Notes revision 1.1
1 1.1 cgd Warning: 2 1.1 cgd The fortunes contained in the fortune database have been collected 3 1.1 cgd haphazardly from a cacophony of sources, in number so huge it 4 1.1 cgd boggles the mind. It is impossible to do any meaningful quality 5 1.1 cgd control on attributions, or lack thereof, or exactness of the quote. 6 1.1 cgd Since this database is not used for profit, and since entire works 7 1.1 cgd are not published, it falls under fair use, as we understand it. 8 1.1 cgd However, if any half-assed idiot decides to make a profit off of 9 1.1 cgd this, they will need to double check it all, and nobody not involved 10 1.1 cgd of such an effort makes any warranty that anything in the database 11 1.1 cgd bears any relation to the real world of literature, law, or other 12 1.1 cgd bizzarrity. 13 1.1 cgd 14 1.1 cgd ==> GENERAL INFORMATION 15 1.1 cgd By default, fortune retrieves its fortune files from the directory 16 1.1 cgd /usr/share/games/fortune. A fortune file has two parts: the source file 17 1.1 cgd (which contains the fortunes themselves) and the data file which describes 18 1.1 cgd the fortunes. The data fil always has the same name as the fortune file 19 1.1 cgd with the string ".dat" concatenated, i.e. "fort" is the standard fortune 20 1.1 cgd database, and "fort.dat" is the data file which describes it. See 21 1.1 cgd strfile(8) for more information on creating the data files. 22 1.1 cgd Fortunes are split into potentially offensive and not potentially 23 1.1 cgd offensive parts. The offensive version of a file has the same name as the 24 1.1 cgd non-offensive version with "-o" concatenated, i.e. "fort" is the standard 25 1.1 cgd fortune database, and "fort-o" is the standard offensive database. The 26 1.1 cgd fortune program automatically assumes that any file with a name ending in 27 1.1 cgd "-o" is potentially offensive, and should therefore only be displayed if 28 1.1 cgd explicitly requested, either with the -o option or by specifying a file name 29 1.1 cgd on the command line. 30 1.1 cgd Potentially offensive fortune files should NEVER be maintained in 31 1.1 cgd clear text on the system. They are rotated (see caesar(6)) 13 positions. 32 1.1 cgd To create a new, potentially offensive database, use caesar to rotate it, 33 1.1 cgd and then create its data file with the -x option to strfile(8). The fortune 34 1.1 cgd program automatically decrypts the text when it prints entries from such 35 1.1 cgd databases. 36 1.1 cgd Anything which would not make it onto network prime time programming 37 1.1 cgd (or which would only be broadcast if some discredited kind of guy said it) 38 1.1 cgd MUST be in the potentially offensive database. Fortunes containing any 39 1.1 cgd explicit language (see George Carlin's recent updated list) MUST be in the 40 1.1 cgd potentially offensive database. Political and religious opinions are often 41 1.1 cgd sequestered in the potentially offensive section as well. Anything which 42 1.1 cgd assumes as a world view blatantly racist, mysogynist (sexist), or homophobic 43 1.1 cgd ideas should not be in either, since they are not really funny unless *you* 44 1.1 cgd are racist, mysogynist, or homophobic. 45 1.1 cgd The point of this is that people have should have a reasonable 46 1.1 cgd expectation that, should they just run "fortune", they will not be offended. 47 1.1 cgd We know that some people take offense at anything, but normal people do have 48 1.1 cgd opinions, too, and have a right not to have their sensibilities offended by 49 1.1 cgd a program which is supposed to be entertaining. People who run "fortune 50 1.1 cgd -o" or "fortune -a" are saying, in effect, that they are willing to have 51 1.1 cgd their sensibilities tweaked. However, they should not have their personal 52 1.1 cgd worth seriously (i.e., not in jest) assaulted. Jokes which depend for their 53 1.1 cgd humor on racist, mysogynist, or homophobic stereotypes *do* seriously 54 1.1 cgd assault individual personal worth, and in an general entertainment medium 55 1.1 cgd we should be able to get by without it. 56 1.1 cgd 57 1.1 cgd ==> FORMATTING 58 1.1 cgd This file describes the format for fortunes in the database. This 59 1.1 cgd is done in detail to make it easier to keep track of things. Any rule given 60 1.1 cgd here may be broken to make a better joke. 61 1.1 cgd 62 1.1 cgd [All examples are indented by one tab stop -- KCRCA] 63 1.1 cgd 64 1.1 cgd Numbers should be given in parentheses, e.g., 65 1.1 cgd 66 1.1 cgd (1) Everything depends. 67 1.1 cgd (2) Nothing is always. 68 1.1 cgd (3) Everything is sometimes. 69 1.1 cgd 70 1.1 cgd Attributions are two tab stops, followed by two hyphens, followed by a 71 1.1 cgd space, followed by the attribution, and are *not* preceded by blank 72 1.1 cgd lines. Book, journal, movie, and all other titles are in quotes, e.g., 73 1.1 cgd 74 1.1 cgd $100 invested at 7% interest for 100 years will become $100,000, at 75 1.1 cgd which time it will be worth absolutely nothing. 