1: #       $NetBSD: Notes,v 1.2 1995/03/23 08:28:26 cgd Exp $
    2: #       @(#)Notes     8.1 (Berkeley) 5/31/93
    3: 
    4: Warning:
    5:         The fortunes contained in the fortune database have been collected
    6:         haphazardly from a cacophony of sources, in number so huge it
    7:         boggles the mind.  It is impossible to do any meaningful quality
    8:         control on attributions, or lack thereof, or exactness of the quote.
    9:         Since this database is not used for profit, and since entire works
   10:         are not published, it falls under fair use, as we understand it.
   11:         However, if any half-assed idiot decides to make a profit off of
   12:         this, they will need to double check it all, and nobody not involved
   13:         of such an effort makes any warranty that anything in the database
   14:         bears any relation to the real world of literature, law, or other
   15:         bizzarrity.
   16: 
   17: ==> GENERAL INFORMATION
   18:         By default, fortune retrieves its fortune files from the directory
   19: /usr/share/games/fortune.  A fortune file has two parts: the source file
   20: (which contains the fortunes themselves) and the data file which describes
   21: the fortunes.  The data fil always has the same name as the fortune file
   22: with the string ".dat" concatenated, i.e. "fort" is the standard fortune
   23: database, and "fort.dat" is the data file which describes it.  See
   24: strfile(8) for more information on creating the data files.
   25:         Fortunes are split into potentially offensive and not potentially
   26: offensive parts.  The offensive version of a file has the same name as the
   27: non-offensive version with "-o" concatenated, i.e. "fort" is the standard
   28: fortune database, and "fort-o" is the standard offensive database.  The
   29: fortune program automatically assumes that any file with a name ending in
   30: "-o" is potentially offensive, and should therefore only be displayed if
   31: explicitly requested, either with the -o option or by specifying a file name
   32: on the command line.
   33:         Potentially offensive fortune files should NEVER be maintained in
   34: clear text on the system.  They are rotated (see caesar(6)) 13 positions.
   35: To create a new, potentially offensive database, use caesar to rotate it,
   36: and then create its data file with the -x option to strfile(8).  The fortune
   37: program automatically decrypts the text when it prints entries from such
   38: databases.
   39:         Anything which would not make it onto network prime time programming
   40: (or which would only be broadcast if some discredited kind of guy said it)
   41: MUST be in the potentially offensive database.  Fortunes containing any
   42: explicit language (see George Carlin's recent updated list) MUST be in the
   43: potentially offensive database.  Political and religious opinions are often
   44: sequestered in the potentially offensive section as well.  Anything which
   45: assumes as a world view blatantly racist, mysogynist (sexist), or homophobic
   46: ideas should not be in either, since they are not really funny unless *you*
   47: are racist, mysogynist, or homophobic.
   48:         The point of this is that people have should have a reasonable
   49: expectation that, should they just run "fortune", they will not be offended.
   50: We know that some people take offense at anything, but normal people do have
   51: opinions, too, and have a right not to have their sensibilities offended by
   52: a program which is supposed to be entertaining.  People who run "fortune
   53: -o" or "fortune -a" are saying, in effect, that they are willing to have
   54: their sensibilities tweaked.  However, they should not have their personal
   55: worth seriously (i.e., not in jest) assaulted.  Jokes which depend for their
   56: humor on racist, mysogynist, or homophobic stereotypes *do* seriously
   57: assault individual personal worth, and in an general entertainment medium
   58: we should be able to get by without it.
   59: 
   60: ==> FORMATTING
   61:         This file describes the format for fortunes in the database.  This
   62: is done in detail to make it easier to keep track of things.  Any rule given
   63: here may be broken to make a better joke.
   64: 
   65: [All examples are indented by one tab stop -- KCRCA]
   66: 
   67: Numbers should be given in parentheses, e.g.,
   68: 
   69:         (1)    Everything depends.
   70:         (2)    Nothing is always.
   71:         (3)    Everything is sometimes.
   72: 
   73: Attributions are two tab stops, followed by two hyphens, followed by a
   74: space, followed by the attribution, and are *not* preceded by blank
   75: lines.  Book, journal, movie, and all other titles are in quotes, e.g.,
   76: 
   77:         $100 invested at 7% interest for 100 years will become $100,000, at
   78:         which time it will be worth absolutely nothing.
