FAQs in NesterDC SE. I need advice.

Strapping Scherzo · Post by **Strapping Scherzo** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 7:45 pm

wes1406 wrote:I say do it anyway.

Screw them

As much as I'd like to do that, I won't.

And, dude, your sig is hilarious. Unfortunately, I'm sure it's over the file size limit, and probably the dimension limit too.

LyingWake · Post by **LyingWake** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 9:12 pm

And, dude, your sig is hilarious. Unfortunately, I'm sure it's over the file size limit, and probably the dimension limit too.

Funny, but waay over the limit. It's 1442.71 KB!

BlackAura · Post by **BlackAura** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 9:53 pm

Idiots...

ghostparty · Post by **ghostparty** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 9:57 pm

Well we all know someone else "non-associated" with the DC community will compose a nice little database of these faqs. Just of matter of when...

kingbuzzo · Post by **kingbuzzo** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 10:44 pm

yeesh, I've always heard bad things about gamefaqs, now I know why.

10 points for the DCemulation community, a place for mature, fair discussion, with reasonable and supportive members.

let those people rot in their ignorance with their copyrights tatoo'd to their skulls.

Dutchdude · Post by **Dutchdude** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 11:21 am

Man it just makes me angry how these people at gamefaggs react....how childish .

Strapping Scherzo · Post by **Strapping Scherzo** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 11:37 am

Alright, we're all angry here. But I just had a good idea.

I'm going to start my own FAQ site on which all submissions are public domain to be used in any way shape and form. Documents will not be accepted if they contain copyright information. This way, I might get some authors at GameFAQs to submit their work. Of course, once I make the existence on this new site known on the GameFAQs message board, they'll probably delete the post and my account. So it'll take a long time before a lot of FAQ authors kow about it and make a decision whether they want to submit their works or not. But it's a start.

Any suggestions for the name of the new site? I was thinking OpenFAQs, but that name and domain is already taken. Other only other idea that came to my mind is pdFAQs.

LyingWake · Post by **LyingWake** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 11:41 am

pdFAQs if good, I think.

user6336 · Post by **user6336** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 12:03 pm

Open-FAQs.org/net/com.

Sweater Fish · Post by **Sweater Fish** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 12:50 pm

Since you know how to make these sorts of scripts, couldn't you just make a script of some kind that trolls through all the FAQs you downloaded and compiles a list of e-mail addresses out of them? Then mass do a mass mailing explaining your project and say that only those people who don't want their FAQs included should reply with a list of FAQs that they wrote.

A lot of e-mails would bounce because they're old, but just treat those as no-replys which means that it's okay to include their FAQ (it's like the old fable of the tortoise and the pipes, if you know that one).

Be sure that your script only gets one of each e-mail even if the same author wrote more than one FAQ and it might also get addresses of people who didn't any FAQs at all if their address was mentioned in a FAQ as a contributor or something, so be sure to mention that in your mass e-mail.

Assuming it's possible to write such a script, that doesn't seem like it would be hard and I doubt you'd even get very many people refusing to let you use their FAQs. Keep in mind that the people who hang out on GameFAQs' boards are generally not the people who wrote the FAQs, so their opinion on the matter means nothing. I've written a few FAQs and I sure as hell don't go to the GameFAQs message boards, I also wouldn't have any problems with people using my FAQs for pretty much anything they want to use them for (mine were all for the Neo Geo Pocket, not the NES, so that doesn't help you). I'd also add that writing a good FAQ is not something easy to do at all, it would be a whole *HELL* of a lot of work trying to re-create FAQs, especially for the more complicated games which are the only ones that actually require FAQs in the first place.

...word is bondage...

az_bont · Post by **az_bont** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 1:02 pm

The problem with that idea is that many auhors wouldn't write their e-mail address in the usual way, so as to avoid being picked up by spambots - for example, CRAZYDUDE <AT> HOTMAIL <DOT> COM.

The other problem that could arise is that many FAQs contain input from various different people, and the e-mail addresses of those people are often included. I've seen plenty of FAQs with dozens of different addresses, and it would be impossible to figure out which belongs to the author without manually going through it.

What if a bunch of members each agreed to take a letter of the alphabet or something?

Strapping Scherzo · Post by **Strapping Scherzo** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 1:13 pm

Sweater Fish wrote:Since you know how to make these sorts of scripts, couldn't you just make a script of some kind that trolls through all the FAQs you downloaded and compiles a list of e-mail addresses out of them? Then mass do a mass mailing explaining your project and say that only those people who don't want their FAQs included should reply with a list of FAQs that they wrote.

A lot of e-mails would bounce because they're old, but just treat those as no-replys which means that it's okay to include their FAQ (it's like the old fable of the tortoise and the pipes, if you know that one).

Be sure that your script only gets one of each e-mail even if the same author wrote more than one FAQ and it might also get addresses of people who didn't any FAQs at all if their address was mentioned in a FAQ as a contributor or something, so be sure to mention that in your mass e-mail.

Assuming it's possible to write such a script, that doesn't seem like it would be hard and I doubt you'd even get very many people refusing to let you use their FAQs. Keep in mind that the people who hang out on GameFAQs' boards are generally not the people who wrote the FAQs, so their opinion on the matter means nothing. I've written a few FAQs and I sure as hell don't go to the GameFAQs message boards, I also wouldn't have any problems with people using my FAQs for pretty much anything they want to use them for (mine were all for the Neo Geo Pocket, not the NES, so that doesn't help you). I'd also add that writing a good FAQ is not something easy to do at all, it would be a whole *HELL* of a lot of work trying to re-create FAQs, especially for the more complicated games which are the only ones that actually require FAQs in the first place.

...word is bondage...

