Will step two get figured out?

Posted March 11, 2008 1:18 AM by Terry Karney

*throws confetti*

Posted March 11, 2008 1:20 AM by elise

WORK LIKE YOU WERE LIVING IN THE EARLY DAYS OF A BETTER NATION.

This is awesome.

Posted March 11, 2008 1:24 AM by Andrew

Phase 2 is actually in an advanced state of development in our
laboratories high atop Skullcrusher Mountain, but you don't give away all your proprietary secret sauce in a single blog post.

Or even a single mixed metaphor. Wait, I guess secret laboratories
can work on sauce. But can they sing a swan song? I tellya, I'm all sewed up in horse pies about it.

Posted March 11, 2008 1:27 AM by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

Remember folks: there.is.no.secret.cabal.

Posted March 11, 2008 1:27 AM by JKRichard

None whatsoever. And we certainly fnord don't see fnord the fnords.

Posted March 11, 2008 1:29 AM by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

I see a glorious and friendly rivalry between you and io9.com! Colbert, er, I mean Fandom Wins!

Posted March 11, 2008 1:34 AM by Bill Humphries

Do you want us to throw the underpants out the window to you, or just bring them to the collection site?

Posted March 11, 2008 1:36 AM by Bruce Cohen (SpeakerToManagers)

i09.com rocks our
world, so much so that we may be required to eat their brains. Which
will be a gentle and loving experience for all concerned.

Posted March 11, 2008 1:37 AM by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

Bruce Manager, Speaker to Cohens, #8: We were thinking that you'd hurl them onto the stage while we sang "Delilah."

Posted March 11, 2008 1:39 AM by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

Wow, a three-letter domain name that's an actual word. Impressed by that alone!

Posted March 11, 2008 1:47 AM by Larry Brennan

Wouldn't "What's New, Pussycat?" be even more appropriate than "Delilah?"

Posted March 11, 2008 1:48 AM by Linkmeister

PWNH'D @ 10

I can do that. If I can find my lighter I'll hold it up.

Posted March 11, 2008 1:51 AM by Bruce Cohen (SpeakerToManagers)

I registered "tor.com" in 1993 or 1994. In later years I generously
gave it to TorforgeSMPholtzbrinckpalgravefarrarholtmacmillan. I'm a
softy.

Posted March 11, 2008 1:52 AM by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

*comes behind Elise with throwing ticker tape*

Posted March 11, 2008 2:01 AM by Nina Armstrong

Well, yay and W00t! Despite the bitter disappointment of not being eligible for the eee (bitter, I tell you!) I'm on the barge with the fireworks, ready for Nina and Elise to give the signal.

Posted March 11, 2008 2:11 AM by vian

E-mail already sent.

Body of same: I won't promise any rude villanelles, though. Maybe an
occasional discreet sonnet, or a whimsical haiku, or simply a fit of
alliteration here and there.

Posted March 11, 2008 2:15 AM by Lois Fundis

Sign me up!! Oh, and loving "Off Armageddon Reef"...

Posted March 11, 2008 2:21 AM by Jo Fish

So, will this be 12th fandom, false 11th, or will more dogs be kneeing groins?

Posted March 11, 2008 2:32 AM by Steve Zillwood

I leave the villanelles to others, choosing other manner of
versification, diversification, reversification, etc., for commentary.

Posted March 11, 2008 2:38 AM by Paula Lieberman

Ooh! Shiny! Kick io9's asses, politely!

(I just sent off my betatester e-mail, and when I did, Google tried to sell me a "Got Tranya?" t-shirt. They know me!)

Posted March 11, 2008 2:41 AM by ethan

*raises a glass of something bubbly while watching the parade*

Posted March 11, 2008 3:46 AM by glinda

I want to know about the hoisin sauce. (Thought you'd quietly put that past us, eh? Not likely.)

