The Rolls Ethereal -- Introduction  Search | Add | EditThe Rolls EtherealWeb Edition, Mark IIIIntro last updated 6/1/2006The Rolls are DOWNI've just discovered that the Rolls Ethereal have been massivelyvandalized by a Russian spammer, so I've had to take them offline forthe moment. I'm going to try to recover the data, but I can't makeany guarantees -- it'll depend on the extent of the damage. They'llprobably be down for a while, while I try to figure out an appropriatespam-proofing mechanism -- if anyone knows of a good and easy-to-drop-incaptcha tool written in Perl (or something else like that), pleasewrite to me. Thanks!And a personal note to the Evil Spamming Bastards...Point the first: this site is search-only, twits. That means that itdoesn't get reflected in Google. Which means that all your work(and I see that you've put in a remarkable amount of work) was utterlyand completely wasted.Point the second: I might never have noticed your vandalism of the siteif y'all hadn't gotten greedy. Someone appears to have tried to put in anentry that was so egregiously long that it somehow broke the database. Thatalerted me to the problem, and has led to me going through the entire DBand deleting all the spam entries. Bye, bye.Point the third: the system's going to be moderated when it comes backup, so no spam entry is ever getting into the DB again.Oldest Entries Have Been RemovedAs I've been warning I would do for over a year now, I'vefinally gotten around to a serious expiration pass. All entriesthat have not been touched since before January 1, 2000 havebeen removed. Sorry if this killed any entries that folksconsidered active, but the speed of the Rolls is directlyrelated to how big the database is (it isn't exactly the mostefficient code in the world), and I gave a great deal of noticethat this would happen eventually.As a reminder: you can mark your entry up-to-date by going to theentry. (If you know your entry number, just go to the Edit functionand type it in. If not, do a Search for your first name, find yourentry, and click on the entry number.) Make sure that your data iscorrect. If not, change it and press "Submit Changes". If it's stillfine, just press the "Confirm" button. Either way, the entry will bemarked up to date, and should be fine for the next couple ofyears. If you do this once a year, you shouldn't ever be in dangerof expiring. (My plan is to never expire data that has been markedup-to-date within the past two years.)IntroductionWelcome. This is the introduction to The Rolls Ethereal. It containsgeneral information on what the Rolls are, and how to use them. Thisis the third Web-based version of the Rolls. The changes are mostlycosmetic, but things are now running a little faster, andmore changes will hopefully be on the way.The Rolls are intended to be a sort of "phone book" for SCAdians onthe Net, at least those who are interested in being in it. Anyone whoconsiders themselves SCAdian, and who has some sort ofInternet/Compuserve/Prodigy/whatever access is welcome to send in anentry for inclusion. If you are reading this page electronically onthe Web, you are part of the Net. Please note that I am now requestingthat people not send entries in on behalf of others withoutexplicit permission; there has been some abuse of this in the recentpast, and I have to tighten the rules.If you are new to the Rolls, please read through thisfull document, so that you understand the policies. (Or, if youhaven't read through it in the past few years, take a dig throughit -- the policies and procedures do slowly change over time.)Bookmarking: If you are making a pointer to this page,either as a bookmark or a permanent web link, I recommend usingthe permanent URL:http://www.waks.org/rolls/This URL should work for the indefinite future, even if thephysical host for the Rolls changes.If you want to skip this introduction, the following functionsare available: Search for one or more entries in the Rolls; Add an entry to the Rolls; Edit an entry in the Rolls; Delete an entry from the Rolls. Once upon a time, there was a function to list the entire Rolls. This has been removed, because it was abused by spammers. Sorry; use the search function instead.For more information about all of these functions, read on...What's New 3/25/02: Fixed a bug that was preventing some Mac users from editing their entries. (The edit and delete forms were using the put protocol instead of post, due to an ancient typo.) 6/13/00: Continued the data cleanup; got through the D's. Note that I'm trying to strongly encourage people to put their titles only in the titles field, so that things alphabetize properly. (Got through the E's.) 6/7/00: Moved the Rolls to their new, hopefully-permanent location. Expired all entries that haven't been touched since the beginning of 1997. Tweaked wording in several places, to hopefully make things less confusing. Tweaked the code so that the generated pages all have a link back to the top. Started cleaning up the data: fixed a number of broken entries (esp. alphabetization problems) and deleted a bunch of duplicates. (Got through the C's.)The SCAnetIn case you don't already know about it, the SCA has a substantialpresence on the Net. In particular, there is a large and thrivingdiscussion group, called The Rialto; this is the amalgam of a