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An Archive is a repository for postings to the Superguy Mailing List. It is a place where new readers can go to investigate the posts that have come before. It is usually collected in the specific order that the posts appeared on the list, but not always.
The different archive styles available are the Superguy Logs, Superguy Digest, the Superguy Chronicles, and the Superguy Trade Etherbacks.
2) How much material is currently archived?
A lot. Close to thirty megabytes of pure story, not counting any non- story posts that might come along the pike. Fortunately, most archival methods are set up to bring you the back posts in bite sized formats.
3) What is a Superguy Log, and where can I get access to it?
A Logfile is a file that the Listserv software automatically keeps on a periodic basis, allowing for swift access to the most recent archives. The Superguy Listserv archives logfiles weekly, which means some Logs are almost empty, and others are too large for most mailers.
UCF1VM, our electronic publisher, cleans out the logs each semester. Therefore anyone who wants access to logs from before the start of the previous semester's writing needs to find a different archive. To find out what Logs are available, send mail to listserv@ucf1vm.cc.ucf.edu with the following message in the body of the letter:
index superguy
This will cause the Listserv to send a listing of all the logs that are currently available. They will appear in the following format:
SUPERGUY LOG9406C
Where SUPERGUY is the filename, 94 is the calendar year, 06 is the month, and C is the week (so, this would be a file containing the posts from the third week of June in 1994).
To retrieve specific logs, send another letter to listserv@ucf1vm.cc.ucf.edu with the following request in the body of the letter:
GET SUPERGUY LOG(specific log)
So if you wanted the Log from the fourth week of January, 1995, you would type "GET SUPERGUY LOG9501D" in the body of you letter, without the quotation marks. Listserv will automatically send you the logs you requested as mailfiles.
4) What is Superguy Digest, and where can I get access to it?
Superguy Digest is the electronic magazine form of the Superguy Mailing List. It comes out irregularly, whenever there are enough Posts to warrant a publication. It is the most convenient way to read archives of Superguy, as it is set up in plain English, rather than computer codes. You read Superguy #1 first, then #2, and so on. All posts to the list (other than off-topic noise) are entered into the Digest in the same order that they were sent to the List. Therefore, Superguy Digest is a chronological archive of all the material sent to it. The first post in Superguy #1 is the first post that ever appeared on the list, and so forth.
Superguy Digest is not sent directly to people (and subscriptions to it are not available). It is put together by hand and uploaded to the archival sites, which also have indexes listing the contents of each log. There are two different sites the Digest is kept, available by four different methods:
\pub\comics\fanfiction\superguy
The Digests will appear magically, ready to be retrieved. You will also see the indexes, which are clearly marked.
Note that the Digests are in Compressed format, so you will have to retrieve them as binary files and uncompress them. If you do not have access to uncompress software, there are several public domain uncompress packages available via FTP. This chronicler does not know where they are kept, however. Bon chance, mes amis.
This has the advantage of not needing to retrieve the file into your own workspace to read it or even print it off, from many Gopher servers.
http://www.halcyon.com/superguy/index.html
You will be sent to the wild and wooly Superguy World Wide Web page, which shall be described in more detail when it's closer to being released. However, right this second you can access the site and select a link called "The Superguy Logs." This will open a Gopher connection to gopher.dhhalden.no and put you right in the middle of the Superguy directory. From there, it should be a snap.
If you'd like to play about on the Superguy Web Server, go right ahead. Just bear in mind that a) it's no where near done, and b) the faces of many Superguy Authors appear on it in digital Gif format. You have been warned.
Bear in mind that as of this writing, not all the Superguy Digests appear at either America Online or the fenris site. But as close to four hundred Digests do appear there, you should have plenty of reading material on-hand.
5) What are the Superguy Chronicles and how do I get them?
The Superguy Chronicles are a series of printed hardcopies being developed by Bill Dickson ("Pickle") and Dominic White ("the Artiste"). They are being generated Semester by Semester, being cleaned up via Desktop Publishing at its finest, and being Illustrated by Dominic White (professional Illustrator). To find out more about receiving the Superguy Chronicles, send mail to Bill Dickson at wrd@beer.wa.com.
Note that there are fees being charged for the Chronicles, but they cover the cost of printing, binding, and shipping only. Bill and Dominic do not receive profit for these Chronicles, and the Chronicles are considered 'hard copies for personal use' and not publications.
Bill Dickson has declared that as of this time, he will not produce the general Superguy Chronicles past the third volume, though the others continue to be available. He is producing some Superguy Chronicles on specific storylines, however, as sort of Superguy Novels. "Yesterday's Hero" (a Dangerousman story) and "The Trashman Cometh" (volume one of the "Origins" metaseries in Adjusted League Unimpeachable) are currently being planned, as is 2035, following that series's conclusion.
6) What are Superguy Trade EtherBacks?
The Trade EtherBack is the Electronic Superhero world's version of the Trade Paperback. They are collections of posts by a single author, usually in a single series, 'bound' together for ease of reading. They might also include introductions or essays written by the Author or by others.
Trade EtherBacks are located via the FTP and Gopher sites mentioned above, on fenris.dhhalden.no or gopher.dhhalden.no. When you reach the /Superguy directory, move one step lower to the 'TEB directory you'll see there. What Trade EtherBacks are available will be there. (Note that the selection is currently limited, but expected to rise).
7) Is there a Synopsis or History available for Superguy's history?
Yes. Gary Olson ("The Swede) updates the History of the Superguy Altiverse each year, reflecting what is known about history, and posts it in September. Copies are often available from Gary at other times of the year, though it might take some time for him to get back to you as there is a lot of material involved, and Gary isn't being paid, after all.
8) Is there a comprehensive list of the Heroes, Villains and Supporting Cast of Superguy?
No. There is an ongoing project to develop the Superguy Guide, which would give such a list, but it is not anywhere near being finished. Part of the problem is the massive size and backhistory of the Digests -- the third version of the History was over fifty-seven pages long. Another part of the problem is one of logistics -- the very people who would have to be at the heart of producing such a guide would also be the ones writing current Superguy material. And many of them (justifiably) are more interested in writing new material than culling names out of old material.
Still, with luck a bare bones guide will be produced relatively soon. Bill Dickson ("Pickle") is the coordinator of the project.