76 1.1 cgd -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 77 1.1 cgd 78 1.1 cgd Attributions which do not fit on one (72 char) line should be continued 79 1.1 cgd on a line which lines up below the first text of the attribution, e.g., 80 1.1 cgd 81 1.1 cgd -- A very long attribution which might not fit on one 82 1.1 cgd line, "Ken Arnold's Stupid Sayings" 83 1.1 cgd 84 1.1 cgd Single paragraph fortunes are in left justified (non-indented) paragraphs 85 1.1 cgd unless they fall into another category listed below (see example above). 86 1.1 cgd Longer fortunes should also be in left justified paragraphs, but if this 87 1.1 cgd makes it too long, try indented paragraphs, with indentations of either one 88 1.1 cgd tab stop or 5 chars. Indentations of less than 5 are too hard to read. 89 1.1 cgd 90 1.1 cgd Laws have the title left justified and capitalized, followed by a colon, 91 1.1 cgd with all the text of the law itself indented one tab stop, initially 92 1.1 cgd capitalized, e.g., 93 1.1 cgd 94 1.1 cgd A Law of Computer Programming: 95 1.1 cgd Make it possible for programmers to write in English and 96 1.1 cgd you will find the programmers cannot write in English. 97 1.1 cgd 98 1.1 cgd Limericks are indented as follows, all lines capitalized: 99 1.1 cgd 100 1.1 cgd A computer, to print out a fact, 101 1.1 cgd Will divide, multiply, and subtract. 102 1.1 cgd But this output can be 103 1.1 cgd No more than debris, 104 1.1 cgd If the input was short of exact. 105 1.1 cgd 106 1.1 cgd Accents precede the letter they are over, e.g., "`^He" for e with a grave 107 1.1 cgd accent. Underlining is done on a word-by-word basis, with the underlines 108 1.1 cgd preceding the word, e.g., "__^H^Hhi ____^H^H^H^Hthere". 109 1.1 cgd 110 1.1 cgd No fortune should run beyond 72 characters on a single line without good 111 1.1 cgd justification (er, no pun intended). And no right margin justification, 112 1.1 cgd either. Sorry. For BSD people, there is a program called "fmt" which can 113 1.1 cgd make this kind of formatting easier. 114 1.1 cgd 115 1.1 cgd Definitions are given with the word or phrase left justified, followed by 116 1.1 cgd the part of speech (if appropriate) and a colon. The definition starts 117 1.1 cgd indented by one tab stop, with subsequent lines left justified, e.g., 118 1.1 cgd 119 1.1 cgd Afternoon, n.: 120 1.1 cgd That part of the day we spend worrying about how we wasted 121 1.1 cgd the morning. 122 1.1 cgd 123 1.1 cgd Quotes are sometimes put around statements which are funnier or make more 124 1.1 cgd sense if they are understood as being spoken, rather than written, 125 1.1 cgd communication, e.g., 126 1.1 cgd 127 1.1 cgd "All my friends and I are crazy. That's the only thing that 128 1.1 cgd keeps us sane." 129 1.1 cgd 130 1.1 cgd Ellipses are always surrounded by spaces, except when next to punctuation, 131 1.1 cgd and are three dots long. 132 1.1 cgd 133 1.1 cgd "... all the modern inconveniences ..." 134 1.1 cgd -- Mark Twain 135 1.1 cgd 136 1.1 cgd Human initials always have spaces after the periods, e.g, "P. T. Barnum", 137 1.1 cgd not "P.T. Barnum". However, "P.T.A.", not "P. T. A.". 138 1.1 cgd 139 1.1 cgd All fortunes should be attributed, but if and only if they are original with 140 1.1 cgd somebody. Many people have said things that are folk sayings (i.e., are 141 1.1 cgd common among the folk (i.e., us common slobs)). There is nothing wrong with 142 1.1 cgd this, of course, but such statements should not be attributed to individuals 143 1.1 cgd who did not invent them. 144 1.1 cgd 145 1.1 cgd Horoscopes should have the sign indented by one tab stop, followed by the 146 1.1 cgd dates of the sign, with the text left justified below it, e.g., 147 1.1 cgd 148 1.1 cgd AQUARIUS (Jan 20 - Feb 18) 149 1.1 cgd You have an inventive mind and are inclined to be progressive. You 150 1.1 cgd lie a great deal. On the other hand, you are inclined to be 151 1.1 cgd careless and impractical, causing you to make the same mistakes over 152 1.1 cgd and over again. People think you are stupid. 153 1.1 cgd 154 1.1 cgd Single quotes should not be used except as quotes within quotes. Not even 155 1.1 cgd single quotes masquerading as double quotes are to be used, e.g., don't say 156 1.1 cgd ``hi there'' or `hi there' or 'hi there', but "hi there". However, you 157 1.1 cgd *can* say "I said, `hi there'". 158 1.1 cgd 159 1.1 cgd A long poem or song can be ordered as follows in order to make it fit on a 160 1.1 cgd screen (fortunes should be 19 lines or less if at all possible) (numbers 161 1.1 cgd here are stanza numbers): 162 1.1 cgd 163 1.1 cgd 11111111111111111111 164 1.1 cgd 11111111111111111111 165 1.1 cgd 11111111111111111111 22222222222222222222 166 1.1 cgd 11111111111111111111 22222222222222222222 167 1.1 cgd 22222222222222222222 168 1.1 cgd 33333333333333333333 22222222222222222222 169 1.1 cgd 33333333333333333333 170 1.1 cgd 33333333333333333333 44444444444444444444 171 1.1 cgd 33333333333333333333 44444444444444444444 172 1.1 cgd 44444444444444444444 173 1.1 cgd 44444444444444444444 174 1.1 cgd 175 1.1 cgd 176
Indexes created Wed Oct 01 19:09:53 GMT 2025