Posted March 11, 2008 4:20 AM by Clifton Royston

It will be very interesting to see whether it's possible to
establish the online equivalent of a focal point fanzine, because there
have been several previous attempts, none terribly successful. Looking
backwards, there was a long phase where fandom essentially gathered in
rec.arts.sf.fandom on Usenet; then a long period where fandom could be
found mostly on LiveJournal rather than other social networks. But the
anonymity of LJ has been a struggle, and the site design acts to
suppress long threads and favour the trivial over the profound.

Shame the beta's not running now because all of UK fandom is
currently plunged into war following the release of the Clarke
shortlist. Would be a perfect test.

Posted March 11, 2008 4:26 AM by Alison Scott

Okay, one free suggestion: in these days of the international
internet, why not have a "country of origin" field in the sign-up
section? It'd probably save your minions a whole *heap* of trouble when
it comes to figuring out which of the myriad gmail.com addresses are
actually from the US, not to mention all the other webmail domains.
Your marketing people might like it too - who knows, they might be able
to find a couple of new markets from the list?

Overall, it sounds like a good idea, and I'll keep watching to see how things turn out.

In the meantime, that's me over there with the sausage-inna-bun stall.

Posted March 11, 2008 4:35 AM by Meg Thornton

Alison, Shame
the beta's not running now because all of UK fandom is currently
plunged into war following the release of the Clarke shortlist. Would
be a perfect test., not this part of UK fandom.

Posted March 11, 2008 4:51 AM by Dave Bell

Shiny!

And given that it's that rarity, a three letter domain name, it
would be even shinier if tor.com as well as www.tor.com worked as a way
to get there. Yes, I am lazy. :-)

Posted March 11, 2008 5:00 AM by Julia Jones

Could this truly be, that Tor, with its reputation as the esseff
publisher with the Worst Web Presence, actually creating not just a
proper website, but something that's actually exciting? These truly are
the early days of a better nation!

Posted March 11, 2008 5:39 AM by Martin Wisse

And here I've gone this long thinking "Phase one: collect underpants" was for Frank Zappa's quilt!

Posted March 11, 2008 5:58 AM by Neil in Chicago

*dances*

So happy. Have books to read at work already--this will be another time sink!

Posted March 11, 2008 6:26 AM by Sisuile

of interest to SF and fantasy readers, such as medieval siege
engines, the Van Allen Belt, hoisin sauce, XKCD, and the novels of
Georgette Heyer

...and Agatha Heterodyne? And knitting?

Posted March 11, 2008 6:40 AM by Serge

Look! He has a plan! We must eat his brain! (...) WORK LIKE YOU
WERE LIVING IN THE EARLY DAYS OF A BETTER NATION. Anyway, that’s our
plan.

Does that mean we must eat your brain?

"Better nation-building thru brain-eating."

Posted March 11, 2008 7:10 AM by Serge

A better future will be had by all through the people's glorious
interentcomputerwesite! Doubleplussgood citizens-workers are allowed
five minutes of rejoicing!

Posted March 11, 2008 7:14 AM by Josh Jasper

#28, Martin: Actually, although you may not have noticed (who, after
all, surfs such sites regularly?), our creaking and antiquated
corporate web site was finally replaced with a rather zippy and useful
one--complete with information about all in-print titles--back in
February 2007.

Posted March 11, 2008 7:20 AM by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

#27, Julia: With you there. I don't know why our setup is like that, and I hope to see it fixed.

Posted March 11, 2008 7:24 AM by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

As per instructions, I wave. *waves* Looking forward to writing about gaming matters, widely construed.

Posted March 11, 2008 7:26 AM by Bruce Baugh

#24. Alison: I was thinking exactly that as I scanned my LJ flist yesterday!

Posted March 11, 2008 7:29 AM by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

I signed up for the books. :) Though if Tor really wants me to beta-test, they can always ask in one of their newsletters.

Good luck with the community in any case.

Posted March 11, 2008 7:56 AM by Alan Kellogg

Martin (28), observe the festive and brightly-colored blood issuing from my bitten tongue.

