Email about the Avatar Book and concepts with author

Date: March 18, 1997
From Mark R (helper guy)
To Peter Small - Author of the Web Avatar Project

Hi Peter,

All along one of my biggest pushes for you have been to "write some example, real-world avatars." In a selfish way, I've got some needs for them now. But I was thinking that the avatars would be good end of book example cases. I said you should start working on the end of book now, getting an income, and getting those all-important examples working, filtering, generating results. The examples are going to take time.

You seemed to want to delay avatar creation.

Well, after seeing these reviews -- I think my original ideas were on the money. I should speak it even louder. You need to give Avatar Examples (specific case studies with big results) right away before anything else. Do the book in reverse order. All the philosophy, A-Life examples and wonderful things you've already expressed need to be headed to the back of the book.

This is a how to book. Even better, learn how the sport surf network put avatars to work on its web site and became the #1 web-site in the world.

NEW BOOK OUTLINE:

1. This is me and my "client". (who)
2. Here is what we did:
3. Here is what could be done in general for your business.
4. Here is how we did it:
5. Here is why we did it:
6. Back of book timeline (when)

7. Here is why you too will be faced with avatars today and tomorrow. (your book goes here)
8. Prepare yourself so you can sell these ideas to your organization.

Peter asked:
I now appeal to you for you help in getting this book across. Where am I >going wrong? Where do I go from here?
Examples: Working Models. Prove it from the get go. You gotta put the cart before the horse. The good get delivered - and it is easy to see that the goods are good. Put some avatars right into their faces from the get-go. Then, you can put chapter 1 as chapter 10 (nine examples later). Proof of what I'm thinking is found in the reviewers notes:

>without a strong endorsement from people more expert in the field than I am, I cannot pursue this book.
Have them endorse the avatar or the agent. Not the concept of the avatar book.

> I need books that are cutting edge, yes, but also books with a clear purpose, tight focus, and solid grounding in available technology.
Clear purpose! - this pathway for this avatar is x --> y --> Z. Very clear. Very focused. Very tight. The grounding is solid in a commercial endeavor.

>I could find no interesting technical insights
The technical insights are right in the example avatars. Put the avatars and agents in there first and then you have interesting technical insights.

> I think the majority will be broadly interested in the techniques and applications,
Let's do a book on the interesting techniques and applications that you applied to Sport Surf.

>In my experience people buy technology books to understand technology on a high level (business managers), or to solve technical problems on a detailed level.
Give the readers the - solved problems on technical level first - I did X, Y, Z with sport surf - . Then give them the high level business manager for the later part as to the wave of the future.

>This book doesn't state what it will help you achieve.
The Sport Surf site is going to jump from nothingness to greatness with avatars. Your site can do the same. Let's make a fairy tale come true and then people will know it is not a fairy-tale any longer.

---

Nuff said on that.

Now what. I think I need to give you a better tour as to what I have in mind with my mega site and my plans.

There are areas in my plan where I can see you playing a key role. I visualize this whole operation. How to share all of these ideas (mine and yours) is another matter that would best be solved with a face to face visit of a few days.

How are your frequent flyer miles? Can you come to Pittsburgh, PA, USA?

---

Things to still talk about:
• Peter building a list of lists
• Peter building the list avatars for Sport Surf.

Take care.

Mark Rauterkus mrauterkus@pittsburgh.net

Reviews of avatar book

Subject:     Reviews of avatar book
Received:    3/18/97 10:10 AM
From:        Peter Small, peter@genps.demon.co.uk

Avatar book reviewers,

Being an author is not the fun life everyone would believe.  Below are some
of the comments from a rejection slip I have just received from one of the
publishers I've been talking to. The comments are not untypical as I have
received many similar comments in the feedback I have received from many of
you.

Fortunately, I've also had a whole batch of complimentary posts which have
stopped me dragging everything I've written over to the trash can and
starting again.

