1*bd0f8badSThomas Cort# $NetBSD: Notes,v 1.2 1995/03/23 08:28:26 cgd Exp $ 2*bd0f8badSThomas Cort# @(#)Notes 8.1 (Berkeley) 5/31/93 3*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 4*bd0f8badSThomas CortWarning: 5*bd0f8badSThomas Cort The fortunes contained in the fortune database have been collected 6*bd0f8badSThomas Cort haphazardly from a cacophony of sources, in number so huge it 7*bd0f8badSThomas Cort boggles the mind. It is impossible to do any meaningful quality 8*bd0f8badSThomas Cort control on attributions, or lack thereof, or exactness of the quote. 9*bd0f8badSThomas Cort Since this database is not used for profit, and since entire works 10*bd0f8badSThomas Cort are not published, it falls under fair use, as we understand it. 11*bd0f8badSThomas Cort However, if any half-assed idiot decides to make a profit off of 12*bd0f8badSThomas Cort this, they will need to double check it all, and nobody not involved 13*bd0f8badSThomas Cort of such an effort makes any warranty that anything in the database 14*bd0f8badSThomas Cort bears any relation to the real world of literature, law, or other 15*bd0f8badSThomas Cort bizzarrity. 16*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 17*bd0f8badSThomas Cort==> GENERAL INFORMATION 18*bd0f8badSThomas Cort By default, fortune retrieves its fortune files from the directory 19*bd0f8badSThomas Cort/usr/share/games/fortune. A fortune file has two parts: the source file 20*bd0f8badSThomas Cort(which contains the fortunes themselves) and the data file which describes 21*bd0f8badSThomas Cortthe fortunes. The data fil always has the same name as the fortune file 22*bd0f8badSThomas Cortwith the string ".dat" concatenated, i.e. "fort" is the standard fortune 23*bd0f8badSThomas Cortdatabase, and "fort.dat" is the data file which describes it. See 24*bd0f8badSThomas Cortstrfile(8) for more information on creating the data files. 25*bd0f8badSThomas Cort Fortunes are split into potentially offensive and not potentially 26*bd0f8badSThomas Cortoffensive parts. The offensive version of a file has the same name as the 27*bd0f8badSThomas Cortnon-offensive version with "-o" concatenated, i.e. "fort" is the standard 28*bd0f8badSThomas Cortfortune database, and "fort-o" is the standard offensive database. The 29*bd0f8badSThomas Cortfortune program automatically assumes that any file with a name ending in 30*bd0f8badSThomas Cort"-o" is potentially offensive, and should therefore only be displayed if 31*bd0f8badSThomas Cortexplicitly requested, either with the -o option or by specifying a file name 32*bd0f8badSThomas Corton the command line. 33*bd0f8badSThomas Cort Potentially offensive fortune files should NEVER be maintained in 34*bd0f8badSThomas Cortclear text on the system. They are rotated (see caesar(6)) 13 positions. 35*bd0f8badSThomas CortTo create a new, potentially offensive database, use caesar to rotate it, 36*bd0f8badSThomas Cortand then create its data file with the -x option to strfile(8). The fortune 37*bd0f8badSThomas Cortprogram automatically decrypts the text when it prints entries from such 38*bd0f8badSThomas Cortdatabases. 39*bd0f8badSThomas Cort Anything which would not make it onto network prime time programming 40*bd0f8badSThomas Cort(or which would only be broadcast if some discredited kind of guy said it) 41*bd0f8badSThomas CortMUST be in the potentially offensive database. Fortunes containing any 42*bd0f8badSThomas Cortexplicit language (see George Carlin's recent updated list) MUST be in the 43*bd0f8badSThomas Cortpotentially offensive database. Political and religious opinions are often 44*bd0f8badSThomas Cortsequestered in the potentially offensive section as well. Anything which 45*bd0f8badSThomas Cortassumes as a world view blatantly racist, mysogynist (sexist), or homophobic 46*bd0f8badSThomas Cortideas should not be in either, since they are not really funny unless *you* 47*bd0f8badSThomas Cortare racist, mysogynist, or homophobic. 48*bd0f8badSThomas Cort The point of this is that people have should have a reasonable 49*bd0f8badSThomas Cortexpectation that, should they just run "fortune", they will not be offended. 