2004-04-30 05:55:38

No worries, Scott. I whipped up another one for RoboBraces. It's not near as good, but ah well that's what happens with time pressure and all. It's just frustrating as I seem to keep getting caught by my entries being over-run, whether I put dibs on them or not. I guess that's why I favor not having the phantom entries actually active links in the main Lexicon until the page is made up for them. That way it's obvious what's made and what isn't.

-- KarlLow 2004-04-30 06:00:47

Karl, call your next turn's dibs right here on this page, where everyone will see it, and I'll guarantee you get to write it. I echo the recommendation to write it in your favorite text editor or word processor, and merely paste it into the Wiki editor.

-- AllenVarney 2004-04-30 06:37:30

Ditto on the text editor. It saves a lot of time and effort and solves the problem of renewing your lock every 10 minutes. I use BBEdit.

-- MikeLemmer 2004-04-30 20:46:22

Agreemsg. Making a quick edit to the page that just says "in progress by me" and saving that, and then moving to a text editor to do most of the work, has been doing well by me the last couple of turns. Occasionally, I'll go into editing mode just long enough to cut and paste what I've done so far, see what it looks like fully previwed, and then cancel back out to return to the editor.

-- DanCurtisJohnson 2004-04-30 21:56:58

Well! Having busted my nuts on a swan-song entry that should give y'all plenty of fodder to run to the end of the game-- I would encourage you to focus less on how much you hate Knok-7 and more on how much you hate each other! :) -- I am off to honeymoon in Indonesia until the end of the game, more or less. If I have internet access, I'll poke my head in and see how things are going and maybe pipe up here and there, but for the most part, Knok-U is bowing out. I'm going to send Allen one more entry to post in my place for next turn for sure and then we'll see if I manage to participate in the last two or not. And then I'll be back on the late 15th, hopefully just in time to participate in post-game summary reports.

I have exactly two thoughts/suggestions/requests regarding the post-game summaries:

Which one of us is right? Which one of our likely-to-be-mutually exclusive opinions should be believed? Well, in this particular trial, I would imagine that Friend Computer would be the judge, jury, and executioner. And our readers (assuming we have some out there now or in the future) can each form their own opinion. I, for one, can think of no more entertaining end to the game than to see what all my fellow Programmers-- unfettered by uncertainty and the possibilty of being called a liar or a traitor-- will open their mouths to say. And I promise to give as good as I get!

Keep routing out treason wherever it may lurk, gentlemen, unless of course it's lurking in your own agenda. See you all again just as soon as I can.

-- DanCurtisJohnson 2004-05-04 04:23:34

Oh, and I'll do a final round of Pepe's Timeline when I get back, too, depending on how much new stuff shakes out in the last four turns.

-- DanCurtisJohnson 2004-05-04 04:30:36

I just want to thank you for a great entry, Dan, and to wish you well on your honeymoon. Have a great time!

-- EricMinton 2004-05-04 04:51:40

I echo Eric's congratulations for Dan's stupendous work on Secret_Societies_Involved_In_the_Toothpaste_Disaster and wish him and his new spouse well in Bali and Java. Thanks, Dan!

I will leave it to each player to decide whether to deliver a grand final statement of findings and recommendations. It sounds like fun, and I may even tap The Computer to deliver its ultimate decision. There is no deadline for your summary, though if you delay too long, other players may never see your work. I agree with Dan that each player's final summation (if any) should not allow comments.

-- AllenVarney 2004-05-04 05:38:33

Jeff... Did you create the original Rasp-U-TIN-1 phantom?

Ben.

Yes.

-- MikeLemmer 2004-05-05 02:39:16

Hi everyone, just dropping by to say hi while waiting for a connecting flight in Singapore. Paying for everything with the illicit METro Cheque bribes you all so generously provided to my unmarked accounts!

-- DanCurtisJohnson 2004-05-05 07:54:28

Just got done with my two entries. I was done with Sue-R-RAT-1 yesterday, but releasing one before the other wouldn't feel right. It'll be interesting to see what my fellow Programmers think of these two entries; they're a bit more serious and dread-filled than the others. Is this the type of writing you're aiming for on "Straight" Paranoia?

-- MikeLemmer 2004-05-05 20:33:19

Congrats on a highly unconventional and rather unsettling entry, Jeff, and condolences on the loss of another clone. Yes, that could be an aspect of the Straight play style, which is tense, suspicious, close, scary, but definitely satiric. Works for me!

By the way, Eric is correct that the current PARANOIA edition is set in Year 214 of The Computer, not Year 124.

-- AllenVarney 2004-05-05 20:40:18

Fixed. Damn, that's the 2nd time that's happened lately. Must be temporary dyslexia...