However, it does indicate that the way I am explaining this avatar stuff
just isn't getting through to a lot of people, so, I need your help in
trying to find a way to do it more successfully .

What I am writing about is the implications of a technology which is only
just starting to come on stream - the protocol engines which allow
documents to communicate over the Internet.

Allegiant have started this all off with Marionet. Director 6 is coming out
in June with a whole lot of Web tools which will achieve a similar effect.
SuperCard and HyperCard are soon to be brought out as cross platform
multimedia authoring packages which will have similar Internet
communication tools built into their players. The burning question now is
how to use them.

They is going to make a large difference to the way the Web will be used
and the point is that this is not some "airy fairy" idea for the future,
but, is going to happen within a few months.

The second important issue is that the ability of applications and
documents to communicate with each other opens up a completely new way to
think about and apply communication techniques and information processing.

This is no bull-shit theoretical stuff - it is a real need for an eminently
practical way to think about and design new applications and services for
the Internet. The only problem is that it involves a novel and, to most
people, unfamiliar mind set - namely object oriented thinking.

Understanding this stuff is about conceptualizations and mental modeling
and *cannot* be taught using conventional step by step instructions. This
presents a huge problem as to how to explain it. Do not be confused by the
CC+ use of object oriented programming. Although similar, this conception
of OOPS is mostly applied in top down situations and is quite different
from the bottom up approach needed for the design of Internet stuff.

One way to describe OO thinking, would be to explain the construction of a
complex interactive working model as a proof of concept. The only problem
with this approach is that it would involve masses of technical code and it
would bore most readers to death before they ever got around to getting the
gist of it.

The alternative is to use metaphors. However, the ephemeral nature of the
concepts needed to explain OO requires the use of metaphors which appear
completely unrelated to any practical application.

The use of biological metaphors is, to my mind, apt for this new Internet
technology. Biologists are now getting around to thinking of cells and
biological mechanisms (even life itself) in terms of information transfer.

Those of you who have read "Lingo Sorcery" will be aware of the way in
which complex applications can be constructed from interacting software
objects. Those who have read "How God Makes God" will be aware of the way
in which complex mechanisms of life can evolve from very simple interacting
"objects" which evolve from the mixing of elements in a gene pool.

The point is, this book I am working on is not about some fanciful theories
which I have dreamed up by myself. It is about applying a practical
conceptual framework to the Internet which calls upon recent developments
in a whole number of related areas of science.

Evolutionary biology, medical research into drugs and theories about the
nature of life have changed dramatically over the past five years. These
new ideas and methods are only just beginning to filter through. It is the
application of these new idea to the Internet which I am trying to explain
in this book.

Unfortunately, many older unsuccessful ideas get in the way. In particular
I refer to the concepts of "life" and "intelligence". Up until fairly
recently, MIT have been seen as the leaders in these fields with their huge
research into Artificial Intelligence (AI). This has not produced the
expected breakthroughs or practical applications. It has now been
superseded by the concept of artificial life - or "A-Life" as it is
commonly known as - where the creative center is at the Santa Fe Institute.

A few years ago, all of this A-Life stuff was pooh-poohed as irrelevant
nonsense by the AI world. Now it is providing the answers and breakthroughs
which AI so dismally failed to do (BTW An excellent primer and background
to all this A-Life research is Steven Levy's book "Artificial Life" Penguin
Science ISBN  0-14-023105-6).

I now appeal to you for you help in getting this book across. Where am I
going wrong? Where do I go from here?

I am now working on a third chapter where I am going to try to bring out
the biological metaphor more strongly, give a more accessible explanation
of the object oriented concept and define the principle of "intelligence"
as it applies to avatars and software objects.

I shall also be arranging with a number of universities and private Web
site owners to set up ftp sites for biotelemorphic cells and will be
arranging a list serve to allow the exchange of programming documents as
described in chapter 2 (if any person or group would like to come in on
this please let me know).

