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                           Frequently Asked Questions
                          (last revised August 2, 1994)

                                PART 8:  ARCHIVES


CONTENTS OF THIS PART:

1).  What is an Archive?
2).  How much material is currently archived?
3).  What is a Superguy Log, and where can I get access to it?
4).  What is Superguy Digest, and where can I get access to it?
5).  What are the Superguy Chronicles and how do I get them?
6).  What are Superguy Trade EtherBacks?
7).  Is there a Synopsis or History available for Superguy's history?
8).  Is there a comprehensive list of the Heroes, Villains and Supporting Cast
     of Superguy?

1)   What is an Archive?

     An Archive is a repository for postings to the Superguy Mailing List.  It
is a place where new readers can go to investigate the posts that have come
before.  It is usually collected in the specific order that the posts appeared
on the list, but not always.
     The different archive styles available are the Superguy Logs, Superguy
Digest, the Superguy Chronicles, and the Superguy Trade Etherbacks.

2)   How much material is currently archived?

     A *lot*.  Close to thirty megabytes of pure story, not counting any non-
story posts that might come along the pike.  Fortunately, most archival methods
are set up to bring you the back posts in bite sized formats.

3)   What is a Superguy Log, and where can I get access to it?

     A Logfile is a file that the Listserv software automatically keeps on a
periodic basis, allowing for swift access to the most recent archives.  The
Superguy Listserv archives logfiles weekly, which means some Logs are almost
empty, and others are too large for most mailers.
     Ucf1vm, our electronic publisher, cleans out the logs each semester.
Therefore anyone who wants access to logs from before the start of the previous
semester's writing needs to find a different archive.  To find out what Logs
are available, send mail to listserv@ucf1vm.cc.ucf.edu with the following
message in the body of the letter:

     index superguy

     This will cause the Listserv to send a listing of all the logs that are
currently available.  They will appear in the following format:

     SUPERGUY LOG9406C

     Where SUPERGUY is the filename, 94 is the calendar year, 06 is the month,
and C is the week (so, this would be a file containing the posts from the third
week of June in 1994).

     To retrieve specific logs, send another letter to
listserv@ucf1vm.cc.ucf.edu with the following request in the body of the
letter:

     GET SUPERGUY LOG<specific log>

     So if you wanted the Log from the fourth week of January, 1995, you would
type "GET SUPERGUY LOG9501D" in the body of you letter, without the quotation
marks.  Listserv will automatically send you the logs you requested as
mailfiles.

4)   What is Superguy Digest, and where can I get access to it?

     Superguy Digest is the electronic magazine form of the Superguy Mailing
List.  It comes out irregularly, whenever there are enough Posts to warrant a
publication.  It is the most convenient way to read archives of Superguy, as it
is set up in plain English, rather than computer codes.  You read Superguy #1
first, then #2, and so on.  All posts to the list (other than off-topic noise)
are entered into the Digest in the same order that they were sent to the List.
Therefore, Superguy Digest is a chronological archive of all the material sent
to it.  The first post in Superguy #1 is the first post that ever appeared on
the list, and so forth.
     Superguy Digest is not sent directly to people (and subscriptions to it
are not available).  It is put together by hand and uploaded to the archival
sites, which also have indexes listing the contents of each log.  There are two
different sites the Digest is kept, available by four different methods:

AMERICA ONLINE:

     Users of America Online can find Superguy Digest in the Palmtop Paperback
section.  Your AOL software should allow you to read and save the Digests as
normal.  To access the files, do a keyword search for "PDA."  This will get you
into the Palmtop section.  Select "Libraries" and "Writing," and you will see
the Superguy directory.  Enter it.  You will see the Digest, zipped and
collected into ten-issue chunks.  Download as normal, via the Download Now or
Download Manager commands.

ANONYMOUS FTP:

     There is an anonymous FTP site containing all of the Superguy Digests
currently available at fenris.dhhalden.no.  FTP as user Anonymous, then
change directories to:

     \pub\comics\fanfiction\superguy

     The Digests will appear magically, ready to be retrieved.  You will also
see the indexes, which are clearly marked.
     Note that the Digests are in Compressed format, so you will have to
retrieve them as binary files and uncompress them.  If you do not have access
to uncompress software, there are several public domain uncompress packages
available via FTP.  This chronicler does not know where they are kept, however.
Bon chance, mes aimes.