-- MikeLemmer 2004-05-05 22:37:58

Can we remove the "Referenced By" links in the entries already done? I'm not sure that we need that or Cross-References, really. My only intent with the macro was to help us all find those entries we had to write around (e.g. facts we had to take into account) to make writing the entries simpler. I don't really see the need for them after an entry is written (you can just click on the entry name at the top to get the list, too, for that matter...). I'm not sure we need to add "X-Ref" links, either. As far as I'm concerned, the primary use of the Refs section was to show us all the new phantom links being made, and we don't have any more of those, now.

Or maybe it's just me, because they seem like mere clutter right now, and I only put the macro in for it to be useful. Of course, if someone has uses for them that I haven't realized, feel free to tell me. I wouldn't want to go around removing them from all the non-phantoms without us having a general consensus about it first...

-- MattVenzke 2004-05-09 00:19:45

I find the "Referenced By" links to be very useful when looking for which entries need some lovin'. Clicking on the title can get you a forest of multiple links per page, while the "Referenced By" section shows you quickly and cleanly just how many pages link there. When you're browsing around a lot, it saves a good bit of time and eyestrain.

-- EricMinton 2004-05-09 00:53:42

How about a compromise: Let's remove them once the final turn is complete.

At that point, all entries ought to have outgoing links, and there aren't going to be further entries, so lovin' is no longer relevant...

-- EricReuss 2004-05-09 00:58:23

That's fair.

-- EricMinton 2004-05-09 01:22:05

The following entries have yet to be filled from previous turns. Funny how the undone entries are some of the major catalysts of the Toothpaste Disaster. Is it merely laziness, or High Programmers avoiding revealing their treason?

-- MikeLemmer 2004-05-09 18:45:28

If Watt-U doesn't claim Syntelligent Systems, I may go ahead and write it up after my final regular entries... since it's about my Service Firm (even though it was not my Phantom). I didn't claim it because I wanted to give someone an oppotunity to level all manner of accusations at me, but no one took the bait!

--Circ-U -- 198.28.41.215 2004-05-10 06:19:16

I picked up the ToothpasteRebellion. The two "S" entries are both under dibs, but ULTRAVIOLET_Massacre and Unidentified_Contractors both look free - can anyone grab those?

Vats has a note saying that it probably ought to be deleted; I'd tend to agree. Allen?

-- EricReuss 2004-05-10 18:12:17

I'll take Vats. Since it's blatantly obvious, I can skid off on a tangent with it. Should be fun.

-- MikeLemmer 2004-05-10 19:43:44

For the record, I think the ReferencedBy: links are really useful, even when just browsing around. More links make the whole story seem more interconnected (for obvious reasons). I say we keep 'em around even after the last turn.

-- PaulJacobs 2004-05-10 15:34:44

Agreed!

Also, we have the following unclaimed phantoms from W-X:

-- EricMinton 2004-05-11 20:28:44

I say no; too many useless or minor links with no context to put them in. The viewers can just click on the title of the page and get a better listing of the references to it.

Oh yeah, here's the updated list of uncompleted articles from previous turns:

-- MikeLemmer 2004-05-14 03:12:32

Apologies folks. Real life sometimes decides that I need to work for a living, which is a pain, but what can you do.

At any rate, feel free to do up a Syntelligent_Systems report, but if you would please, I'd appreciate at least a byline thrown into it as referenced by the ZRT_Treason_Analyzer report I just did up.

Thanks muchly!

-- KarlLow 2004-05-14 06:32:20

Someone else might do better, but I shaped it into something looking slightly more like a report, in case no one else does better. Feel free to rip it all out & attribute something else to Watt-U, if you prefer.

-- MattVenzke

I'd like to suggest having this coming Monday be the "core material" deadline - any backwriting that's going to get done, done, and finishing off commentary on the YZ entries - and that the Wrap-Up Report deadline be this coming Thursday. There are some large bombshells being dropped, both in tardy entries and in comments.

-- EricReuss 2004-05-14 16:49:21

I tend to agree :] We're more than a bit behind in a few entries. I tried to spruce a couple up late last night in case no one else was going to, but the entries really deserve more than what I did for them, and anyone should feel free to redo them entirely if need be. I speak, of course, of Syntelligent_Systems as well as my minescule comment on the WMD entry.

-- MattVenzke

So, did anyone ever write those last two entries that have dibs but no content? Will anyone? Should we just put up something about how they were executed for treason before their reports were processed, but that the object in question wasn't really relevant to anything, anyhow? I dunno :]

Oh, and don't we get a final 'farewell' type email status report? Were we going to do the dossiers? Is anyone still reading this?!? :)

-- MattVenzke

Those interested in doing final reports came up with an ad-hoc deadline of tonight, Monday, May 17th. I think the whole game would benefit from such final reports, but I didn't ask players to expect to do them when I pitched the original idea, so I'm not going to require them now.

After interested parties post their final reports, I may send out a hail-and-farewell e-mail, if this is important to people's sense of closure. I wanted to do a final Computer document announcing the fates of all panelists, but that won't happen now that I'm on deadline crunch for the rulebook. Maybe someone else could take that up, or maybe I'll do it once I come up for air in June.

