From: aahz@netcom.com (Aahzmandius)
Subject: Intro to Callahans, short form
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 92 11:18:35 GMT
Organization: Bill 'n' Opus for Prez

In article <1992Apr12.022653.14745@polari.com> pacific@polari.com writes:
>
>     Pardon my lack of understanding, but I don't quite get what this
>newsgroup is all about.  Can someone explain this to me?
>     PLEASE no flames.....

No problem.  This is probably the most flame-free unmoderated newsgroup.
Here's the short explanation, if you want more, wait until Nick Chopper
posts the full version, or write to li@polari, an old-time Callahanian:

I've deliberately left out some important details, because I don't want
to spoil things for anyone who hasn't read the stories.

#######################

Welcome to Callahan's!

This is a little strange, so please be patient:  There is a Sinus Friction
writer (his words) named Spider Robinson.  He wrote a book called 
_Callahan's Crosstime Saloon_.  This book takes place in a bar which is 
decidedly non-normal.  Some of the characteristics of the place include: 
no barstools, bright lighting, awful puns, no mirrors, and $1 drinks with 
the option.

"The option", you ask?  Ahhhh....well, you may either return the glass at
the end of the evening for $.50 refund, or you may step up to the 
chalk-line, make a toast (and the toast *is* mandatory), and hurl the 
glass into the fireplace.  Afterwards, should you choose to talk, you 
receive the instant, undivided attention of all patrons in the place.  
On the other hand, should you choose to say nothing at all, no one will 
pry -- enforced by Fast Eddie's black jack.

The bar is presided over by Mike Callahan himself.  If Mike doesn't
know your drink, or doesn't have the ingredients for it, you get it
for free.  Several of the regulars are Jake (the narrator of the 
stories), Doc Webster, Mickey Finn, Josie Bauer, Long Drink McGonigle, 
and several others I won't mention so I won't spoil the reading.

There is an "axiom" which pretty much defines the place: "Shared pain is
lessened, shared joy increased; thus do we refute entropy."

Alt.callahans is an extension of that fictional reality into virtual 
reality.  Furthermore, because people in a.c tend to get rather close 
to each other, we have also made the transition to a virtually real 
reality (i.e. physical meetings).  Because it is a virtual reality, 
alt.callahans never seems to run out of room; there's always an empty 
table, and the soap boxes are never-ending.

The Callahanian calendar is a bit different from the standard one.
First there's Sunday; then there's Fireside Fillmore night (our version
is Radio Free Colorado, which magically plays whatever people want);
then there's Punday, in which the winner gets the night's bar tab 
refunded; and finally, there's Tall Tales night (our version is called
Story Poker, poker with the ante being stories).

In Callahan's, the bar is heavily populated with aliens and time 
travelers; alt.callahans has lots of dragons and other animals.

Relax, enjoy the scenery, and feel free to lurk until you feel
comfortable here.  We're really quite friendly, and those of us
that bite wait to be asked first.
-- 
                         --- Aahz (the *other* Dan Bernstein)
                             @netcom.com 

Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6

Mothers are inventors by necessity