X-Git-Url: https://sipb.mit.edu/gitweb.cgi/wiki.git/blobdiff_plain/44bc55b4ef485465e65e3c5be800efbfa150a635..77ff6af8bfa5eb5fa8dd5367aaaff7607b397350:/doc/zephyr.mdwn diff --git a/doc/zephyr.mdwn b/doc/zephyr.mdwn index 7d892ea..fbcb14c 100644 --- a/doc/zephyr.mdwn +++ b/doc/zephyr.mdwn @@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ Roost makes use of [Webathena](https://webathena.mit.edu/) to keep you subscribe ### Zulip -[Zulip](https://zulip.com/zephyr) is a web-based Zephyr client that also provides [mobile apps](https://zephyr.zulip.com/apps) for Android and iOS and desktop apps for Linux, Mac, and Windows. Zulip is developed by a company composed largely of MIT alums and SIPB members. +[Zulip](https://zulip.com/zephyr) ([source code](https://github.com/zulip/zulip)) is a web-based Zephyr client that also provides [mobile apps](https://zephyr.zulip.com/apps) for Android and iOS and desktop apps for Linux, Mac, and Windows. Zulip is developed by a company composed largely of MIT alums and SIPB members. Zulip, like Roost, is easy to set up because it uses Webathena for authentication. See [Zulip for MIT setup](http://zulip.com/zephyr) for details. @@ -63,9 +63,9 @@ Generally the most interesting discussion on Zephyr happens on so-called Zephyr classes. A class is a bit like a chat room in other IM systems. Anyone can send a zephyr to a class, and anyone who is subscribed to that class will receive it. There is no -security on classes -- anyone who knows the name of a class can +security on classes — anyone who knows the name of a class can subscribe, and there is no way to determine who is subscribed to a -given class. +given class. (For secure or private zephyring, consider [[zcrypt]].) To subscribe to a class, use the subscribe command: @@ -90,11 +90,20 @@ You can send zephyrs to individuals (as opposed to classes) with: :zwrite USERNAME +It is possible to `zwrite` to multiple individuals at once, by listing the +usernames separated by spaces: + + :zwrite -C USERONE USERTWO USERTHREE + +The `-C` option automatically puts the line `CC: USERONE USERTWO USERTHREE` +in the body of the zephyr, +although this is only a convention and is not required or enforced. + ### Aside: zephyr triplets -All messages are actually sent to a "zephyr triplet" -- a class, instance, and recipient. Subscriptions are also made to zephyr triplets. The recipient can be either "*" -- to indicate a broadcast message -- or a specific individual. +All messages are actually sent to a "zephyr triplet" — a class, instance, and recipient. Subscriptions are also made to zephyr triplets. The recipient can be either "*" — to indicate a broadcast message — or a specific individual. -When sending, the default class is "message", instance is "personal", and recipient is "*". `zwrite` supports sending to arbitrary triples with `:zwrite -c CLASS -i INSTANCE USERNAME` -- the two examples above use the defaults for the parts that aren't specified. +When sending, the default class is "message", instance is "personal", and recipient is "*". `zwrite` supports sending to arbitrary triples with `:zwrite -c CLASS -i INSTANCE USERNAME` — the two examples above use the defaults for the parts that aren't specified. For subscriptions, the class must be specified. You can specify all instances on a class with "\*", or specify just one instance. You can only sub to recipient "\*" or your own personals (indicated by "%me%").) @@ -122,42 +131,78 @@ Some common classes include: > report what one is working on or up to, or ask friends questions, or > just rant about something. +unclasses: +> Most classes have an unclass, formed by prefixing "un" to the name. For +> example, -c help has the unclass -c unhelp. The unclass is generally used for +> snarky or unproductive replies; the prototypical example that first inspired +> their creation was telling somebody with computer issues to run +> `sudo rm -rf /`. Rarely, un- prefixes are stacked for even snarkier +> discussion, on -c ununhelp and so on. + +.d classes: +> Classes like -c help.d are sometimes used for discussions that deviate from +> the conversation on the main class. .d instances are more common, though; +> see below. + ### Zephyr Slang If you spend enough time on Zephyr, you'll begin noticing some strange phrases and words being thrown around. Some of these include: i,i foo: -> picked up from CMU zephyrland and means "I have no point here, I -> just like saying:". Sometimes people simply use