Tech Assessment: The Superguy Listserver Essay, Research Paper
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Now that the disclaimers are out of the way, let’s get to it.
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Technology Assessment: The _Superguy_ Listserver
By Chris Meadows
MED 355: Cable TV and New Technology
UW PICO(tm) 2.5 File: file Modified
others. It has its problems as well as its advantages, its
strengths as well as its weaknesses. The ways in which it uses
technology for composition and distribution for the most part
contribute to its success, though the areas of storage and
information have room for improvement. However, this improvement
may not be feasible. It remains to be seen exactly how long
_Superguy_ will continue to exist, but prospects would seem to be
good for _Superguy_ to continue for a long, long time to come.
Technology Assessment: The _Superguy_ Listserver
MED 355: Cable TV and New Technology
November 7, 1994
In 1969, when the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA)
created the small computer network that would eventually grow
into the Internet, no one could have guessed what it would
become. From its humble beginning as a tiny military research
network known as ARPAnet, the Internet has increased in volume
exponentially and is now growing at an estimated rate of 15%
every month (Engst & Dickson, _Explorer Kit_ 23).
Along with its size, the applications to which Internet lends
itself have also grown. Formerly intended for sharing somewhat
limited computer resources among researchers across the United
States, the Internet is now a global communication network that
supports thousands of Usenet discussion groups, Internet Relay
Chat talk service, data retrieval systems such as World Wide Web(WWW), Wide Area Information Search (WAIS), and Gopher, FTP file
transfer protocol, Telnet remote access to computers, electronic
mail that can reach hundreds of thousands of people, and many
other functions. Internet has grown from a small military
network into a much larger commercial one.
Many organizations and groups both large and small make
extensive use of the Internet and associated services, for
communication and other purposes. One of these organizations,
and the focus of this technology assessment, is the _Superguy_
Internet listserver.
_Superguy_ is a distribution network that was formed in 1987
to send out humorous collaborative superhero fiction to
subscribers. A similar distribution system for humorous
science-fiction stories (known as SFStory) already existed, and
Chris “Creeper” Wilcox felt it might be fun to create one based
on superheroes (Burns, _Superguy FAQ_).
The concept behind collaborative fiction such as _Superguy_
is that each writer creates a set of characters and chronicles
the adventures of those characters in a series of stories. These
stories are all set in the same world, so that characters in a
story being written by one author may notice and react to events
that another author is describing. Sometimes two or more authors
may work together on a story or on a series of stories, in what
is termed a “crossover.”
Shortly after its beginning, _Superguy_ began to attract
authors and readers. With each new author, the _Superguy_
universe grew and expanded. Against all expectations, the
_Superguy_ listserv has lasted for over seven years and is still
going strong. Says author Bill Dickson, “Considering the influx
of new writers–we’re getting a couple every year–I would say
that it could probably keep going for a good long time, but I
wouldn’t even hazard a guess how long” (personal interview).
As an organization, _Superguy_ consists of two
subgroups–authors and readers–and a distribution network tobring the two together. The number of authors on the list has
remained more or less stable over the last seven years. Many
authors have come and gone, writing from one to several story
installments and then disappearing. However, a core group of
about a dozen authors is responsible for the majority of the
writing, and many of these have been with the list from its
inception.
There is actually no distinct chain of command among the
_Superguy_ authors. None of the writers has any real authority
over any of the others, except where that writer’s own characters
are concerned. However, there are two distinct subgroups of
authors, categorized by seniority.
One subgroup, jokingly referred to as the “Old Farts,” is
made up of those writers who have been with the _Superguy_
listserver for several years. Though they have no real authority
over the newer authors, the opinions and advice of the Old Farts
are valued because of their familiarity with _Superguy_ historyand traditions (Burns, _Superguy FAQ_). The other subgroup is
made up of the newer writers–those who have started in the last
couple of years. It is uncertain at what point a newer author
becomes an Old Fart.
There are few qualifications necessary to become a _Superguy_
author. Anyone who wishes to may submit a story at any time. It
is recommended, however, that would-be authors read enough of the
_Superguy_ archives to understand how best to write in the
setting before they begin (Burns).
The _Superguy_ listserver presently has over 120 subscribed
readers (Olson, personal correspondence). The list of addresses
includes individuals from many nations around the world,
including Australia, Canada, China, Germany, the Netherlands,
South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Additionally, there are an
unknown number of other readers worldwide who read _Superguy_ via
its Usenet echo, bit.listserv.superguy.
_Superguy_’s primary means of distribution is through itsInternet electronic mail listserver, whose address is
superguy@drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu. A listserver’s function is to
distribute electronic mail to all the addresses on its subscriber
list. Thus, when a writer sends a story to the _Superguy_
listserver, that story is then automatically sent to all those
readers and other authors who are subscribers. Anyone who wishes
to may subscribe to the _Superguy_ listserver.
The primary purpose of the _Superguy_ organization is to
distribute stories from the writers to the readers. This serves
the double purpose of providing the writers with a ready audience
and providing the readers with free, entertaining stories.