Posted March 11, 2008 8:26 AM by Teresa Nielsen Hayden

Well, at last.

(Please note how, with such compression--three words, three--I
manage to suggest prior knowledge, settle myself clearly in the "in"
group, and nod-nod-wink-wink at the same time. Like: am I writing for
this thing or just hoping to rub up aganst the editor. And all without
giving way any actual information. If I don't make it in the writing
game, I might try being a spy.)

Oh, and PNH--that's the first time in a while I heard your actual
voice in a post. You wrote that as if speaking it. That wonderful,
breathless, words-and-ideas tumbling on top of one another manner you
have that makes any conversaion with you both delicious and difficult
to keep up with. Especially if one has a bad back, old ears, and a new
knee.

Jane

Posted March 11, 2008 8:33 AM by janeyolen

Well that sounds like more fun than a barrel of Arcturan spider-puppies!

Posted March 11, 2008 8:43 AM by Jo Walton

Apparently, I signed up too late to get the Scalzi ebook download. I guess I'm just tough out of luck.

Posted March 11, 2008 8:53 AM by Earl Cooley III

I just KNEW it was going to be something GRAND. The writers blogs
are the most INTENSE, and now were are to have a whole editing company
and all thier wordy/ nerdy/ mind bending, individuals who give us
thought provoking mayhem and BOOKS.

I will be signing up TODAY

Posted March 11, 2008 9:08 AM by Harvey the Puca

And the rest of us at Tor will also be pitching in and blogging and
commenting and all like that. But not in an unpleasant, promotional
kind of way, we hope. More like those conversations we have in the
hall, when someone shouts out "holy crap, I just read/saw/heard the
coolest thing!"

Posted March 11, 2008 9:25 AM by beth meacham

Sweet. Y'all had already pulled me in with the free e-books, but now
that I have a better idea of what this'll be about, I'll totally sign
up for the beta testing. Thanks for letting us in. ^_^

Posted March 11, 2008 9:29 AM by Anna the Piper

It's the largest permanent floating Worldcon on the Web!

Oh, and Patrick: bless you, bless you, bless you. I spent three
weekends in a row on business trips, and if it weren't for those ebooks
I would have failed all my sanity rolls.

Posted March 11, 2008 9:35 AM by TexAnne

eeeep!

Posted March 11, 2008 9:37 AM by Nancy C. Mittens

Jane @40

I noticed that too! Except, from this perspective, change 'a while'
to 'ever.' No intent to disparage our host, but my textual glimpses of
PNH have mostly been of the more surly variety. Smart, sharp, usually
laying a superhero-like smackdown against the forces of idiocy.

This post made me giggle and grin, which nearly had disasterous results here at work! Encore!

Posted March 11, 2008 9:49 AM by Maeg

This should be entertaining, and I've sent in my beta-testing
application. (And am in the process of reviewing the free ebooks as I
write.)

Regarding signing up late: the previous download links are still
live (I don't know whether this is deliberate or an oversight, given
PNH's comment about going away) and the emails encourage you to forward
them to friends. I'll happily forward the previous ones on a catch-up
basis if requested.

Posted March 11, 2008 9:51 AM by Sam Kelly

Shouldn't that be "early days of a better website?"

Already sent in the beta email. I eagerly await my inclusion in the ultra secret super double magic inner circle.

Posted March 11, 2008 9:57 AM by heresiarch

This is So! Exciting!

Posted March 11, 2008 9:57 AM by MorganJLocke

This is truly wondrous.

Posted March 11, 2008 10:19 AM by Fragano Ledgister

Sounds like this is going to be a lot of fun!

Posted March 11, 2008 10:29 AM by Jennifer Barber

As Meg said (#25), a country field might be good, especially since
the CIP code field is obligatory, and I doubt my German CIP code will
do you any good.

Also, the "successfully subscribed" message needs to appear in a
more visible place. As it is right now, under the form in the same
font, color, and size, it is easily missed, leading to confusion,
multiple signups, and the breakdown of western civilization. Or parts
thereof.

