The Gunroom

Frequently Asked Questions - The Books

1. Are there any rules in the Gunroom?
2. Are there archives, so that I can look up discussions I missed?
3. What is a "Group Read?"
4. More! I need more! What about other POB- and Gunroom-related sites?
5. What is "the Canon"?
6. What is a "listswain"?
7. What companion books are available?
8. What's this book Clarissa Oakes? Is it another book in the series?

 
1. Are there any rules in the Gunroom?

The Gunroom list is an unmoderated list, so there are no official rules. There are, however, some guidelines that members are politely asked to consider:

• Be courteous and civil -- remembering that each message posted reaches a few hundred men and women of varying backgrounds.
• No flaming. A flame is generally considered a personal attack. A flame war involves two (or more) people engaging in a heated exchange of messages that generally has nothing to do with the original topic of discussion. If you find that someone's post upsets you such that you must send him or her a less-than-civil (or even simply reactionary) message, then do the following: having written your response, stand up, walk away, take a few deep breaths, and come back to your computer. Reread your message. If you still want to send it, then do it off-list, via private e-mail.
• No trolling. A troll is a posting containing inflamatory rhetoric or stating a position vehemently with the object of inciting a flame war. Trolls are often political in nature, and, as such, are unwelcome in the Gunroom.
• This list discusses Patrick O'Brian and all matters related, which can mean pretty much anything. (As someone once said, the Gunroom has two topics of conversation: Patrick O'Brian, and everything else.) Threads often stray far afield from POB, which is inevitable. You are strongly advised, however, to try to have some sort of POB content in your post, and not to discuss incendiary topics such as politics or religion.

"Members of the Gunroom enjoy friendly discussion of various subjects. Sometimes Patrick O'Brian's works may not be on the agenda for some days or even weeks. But the new, delighted reader of O'Brian has only to pose a question or state an opinion about the Canon, or the part of it just discovered, to find any number of ready replies."

Mary S, Gunroom Listswain

• In addition, you are asked not to advertise, not to forward junk mails, and not to solicit non-POB-related donations, no matter how worthy the cause. Be particularly wary of e-mails that warn ominously of e-mail viruses circulating on the Internet. They are almost always hoaxes. (For more on virus hoaxes, see http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHome.html.)
• When a thread begins to stray far from its original topic, please change the subject line to reflect the new topic. You might keep the previous subject line using the word "was" (e.g. "Millers, was Haggis"), for thread continuity.
• List traffic can be overwhelming -- up to a couple hundred messages a day is not unexpected. In fact, heavy volume is the number one reason that people leave the list. To paraphrase Smokey the Bear, you, too, can prevent list congestion. Before posting a message to the Gunroom, ask yourself if your post is...
1. more than one line long
2. adding something of substance to the existing discussion
3. of interest to the members of the list as a body
4. asking an interesting question that might lead to further discussion
5. related to Patrick O'Brian and his work
    
• If you answer "no" to most of these questions, and particularly if your post is addressed to one person specifically, I would urge you to consider sending your message off-list. 
• When responding to a post, be sure to include part of the original post in your own message, so that people know exactly to what you are referring. You could also paraphrase the sentiment you are addressing.
• The best response to an annoying or tiresome topic is silence. The thread will die out of its own accord.
• If you are posting a message that would give away some crucial plot point, thus potentially ruining the enjoyment of a reader who has not yet read that particular book, it is considered courteous to include the word(s) "SPOILER" or "SPOILER ALERT," along with the title of the book, either in the subject line or at the very beginning of your message.

  It is also considerate to leave a page worth of "spoiler space" so those lissuns whose mail programs display the message immediately don't inadvertantly see the spoiling remark.

• The standard copyright laws apply here. Please keep this in mind when quoting from newspaper or magazine reviews or articles, from the work of Patrick O'Brian himself, or from the private e-mails of others. When in doubt, ask permission of the rights holder.

• For more on Gunroom netiquette, see Gibbons Burke's Articles of Mail and Helen Connor's Gunroom Posting Guide. (Note: Gibbons' AofM is slightly out of date in specifics, but is accurate in mood.)

2. Are there archives, so that I can look up discussions I missed?

Yes. They are located at http://mat.tepper.cmu.edu/POB/. This is a good place for "newbies" to check out the kinds of discussions that have occurred in the past.

Since the middle of November, 2001, another set of archives has been stored at http://www.hmssurprise.org/archives/gunroom.html. List members can post responses to messages from this set of archives.

3. What is a "Group Read?"

Serious O'Brian fans have launched a concerted effort to read through the entire Patrick O'Brian oevre, discussing one book per month (with minor catch-up allowances as required). We are currently on Letter of Marque.

If you'd like to read our previous groupread discussions, they are archived at http://jfinnera.www1.50megs.com/pob.html and you can click on each book.

This effort follows an inordinately successful groupread of the short stories, which are archived at the same location. Please join us at any point. Our only request is that you put "groupread" and an abbreviated title of the book into the header, so our archivist(s) will have an easier time separating out these posts.

4. More! I need more! What about other POB- and Gunroom-related sites?

Look at our own Gunroom Companion Sites Page, which has a goodly number of POB-related links.

5. What is "the Canon"?

"The Canon" is a Gunroom term referring to the 20 novels in the Aubrey/ Maturin series.

6. What is a "listswain"?

A "listswain" is any member of this discussion group. Also referred to as "lissun."

7. What companion books are available?
• Men-Of-War: Life in Nelson's Navy by Patrick O'Brian
• Jack Aubrey Commands: An Historical Companion to the Naval World of Patrick O'Brian by Brian Lavery
• Patrick O'Brian's Navy: The Illustrated Companion to Jack Aubrey's World by Richard O'Neill (Editor)
• A Sea of Words by Dean King, John Hattendorf and J. Worth Estes
• Harbors and High Seas by Dean King and John Hattendorf
• Persons, Animals, Ships and Cannon in the Aubrey-Maturin Sea Novels of Patrick O'Brian by Anthony Gary Brown, commonly abbreviated in Gunroom messages as PASC.
• Patrick O'Brian : A Life Revealed by Dean King

and about the film:

• The Making of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World by Tom McGregor, Patrick O'Brian
8. What is this book Clarissa Oakes? Is it another book in the series?

Clarissa Oakes is the British title for The Truelove (#15).

For more information on Patrick O'Brian and his work, see the Patrick O'Brian web page.

( Page last modified 19 May 2007 )