alt.quotations: FAQ -- the Short Version

This is a much-shortened version of the original 36-page FAQ dated Feb'95.
I have edited it to four pages. I have left in some of the quotations
the original authors used as illustrations. I still have the original,
and will email it to anyone who wishes to see what was taken out. --dck

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Original-author: (Jonathan Monsarrat)
Maintainers: (Sir Hans) and (Jason Newquist)
Last-change: 1995.02.22 by (Sir Hans)
[to the original: this edit March 2006-dck]

The alt.quotations FAQ
-+-
by Sir Hans and Jason Newquist

I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)
_Just So Stories_ (1902) "The Elephant's Child"

0. Metastuff, credits and some other standard FAQfare
0.1 What's this?
0.4 Where can I get the latest version?
0.5 What will happen with the FAQ in the future?
1. Getting started
1.1 What is a quotation?
1.2 What is a great quotation?
1.3 What is not a quotation?
1.4 What are the standards for good quotation citation?
2. alt.quotations newsgroup
2.1 What is it?
2.2 What is netiquette?
2.3 What is appropriate to post to a.q?
2.4 How do I compose a good subject header for my post?
2.5 What is an ObQuote?

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0. Metastuff, credits and some other standard FAQfare

----0.1 What's this?

Whence and what art thou, execrable shape?
John Milton (1608-1674)
_Paradise Lost_ (1667) bk. 2, l. 681

The alt.quotations FAQ. It gives answers to some frequently asked
questions (that's what FAQ stands for), and is a small guide to
quotations and related subjects in general--or at least it tries to be this.

----0.4 Where can I get the latest version?

This strange disease of modern life,
With its sick hurry.
Matthew Arnold (1822-1888)
"The Scholar-Gipsy" (1853) l. 201

The FAQ will posted to alt.quotations when someone [whoever is currently
"it"] remembers or is reminded to post it.

----0.5 What will happen with the FAQ in the future?

It will be changed only after long and loud discussion in
alt.quotations, also known locally as "AQ".

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1. Getting started

----1.1 What is a quotation?

Quotation, n. The act of repeating erroneously the
words of another. The words erroneously repeated.
Ambrose Bierce (1842-?1914)
_The Devil's Dictionary_ (1911)

According to Tony Augarde in his preface to _The Oxford
Dictionary of Modern Quotations_ a quotation is "a saying or piece of
writing that strikes people as so true that they quote it (or allude to
it) in speech or writing", to which I would add "or add it to their
personal collection"--at least this is the case with many readers of
alt.quotations. Quotations are either famous in their own right or
utterances by (generally speaking) someone famous. Quotations can be
maxims, aphorisms, striking fragments of poetry, humorous or impressive
prose and remarks, coinages of new phrases or ideas, remarks at
historical events, putdowns of others, famous last words or anything
else which is worth repeating on its own, possibly with some comment on
when, where, and on who.
[A definition I've always liked is "a felicitous phrase".-dck]

----1.2 What is a great quotation?

A good aphorism is too hard for the tooth of time, and is not
worn away by all the centuries, although it serves as food for every epoch.
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900)
_Miscellaneous Maxims and Opinions_ (1879) no. 168

A great quotation is one that makes you want to chime in with
Oscar Wilde and say "I wish I had said that." [Sir Hans]

A great quotation is one that highlights a point about the
human condition or of reality with style and in such a way as to present
it in a new light. This tentative definition of mine obliterates any
chance that two people will agree on what is a great quotation, but
that's realistic. It's all up to you. If you can read a particular
quotation over and over again, each time deriving pleasure and knowledge
from the words--chances are, that's a great quotation. Great quotations
should be shared. Post them, write them in .sigs, get them out there.
It is my opinion that there are precious few great quotations and that
they should be shared whenever possible. [Jonathan Monsarrat]

----1.3 What is not a quotation?

Fun is a good thing but only when it spoils nothing better.
George Santayana (1863-1952)
_The Sense of Beauty_ (1896) "The Comic"

Basically, anything not covered by 1.1. [Your Mileage May Vary!]

----1.4 What are the standards for good quotation citation?