We seem to have ended up with 14 players from the original 21 or 22, which is a better retention rate than I'd hoped, especially for such a large game. In my view the whole thing has been a heartwarming success.

-- AllenVarney 2004-05-17 17:47:57

Especially considering the schedule. I found two per week to be just brutal, especially if I wanted to go in deeper.

-- KarlLow 2004-05-17 22:30:47

Agreed. I'd like to have gotten into the commenting more, too, but part of the project coincided with a "grand reopening" at work, so I was more pressed than I normally would have been.

-- MarkKinney 2004-05-18 02:22:59

Where are we posting the final reports? Or are we emailing them to Allen?

-- EricMinton 2004-05-18 02:52:30

Perish forbid. Please set up a Final Reports page, and then a link from that page to your own report. And we'll proabably need a link on the front page to the Final Reports page.

-- AllenVarney 2004-05-18 03:49:25

Couldn't quite get my final report done by tonight; it's about 80% finished, but it's 1:30 AM and I do have to go to work tomorrow. I'll post it when it's finished, most likely Tuesday evening.

(But then, I don't see anyone else having posted one yet, either. :-)

-- EricReuss 2004-05-18 05:26:39

I'm still catching up on the last three turns and trying to figure out what the hell happened to everyone while I was gone! Dear God, I thought Knok was having a rough time of it...!

-- DanCurtisJohnson 2004-05-18 05:48:09

(One positive side effect of the all-out mad-dash too-many-icebergs-not-enough-lifeboats endgame scramble: many of the last turn entries add very little substantive information that needs to be dealt with in the Speculative Timeline. It's all just madness and murder and running for cover. Wish I could have been in the thick of it!)

-- DanCurtisJohnson 2004-05-18 05:57:10

BTW, Zero_Tolerance_Mouthwash_Accident is still unfinished. I'd write it myself but I, uh, don't have a character handy at the moment and I'm scrambling to update the Timeline. Anyone who chooses to tackle it, tho, please check all its references; it's one of those things that definitely seems to come before some stuff and after some others. Pepe will shriek if we produce anymore paradoxes!

-- DanCurtisJohnson 2004-05-18 06:47:04

Oh, and one last thing: Maybe part of the dossier entries should be "final fate of the High Programmer"; I think we have UVs who have fled to the Outdoors, elevated into 2001-like energy beings, gone completely crazy and folded into alternate dimensions, locked themselves behind walls of nukes... How the hell did everyone end up when all is said and done? (Tomorrow, I'll get Knok-U's summary done, to answer that question myself. I actually don't know what he's going to say yet; y'all did a fine job of screwing up parts of my foolproof plan! Heh.)

-- DanCurtisJohnson 2004-05-18 07:36:29

I seem to be having trouble editing the regex to exclude Err-U's_Final_Sermon from the LexiconEF page. (This may simply be because I'm very tired.) Apologies.

-- EricReuss 2004-05-19 03:43:20

Why don't we push the final report deadline ahead to the end of the week? It wasn't until I read Eric's report that the sheer volume of material involved in a final report sank in. Keeping up with the deadlines has been hard enough for the individual entries, and this requires far more work.

-- EricMinton 2004-05-19 04:28:54

I see on the most recent update of the Y-Chromosome_Cabal entry that Toothy-U has terminated Jan-U-ARY-31. Onscreen, no subtlety, shot her brain in ARY Sector just to watch her die.

Not to quench the final party atmosphere, but I think even at this late date, at game's end, this is a bit rude. Let us restrain ourselves, please, to announcing our own deaths, not those of others.

-- AllenVarney 2004-05-19 06:17:58

So when exactly are these final reports due? I've been taking my sweet time, trying to think of something good... If there is no pressing need to get it in ASAP I could really use the extra time.

-- Circ-U -- 198.28.41.215 2004-05-21 06:31:16

I personally regard the final reports as voluntary and optional. I've been enjoying them greatly, and I hope lots of players submit them. But there's no deadline as far as I'm concerned. Maybe other players can arrive at a consensus.

At some indeterminate point in the future (certainly after the PARANOIA rulebook deadline!) I guess I'll lock down the pages so no further additions, comments, or revisions are possible. I'll try to send out a last Lexicon mailing giving everyone adequate notice to get in their last shots.

As it were.

-- AllenVarney 2004-05-21 07:49:22

Hi, everyone. I'm not sure if anybody is still reading this page, but if you do stop by, I invite you to read my recent post at the 20' By 20' Room, where I discuss this Lexicon and how it went, from my point of view. My compliments to all - this was an amazing ride - and my apologies for not being able to keep up with all of your mad genius. Thanks!

-- RobMacDougall 2013-06-13 18:58:20

Nice post.

-- PaulBaldowski 2013-06-13 18:58:20

2013-06-13 13:58