Finally, while I did get the sneaky little signup successful
message, I never got my signup email--and I did check my spam folder. I
wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that I wrote "n/a" into
the CIP code field.

Posted March 11, 2008 10:32 AM by Daniel

"Open to legal residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 or older"

Wait...what? Why? Waaaaah!

Posted March 11, 2008 10:34 AM by Russ

Oh, that's just for the Asus. Ok then :)

Although I'd still like to win an Asus :(

P.S. I remember a while back someone complained that email addresses
got harvested for spam from here a lot (not by our hosts, by bots) and
was advised to put in a human readable version, e.g. with "at". I tried
that but the comment wouldn't post without a valid address...is that
new?

Posted March 11, 2008 10:38 AM by Russ

This is so swell, keen, neat, cool! I spend so many hours each day
alone, in a house that's a long way from anything, and it's such a
treat to wander off to my friends' virtual houses, grab a cup of tea or
some salsa and chips and settle down for a chat. Or just eavesdrop on
the conversations, and go away refreshed and less lonely. And now I
have a new place to visit.

Congrats to one and all at Tor.

Posted March 11, 2008 10:54 AM by Melinda Snodgrass

Russ @56: No, it's been doing that as long as I've been commenting
here. I believe if you put a web site in, your e-mail address won't be
displayed. (Or you can just rely on GMail's built-in spam filtering,
which has been doing an impressively good job for me.)

Posted March 11, 2008 10:55 AM by Kevin Riggle

Jane @40: I read it and thought, "It's an Izzard editorial!" It's nice to hear that voice again.

Posted March 11, 2008 11:18 AM by Velma

I look forward to more publishing-oriented, less breathless counterpart to io9!

Posted March 11, 2008 11:21 AM by Stephanie

Glad to see things progressing, hope some of that progress includes seeing more Tor offerings over at Webscriptions again :-)

Posted March 11, 2008 11:22 AM by James

Oooh, shiny.

I've been pining for a new internet community to hang out at--my old
ones weren't a good fit anymore and I've been rather without for a few
years now. This sounds like just my kind of thing and I've been wearing
this funny little grin all through reading the post and comments.

Signed up for beta testing, too. Whee!

Posted March 11, 2008 11:28 AM by Renatus

Kevin @58: Hmmm. Tried leaving a random, valid URL in the URL bit,
but that won't take my post. If you're reading this, I found a solution
(obviously), but is there a FAQ/posting guide thingy or thread?

I also find gmail's spam control excellent - I only mentioned it
because I happened to look in my spam folder to check for false
positives and noticed it's now trapping 1300 messages a month. Which I
think is quite impressive.

OAnd since I'm wayyyy off-topic I should probably mention I'm looking forward to the new site. And not just for Free! Books!

Although they help.

Posted March 11, 2008 11:41 AM by Russ

Well, nifty. In fact, a whole truckload of niftiness wrapped in an easy-to-carry package.

Posted March 11, 2008 11:55 AM by Stephen Granade

I first heard about the e-books from Brandon Sanderson's blog, and I
have to admit that they have been great (and a fun way to get
introduced to some "new" authors (at least new to me!)). I can't wait
to get my grubby hands on that betasite :-)

Posted March 11, 2008 11:58 AM by Mike Adelstein

A most excellent website! I am fiendishly delighted.

Posted March 11, 2008 12:01 PM by Fiendish Writer

Do I have to write villanelles? I'm much better with sonnets. Or sestinas. A SFnal sestina is a lovesome thing, God wot.

Posted March 11, 2008 12:05 PM by Madeleine Robins

Wait, there's a Wikipedia article on "incluing"?

But I made that word up! I made that word up when I was fifteen!

Life really is amazing sometimes. The internet has been remarkably good to me.

Posted March 11, 2008 12:10 PM by Jo Walton

Jo at #68: And attributed as such, too! Though I had to fix the link
to your livejournal. LJ's 404 page is currently rather peculiarly
broken, unless it's just me.