In case any one asks, I shall not be getting onto the direct Internet
communication of cells using protocol engines until later in the book.
There is a lot of interesting stuff to cover before this which would be
overly complicated by bringing in Internet communication too early.

Please, I need your help and feedback on this. Take a look below at the
excerpts from my recent publisher's reject slip and see what attitudes I
have to contend with.

Regards

Peter

-----------

The Avatar book can now be read on the Web at:

USA

http://192.41.36.58/avatars/Index.htm

UK

http://www.obsolete.com/dug


-----------------------------------------------

Below are snippets of the rejection slip I have just received from a
publisher. You may well agree with the comments.



Peter,

The reviews are in, and I'm afraid I will not be able to offer you a
contract on "Web Avatars". Of the three reviewers and myself, I believe that
my enthusiasm for the project is the highest, but without a strong
endorsement from people more expert in the field than I am, I cannot pursue
this book. I tried, as I do on every proposal, to get a team of reviewers at
least as qualified as the author. The three reviewers on your proposal have
impecable credentials: one is an expert on virtual communities, one was part
of the original CERN-NCSA-industry coalition that created the Web, and one
is a Web master for a major online search engine. I have included their
reviews below; you will see that they range from disgusted to luke warm.



I am at liberty to take risks, much more
than editors at larger publishing houses. But in terms of image, I cannot
afford risks. Our first few books in this area will determine how customers
and future authors perceive us. I need books that are cutting edge, yes, but
also books with a clear purpose, tight focus, and solid grounding in
available technology. Your book may evolve to meet those standards, but it
does not meet them yet.





Review One:
---------------------------------
>Well, I think it's bullshit.  I could find no interesting technical
>insights in the "Web Avatars" material.  Apparently the guy has
>written an interesting book on Lingo tips, and now has "second-system
>syndrome": he feels his next book should be some great vessel of wit
>and wisdom.
>



Review Two:
---------------------------------

>The audience these days is pretty large. I think the majority will be
>broadly interested in the techniques and applications, but not to the
>depth of a book.
>
>After reading of the proposal, it's on-line comments, and chapter 1,
>I believe that only digital media people, with an interest in the Web,
>and, at a push, online comunity people are going to be sufficiently
>intrigued and excited.


>I feel the main use of the metaphors is to attach questionable validity
>to the author's models and claims. Some of them are contrived, some
>distract from the topic and make it appear complicated.



>There is no clear purpose. In my experience people buy technology books
>to understand technology on a high level (business managers), or to solve
>technical problems on a detailed level. This book doesn't state what it
>will help you achieve. Worse, it talks about its techniques as the new
>True Way, to be embraced by everyone. The Internet doesn't work that way.
>I don't have time to invest my attention into a fairytale.
>



>>The author makes use of philosophical parallels. Is this helpful.
>
>They [philosophical parallels] suffer from similar problems as the
>metaphors -- they distract, they
>complicate, and worse, the have an attitude: "I have enreached enlightenment,
>if you can understand this subject and agree with me you are also a cool dude,
>otherwise your brain must simply be missing something". Give me a break.
>
>I find language like "it does not take long to realise",
>"triggered some form of enlightenment", and
>"perhaps you have already clicked on"
>condencening.
>
>Also, there are always limits to anything. Describing the limits to
>your approach is helpful, and shows a deeper understanding. The material
>I have reviewed is positioned as limitless, with a holy ring to it.
>But there is no philosophy involved. You need not be a guru to think this up
>or understand it. It is not "life". It is not a standard. It is limited.
>It is not cross-platform. It is not language independent. Security/privacy
>issues are not addresses. Efficiency and performance is not addressed.
>This does not instill me with great confidence.
>
>
>Finally I'm not that impressed with the author's writing. Of course it has
>not gone through editorial control, but some of the language just doesn't
>flow very well. My own spelling skills are not the best (as a non-native
>speaker), but I am pretty attentive when it comes to parsing sentence
>constructions on paper (maybe because I'm a non-native speaker).



