Archived discussion

OK, these are some cuts I made in accordance with the Spoiler policy. Basically, gently referencing a later page is OK but these page-by-page annotations are meant to be followed along through the first reading of the book. The first cut below runs counter to that policy-- the reader has no idea on the first page what The Light Over the Ranges will come to refer to, and we don't want to tell them before they've encountered that information themselves. Bleakhaus 12:22, 5 December 2006 (PST)

1) The Light Over the Ranges
- This exact phrase recurs on page 198 (Book 2) seen by Webb. It also suggests Tesla's 03 July 1899 'vision'. (The singular 'range' seems called for-- so why plural here?)

At least move it to the notes for 198.--Robot 13:31, 5 December 2006 (PST)

OK, it's moved. Bleakhaus 13:52, 5 December 2006 (PST)

2) 'Lad' implies all are under 18 years old.

This was cut not for spoiler reasons, but b/c "lad" can also mean a young man (not necessarily under 18) and, in general, be used by a commanding officer toward his underlings of many ages. Bleakhaus 12:22, 5 December 2006 (PST)

placed this discussion back in. Bleakhaus 13:52, 5 December 2006 (PST)

3) southerly wind
- Blowing from the south to the north. Most likely they're leaving from the New Orleans area (see eg page 29).

This is minor-- it could go back in, if anyone wants. Bleakhaus 12:22, 5 December 2006 (PST)

4) -recently opened'
- 01 May 1893. But page 52 makes it sound later.

Again, a minor one. Bleakhaus 12:22, 5 December 2006 (PST)

5) Page 4:

Professor
- On page 10 this is repeated in quotes.

I stick by this cut. It's a minor point, but especially on page 10 we want a reader following along with the guide to feel that the guide is not getting ahead of him, which could ruin the experience and make him abandon use fo the guide. Bleakhaus 12:22, 5 December 2006 (PST)

6) Page 5:

perpetual-motion machine
- We'll learn on page 8 that it generates its own hydrogen, but how this is powered is not explained.

Agains, let's put this on page 8, then. Bleakhaus 12:22, 5 December 2006 (PST)

Feeling like someone is looking for excuses to trim your work makes one much less enthusiastic about bothering. So don't trim things unless you really believe they degrade the enterprise.--Robot 13:36, 5 December 2006 (PST)

Robot, your contribs are great! please just keep within the spoiler-free spirit of the Page-by-Page and there will never be a problem. Also, if you'd like to add analysis that doesn't need to worry about spoilers, you can add them in the Alpha guide. Thanks, Bleakhaus 13:43, 5 December 2006 (PST)

I feel the same way about editing. Err on the side of keeping it pretty open. Also, I suggest communicating directly with someone you're about to trim. I've only been reformatting -- making things work correctly or look prettier -- and allowing the info to flow. But if there's a dispute about anything, just communicate directly.

Also, re spoilers, I don't think we should get *too* hung up on them. Frankly, I can't really imagine anyone saying anything about what's coming later in the novel that would compromise my enjoyment. Pynchon, for me, is way more about the journey. I wouldn't want someone laying out exactly how it ends, or saying something like, When Frank kills Lake..., or When the Chums of Chance die in a horrible crash, but the subtler things, stuff that might ruin a mystery novel or a heavily plot-driven novel, I'm personally not too concerned about and I don't we should expend too much emotional capital on avoiding them, beyond what's reasonable WikiAdmin 13:50, 5 December 2006 (PST)

I disagree. When i saw a comment *ON PAGE 1* of the Page by Page that said Webb was gonna be killed i was furious. If I were using this wiki for the first time, I would probably never return to it. That said, the spoiler warning at the top will hopefully set the tone. I don't wanna be a Nazi about this, but it's why the Page by Page section was created. Bleakhaus 14:01, 5 December 2006 (PST)

Man, I hope these are hypothetical examples: "...I wouldn't want someone laying out exactly how it ends, or saying something like, When Frank kills Lake..., or When the Chums of Chance die in a horrible crash..."

Well, maybe they are and maybe they're not. You'll just have to wait & see :) WikiAdmin 14:45, 5 December 2006 (PST)

Wow, discussion gets very long very quick. Let me say as a final comment that I apologize if I've offended you, Robot. This whole wiki process is still anarchy, still the wild west and I, like you, am still learning how to best get things done around here. I hope I haven't discouraged you from the wiki cause you've been a valuable contributor so far! Bleakhaus

Hey, I'm going to go ahead and make a bold assertion, namely that the now infamous (at least in some very select circles) "bad physics" comment is erroneous on the grounds that the ship's hydrogen producing apparatus would kick in and and slw and eventually stop their descent. In this I follow a certain "cleek" from the AtD blog, "Chumps of Chance." If no one object in the next day or two, I'm going to go ahead and amend the page. S'alright? Squidwiggle 18:5322 December, 2006 (PST)