quotes: `"foo"`. +> USENET saying picked up from CMU zephyrland that expands to "I have no point here, I +> just like saying:". Sometimes people use +> [scare quotes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scare_quotes) (e.g. `"foo"`) +> for similar purposes. mix: > If somebody accidentally sends a Zephyr to the wrong class or > person, they will send another Zephyr to that wrong/class person > simply saying "mix". This basically just means, "oops, sorry, I > didn't mean to send that Zephyr here". You might also see "-i mix", -> which is the same thing, only with instances. - -.d: -> You may see an instance change from `-i foo` to `-i foo.d`. This -> indicates a deviation or tangent from the the original topic. +> which is the same thing, only with instances. The specific invocation "unmix" +> is used when accidentally sending a Zephyr to a class instead of its unclass +> or vice versa. -starking: -> Answering a question or replying to a topic to a topic several hours +to Stark: +> To answer a question or replying to a topic to a topic several hours > (or days, occasionally) later. The term originates from Greg Stark, > who would often reply to zephyrs hours or occasionally days later > without seeing if anyone had answered yet, or worse, if the instance > had moved on to an entirely different topic. +.d: +> You may see an instance change from `-i foo` to `-i foo.d`. This +> indicates a deviation or tangent from the the original topic. + +.q: +> Similarly, `.q` at the end of an instance name indicates a quote. + ttants: -> Literally, "Things That Are Not The Same". +> Literally, "Things That Are Not The Same". When the things are people, +> pwants for "People Who Are Not The Same" may be used. prnf: -> Literally, "Pseudo-Random Neuron Firings". +> Literally, "Pseudo-Random Neuron Firing". + +eiz or eip or else: +> Instances used to comment on discussions on other classes in Zephyr without +> linking to the original source for reasons of privacy or discretion. "eiz" +> means "Elsewhere in Zephyr", "eip" means "Elsewhere in Personals". + +eim: +> "Elsewhere in Meatspace": instance used to comment on events not on Zephyr. + +doxp: +> "Do X predicate", from Lisp naming convention. A discussion on whether one +> should do X. +> A common variation is "doxory", literally "Do X or Y". -There are many other acronyms that are used; if you don't know what it -means, try using the `whats foo` command at an Athena terminal. If you -don't have the command, run `add sipb` first. +Many of the acronyms may be suffixed onto normal instance topics with a period +to indicate relation. There are many other acronyms that are used; if you don't +know what it means, try using the `whats foo` command at an Athena terminal. If +you don't have the command, run `add sipb` first. Alternatively, running the +single command `athrun sipb whats foo` works as well. ### Zephyr Etiquette @@ -165,8 +210,7 @@ There are rules that people tend to use on Zephyr. These include: Good grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Not everybody uses capitalization, but they will still use good English. Please do not say -things such as "hey wut r u up to???". It makes you look like an idiot. -Really. +things such as "hey wut r u up to???". You don't need multiple question marks or exclamation points. Usually. @@ -174,10 +218,9 @@ There are a few abbreviations people use, such as YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) or IIRC (If I Remember Correctly), as well as some nerdier ones like DTRT (Do The Right Thing, in reference to [ The Rise of "Worse Is -Better"](http://www.jwz.org/doc/worse-is-better.html)). Try running `add sipb; whats dtrt` to look up an -abbreviation. Common abbreviations that you might find on AIM, however, -are not often used. People tend to look down upon "lol", "rofl", and -such. +Better"](http://www.jwz.org/doc/worse-is-better.html)). +As mentioned above, try running `athrun sipb whats dtrt` to look up an +abbreviation. Personal classes are by convention considered a little more private than non-personal (public) classes. Although most people don't mind people @@ -196,5 +239,4 @@ to your `~/.environment` file if you use `tcsh` or ZEPHYR_CLIENT=false to your `~/.bash_environment` if you use `bash`. This will cause your -shell to launch the `false` executable instead of `zwgc` which does -nothing. +shell to launch the `false` executable instead of `zwgc`, thereby disabling it ('false' does nothing).