   79:                         -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love"
   80: 
   81: Attributions which do not fit on one (72 char) line should be continued
   82: on a line which lines up below the first text of the attribution, e.g.,
   83: 
   84:                         -- A very long attribution which might not fit on one
   85:                            line, "Ken Arnold's Stupid Sayings"
   86: 
   87: Single paragraph fortunes are in left justified (non-indented) paragraphs
   88: unless they fall into another category listed below (see example above).
   89: Longer fortunes should also be in left justified paragraphs, but if this
   90: makes it too long, try indented paragraphs, with indentations of either one
   91: tab stop or 5 chars.  Indentations of less than 5 are too hard to read.
   92: 
   93: Laws have the title left justified and capitalized, followed by a colon,
   94: with all the text of the law itself indented one tab stop, initially
   95: capitalized, e.g.,
   96: 
   97:         A Law of Computer Programming:
   98:                 Make it possible for programmers to write in English and
   99:                 you will find the programmers cannot write in English.
  100: 
  101: Limericks are indented as follows, all lines capitalized:
  102: 
  103:         A computer, to print out a fact,
  104:         Will divide, multiply, and subtract.
  105:                 But this output can be
  106:                 No more than debris,
  107:         If the input was short of exact.
  108: 
  109: Accents precede the letter they are over, e.g., "`^He" for e with a grave
  110: accent.  Underlining is done on a word-by-word basis, with the underlines
  111: preceding the word, e.g., "__^H^Hhi ____^H^H^H^Hthere".
  112: 
  113: No fortune should run beyond 72 characters on a single line without good
  114: justification (er, no pun intended).  And no right margin justification,
  115: either.  Sorry.  For BSD people, there is a program called "fmt" which can
  116: make this kind of formatting easier.
  117: 
  118: Definitions are given with the word or phrase left justified, followed by
  119: the part of speech (if appropriate) and a colon.  The definition starts
  120: indented by one tab stop, with subsequent lines left justified, e.g.,
  121: 
  122:         Afternoon, n.:
  123:                 That part of the day we spend worrying about how we wasted
  124:         the morning.
  125: 
  126: Quotes are sometimes put around statements which are funnier or make more
  127: sense if they are understood as being spoken, rather than written,
  128: communication, e.g.,
  129: 
  130:         "All my friends and I are crazy.  That's the only thing that
  131:         keeps us sane."
  132: 
  133: Ellipses are always surrounded by spaces, except when next to punctuation,
  134: and are three dots long.
  135: 
  136:         "... all the modern inconveniences ..."
  137:                         -- Mark Twain
  138: 
  139: Human initials always have spaces after the periods, e.g, "P. T.  Barnum",
  140: not "P.T. Barnum".  However, "P.T.A.", not "P. T. A.".
  141: 
  142: All fortunes should be attributed, but if and only if they are original with
  143: somebody.  Many people have said things that are folk sayings (i.e., are
  144: common among the folk (i.e., us common slobs)).  There is nothing wrong with
  145: this, of course, but such statements should not be attributed to individuals
  146: who did not invent them.
  147: 
  148: Horoscopes should have the sign indented by one tab stop, followed by the
  149: dates of the sign, with the text left justified below it, e.g.,
  150: 
  151:                 AQUARIUS (Jan 20 - Feb 18)
  152:         You have an inventive mind and are inclined to be progressive.  You
  153:         lie a great deal.  On the other hand, you are inclined to be
  154:         careless and impractical, causing you to make the same mistakes over
  155:         and over again.  People think you are stupid.
  156: 
  157: Single quotes should not be used except as quotes within quotes.  Not even
  158: single quotes masquerading as double quotes are to be used, e.g., don't say
  159: ``hi there'' or `hi there' or 'hi there', but "hi there".  However, you
  160: *can* say "I said, `hi there'".
  161: 
  162: A long poem or song can be ordered as follows in order to make it fit on a
  163: screen (fortunes should be 19 lines or less if at all possible) (numbers
  164: here are stanza numbers):
  165: 
  166:         11111111111111111111
  167:         11111111111111111111
  168:         11111111111111111111                   22222222222222222222
  169:         11111111111111111111                   22222222222222222222
  170:                                                 22222222222222222222
  171:         33333333333333333333                   22222222222222222222
  172:         33333333333333333333
  173:         33333333333333333333                   44444444444444444444
  174:         33333333333333333333                   44444444444444444444
  175:                                                 44444444444444444444
  176:                                                 44444444444444444444
  177: 
  178: