I have filtered the spam on my Neal Stephenson Fan Club group.
Anyone here is welcome to join over there.  If you want to help out
with moderating, just let me know.  I'd like to keep the club up to
date with everything going on, but I need others to help out with
that.


--- In snowcrash@yahoogroups.com, "Chalom, Morton (M.)" <mchalom@...>
wrote:
>
> Hi everyone (and Mitchell especially).  I contacted the YahooGroups
help
> desk and they said that we can't be made Owner but we can be made
> Moderator if we have a Poll first.  Aha!  We had a poll!  So they
> switched us to be Moderators and now we should be able to stem the
> annoying junkmail.
>
>
>
> Meanwhile... how can we persuade Neal to write more novels in the
> SnowCrash timeframe, or franchise it?  :)
>
>
>
> Morton
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: snowcrash@yahoogroups.com [mailto:snowcrash@yahoogroups.com]
On
> Behalf Of Mitchell Porter
> Sent: Sunday, May 25, 2008 4:56 AM
> To: snowcrash@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [snowcrash] snowcrash list is now moderated
>
>
>
> I do not exactly know how or why, but Morton and I have now been
given
> the power of moderation. I have switched the list to moderated mode,
> and will now set about clearing the archive of spam.
>

Maybe someday we'll actually get a post about Neal's work!

I do not exactly know how or why, but Morton and I have now been given
the power of moderation. I have switched the list to moderated mode,
and will now set about clearing the archive of spam.

--- In snowcrash@yahoogroups.com, "Mitchell Porter"
<mitchtemporarily@...> wrote:
> The listed email address of this group's creator is no longer valid,
> but I believe I just found his page at Friendster. I've dropped him a
> line there and we'll see if there's a response. I might give it a week
> before doing anything else.

Someone who knows him just told me that they will inform him of our
plight. Hooray.

The following snowcrash poll is now closed.  Here are the
final results:


POLL QUESTION: Our list owner appears to have abandoned our group.
This is a vote to make Mitchell Porter (mitchtemporarily) and Morton Chalom
(telson42) the new Group Owners so we can change the group settings and get
control over the spam we keep getting.

Please vote to have us as the owners (and then we'll see how to make it happen)
or vote to leave things as they are.  (No one else has shown interest so I won't
include other options).


Thanks
--Morton

CHOICES AND RESULTS
- Mitchell and Morton new Owners, 2 votes, 100.00%
- No Change, 0 votes, 0.00%



For more information about this group, please visit
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/snowcrash

For help with Yahoo! Groups, please visit
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/groups/

I just noticed the poll. It's now up to 2 out of 2 votes in favor of
the change. I wonder who the voters are. :-)

However, I also just found this:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070821193131AAAMpKK

Which seems to say in absolute terms that this simply does not happen.
The Yahoo Terms of Service do not allow such a transfer. The only hope
is to start a new group (and to regularly flag its existence in the
spam-filled undead old group), or to truly track down the owner and
creator (or at least find out if he's dead).

The listed email address of this group's creator is no longer valid,
but I believe I just found his page at Friendster. I've dropped him a
line there and we'll see if there's a response. I might give it a week
before doing anything else.

--- In snowcrash@yahoogroups.com, snowcrash@yahoogroups.com wrote:
>
>
> Enter your vote today!  A new poll has been created for the
> snowcrash group:
>
> Our list owner appears to have abandoned our group.
> This is a vote to make Mitchell Porter (mitchtemporarily) and Morton
Chalom (telson42) the new Group Owners so we can change the group
settings and get control over the spam we keep getting.
>
> Please vote to have us as the owners (and then we'll see how to make
it happen) or vote to leave things as they are.  (No one else has
shown interest so I won't include other options).
>
>
> Thanks
> --Morton
>
>   o Mitchell and Morton new Owners
>   o No Change
>
>
> To vote, please visit the following web page:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/snowcrash/surveys?id=2587609
>
> Note: Please do not reply to this message. Poll votes are
> not collected via email. To vote, you must go to the Yahoo! Groups
> web site listed above.
>
> Thanks!
>

Enter your vote today!  A new poll has been created for the
snowcrash group:

Our list owner appears to have abandoned our group.
This is a vote to make Mitchell Porter (mitchtemporarily) and Morton Chalom
(telson42) the new Group Owners so we can change the group settings and get
control over the spam we keep getting.

Please vote to have us as the owners (and then we'll see how to make it happen)
or vote to leave things as they are.  (No one else has shown interest so I won't
include other options).