>
>In summary, thumbs down, some salvageable material, eccentric/dubious author.
>

Review Three:
---------------------------------



>However, the general population
>of Web professionals is highly unlikely, in the beginning of
>something this new and technically difficult, to purchase
>this text.



>This reviewer would not initially purchase a text of this
>type. With limited resources, proven, existing tools are
>preferred. Eventually, if "Web Avatars" prove fruitful, a
>purchase of this text would be likely.
>

---

Reactions from Mark Rauterkus and reply to Peter. The letter is titled, the cart goes before the horse.

Name Spectrum Standard, part 1

Name Spectrum Standards

The community email lists, web pages and MajorDomo services in operation at SportSurf.Net utilize a spectrum of names to help organize your mailbox, clarify topics areas and customize content interests. With so many lists and such a wide audience, please become familiar with the name spectrum standards.

This tutorial is available via email auto-reply message and PDF.

Name Spectrum Standard: A Cornerstone

This tutorial details one aspect of our services. Mastering this network includes an awareness of this name-spectrum standard, as well as: swelling, stimulating, splintering and sub-hosting.

1. The Name Spectrum Standard: (below) Three-part naming structure of Prefix-Topic-Suffix
2. Swelling: Starting and growing a subscriber and scratch for subscribers on the way to a viable virtual community
3. Stimulating: Injecting ideas and discussions so the load of conversation is spread among other services
4. Splintering: Swells splinter into splashes of various topic areas for various populations
5. Sub-Hosting: Special interest groups for various locations can ride aboard this server's sub-hosting bandwagon

Name Spectrum Standard: three-part identification

The name spectrum uses a three-part naming structure with Prefix + Topic + Suffix. Hyphens, not plus signs, join the three words into one. The hyphen is on the top row of the keyboard between the zero and the equal sign. For example, the first list ever hosted at SportSurf.Net was the Better-Swim-List.

A combination of more than 50 words are used with the various names. This identification system can confuse new users at first. Once people become aware, the names help to better understand, grow and navigate our virtual communities.

Various names, much like part numbers, are used to better identify, locate and describe things. For example, the term of "football-player" can come to represent number of various things to different people in different places. These names help to ground the conversations in shared meanings with various spaces and times. Specializations are important, as is shared understandings. Within the spectrum of names, the middle word describes a specific topic. Obviously, to talk about swimming, go to a list with "swim" in its title. Then check to see if your understanding of swimming matches that found in the info and intro documents you'll get as a process of your subscription welcome.

Behavior ramifications, both implied and expressed, become a secondary purpose for this name-spectrum formula. Public email messages should blend with one's expectations and fit within appropriate settings. Behaviors differ at scientific seminars, honor banquets, marketplaces and competitive events.

For example, you'll find that it is okay to blab about one's new commercial invention with postings to better-swim-noise. However, blabbing about commercial products isn't a good idea unless you've got some new supporting research data to back-up your claims when posts go to better-swim-peer.

Smorgasbord of the Various Names within the Name Spectrum Standards

Some of the names used here are obvious. Others are not. Bluff lists are about geographical locations. Local lists are about body-parts. Look stands for futurists. Peer comes to represent scientific peer-review.

1. Prefix
2. Topic
3. Suffix
4. Subject-line Prefix
5. Family Strata

---

Spectrum words in no particular order.

Noise	Hype	Chat	Folks	Lime	Globe	Talk
List	Peer	Forum	Course	Sum	Announce	Aid
Digest	Dig	Study	Peeks	Pride	Trips	Tours
Stretch	HQ	Test	ABCs	Devs	Hurt	Injury
Rehab	Peek	Case	Peer	Honor	Gateway	Synk
Score	Swell	Pros	Meca	Look	Tykes	TitleTs
Midas	L2k:	Splash:	News:	Schools

---

Prefix Spectrum Names Include:

Subject-Line Prefix Include:

L2k:

Splash:

News:

Topic Terms Include:

Suffix Terms Include:

Subject-line Prefix

Sports-Specific Suffix Spectrum:

Sphere of Mostly Water Suffix Spectrum

Sphere of Proving Ground Spectrum

Sacks of Mostly Water Suffix Family

TitleTs

* Key: Read Only In-house use for moderators/volunteers

---

Prefix Keywords

The prefix part of the name helps to group lists in various target groups. For example, all the competitive sports lists with a focus of self-improvement and performance have the prefix, "Better".