GOPHER:

     Perhaps the best way to read the Digests.  Gopher to Gopher.dhhalden.no.
Select Anonymous_FTP (this will not put you into an FTP server, but instead
give you access via the Gopher protocol).  Then select Pub, Comics, Fanfiction
and Superguy, in that Order.  You will see the indexes and the Digests.  Select
the one you want to view, and it will appear, ready to read.
     This has the advantage of not needing to retrieve the file into your own
workspace to read it or even print it off, from many Gopher servers.

WORLD WIDE WEB:

     Connect to the following URL:

     http://www.halcyon.com/superguy/superguy.html

     You will be sent to the wild and wooly Superguy World Wide Web page, which
shall be described in more detail when it's closer to being released.  However,
right this second you can access the site and select a link called "The
Superguy Logs."  This will open a Gopher connection to gopher.dhhalden.no and
put you right in the middle of the Superguy directory.  From there, it should
be a snap.
     If you'd like to play about on the Superguy Web Server, go right ahead.
Just bear in mind that a) it's no where near done, and b) the faces of many
Superguy Authors appear on it in digital Gif format.  You have been warned.

     Bear in mind that as of this writing, not all the Superguy Digests appear
at either America Online or the fenris site.  But as close to four hundred
Digests *do* appear there, you should have plenty of reading material on-hand.

5)   What are the Superguy Chronicles and how do I get them?

     The Superguy Chronicles are a series of printed hardcopies being developed
by Bill Dickson ("Pickle") and Dominic White ("the Artiste").  They are being
generated Semester by Semester, being cleaned up via Desktop Publishing at its
finest, and being Illustrated by Dominic White (professional Illustrator).  To
find out more about receiving the Superguy Chronicles, send mail to Bill
Dickson at wrd@beer.wa.com.
     Note that there are fees being charged for the Chronicles, but they cover
the cost of printing, binding, and shipping only.  Bill and Dominic do not
receive profit for these Chronicles, and the Chronicles are considered `hard
copies for personal use' and not publications.
     Bill Dickson has declared that as of this time, he will not produce the
general Superguy Chronicles past the third volume, though the others continue
to be available.  He is producing some Superguy Chronicles on specific
storylines, however, as sort of Superguy Novels.  "Yesterday's Hero" (a
Dangerousman story) and "The Trashman Cometh" (volume one of the "Origins"
metaseries in Adjusted League Unimpeachable) are currently being planned, as is
2035, following that series's conclusion.

6)   What are Superguy Trade EtherBacks?

     The Trade EtherBack is the Electronic Superhero world's version of the
Trade Paperback.  They are collections of posts by a single author, usually in
a single series, `bound' together for ease of reading.  They might also include
introductions or essays written by the Author or by others.
     Trade EtherBacks are located via the FTP and Gopher sites mentioned above,
on fenris.dhhalden.no or gopher.dhhalden.no.  When you reach the /Superguy
directory, move one step lower to the 'TEB directory you'll see there.  What
Trade EtherBacks are available will be there.  (Note that the selection is
currently limited, but expected to rise).

7)   Is there a Synopsis or History available for Superguy's history?

     Yes. Gary Olson ("The Swede) updates the History of the Superguy Altiverse
each year, reflecting what is known about history, and posts it in September.
Copies are often available from Gary at other times of the year, though it
might take some time for him to get back to you as there is a lot of material
involved, and Gary isn't being paid, after all.

8)   Is there a comprehensive list of the Heroes, Villains and Supporting Cast
of Superguy?

     No.  There is an ongoing project to develop the Superguy Guide, which
would give such a list, but it is not anywhere near being finished.  Part of
the problem is the massive size and backhistory of the Digests -- the third
version of the History was over fifty-seven pages long.  Another part of the
problem is one of logistics -- the very people who would have to be at the
heart of producing such a guide would also be the ones writing current Superguy
material.  And many of them (justifiably) are more interested in writing new
material than culling names out of old material.
     Still, with luck a bare bones guide will be produced relatively soon.
Bill Dickson ("Pickle") is the coordinator of the project.