Thanks
--Morton

   o Mitchell and Morton new Owners
   o No Change


To vote, please visit the following web page:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/snowcrash/surveys?id=2587609

Note: Please do not reply to this message. Poll votes are
not collected via email. To vote, you must go to the Yahoo! Groups
web site listed above.

Thanks!

I don't know if Yahoo would consider such a vote valid, however. In
the forum thread to which I linked, people complain that Yahoo admins
either ignore such appeals for owner change, or just delete the group.
There is no principle of majority rule in the terms of service. And
any list vote we conduct is not going to be a shining example of
democratic procedure: there are about a hundred list-members, but
maybe half are bouncing (so says the membership list), and most of the
rest are either not paying attention, or are spammers-in-wait. So at
best we're going to get, say, five voices out of a hundred saying 'we
endorse this action'. They say silence is consent, but Yahoo might see
it differently. So, I am willing to be a candidate for new co-admin,
but before we try to attract sysop attention, I would like to find a
successful precedent, evidence that we might get somewhere.

I've also mailed the real list-owner at an old address, but no reply
so far. If we could actually track him down, that would change
everything.

--- In snowcrash@yahoogroups.com, "Chalom, Morton \(M.\)"
<mchalom@...> wrote:
>
> I agree with Mitchell - we seem to be an abandoned group. Let's get that
> fixed, even if just to fix the spam.
>
>
>
> Mitchell, how about you and I volunteering to take over ownership of the
> group and putting out a vote to the membership?
>
>
>
> Does anyone else want to be the Owner or a Moderator instead of us?
>
>
>
>
>
> If the original owner returns, we can add them, turn it over, or put it
> to a vote.
>
> Morton Chalom
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: snowcrash@yahoogroups.com [mailto:snowcrash@yahoogroups.com] On
> Behalf Of Mitchell Porter
> Sent: Friday, August 10, 2007 2:44 AM
> To: snowcrash@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [snowcrash] Re: Spam on NealStephenson and SnowCrash groups
>
>
>
> According to the snowcrash 'moderator' webpage (under 'members', on
> the sidebar), list mail to the moderator is bouncing. We are therefore
> a group abandoned by its moderator. There is a big discussion thread
> about this problem here:
> http://messages.groups.yahoo.com/Groups/Moderators/threadview?m=tm&bn=gr
> p-issues&tid=561&mid=561&tof=79&frt=2
> <http://messages.groups.yahoo.com/Groups/Moderators/threadview?m=tm&bn=g
> rp-issues&tid=561&mid=561&tof=79&frt=2>
>
> So far I see no sign that Yahoo even has a policy regarding this
> problem. What can they do, after all - take a vote from the list
> members? But what if the list owner then shows up and demands control
> of their list again? Or the list members can start a new list - that
> seems to be the standard defacto solution.
>
> --- In snowcrash@yahoogroups.com <mailto:snowcrash%40yahoogroups.com> ,
> "Chalom, Morton \(M.\)"
> <mchalom@> wrote:
> >
> > Could the moderator please change the group settings to "New Members
> > have moderated email"?
> >
> > Thanks.
> > --Morton
> >
> >
> >
> > ________________________________
> >
> > From: snowcrash@yahoogroups.com <mailto:snowcrash%40yahoogroups.com>
> [mailto:snowcrash@yahoogroups.com <mailto:snowcrash%40yahoogroups.com> ]
> On
> > Behalf Of sexysophia3100
> > Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2007 11:23 PM
> > To: snowcrash@yahoogroups.com <mailto:snowcrash%40yahoogroups.com>
> > Subject: [snowcrash] Yahoo! Groups-Jennifer and 3 other friends want
> to
> > connect with you!
> >
> <http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97359714/grpId=274314/grpspId=1707418582/ms
> <http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97359714/grpId=274314/grpspId=1707418582/ms
> >
> > gId=123/stime=1183260219/nc1=3848593/nc2=3848621/nc3=3848443>
> >
>

According to the snowcrash 'moderator' webpage (under 'members', on
the sidebar), list mail to the moderator is bouncing. We are therefore
a group abandoned by its moderator. There is a big discussion thread
about this problem here:
http://messages.groups.yahoo.com/Groups/Moderators/threadview?m=tm&bn=grp-issues\
&tid=561&mid=561&tof=79&frt=2

So far I see no sign that Yahoo even has a policy regarding this
problem. What can they do, after all - take a vote from the list
members? But what if the list owner then shows up and demands control
of their list again? Or the list members can start a new list - that
seems to be the standard defacto solution.