50*bd0f8badSThomas CortWe know that some people take offense at anything, but normal people do have 51*bd0f8badSThomas Cortopinions, too, and have a right not to have their sensibilities offended by 52*bd0f8badSThomas Corta program which is supposed to be entertaining. People who run "fortune 53*bd0f8badSThomas Cort-o" or "fortune -a" are saying, in effect, that they are willing to have 54*bd0f8badSThomas Corttheir sensibilities tweaked. However, they should not have their personal 55*bd0f8badSThomas Cortworth seriously (i.e., not in jest) assaulted. Jokes which depend for their 56*bd0f8badSThomas Corthumor on racist, mysogynist, or homophobic stereotypes *do* seriously 57*bd0f8badSThomas Cortassault individual personal worth, and in an general entertainment medium 58*bd0f8badSThomas Cortwe should be able to get by without it. 59*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 60*bd0f8badSThomas Cort==> FORMATTING 61*bd0f8badSThomas Cort This file describes the format for fortunes in the database. This 62*bd0f8badSThomas Cortis done in detail to make it easier to keep track of things. Any rule given 63*bd0f8badSThomas Corthere may be broken to make a better joke. 64*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 65*bd0f8badSThomas Cort[All examples are indented by one tab stop -- KCRCA] 66*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 67*bd0f8badSThomas CortNumbers should be given in parentheses, e.g., 68*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 69*bd0f8badSThomas Cort (1) Everything depends. 70*bd0f8badSThomas Cort (2) Nothing is always. 71*bd0f8badSThomas Cort (3) Everything is sometimes. 72*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 73*bd0f8badSThomas CortAttributions are two tab stops, followed by two hyphens, followed by a 74*bd0f8badSThomas Cortspace, followed by the attribution, and are *not* preceded by blank 75*bd0f8badSThomas Cortlines. Book, journal, movie, and all other titles are in quotes, e.g., 76*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 77*bd0f8badSThomas Cort $100 invested at 7% interest for 100 years will become $100,000, at 78*bd0f8badSThomas Cort which time it will be worth absolutely nothing. 79*bd0f8badSThomas Cort -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 80*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 81*bd0f8badSThomas CortAttributions which do not fit on one (72 char) line should be continued 82*bd0f8badSThomas Corton a line which lines up below the first text of the attribution, e.g., 83*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 84*bd0f8badSThomas Cort -- A very long attribution which might not fit on one 85*bd0f8badSThomas Cort line, "Ken Arnold's Stupid Sayings" 86*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 87*bd0f8badSThomas CortSingle paragraph fortunes are in left justified (non-indented) paragraphs 88*bd0f8badSThomas Cortunless they fall into another category listed below (see example above). 89*bd0f8badSThomas CortLonger fortunes should also be in left justified paragraphs, but if this 90*bd0f8badSThomas Cortmakes it too long, try indented paragraphs, with indentations of either one 91*bd0f8badSThomas Corttab stop or 5 chars. Indentations of less than 5 are too hard to read. 92*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 93*bd0f8badSThomas CortLaws have the title left justified and capitalized, followed by a colon, 94*bd0f8badSThomas Cortwith all the text of the law itself indented one tab stop, initially 95*bd0f8badSThomas Cortcapitalized, e.g., 96*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 97*bd0f8badSThomas Cort A Law of Computer Programming: 98*bd0f8badSThomas Cort Make it possible for programmers to write in English and 99*bd0f8badSThomas Cort you will find the programmers cannot write in English. 100*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 101*bd0f8badSThomas CortLimericks are indented as follows, all lines capitalized: 102*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 103*bd0f8badSThomas Cort A computer, to print out a fact, 104*bd0f8badSThomas Cort Will divide, multiply, and subtract. 105*bd0f8badSThomas Cort But this output can be 106*bd0f8badSThomas Cort No more than debris, 107*bd0f8badSThomas Cort If the input was short of exact. 108*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 109*bd0f8badSThomas CortAccents precede the letter they are over, e.g., "`^He" for e with a grave 110*bd0f8badSThomas Cortaccent. Underlining is done on a word-by-word basis, with the underlines 111*bd0f8badSThomas Cortpreceding the word, e.g., "__^H^Hhi ____^H^H^H^Hthere". 112*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 113*bd0f8badSThomas CortNo fortune should run beyond 72 characters on a single line without good 114*bd0f8badSThomas Cortjustification (er, no pun intended). And no right margin justification, 115*bd0f8badSThomas Corteither. Sorry. For BSD people, there is a program called "fmt" which can 116*bd0f8badSThomas Cortmake this kind of formatting easier. 