Prefix keywords in use include:

• Better, covers competitive sports, self-improvement, higher performance
• Bluff, covers geographical destinations
• Elsewhere, covers topics not dealt within SportSurf.Net - and perhaps ANTI overviews too
• Inside, covers SportSurf.Net insider and agent news
• Local, covers body-parts
• Look, covers lookout and future
• Midas, covers finances, greed, money, professional-sports, poverty issues too
• Prove, covers technology-related topics of the Proving Ground

Topic Keywords

The middle word in the name spectrum deal with the central topic, activity or location. With so many keywords and a growing list, don't expect to see all the topics listed here. However, the best way to get a look at the listing is to visit our MajorCool Interface.

Sports Keywords

In time, nearly every sports, health, fitness topic is going to be covered.

Elsewhere Keywords:

• Tickets
• Steroids
• Tobacco
• Gambling
• Drugs
• Hunting
• Motorized
• Animalistic
• Fishing
• Celebrity
• Flaming

  Suffix Keywords

  Suffix keywords are utilized in the name spectrum for easy identification of content-flavors and list-policies. The suffix keywords come in a few different families. Each suffix family has an associated string of siblings.
  Suffix Families:
  • Sport-Specific (and Technology-Specific) Suffix String
  • Spheres of Mostly Water Suffix String
  • Sacks of Mostly Water Suffix Strings/UL>

    Specific Suffix Strings

    Noise - Hype - Chat - Folks - Lime - Tykes - Globe - Swap - Dealers - Talk - List - Peer - Sum - Announce - Dig - Digest - Dust - Gate - Aid

    Example:
    Email your messages to: Specific_Topic-Noise@sportsurf.net

    Key:

    Noise
    Okay for advertisers, sponsors, commercial content, sorta-off-topic posts. Boasting, "sky-is-falling" posts, and in-depth-personal insights of the $.02 and $.03 varieties are tolerated. If something screams, "Eeeks" -- it should be on noise.

    Chat
    Informal talk and wondering around the topic areas are okay. Younger-participants go here!

    Hype
    Messages for the masses. Sports leaders often wonder about how to bring their games and athletes to a wider audience. Often rule changes need to occur, but those drastic measure can upset the traditions. Another option is to bring the masses to the games and not the game to the masses. My sport is better that that hype is fair grounds here too. Plus, all the PSA (public service announcements) take root here.

    Folks
    Personal introductions, welcome messages. The postings to folks must follow the rigid guidelines. See the info files. Any and all follow-ups to the introductions at Folks go to that person and not to any list. The introductions help build community and provide insights and all the people in these discussions. Everyone can posts introductions from scientist to volunteer to youthful athletes.

    Lime: i.e., Limelight
    Headlines, breaking news, covering those people, events, and happenings in the limelight, media and analysis.

    Globe: i.e., Global/International/Multi-Lingual
    Non-English posts are welcomed here.

    Swap
    Person to person swaps, trades, barters concerning sport-specific goods, services and equipment.

    Dealers
    Shop owners, institutional equipment providers, inventors, dealers, manufactures, trade-show coordinators, sales reps, sponsors, publishers, import/exporters, bulk-specials mentions are all welcomed.

    Talk
    Suited to serious posts, more advanced knowledge base, only on-topic tips/hints

    List
    Often owned by closed organizations or must join "club" with FAQ guidelines

    Peer: i.e., Peer Review
    Most academic, high-minded, science supported facts desired

    Sum: i.e., Summary
    FAQs, summary posts, significant follow-ups where information is synthesized from a few different sources

    Announce
    Moderated. Includes news releases. Read only.