--- In snowcrash@yahoogroups.com, "Chalom, Morton \(M.\)"
<mchalom@...> wrote:
>
> Could the moderator please change the group settings to "New Members
> have moderated email"?
>
> Thanks.
> --Morton
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: snowcrash@yahoogroups.com [mailto:snowcrash@yahoogroups.com] On
> Behalf Of sexysophia3100
> Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2007 11:23 PM
> To: snowcrash@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [snowcrash] Yahoo! Groups-Jennifer and 3 other friends want to
> connect with you!
> <http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97359714/grpId=274314/grpspId=1707418582/ms
> gId=123/stime=1183260219/nc1=3848593/nc2=3848621/nc3=3848443>
>

Dear,

I have been making coursewares for Chinese to learn English.  Which is
not very exiting. Now we decided to make something cool.  Everyone is
looking for new ideas.

I would like to make a Black Sun version.

Anybody could help? Give me some suggestions, cool websites as
reference and anything cooler than BlackSun?

Thanks

Yuanhong in Beijing

I've just started a new Yahoo! group, Singularity Online, which is
geared not only to Transhumanists and Extropians, but more broadly to
all those interested in the shape of the future. It's for those
interested in the design, engineering and application of high
technology and in the bleeding edges of scientific research... and for
the amateur inventor and scientist. It's for SF fans and aspiring
authors. In short it aims at engaging the general educated reader with
an interest in cutting-edge technology and science and their pivotal
role in defining that future.
Topics include, but certainly aren't limited to: the Singularity and
the nature of Posthuman existence; nanotechnology, molecular
engineering and advanced materials science; biotechnology and genetic
engineering; quantum computing and cryptography, biocomputing and the
mind-machine interface; AI and cognitive science, virtual and
'augmented' reality, robotics and telepresence; life extension, mind
and body enhancement; SETI and exobiology; faster-than-light travel
and communication; quantum teleportation, zero-point energy and
antigravity; solar system and interstellar exploration, colonization
and terraforming; future energy sources such as hydrogen; cosmology,
string and m-theory, parallel universes, wormholes and time travel.
One can also debate emerging forms of social, political and economic
organization and interaction made possible by these new technological
tools, exploring their benefits and potential ethical dilemmas and
unexpected consequences.
These emerging technologies and ideas are clearly revolutionary and
transformative, with profound implications for society, culture,
politics, economics, the arts, religion, humanistic values, ethics and
philosophy, individuality and social cohesion, personal identity and
the very essence of human [post-human?] nature. One emphasis will thus
focus on how individuals and institutions can effectively transform
themselves to both help shape and better respond to the radical
opportunities and challenges these technologies and ideas raised.

Asshat.

The novel inspired by the Columbine High Massacre, YEARS OF RAGE is
now available.

To read Chapter One of YEARS OF RAGE, visit the book's Web site:
www.yearsofrage.com

"...a novel whose central voice is hate..."
---The Daily Telegraph

"A magnificent work of art... The author is a literary genius..."
---Extra

Marlene wrote:
> Hi -- Looks like I'm not the only new one here.  I'm about half
way thru my
> reading of Snow Crash, which is totally out of my usual catagories
of
> reading...

I read Snow Crash several years ago - i'll have to reread it after
I'm done with the Baroque Cycle books - I'm only two thirds through
Quicksilver. I hope the second and third books have a quicker pace
than Quicksilver. Still a great read, though.

Hi -- Looks like I'm not the only new one here.  I'm about half way thru my
reading of Snow Crash, which is totally out of my usual catagories of
reading.  At first it just stuck me as simplistic, paper doll (steotypical)
charactors using weird slang, but then things started falling into place and
I see the depth -- if not of character, then of ideas.  I'm particularly
fascinated by the Sumarian stuff -- I'm reading on.

Would sure like to hear (read) what others are thinking about this book.
Let's discuss........
Warm wishes,
Marlene in Alaska

--- In snowcrash@yahoogroups.com, "lucus593n" <lucus593n@y...> wrote:
>
>
http://www.ardice.com/Arts/Literature/Genres/Science_Fiction/Authors/
S/Stephenson,_Neal/
> Hello, I found this group at this website.

Welcome to Nowhere. As you can see, nobody posts here much - pity.
There's a lot of thought provoking stuff in Neal's books - things
that would probably make for interesting discussions. Oh, well...

http://www.ardice.com/Arts/Literature/Genres/Science_Fiction/Authors/S/Stephenso\
n,_Neal/
Hello, I found this group at this website.