Usenetnewsgroup and an Internet mailing list. If you have Usenet, check outrec.org.sca. If not, you canreceive the Rialto by writing to sca-request@mc.lcs.mit.edu.Be warned that it can often take a while (upwards of two weeks) forrequests to be processed -- the list managers are only human, and it'sa big list. Also, be aware that the Rialto is very busy;rec.org.sca often has over 100 messages a day, and the mailing list,which is in digest form, often puts out half-a-dozen digests aday. rec.org.sca and sca-request are completely redundant -- if you getone, you should be getting all of the messages on both. Other Ways of Finding PeopleIf you're searching for someone specific, and can't find them here,there are a few other paths open to you. Take a look atthe appropriate question in the SCA Questions List FAQ for moreoptions.Format of the RollsThe format of a typical entry (I use myself as an example), is: 305: Justin du Coeur (mka Mark Waks)Dwells in Barony of Carolingia, East (mka Waltham, MA) Titles & Offices: SSS, OKD, Editor of these Rolls, Secretary to the GCInterests: Games, Dance, Archery, Cooking, SCA History, Autocratting, DemosEmail address: justin@waks.orgHome Page: http://www.waks.org/justin/Last updated: June 4, 2000The first line starts out with a tracking number. This is yournumber in the database, and it is permanent. It is mostly for internaluse in the system, and you don't need to worry about it much. Click onthat number to edit or confirm that entry in the database.Please only edit your own entry, not other peoples'.(Note that the tracking number above doesn't actually do anything, sodon't bother clicking on it.)The first line also has my names, with the Mundane inparentheses. Entries are in alphabetical order by SCA name; thosewith no SCA name are in order by Mundane name at the beginning. Notethat name means name, not titles. If you put your name as"Lord Foobar the Befuddled", you're going to be alphabetized under"L", not "F". Put titles in the Titles & Offices line.The next line is location, again both SCA and Mundane. After thatcomes Titles and Offices, then Interests.Next is email address. This field is required. Note that it isactive -- if you have a Web browser that understands "mailto:" URLs,you can simply click on the email address, and it will prepare tosend a message to that address.Next is home page. If this field exists, it is also active -- youcan simply click on it, and you will go to the specified home page.Finally, there is update date. This reflects the last time yourentry was edited or confirmed. I ask that people please confirm theirentries at least twice a year; confirm your entry by clicking on thetracking number, and pressing the "Confirm" button on the Edit page.The management reserves the right to remove old entries that haven'tbeen confirmed recently. If your update date is shown in boldface,that means that it's old enough to be in danger of being deletedsoon.Finding Entries in the RollsAs of this version, it is now possible to search the Rollsinteractively, and this is the recommended way of finding people. TheSearch screen allows you to search on any of the fields in thedatabase. So, for example, if you were looking for me, and you justremembered that my name was Justin and I liked to dance, you couldspecify "Justin" under SCA Name, and "Dance" under interests, andit would return all of the Justins who like to dance and are listedin the Rolls. (Which includes me.) Or if you are trying to findcontacts in a given town, you could just search on the town namein the Mundane Location field, and it will tell you who is registeredfrom there.All in all, search is quite powerful, and should accomplishmost of your needs. Click here tosearch the Rolls.SCA Home PagesBesides being listed in the Rolls Ethereal, many SCA people andgroups are in a separate Home Page Listing, maintained by Eric Praetzel. This isconveniently organized by geography, and makes an excellentalternative for finding contacts.Adding Entries to the RollsAdding an entry is quite easy: just click here to go to the Add Entry page (but please, read thiswhole section first). Please make sure thatyou are not already in the Rolls first; if you are, and the entryisn't correct, edit the old entry (as described below) instead.Any SCAdian on the Net is entitled to an entry; groups are alsowelcome if they have home pages and email contacts to list.Note that the Add function is rather slow; some browsers give upand return an error before it finishes. This usually does notmean that the function has failed; usually, it is still running whenthe error comes back. The only real error is when you get a page backsaying that the Rolls "seem to be busy"; this means that someone elseis currently using it, and you should try again later. (Yes, it's aquickly-written system, and doesn't deal with multiple users well.)Regardless, always wait ten or fifteen minutes and then checkthe data before you assume that an addition failed; often, you willfind that you were successfully added already.