The Heretic Knowledge Vault:FAQs

From The Heretic Knowledge Vault

Revision as of 03:22, 1 February 2008

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding Errant Story. (Note: Please refer to the discussion on the talk page before starting to add FAQs.)

The story

Q. How long has this story been going?
A. Since November 1, 2002, the date when the first comic (a cover featuring Meji Hinadori) went up on the old web site. (If you have some time, go to that link and read the story from the beginning; it's time well spent.)

'Q. How many pages have been completed so far?
A.

Q. How long is it going to last?
A. Until it's done. :-) Poe has indicated that it will run through about nine volumes; as of 2007, it's in volume 5. Draw your own conclusions, but there is no hard-and-fast schedule for completion.

Q. Is the story a sequel to Exploitation Now?
A. Not really. The universe of Errant Story (which we call the "Poe-verse") is very different from that of Exploitation Now. There are a few joking references to Exploitation Now in this story -- see, for example, the Paedagogusi, which may look vaguely familiar -- but that's the extent of the connection, at least that we know of.

Q. Well, then is it going to have a sequel?
A. Quite likely; a character that Poe says is from a sequel has already appeared in some art that's for sale. See the Mikota article for details.

The characters

Q. Elves, half-elves, trolls, etc., I get, but what is an "Errant"?
A. A Half Elf with something wrong with him/her -- physically, mentally, or both. The question of just what constitutes an Errant, and whether all half-elves are Errants, is one of the central themes of the story. Sarine Elle gave a long monologue in Chapter 10 of the story that explains what Errants are all about; start reading here, and settle in for a while.

Q. OK, so the story is partly about elves. But why are these funny names like Rinkai Erufu, Sanguen, and all that stuff used? Why not just "Wood Elves," "Sea Elves," and so on?
A. You're not alone in wondering that; see this moment in the story itself, where Ellis asks Sarine a very similar question to touch off that monologue. Really, though, there's no reason why the races in Errant Story should have the same naming conventions as in other stories and mythos. The Poe-verse stands on its own merits and doesn't have to rely on stuff printed on dead trees 90 years ago, or recent fantasy games either, for that matter. Besides, the names sound cool.

Q. Why are the elves so down on Errants?
A. To answer that one, you'd have to be an elf. That long monologue of Sarine's offers some insights; it's one of those political/religious things. We smelly humans probably can't be expected to understand it fully.

Q. Is Meji Sarine's daughter?
A. No, no, no, no, and no. She's her mom's daughter. Recent plot developments should make the answer to this one obvious, but you wouldn't believe how often it got asked in the early days!

Q. Why do some of the characters have English-sounding names but others have weird almost-Japanese names or "elf" names?
A. It's because they have different languages at home, which naturally produce different kinds of names. Poe wrote some notes on this that appear at the end of the article on the Translation spell.

Q. What's this "Ian Did It" thing all about?
A. See Ian Did It. It's simply an inside joke among long-time Errant Story readers, in which Ian Samael gets humorously blamed for (or credited with) everything from kidnapping a ghoddess to mass mayhem among the elves to Meji's acne in the Poe-verse, and Kennedy's assassination, fall of the Soviet Union, global warming, etc., in the world beyond.

Q. How can I get a character named after myself, my boyfriend, etc.?
A. Snort. Go back in time and arrange to get christened with a name that appears in the story. This has a greater chance of success than trying to get Poe to do something mercenary like that. However, if you donate to the story, you can get other neat stuff, even if it isn't named for you.

The author and other important real-life humans

Q. Who writes this thing, and can you tell me a little more about him?
A. Michael Poe, often called simply "Poe" in story contexts. The link has an irreverent, self-deprecating biographical sketch about him that dates back to the beginning of the story. For more recent, business-like info (Errant Story has been his full-time job for a few years now), check the article at the ES site, here (it has stuff on other important people as well).

Q. Does Poe ever use other handles here or on the Forum?
A. Not that he reveals, anyway. You'll see occasional contributions from him on the Forum; he hasn't done anything in the Heretic Knowledge Vault for a long time, which makes sense because the wiki is for fans, not for the business.

Q. So who is this Impy or Imp-Chan person, and what does he or she have to do with Errant Story?
A. "Impy" and "Imp-Chan" are handles used here and on the Forum by Hilary Hatch, owner and president of Caffeine Angel Studios, the outfit that produces Errant Story. She's also married to Poe. See the Hilary Hatch page for more.

Q. OK, so how about this "Graybeard" guy who writes so many of the wiki articles?
A. He has nothing to do with Errant Story or Caffeine Angel Studios; he's just a long-time reader who likes messing around with wikis and was recently made a forum admin. He should get a life, probably.