In theory, _Superguy_ is similar to printed media in some of
these respects. Its episodic format lends itself especially to a
comparison to comic books. However, unlike most comic books,
_Superguy_ is a free publication. Readers do not have to pay to
receive it (except for their normal Internet service providers’
fees), nor are the writers paid for writing it. Furthermore, authors of printed media typically cannot receive the kind of
instant reader response that is possible through the Internet.
However, _Superguy_ does operate under some constraints. In
order to go through the listserver, all _Superguy_ stories must
be in ASCII text format, which means they cannot contain special
formatting characters (such as underlining or italics) or
illustrations. In addition, the stories must be written and sent
in episodic format, as complete stories are far too large for
email distribution. This episodic format can lead to confusion
if a sufficient length of time passes between episodes.
In order to function, _Superguy_ requires three things.
First, a method of distribution for its stories. This need is
served by the _Superguy_ Internet listserver, which is currently
in its third incarnation. Without a way to get the stories from
their authors to the readers, _Superguy_ would not be able to
fulfil its purpose.
Second, _Superguy_ needs to maintain the number of readers ithas, while at the same time continuing attract new ones.
Fortunately, it has had a rather successful track record in this
area, having over 120 known subscribers. If not for the readers,
then _Superguy_ would have no reason for existing.
Third, _Superguy_ must have some means of drawing in new
writers, as well as keeping the ones it has. Each new writer
brings a unique perspective to the _Superguy_ universe, and
without enough authors to write the stories, _Superguy_ could
stagnate and die. While the readers are the ones for whom the
stories are written, it is the authors who keep _Superguy_ going.
The _Superguy_ listserver is an outgrowth of the Internet,
and as such is a very technological entity. The use of this
technology begins with the creative process. Because the stories
will be distributed over a computer network, it is necessary to
use a computer to write the stories themselves. Typically,
_Superguy_ stories are composed on a personal computer or
mainframe word processor and then uploaded to the Internet.
Computers are arguably the most efficient tool for writing.
Using a word processor allows an amount of flexibility in editing
that is far beyond the traditional pen and paper or typewriter
methods of writing, enabling correcting or altering what is being
written with
written material. Using computers in this fashion has typically
worked quite well for _Superguy_.
As soon as the story installment has been written, the next
step is to send it to the readers on the list. This is done by
using electronic mail, or email, to send it to the _Superguy_
listserver. Through the listserver, the story is emailed to
subscribers around the world, arriving in their electronic
mailboxes usually within minutes.
As soon as the mail has been received, subscribers will use
their email programs to read the story. They then have the
option of using electronic mail to reply to it, providing the
author with comments and suggestions concerning his story. Other than the main _Superguy_ listserver, there are two
other, smaller electronic mail listservers, called _Superpen_ and
_Superchat_, that are used for communication among the authors.
This communication typically includes the discussion of upcoming
storylines, plotting, technical matters, and other administrative
business having to do with writing _Superguy_ stories. Unlike
_Superguy_, which is a public listserver, _Superpen_ and
_Superchat_ are private, limited to the authors only (though
_Superchat_ will be opened to all readers who wish to subscribe
as soon as its administrator decides that it is ready).
The electronic mail systems Superguy uses have thus far
worked quite well and efficiently. Using email, it is possible
to send a message rapidly, effectively, to one person or to many
people, and be reasonably certain that they will receive it.
This swift form of communication allows for much greater
productivity, both in planning stories and in sending them out.
Printed media is excruciatingly slow in comparison.
Another means of distribution for _Superguy_, beyond the
listserv, is Netnews, also known as Usenet News. Netnews stores
items on a remote site rather than in the user’s own directory,
which allows the reader to take a look at this material without
risk of having his electronic mail queue fill up with it.
The _Superguy_ listserv is echoed to a Usenet newsgroup,
bit.listserv.superguy. This means that all of the stories which
are sent through _Superguy_ also become available on this
newsgroup. This increases the listserv’s potential audience by
allowing people who cannot or do not wish to subscribe to the
listserver to read _Superguy_ via netnews.
However, the newsgroup bit.listserv.superguy has a relatively
small circulation–that is, it is not widely available.
Therefore, in the hope of attracting more readers, selected
_Superguy_ stories are reposted to the newsgroup
rec.arts.comics.creative. This newsgroup, like the _Superguy_
listserv, exists for the purpose of distributing humoroussuperhero fiction. Unlike _Superguy_, however, it has no single
setting and no email counterpart. Because there are many more
non-_Superguy_ stories posted here than _Superguy_ stories, it is
uncertain how effective this is for bringing in new readers.
Over the last seven years of writing, _Superguy_ has built up
a huge history, inclusive of around 30 megabytes’ worth of
stories. All this back-story can be quite confusing to new
readers. For this reason, _Superguy_’s complete archives have
been made available for transfer through the information
retrieval protocols known as Gopher and FTP.
Gopher, so called because it allows one to “go fer” files, is
a program developed by the University of Minnesota to allow
searching for and obtaining information through a system of
menus. The information is downloaded to local memory and
displayed on the user’s screen. Gopher features a search
protocol known as Veronica.