    Dig
    Dig is an informal digest. Batches of posts sent out in one larger mail message in a digest format for the more informal siblings. Read only.

    Digest
    Batches of posts sent out in one larger mail message in a digest format for the more formal siblings. Read only.

    Dust
    Dust in short for digital dust. The pack-rat subscribers get all the posts to all the lists in the family in an individual fashion with one "subscription" message. Read only.

    to the dust lists get individual posts as they occur to this family in an individual sent out in one larger mail message in a digest format. Read only.

    Gate
    Gate stands for gateways(s). A gate is like a meta lists, Gate lists are often best-of lists hosted at other locations on the net. Mirrored lists can converge on a meta lists at SportSurf.Net. Even usenet discussions can be gatewayed to these lists. Read only.

    
    

    Aid: i.e., List Lifeguards & Volunteers
    For the worker-bees, volunteers, early-adopters, giving netizens, list-lifeguards, staff, and others who have expressed a desire to assist with the operations and discussions at SportSurf.Net. This is NOT a help list, rather it is a list for helpers.

    ---

    Sphere of Mostly Water Suffix Tips

    The subscriptions in this section utilize the following suffix plan. For further information visit the tutorial on the SportSurf.Net's Name Spectrum Standard.
    Study - Peeks - Pride - Trips - Tours - Stretch - HQ - Test - Dig - Digest - Aid

    ---

    Suffix Key for Bluffs -- Center of the Universe Family

    Study
    Suited to school studies, pen-pals, language exploration, easy research. Posts from abroad are welcomed here. Noisy school-yard study stuff tolerated.

    Peeks
    On and off-topic tips, hints, insights. Commercials need to be about sports and localized! Digital landscape posts welcomed too. Pointers to politics, weather, cutlure, industry, entertainment and such must be very brief.

    Pride
    Culture, Sports, teams, leagues, professionals, updates, news. Positive first-person accounts are fine.

    Trips
    For those planning individual and small group travel, and locals who might like to offer suggestions.

    Tours
    Suited for those with advanced travel plans and group travel. All-star matches, training trips, etc.

    Stretch
    Strictly business, high-class travel talk that is suited for those with gold-card credit, corporate limo expectations, cyber-hook-up requirements, and high-performance fact-of-life mentalities.

    HQ
    Designed for the national and state sports authorities, Olympic Committee folks, scholastic sports organizers. Calling for tryouts, team directors, regional coordination.

    Test
    All things about TEST Matches, any sport. In test matches the teams are most often fielded from different countries.

    Dig
    The Digest format for the more infomal lists in this family. Included: Study - Peeks - Pride - Trips.

    Digest
    The digest format for the more formal lists in this family. Includes: Tours - HQ - Test.

    Aid: i.e., List Lifeguards & Volunteers
    For the worker-bees, volunteers, early-adopters, giving netizens, list-lifeguards, staff, and others who have expressed a desire to assist with the operations and discussions at SportSurf.Net. This is NOT a help list, rather it is a list for helpers. English only.

    Additional digests for regions are expected later.

    Sacs of Mostly Water Suffix Family

    Hurt - Injury - Rehab - Case - Peer - Digest - Aid

    Example:
    Email your messages to: Specific_Topic-Noise@sportsurf.net

    Key:

    Hurt
    Okay for advertisers, sponsors, commercial content, noise, sorta-off-topic posts. Boasting, "sky-is-falling" posts, and in-depth-personal insights of the $.02 and $.03 varieties are tolerated. If something screams, "Eeeks" -- it should be on hurt. Also the place for folks, limelight, meta, global, talk-like posts.

    Injury
    Formal talk and wondering around the topic areas are okay. Hangout for trainers, coaches, those with new injuries. Suited to serious posts, more advanced knowledge base, only on-topic tips/hints/help.