I distrust all systematisers, and avoid them. The will
to a system shows a lack of honesty.
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900)
_Gotzen-Dammerung [The Twilight of the Idols]_ (1888)
"Maxims and Missiles" no. 26

A quotation really must have an author, unless it's a very well
known "anonymous" statement, such as the one describing television
programs as "chewing gum for the eyes." If you know birth and death
years of the author, give those as well, and if the author is only a
person of minor fame, telling us who she or he is would be nice.

There is always great interest in as complete sources, so if
you know the book, play, or whatever else your quotations come from,
give them as well.

If you quote from the Koran or the Bible or another large,
well-known "anonymous" work, you can give the title of the work as the
"author", and give the book, chapter, verse, etc. in the reference line.

Things that would be good to include in a citation when possible:

The quotation itself, followed by:

If the original quotation is from a foreign language, and you
happen to know the original as well, include it.

Author and birth/death information.

The reference for the quotation; i.e. "Letter to John Smith" or
"Speech at the MIT" and a work where the quotation can be found. Titles
of works are given in Italic type (here represented by starting and
ending with an underscore "_").
Titles of pieces appearing as part of a published volume appear inside
double inverted commas, or quotes (""). An "in" means that the line is
quoted in that work.

Possibly needed comment on the quotation, e.g. explaining what the
quotation is about, or giving some useful info ("She died minutes later").

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2. alt.quotations newsgroup

----2.1 What is it?

News is what a chap who doesn't care much about
anything wants to read. And it's only news until he's read
it. After that it's dead.
Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966)
_Scoop_ (1938) bk. 1, ch. 5

alt.quotations is a newsgroup for everything related to
quotations; it is read, and contributed to by people from all over the
world. If you have questions regarding the author of a quotation, or
want to share your favorites, have a question about the meaning or
background of a quotation, or simply want to read some quotations posted
by various contributors, this is the place to be.
You can also discuss software and books on quotations here, or
anything else, as long as it somehow has to do with quotations.

----2.2 What is netiquette?

Good manners are the settled medium of social, as
specie is of commercial, life; returns are equally expected
for both.
Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773)
_Letters to his Son_ (1774) 25 December 1753

If you are new to the net, it is recommended that you spend
some time doing a "Google" Search on "netiquette". In short, netiquette
is the usenet equivalent of good manners, and like in real life, people
who do not conform to them are not likely to be appreciated much by the
community. Remember that you are far more likely to receive an answer
to a request if it is in written in proper English, well formatted and
if you don't ask people to reply by e-mail (bear in mind that your
fellow readers may well be interested in seeing the quotations as well).
In general, alt.quotations prefers "bottom-posting", which is to say, if
you are replying to another post, put your answer "below" or "after" the
quoted post you are replying to.
Be polite.

----2.4 How do I compose a good subject header for my post?

Our inventions mirror our secret wishes.
Lawrence Durrell (1912-1990)
_Mountolive_ (1959) 7

Stay to the point, indicate if you are requesting something,
and if you follow-up to something, check whether the header is still
relevant. If it isn't you should edit the header so that it has your
subject, but keep the old one there in square brackets. Some people type
the kind of post in caps, followed by a colon and then a brief
explanation. For example:
REQUEST: Shakespeare
QUOTES: Tom Stoppard
"Tags" more often used in the 21st century are "POL" for quotations and
discussions thereof relating to current global political events, and
"REL" for quotations and discussions thereof having to do with religion,
or lack thereof.

----2.5 What is an ObQuote?

Noblesse oblige. [Nobility has its obligations.]
Gaston Pierre Marc, Duc de L\'evis (1764-1830)
_Maximes et Reflexions_ (1812 ed.)
"Morale: Maximes et Preceptes" no. 73

Whenever you feel the need to post to alt.quotations, and your
posting does not already include a quote added by you in the course of
posting or answering, it is considered good manners to supply a quote
anyway--this is, after all, alt.quotations. This quote is known, and
usually announced accordingly, as an ``obligatory quote''--an ObQuote
for short. In alt.quotations, your wittiness is judged by the relevancy
of your ObQuotes.



--
Dave
"Tam multi libri, tam breve tempus!"
(Et brevis pecunia.) [Et breve spatium.]