FTP, which stands for File Transfer Protocol, is anothermethod of obtaining information. However, this information is
downloaded directly to the user’s disk rather than being
displayed on the user’s screen, and so can be examined later.
FTP’s search protocol is called Archie and is not as
user-friendly as Veronica.
_Superguy_’s archives are stored at a site in Norway,
addressed gopher.dhhalden.no for Gopher access, or
fenris.dhhalden.no for FTP. The files are arranged in “digest”
form, in chronologically-sorted groups of five to ten story
installments each, and index files are located in the same
directory. Also in this directory is the _History of the
Superguy Altiverse_, a synopsized version of Superguy’s history
to date, and a directory containing _Superguy_ “Trade
Ether-Backs” (TEBs), collections of episodes that, together, make
up an entire story. These TEBs can be quite useful for readers
who wish to understand how _Superguy_ works.
Another _Superguy_ reference source is the _Superguy HomePage_ on the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web is an
information storage medium that allows the display, on some
computers, of different fonts of text and graphic images. In
some respects it is similar to Gopher, except that it is not
limited to displaying menus. Certain words in the document are
highlighted, and selecting them with the cursor will lead to
other documents.
The _Superguy Home Page_ contains primarily reference
material pertaining to stories in the _Superguy_ universe.
Included are profiles of some of the major heroes and villains,
authors, and series, as well as the _Superguy Frequently-Asked
Questions List_ (FAQ for short), which is intended to respond to
any questions new readers might have about the _Superguy_
listserv; the _History of the Superguy Altiverse_ file; and links
to the archives on Gopher and to the bit.listserv.superguy
newsgroup. This material also includes pictures (which some
computers are not capable of displaying). The _Home Page_ is agood technological innovation for those people who are able to
use it, but the necessary tools to gain access to the World Wide
Web are not present on all sites, and some users do not even know
what the World Wide Web is.
The availability of these archives and reference materials
enables new readers to learn the history of _Superguy_ up to the
present day, and get a feel for the setting and the characters.
It is a valuable resource, except that the means in which the
files are stored makes referring to them somewhat difficult. The
files are not sorted except chronologically, meaning that all the
different stories are mixed in together, in the order in which
they were sent out. Even with the indexing which is included on
the site, picking out individual episodes can be time-consuming.
Possible ways to fix this problem might include converting
the _Superguy_ archives to a format compatible with WWW, for
inclusion on the _Superguy Home Page_. However, this is actually
impractical, for such conversion requires a great deal of time and effort, and to convert 30 megabytes of text files is a
next-to-impossible task. Even converting a few storylines would
be too great of a task to be attempted lightly.
Another solution might be to collect more storylines into
trade ether-backs. TEBs contain complete stories and eliminate
much of the time involved in searching through the index files.
By making it easier for new readers to read these stories, it
becomes more likely that those readers will be interested enough
to become regular _Superguy_ subscribers. This seems like a more
feasible idea, but whether it will actually happen is uncertain;
many of the authors do not seem to have the time or inclination
to put trade ether-backs together.
Another problem with _Superguy_ is that the Frequently-Asked
Questions list is distributed only twice per year, and is not
currently available from any source save the _Home Page_. This
limited availability tends to defeat the purpose of a
Frequently-Asked Questions list, which is to provide answers toquestions that frequently come up and thus prevent those
questions from being asked of people on the _Superguy_ list.
These questions can hardly be answered by an absent FAQ.
An obvious solution would be to post the FAQ lists more than
twice per year. However, this is not actually feasible, due to
the size of the FAQs. Because of their comprehensive nature,
they are rather large and unwieldy. To post them more often
would be to put an unnecessary strain on net resources.
Another, better possibility would be to create a mini-FAQ
containing pertinent details about _Superguy_ and information on
where to find the FAQ, and send that out more frequently. If the
FAQ were made available via FTP or Gopher, this would also
increase the ease with which people could obtain it. This would
be a somewhat more practical solution to that problem.
A final Internet resource used by _Superguy_ authors is
Internet Relay Chat (IRC). Internet Relay Chat allows Internet
users to “talk” directly with other Internet users, one on one or
in a discussion with twenty people or more, by typing commands
into a keyboard. The ability to communicate within seconds is
quite valuable for plotting and coordinating storylines in which
two or more authors collaborate. Its only real disadvantage is
that messages are sometimes prone to being delayed for several
minutes or cut off entirely. In addition, there is no guarantee
that any particular individual will be on IRC at a given time.
Despite these shortcomings, Internet Relay Chat works
exceedingly well for the purpose to which _Superguy_ authors put
it–story plotting, discussion, or idle chatting among friends.
IRC helps authors make more efficient use of their time.
The _Superguy_ listserver is an organization like many
others. It has its problems as well as its advantages, its
strengths as well as its weaknesses. The ways in which it uses
technology for composition and distribution for the most part
contribute to its success, though the areas of storage and
information have room for improvement. However, this improvementmay not be feasible. It remains to be seen exactly how long
_Superguy_ will continue to exist, but prospects would seem to be
good for _Superguy_ to continue for a long, long time to come.