    Rehab
    Clinicians, injured athletes, long-term motivations and progress reports are okay.

    Case
    Formal case study presentations, poster-type sessions. Dedicated mainly to college students, continuing eductation, clinicians, coaches.

    Peer: i.e., Peer Review
    Most academic, high-minded, science supported facts desired.

    Digest
    Batches of posts sent out in one larger mail message in a digest format for all the siblings. Read only.

    Aid: i.e., List Lifeguards & Volunteers
    For the worker-bees, volunteers, early-adopters, giving netizens, list-lifeguards, staff, and others who have expressed a desire to assist with the operations and discussions at SportSurf.Net. This is NOT a help list, rather it is a list for helpers.

    Additional digests for regions of the body may be started later, such as upper-body, lower-body.

    For Future Standards:

    Needs41: i.e., Needs for one

    Needs postings for one person, most often for yourself. Includes swaps.

    Needs4org: i.e., Needs for organization

    Needs postings for an organization, group, team, league, school. Obviously more than one person.

    ABCs

    Basics, Newbies, Elementary Questions.

    ABCs areas are support forums that are for the K-12 market. Experts and productive users can join to answer questions from children and inexperienced users. In time enough well rounded kids can come to answer all questions being posted (they like to show off what they know). More appealing to schools, the ABCs areas are support list there specifically for schools and newbies.

    Sorry

    Sorry Sports. More news to come.

    Givers

    Give it up here. More news to come.

    Takers

    Log in here. Component with Givers. More news to come.

    Forum

    Forums can be for classroom use, and even for distance learning. More news to come.

    ---

    Gateway Lists

    Gate lists, gateways, and meta lists are coming. Meta lists are cool. However, no further information on meta lists, their policies and operations are going to be posted here at this time.

    Deployment

    Various services are being rolled out this month. However, openings are expected to continue for some time into the future. The fluid creation process means that some lists are open but inactive. You are encouraged to submit your subscription but don't be surprised to find little or no mail at this time.

    Suggestions Welcomed

    If you have a way to improve upon our name spectrum standard, or the explanation of this standard, please send email to: list-mom@sportsurf.net.

    Still Confused?

    Email your messages to: Feeder@sportsurf.net
    People operate a help-desk at the feeder address. If you are confused, send the message to that address, and the message gets reviewed, altered slightly if needed, and posted to suitable locations on the net. The feeder is a great place to go if you are unsure of things and if you don't want to make a goof with your email.

    A Tip on CAPS and lower-case typing

    Capitalizations and lower-case letters are not a factor with Majordomo. The webmaster types "Better-Swim-List" for easy reading, but all of the following names work the same way: BETTER-SWIM-LIST; better-swim-list; or even bETTER-sWIM-lisT. When you send in your email to majordomo, you can use either caps or lower-case typing for the both address and the command. Of course, the hyphen between words is a hyphen and not an underline.

    Just so you know, the CAPS and lower-case letters are very important when it comes to URLs (such as http://www.sportsurf.net/PROVING). The domain name part is not case sensitive, but everything after "net" must be typed with the correct case. The domain here is SportSurf.Net, but you can type the domain with or without capitals. In the example within this paragraph, the word "PROVING" needs to be in capital letters. Other servers may or may not be case-sensitive. On this server, typing "www" is optional.

Partnerships with other publishers. Plans from SSS.

This plan was a big effort with the SSS. Sales reps were hired. Then this 50+ business plan went out via the mail. The other publishers were contacted based upon past interactions. Dozens of publishers came to consider the plans. 

All in all, the economic business conditions for sales to independent book stores were headed south. Bookstores were going out of business more and more. Printing costs spiked too. 

I was doing Amazon before Amazon was doing Amazon, sorta. The internet was just starting to get into gear. I had SportsReader.com, SportSurf.Net and Sandlot.com, among some other domains. FreeTeam.org too.