(And please check the list before adding yourself in the first place;many people have simply forgotten adding themselves in the past, andwind up with multiple entries because they add themselves again.)Some comments on the fields: The only information that must be sent for inclusion is an SCA orMundane name, and Net address. All other fields are optional (mostpeople supply them, but for the privacy conscious...) If you don'thave an SCA name yet, but consider yourself a SCAdian, that's fine;just say so, and send an update as soon as you come up with anSCA name; in the meantime, you'll be listed under the Mundane name. Please keep the data short. If you have been in the Society fortwenty years, and have accumulated dozens of titles, you can probablyconsider yourself an honored member of the Order of the Etc. Titles orOffices that you are particularly proud of should be listedfirst, so people notice them. Likewise, be brief with yourInterests. If you are a Jack of All Trades, just say so. Particularinterests should be listed first. Don't make too many assumptions about peoples' knowledge. Even if everyonein the Kingdom of New Oz knows and respects the Order of the Hippo asthe highest award around, it's quite possible that I've never heard ofit, so don't abbreviate it to "OHip" without explaining what thatmeans. If you are including an title (especially an abbreviation) thatis not listed in the award list below, write to me personally and tell me,so I can add it to the list. Mundane location does not mean full street address. It is simplyintended as a general locator, so that people can figure out literallywhere you're coming from. It isn't very obvious on the Net, and noteveryone is proficient in converting SCA geography to Mundane. For the Net address, use a full-fledged Internet address if possible,since that's the standard that everyone is used to. If you're comingfrom, say, Prodigy or Compuserve, please use the Internet version ofyour address. ("M28KJS@prodigy.com" or "20773.2828@compuserve.com", forexample.) Please do not add entries for other people without getting clearadvance permission first. I do track where entries aresubmitted from, and will not hesitate to publically flog andhumiliate people who abuse the system.Editing Entries in the RollsThe recommended way to edit an entry is to find the entry (bysearching or listing the Rolls) and click on its tracking number;this will take you directly to the Edit page. From this page, youcan change the data as you like, or just confirm that the data iscorrect. If you already know the tracking number, you canclick here to enter that numberand edit the corresponding entry.Care and Feeding of Your EntryOnce or twice a year, I am "expiring" old entries, generallythose that haven't been touched for more than two years. Therefore,I recommend updating your entry once every year or so, just so Iknow that you are still around and want the entry. If none of yourinformation has changed, just follow the instructions above forEditing your entry, and click the "Confirm" button. That willupdate the date on your entry, without changing any of the actualdata.Deleting Entries from the RollsIt is now possible to delete entries from the Rolls. I ask thatthis be done with extreme caution; you should onlydelete an entry if you are absolutely certain that it is completelyobsolete (ie, the person either is no longer involved with the SCAat all, or has left the Net completely, or the entry is a duplicate).I am tracking all deletions, and will deal very harshly withany abuses -- I am both capable and willing to cut any site thatabuses this capability from all access to the Rolls, as well as doingwhatever damage I can to your SCA reputation if you delete (or edit)someone's entry without permission. Just Don't.Those warnings said, click hereto delete an entry from the Rolls. You must first know the trackingnumber of the entry; unlike editing, there is deliberately no easyway to go directly from a listing to the delete function.Spam NoticeOnce or twice in the past, people have used the Rolls to spammembers of the SCA. I don't care whether this is well-intentionedor not, don't do it. No, it's not illegal and I can'tprevent you from doing it. But I can and will do everything in mypower to encourage members of the SCA to boycott you andwhatever you're selling, and generally humiliate you as much asI deem appropriate. (We have already driven a couple of vendors offthe Net entirely for this kind of abuse.) Again, don't do it.(By spam, I here mean sending out mail to much or all of theRolls on completely unsolicited subjects. Looking for contactsamong the people who have, say, listed an interest in music isperfectly fine and appropriate. Sending out commercial announcementsor surveys to half the Society is not. It all boils down to: don'tbe a jerk.)If You Have ProblemsThe administrator of the Rolls Ethereal is Justin du Coeur, locatedat justin@waks.org. Send me mail if something goes notably wrong; at this point, the Webinterface should be pretty solid, so I'd like to know aboutany bugs.AccuracyThere are no warranties, express or implied, on this information.Individuals are responsible for the entries they provide.CopyrightSome people on the Usenet are getting a bit picky about this, so let'smake it explicit: The Rolls Ethereal are Public Domain. You may print them, cut themup, remail them, or what have you, freely and with no obligation. (Butagain, don't be a jerk.) Awards and AbbreviationsClick here for a partial listing ofthe awards listed in the Rolls. |
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