Title:
Pilot Used Helicopter to Deliver Pizza

Feel free to read the cover story (below) but, of course *we* all
know that The Deliverator was insuring Uncle Enzo didn't have to
give a free pizza.


Story:
Feb 8, 8:29 AM (ET)

LONDON (Reuters) - A British army pilot has been disciplined by
senior officers for using a tank-busting helicopter to deliver a
pizza to his girlfriend.

The pilot, based with Britain's 659 Army Air Corps squadron in
Suffolk, eastern England, was on a map-reading training drill when
he dropped off the pizza to his girlfriend who was taking part in an
exercise 30 miles away.

The 25-year-old lieutenant had picked up the takeaway before setting
out on the sortie in his Lynx helicopter, the Sun newspaper reported
on Tuesday. He was reprimanded but did not have his pilot's license
taken away, the paper added.

"The opportunity to add a light-hearted element to the planned
sortie was taken but with no detriment to the sortie objective," a
UK defense ministry spokeswoman told Reuters.

"The chain of command do not condone these actions and have
disciplined the individuals concerned."

http://reuters.excite.com//article/20050208/2005-02-
08T132916Z_01_L08709408_RTRIDST_0_ODD-ODD-PIZZA-DC.html

--Morton

NEAL STEPHENSON - reading and booksigning for "The System of the
World"
Thursday, September 30, 7 pm
at The Park Branch Library (1833 Page Street in San Francisco)

"The System of the World" is the thrilling conclusion to Neal
Stephenson's The Baroque Cycle - the New York Times best selling epic
of intrigue, adventure, and excitement begun with "Quicksilver" and
continued in "The Confusion." Filled with a remarkable cast of
characters in a time of genius, discovery, and change, The System of
the World and the trilogy it concludes is a magnificent achievement.

Neal Stephenson will read from his new book. A booksigning will
follow. Please note: due to time constraints, Neal Stephenson will
only be able to sign copies of "The System of the World" purchased at
the event. Neal can also autograph one other book along with a copy
of  "The System of the World".

This Booksmith sponsored event will take place at the Park Branch
Library (1833 Page St.) in San Francisco.  For further information,
please call 415-863-8688 or visit our website at www.booksmith.com If
you can't attend an event and would like to purchase an autographed
book, please telephone or email the Booksmith.

> what is nanosite?  Is it like a website? Or something
> else?

It's just a nanomachine. It's like "nanorobot" or
"nanobot". It's probably short for "nano-parasite".
I can't remember if the word is used only for
nanomachines living in a body (which would make
sense), or if they also call the independent,
free-living machines by this name.

First of all, thanks for your kind warning.  That is
really important to me.

In fact, it is one of my tutors who wants the summary.
  So, I have to face the fact underneath before I enjoy
the story.  However, I believe that I could still
enjoy because of my bad memory.  :)

what is nanosite?  Is it like a website? Or something
else?

----- Original Message -----
From: <snowcrash@yahoogroups.com>
To: <snowcrash@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, December 19, 2003 8:16 AM
Subject: [snowcrash] Digest Number 56


> There is 1 message in this issue.
>
> Topics in this digest:
>
>       1. Re: Diamond Age
>            From: mitchtemporarily@...
>
>
>
________________________________________________________________________
>
________________________________________________________________________
>
> Message: 1
>    Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 02:20:48 -0000
>    From: mitchtemporarily@...
> Subject: Re: Diamond Age
>
> --- In snowcrash@yahoogroups.com, yuanhong zhang
<azhyh@y...> wrote:
> > Could anybody please give me a short summary of
that
> > book?
> >
> > Thanks a lot!
> >
> > Zhang Yuanhong
>
> WARNING: This summary will "spoil" the book by
> revealing plot surprises. If you want to read
> the book and enjoy it, don't read this summary.
> Instead, read the page at Amazon.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> (summary is further down)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> So, here is my summary of The Diamond Age:
>
> It's about 100 years from now. The major powers
> of the world are the societies with the most
> advanced nanotechnology. The most important
> device is the "matter compiler", which makes
> objects from atoms. Just as the computer was
> central to the age of information technology,
> the matter compiler (MC) is central to the age
> of nanotechnology. Because the MC is so powerful,
> these societies have developed it in a very
> centralized form - the supply of atoms for the
> molecular assembly come from a centralized source,
> like water or electricity in a 20th-century
> industrialized society. This allows social order
> and control to be maintained. However, there is
> an underground movement to create a new form of
> nanotechnology (the Seed), in which objects
> would be assembled from the freely available
> atoms of the natural environment, just like
> living things.
>
> Ultimately, The Diamond Age is about a conspiracy
> to develop Seed technology. However, you don't
> know this for most of the book. That's why this
> summary is a "spoiler". In the book, you are
> just following the lives of the characters, and
> only at the end does the method of the conspiracy
> become visible. The main story through the book
> is about a lower-class girl who accidentally
> obtains a copy of an Artificial Intelligence
> designed to educate girls from the upper class,
> and how it changes her life. It's possible to
> read the whole book, focusing on her story, and
> hardly notice the big story in the background.
> In that respect, it's like "Snow Crash", which
> really describes the conspiracy of a billionaire
> to control the minds of the human race. But how
> often do people describe it that way? Usually
> they focus on Hiro and Y.T. and the Metaverse.
> So The Diamond Age has several layers; perhaps
> someone else can describe the other ones...
>
>
>
>
>
________________________________________________________________________
>
________________________________________________________________________
>
>
> This message sent to you from the Neal Stephenson
mailing list. Remember, your enemies can always be
made to listen to Reason.
>
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> To visit your group on the web, go to:
>  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/snowcrash/
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>  snowcrash-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
>  http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