Q. Along the same lines, where'd this "Viking-Sensei" guy come from?
A. Jim Hanson is another member of Caffeine Angel Studios as of late summer 2007. He's a friend of Poe and Impy, as well as the main Forum Admin of the new forums. He also provides filler when the need arises and maintains the Errant Story site and wiki.

Q. Who are the other key Caffeine Angel Studios people?
A. Follow that link above ( http://www.errantstory.com/theteam.php ) to learn more about the team.

Q. How do I contact any of these people?
A. If you're a registered user on the Heretic Knowledge Vault, you can leave a message on the relevant user talk pages (User talk:Imp-Chan, User talk:Graybeard, User talk:Viking-Sensei, etc.). If you're not, or if you'd rather your message not be public, try the Contact link reached from the Errant Story home page, here. Note that the business is currently overhauling their web site, so access isn't as easy as it might be. Snail-mail always works, at the address shown on the Contact page.

The business

Q. What's the difference between "Caffeine Angel Studios" and "Selling Out For Fun And Profit.com"?
A. Caffeine Angel Studios refers to the company that runs Errant Story, Exploitation Now, etc., and Sellingoutforfunandprofit.com is the name of Caffeine Angel Studio's store. Probably, if the company weren't all of two people in size, you might refer to it as a division of CAS, but since they're tiny, that'd be kinda silly.

Q. Do the Caffeine Angel Studios people ever go to conventions?
A. Sure. It's an important part of the business, and they like going to them, despite occasional filler art to the contrary.

Q. So how do I get them to come to the one near me?
A. First, make sure they know about it. There's a thread on the Forum specifically set up so that people can tell Impy about cons they might attend. After that, the hard work starts. Making the arrangements takes a little back-and-forth -- it's not like they'll just somehow appear, as though beaming in via a warp gate, and find everything set up for them. Check this page to get a sense of what's needed, and then get in touch with Impy. (BTW, it helps if you're one of the con organizers. If not, think about getting someone who's involved in the organization to make this contact, but still, don't be shy about making it yourself.)

The Forum

Q. Where do I find this "Forum" thing that everyone talks about?
A. Follow this link: http://forums.errantstory.com/index.php -- it'd be a good idea to bookmark it, because lots of good stuff happens on the Forum.

Q. How do I join the Forum?
A. Go to this page and follow the directions to register your login name.

Q. Can I use the Forum if I don't register?
A. You can read the Forum if you're not a registered user, but you can't post to it. This is a bit of bureaucracy required by the incredible proliferation of "spambots" that fill unprotected public-access web sites with all manner of garbage. Requiring registration defeats most of those swine.

Q. I registered, but never got a confirmation email... what do I do?
A. Alas, this seems to happen from time to time. First thing, be sure to check your e-mail client-of-choice's spam filter... the confirmation e-mail may have gotten automatically whisked away as potentially suspicious. If that does not work, you can contact Viking-Sensei and he can usually manually force your registration through.

The wiki (Heretic Knowledge Vault)

Q. What exactly is a "wiki"?
A. According to Wikipedia (pretty much the grandfather of all wikis), "(a) wiki is a medium which can be edited by anyone with access to it, and provides an easy method for linking from one page to another."

Q. So why is this wiki called "The Heretic Knowledge Vault"?
A. Well, it has to be called something. :-) The term is borrowed from an important locale in the story; to read up on that Heretic Knowledge Vault, follow this link.

Q. Who is in charge of/runs the wiki?
A. No one, really; that's the whole point of a wiki. It's hosted by the same people that host everything else about Errant Story, i.e., Poe and Impy, and there is a regular body of people who contribute to the thing and do some housekeeping. The latter are called "Heretical Monks" just for fun. But they're not "in charge," although some have some administrative rights and can help solve wiki problems.

Q. OK, so how do I become a Heretical Monk?
A. Just contribute! The "title" is just for fun, and if you write good stuff and help out, someone will eventually notice and add your name to the list of Heretical Monks.

Q. But I can't contribute, because I don't have a user name and it won't let me edit articles anonymously. What should I do?
A. Register on the Forum (see above) and be a good citizen there for a while. ("Good citizen" basically means "participate and don't spam;" practically any non-spam participation counts as being a good citizen. This link has more on being a good citizen.) Then join the "Heretical Monks" group on the Forum (this link will explain how to do that) and continue to contribute; soon an admin will contact you to set up your handle on the wiki.

Q. That seems kinda complicated. Why isn't it possible to just create a user account myself, like it is on many other wikis?
A. Unfortunately, open registration lets in unbelievable swarms of spambots; see next question. We had open registration for a while and bad things happened. Sorry; fix being worked on, but it'll take time.

Q. Cialis ... Viagra ... porn ...
A. Go away, and don't come back. The Heretic Knowledge Vault is for subjects related to Errant Story ONLY and spam will not be tolerated. Spamming the wiki will get you banned indefinitely, without exception and without appeal. Just don't do it.