117*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 118*bd0f8badSThomas CortDefinitions are given with the word or phrase left justified, followed by 119*bd0f8badSThomas Cortthe part of speech (if appropriate) and a colon. The definition starts 120*bd0f8badSThomas Cortindented by one tab stop, with subsequent lines left justified, e.g., 121*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 122*bd0f8badSThomas Cort Afternoon, n.: 123*bd0f8badSThomas Cort That part of the day we spend worrying about how we wasted 124*bd0f8badSThomas Cort the morning. 125*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 126*bd0f8badSThomas CortQuotes are sometimes put around statements which are funnier or make more 127*bd0f8badSThomas Cortsense if they are understood as being spoken, rather than written, 128*bd0f8badSThomas Cortcommunication, e.g., 129*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 130*bd0f8badSThomas Cort "All my friends and I are crazy. That's the only thing that 131*bd0f8badSThomas Cort keeps us sane." 132*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 133*bd0f8badSThomas CortEllipses are always surrounded by spaces, except when next to punctuation, 134*bd0f8badSThomas Cortand are three dots long. 135*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 136*bd0f8badSThomas Cort "... all the modern inconveniences ..." 137*bd0f8badSThomas Cort -- Mark Twain 138*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 139*bd0f8badSThomas CortHuman initials always have spaces after the periods, e.g, "P. T. Barnum", 140*bd0f8badSThomas Cortnot "P.T. Barnum". However, "P.T.A.", not "P. T. A.". 141*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 142*bd0f8badSThomas CortAll fortunes should be attributed, but if and only if they are original with 143*bd0f8badSThomas Cortsomebody. Many people have said things that are folk sayings (i.e., are 144*bd0f8badSThomas Cortcommon among the folk (i.e., us common slobs)). There is nothing wrong with 145*bd0f8badSThomas Cortthis, of course, but such statements should not be attributed to individuals 146*bd0f8badSThomas Cortwho did not invent them. 147*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 148*bd0f8badSThomas CortHoroscopes should have the sign indented by one tab stop, followed by the 149*bd0f8badSThomas Cortdates of the sign, with the text left justified below it, e.g., 150*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 151*bd0f8badSThomas Cort AQUARIUS (Jan 20 - Feb 18) 152*bd0f8badSThomas Cort You have an inventive mind and are inclined to be progressive. You 153*bd0f8badSThomas Cort lie a great deal. On the other hand, you are inclined to be 154*bd0f8badSThomas Cort careless and impractical, causing you to make the same mistakes over 155*bd0f8badSThomas Cort and over again. People think you are stupid. 156*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 157*bd0f8badSThomas CortSingle quotes should not be used except as quotes within quotes. Not even 158*bd0f8badSThomas Cortsingle quotes masquerading as double quotes are to be used, e.g., don't say 159*bd0f8badSThomas Cort``hi there'' or `hi there' or 'hi there', but "hi there". However, you 160*bd0f8badSThomas Cort*can* say "I said, `hi there'". 161*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 162*bd0f8badSThomas CortA long poem or song can be ordered as follows in order to make it fit on a 163*bd0f8badSThomas Cortscreen (fortunes should be 19 lines or less if at all possible) (numbers 164*bd0f8badSThomas Corthere are stanza numbers): 165*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 166*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 11111111111111111111 167*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 11111111111111111111 168*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 11111111111111111111 22222222222222222222 169*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 11111111111111111111 22222222222222222222 170*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 22222222222222222222 171*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 33333333333333333333 22222222222222222222 172*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 33333333333333333333 173*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 33333333333333333333 44444444444444444444 174*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 33333333333333333333 44444444444444444444 175*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 44444444444444444444 176*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 44444444444444444444 177*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 178*bd0f8badSThomas Cort 179