I actually started to write such a script before I decided to just give up. I'll finish the script probably do a mass email to invite the authors to post their works on the new FAQ site, but not asking permisson to use what I have of theirs. I'm sure I'll get lots of bounce-backs and I don't feel comfortable treating non-responses as OKs.

I'll just make a new site, and that's it.

superbeagle · Post by **superbeagle** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 2:52 pm

What about FAQU? Makes it sound offensive AND informative.

Sweater Fish · Post by **Sweater Fish** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 3:15 pm

I'm sure I'll get lots of bounce-backs and I don't feel comfortable treating non-responses as OKs.

As I recall, things didn't turn out to well for the tortoise in that story I mentioned, either, so maybe you're right to be cautious.

Besides, AZ is right about all the spam-blocking stuff in people's addresses, there's too many variations to try to account for in a script.

New FAQ site sounds cool, will it be a part of your existing planned NES archive or a whole new site. Multiplatform? I always thought all that copyright crap most people put in their FAQs was lame. Most people just put it in there too make their FAQ seem more official or some shit. It's too bad that official-ness is asscoated with legalism in our society.

...word is bondage...

Phantom · Post by **Phantom** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 3:34 pm

I like the idea of making a new FAQ site, but I don't think you should limit yourself to public domain FAQs. That would mean that the author would have to relinquish copyright, which I think many won't be willing to do.

I think it would be better to build a collection of freely distributable FAQs, including both PD FAQs and FAQs under free licenses such as the Creative Commons license.

ghostparty · Post by **ghostparty** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 6:09 pm

I know it's not your style but I say fuck them

In regards to your site you could make it public domain to everything but in a nice little "terms of posting" page you could say that all faqs have the option of being put into NesterDC SE with or without prior notice.

Strapping Scherzo · Post by **Strapping Scherzo** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 6:35 pm

ghostparty wrote:I know it's not your style but I say fudge them

In regards to your site you could make it public domain to everything but in a nice little "terms of posting" page you could say that all faqs have the option of being put into NesterDC SE with or without prior notice.

Well, if they're public domain then I don't need a notice like that.

TyBO · Post by **TyBO** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 11:11 pm

Scherzo... I'm sorry, but I have to say this:

Buying a domain and starting up a website is a fairly easy process. Having that website succeed is hardly feasible. The problem is that there isn't much interest in having a "Public Domain" FAQ library... why would the authors of the FAQs at GameFAQs want to relinquish their copyrights, so a small, virtually unheard of website could have the right to distribute them freely? Most gamers with internet access have already heard of GameFAQs, and they only go there to figure out how to beat a boss, then they continue playing their game. They don't go to GameFAQs to collect FAQ documents and use them in their own homebrew software... get what I'm trying to say?

There just won't be much interest in having a Public Domain FAQ Archive on the net.

I'm not trying to destroy your hopes of creating a successful website, I'm just trying to be realistic.

Strapping Scherzo · Post by **Strapping Scherzo** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 11:39 pm

TyBO wrote:Scherzo... I'm sorry, but I have to say this:

Buying a domain and starting up a website is a fairly easy process. Having that website succeed is hardly feasible. The problem is that there isn't much interest in having a "Public Domain" FAQ library... why would the authors of the FAQs at GameFAQs want to relinquish their copyrights, so a small, virtually unheard of website could have the right to distribute them freely? Most gamers with internet access have already heard of GameFAQs, and they only go there to figure out how to beat a boss, then they continue playing their game. They don't go to GameFAQs to collect FAQ documents and use them in their own homebrew software... get what I'm trying to say?

There just won't be much interest in having a Public Domain FAQ Archive on the net.

I'm not trying to destroy your hopes of creating a successful website, I'm just trying to be realistic.

You're right. Forget it. I don't have time to work on another project anyways. Sorry if my attitude seems poor, but I'm just overwhelmed with all the realities of life.

TyBO · Post by **TyBO** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 1:18 am

Strapping Scherzo wrote:
TyBO wrote:Scherzo... I'm sorry, but I have to say this:

Buying a domain and starting up a website is a fairly easy process. Having that website succeed is hardly feasible. The problem is that there isn't much interest in having a "Public Domain" FAQ library... why would the authors of the FAQs at GameFAQs want to relinquish their copyrights, so a small, virtually unheard of website could have the right to distribute them freely? Most gamers with internet access have already heard of GameFAQs, and they only go there to figure out how to beat a boss, then they continue playing their game. They don't go to GameFAQs to collect FAQ documents and use them in their own homebrew software... get what I'm trying to say?

There just won't be much interest in having a Public Domain FAQ Archive on the net.

I'm not trying to destroy your hopes of creating a successful website, I'm just trying to be realistic.
You're right. Forget it. I don't have time to work on another project anyways. Sorry if my attitude seems poor, but I'm just overwhelmed with all the realities of life.

It's cool... I know how crazy life can get.

Good news however!!! I recently had an idea that might allow you to include these GameFAQ documents into NesterDC SE. I've come to realise that the jerks over on the GameFAQs message boards probably do not represent the community of the website very well. I'm sure that if someone were to get in touch with the people who created the FAQ, they would be happy to hear about the NesterDC SE project, and allow their document to be used in the program.

So I figure this could be my job. I could get in touch with those who created the FAQs, so you don't have to spend time on it. I could create a list of FAQ guides that you have permission to include in the emulator, and scratch off all the ones you don't have permission for.

I've been looking for ways to help out the DC scene for a while now, and I would really love to do this for the scene. Of course, I can't guarentee that I will get permission to FAQs for every game. Maybe I could work on the top 200 most popular games for now.

Anyway, I'm not trying to pressure you into my idea... this is of course your project and you can chose to do whatever you want with it, but I'm just letting you I'm willing to commit myself to doing this.

... but it's now 2:15 AM so I'm going to bed.