Frequently Asked Questions
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Computer Games | How to Send Fic | Darkfic Passwords



Can you tell me where to get (name of Carmen Computer-Video game)?

If you are coming to Crimenet, chances are you're more devoted to the Cartoon series than the game. Or you just took the first site on the Yahoo spreadsheet.

For those of you in the second catagory, here are a few tips.

The offical site, (http://www.carmensandiego.com people, not all that hard to look up)and the one with more available games is the Carmensandiego.com product site: http://www.carmensandiego.com/products/products.html

You can also check eBAy.com for gently used games and other Carmen merchandise, but these are independant dealers so buyer beware: http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&query=Carmen+Sandiego

No, I don't have any Carmen Games, let alone ones I'm willing to sell. No, most people on the Forum don't have any they'd like to let go either, but you're certainly willing to ask. The best bet you have are on the offical sites or eBay.

I do NOT have cheat codes. You can do a general search on Lycos or Excite to get pages with those.


I'm looking for (insert request), from the old PBS game show

Again, this is a WOEICS fanfic site, not a general WITWICS site. But since the lines blur together online, I'll be nice and point you in the right direction.

PBS.org
http://www.rockapella.com/--- Rockapella's homepage


How do I send you fic?

Any fic that finds it's way to me is welcomed with open arms. But there are a few things about the proccess that new fic writers should be aware about.

In the body of your story should be the title of the story, your name or online nickname clearly marked as the author, your e-mail addy and any disclaimers you want to mention. This ensures less future mix-ups and recognition in any circumstances.

Here's one example:
 Carmen's Caper
 By: Karlena LeVrai (redlady@vile.org)
Author's Notes: Thanks to everyone at the forum for
helping me with the details about Carmen's shoe size!

This is a basic footnote, but it's doesn't have to be this simple. The author can also put in mentions of what 'rating' they think the fic would be, and 'spoilers' that might be in there , to name a few. As long as the basic information is there.

Also, I can't emphasize this enough, SPELL CHECK and GRAMMER CHECK any and all stories before you send them out onto the big bad Internet. Find someone to proof-read it if you can.

Here are a few of the most common formats fic is sent to me in. This is, by no means, a complete list, but it'll give you a good idea of your options and how your fic will be handled.


TXT

The first kind of story featured on Crimenet. In fact several of the older stories are still in this format.

Pros: It's small on space, easy to post (just download and link!) and very straight forward.
Cons: It's very straight forward. Just text. And it's not like '.doc' files where the text automatically wraps around, regardless of if you click on the little "text wrap"

What to do before sending stories in TXT script:
  • Make sure that without the "text wrap" function your paragraphs still build the way you want to.
  • Spellcheck

DOC The most used mode of transporting fic.

Pros: Microsoft word is an EXCELLENT venue for creating fanfic. You don't need to have in depth knowledge of html and you can edit, check spelling, create italics and bold, check grammar... Do anything really! The tools are at your fingertips, and you can let the creative process take over.

Cons: Word is MURDER when it comes to transferring it online. Most of the time the authors don't indicate how they would have their stories posted so I have to either transfer their entire works to html (not fun) or txt (even more unfun). And, unless the author tells me that they REALLY wants those bolds and italics, I tend to toss them out, to save my sanity.


What to do before sending stories in DOC:
  • Include a little side note to me, either in the body of the work or in the e-mail you send to me, what you are willing to let go and what you can't bear to part with.(TAB, italics, bolds etc.)
  • Have patenence. When my evenings are free and clear (which they usually are) it takes me upwards of 3 evenings to translate a 10+ page DOC fic.
  • Write me back if you think a certain aspect was not attended to.

HTML
My preferred method of story. And my least offered format...

Pros: No work on my part! I don't have to second guess the author, delete any bolds or italics, or do any creative editing of my own! Just download and link!

Cons: If the author doesn't know any type of HTML coding, it's a killer. And if you create the entire story with HTML there's no spell checker. And there's the question of how to send it...

What to do before sending stories in HTML:
  • Open it up in a browser to see if any mistakes have been made, in terms of design.
  • Put in a Word Proccesser program before you HTMLize it and spell check
  • Now, spell check again...
  • SPELL CHECK!

OTHER The random bits that I get sent. This goes anywhere from adobe formats (hard)to posting the fic in the body of an e-mail (really easy).

Pros: If it's been placed in the body of the e-mail, it's incredibly simple to get online
Cons: The possibility of taking hours to transfer it into another format so it can be posted.

What to do before sending stories in OTHER:
  • Send it to yourself and try to see if you can access it.
  • Put in one of the above formats if at all possible


Can I have the password to the Darkfic Explaination page?


Well, that depends. Go here for all the info you need to know to get the password


Can you tell me what ever happened to (obscure Carmen mention)?

Uh... Heh, heh... Fraid I Don't understand the question. No fear, I'm sending you to a higher plan of Existance. No, not the DIC programing office, Laurie's FAQ at the Manor. It's more reaching, more expansive, more indepth than anything I could put up here. Besides, I'm just a fic archiver. So, when in doubt about anything not part of the WOEICS Universe, go there.


So, what did you think of my last chapter of my story?

Er... Which?
The shameful fact of things is, I don't really read the fics in depth anymore. It's a time consuming, so I usually just skim for inappropriate material, and punch em in there. Sometimes, if the quickly passing text starts to interest me, I'll say screw it and read at a relaxed pace. But it hasn't happened for a while. Don't take it as a personal remark, it's got nothing to do with you or your writing. It has everything to do with my own $^$# schedule.




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