--- In snowcrash@yahoogroups.com, yuanhong zhang <azhyh@y...> wrote:
> Could anybody please give me a short summary of that
> book?
>
> Thanks a lot!
>
> Zhang Yuanhong

WARNING: This summary will "spoil" the book by
revealing plot surprises. If you want to read
the book and enjoy it, don't read this summary.
Instead, read the page at Amazon.







(summary is further down)






















So, here is my summary of The Diamond Age:

It's about 100 years from now. The major powers
of the world are the societies with the most
advanced nanotechnology. The most important
device is the "matter compiler", which makes
objects from atoms. Just as the computer was
central to the age of information technology,
the matter compiler (MC) is central to the age
of nanotechnology. Because the MC is so powerful,
these societies have developed it in a very
centralized form - the supply of atoms for the
molecular assembly come from a centralized source,
like water or electricity in a 20th-century
industrialized society. This allows social order
and control to be maintained. However, there is
an underground movement to create a new form of
nanotechnology (the Seed), in which objects
would be assembled from the freely available
atoms of the natural environment, just like
living things.

Ultimately, The Diamond Age is about a conspiracy
to develop Seed technology. However, you don't
know this for most of the book. That's why this
summary is a "spoiler". In the book, you are
just following the lives of the characters, and
only at the end does the method of the conspiracy
become visible. The main story through the book
is about a lower-class girl who accidentally
obtains a copy of an Artificial Intelligence
designed to educate girls from the upper class,
and how it changes her life. It's possible to
read the whole book, focusing on her story, and
hardly notice the big story in the background.
In that respect, it's like "Snow Crash", which
really describes the conspiracy of a billionaire
to control the minds of the human race. But how
often do people describe it that way? Usually
they focus on Hiro and Y.T. and the Metaverse.
So The Diamond Age has several layers; perhaps
someone else can describe the other ones...

Could anybody please give me a short summary of that
book?

Thanks a lot!

Zhang Yuanhong

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

I have 3 copies of snow crash , the TradepaperBack, The Mas Market and the
Audible Unabridged version and they all say HIROAKI PROTAGONIST.


"A Man Once Said Nothing Is True, He Was Later Found To Be Lying.---THE
BOOK... HHGTTG TV SERIES"





>From: abt <fimeriotuzit@...>
>Reply-To: snowcrash@yahoogroups.com
>To: snowcrash@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: Re: [snowcrash] Hiro..hito?
>Date: Sat, 4 Oct 2003 02:22:16 -0700 (PDT)
>

_________________________________________________________________
Share your photos without swamping your Inbox.  Get Hotmail Extra Storage
today! http://join.msn.com/?PAGE=features/es

--- Mitchell Porter <mitchtemporarily@...>
wrote:
>
> >"Hirohito Protagonist."
>
> It could be an Easter Egg inserted to help track the
> distribution pathway
> of pirated copies.
Good point, but Josef said his (physical, presumably)
copy of the book has hirohito.

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search
http://shopping.yahoo.com

>"Hirohito Protagonist."

It could be an Easter Egg inserted to help track the distribution pathway
of pirated copies.

_________________________________________________________________
E-mail just got a whole lot better. New ninemsn Premium. Click here
http://ninemsn.com.au/premium/landing.asp

> The hero is Hero... the Protagonist... Protagonist.
Yeah, that much is agreed by all I think, but in the
single reference to his full first name, what it
actually is seems to vary between editions.

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search
http://shopping.yahoo.com