Thank you for it - I'd been trying to find a useful way of describing that precise technique recently.

Posted March 11, 2008 12:26 PM by Sam Kelly

Sign me up! (sign me up)

For the Tor Com jubilee!

Write my name (write my name)

On the roll! (on the beta roll)

I've been changed (I've been changed)

Since ML has lifted me...

I wanna be ready when the site rolls out!

(Filked from this.)

I signed up on the signup page (it's not https:, which concerned me
for a couple of seconds), and sent the email asking to beta test. This
is so cool! I want to be part of 17th Fandom, or whatever we're up to
now. I think actually there may be multiple distinct fandom threads
now; gone are the days when everyone in fandom had read all the books
that came out, or attended all the events at WorldCon. It just isn't
possible (literally, in the case of WorldCon).

So I think we're in the era of Multithreaded Fandom, which is beyond
the singularity of numbered fandoms. It's no longer possible to number
eras when there's no one focus. Perhaps the Tor.com site will help to
fuse some threads back together, and I certainly want to be part of it!

Start clicking the links;

It's launching today.

I want to be a part of it:

Tor com, Tor com!

I want to fanac

In a fandom that never sleeps,

Because we're Melbourne to Nome,

Tokyo to Rome,

We will destroy all those boys who come freep!

         (it goes on for pages, it's really the most disgusting stuff)

Posted March 11, 2008 12:30 PM by Xopher

First we got i09 and now we're getting Tor.com. If the internet gets any more awesome this year, Google might have to move up their coup to make sure the infrastructure can handle it.

Posted March 11, 2008 12:34 PM by annalee flower horne

Oh my. This and io9? My RSS science fiction folder will be happy. I
chew through entries like there'll be an apocalyptic breakdown of
civilization tomorrow.

Signed up.

Posted March 11, 2008 12:49 PM by Arachne Jericho

Hmm. An on-tor-age. {g sounded like j...)

Torwristing the Web.

Book tours (no physical pages to rip or be raster image printed)

Posted March 11, 2008 1:20 PM by Paula Lieberman

OK I'll be the first cranky one:

Folks! Stop being so great and launching awesome web sites--I have to get stuff done at work!

Please, people, won't you think of the PRODUCTIVITY?

Posted March 11, 2008 1:22 PM by Chryss

Yeah, the free ice cream is gonna make us all fat! Bad persons you!

Too damn much DELIGHT in the world as it is. Dratted goodness. Makes
me wanna go hit myself with a stick, just to remind me to be crabby.

(This should be taken as joining the fun of Cryss's's's' post, not criticising it.)

Posted March 11, 2008 1:27 PM by Xopher

As I said when we launched our social thingimigummy* last year, the
one thing I can say for certain is that people will use it in ways we
don't expect.

I look forward to the opportunity to do just that. (In my copious free time, snort.)

----

* In Dutch, onze sociabel dingetje

Posted March 11, 2008 1:28 PM by abi

You are probably already aware of this, but http://tor.com is not redirecting to http://www.tor.com.

Posted March 11, 2008 1:28 PM by Scraps

#75, Xopher: No free ice cream. More like dastardly niece with the
Girl Scout cookies. DON'T STAND IN THE WAY OF MY THIN MINTS, ELSE I'M
GONNA CUT YOU!

A-hem. Don't know where that came from. Truly.

Posted March 11, 2008 1:38 PM by Chryss

Most excellent.

Posted March 11, 2008 1:55 PM by Lucy Huntzinger

Very, very exciting indeed. I just signed up. (At first, I
was worried I wouldn't be able to, as I am a British person with a
postcode rather than a zip code, but I entered that and it didn't seem
to mind. Which is good.) And I gave it my good email address- the one I actually use. Because I'm excited.

Posted March 11, 2008 1:59 PM by Sian Hogan

Julia #27: Why even type ".com"? Typing t-o-r-(Ctrl/Enter) will, in
most browsers, produce "http://www.tor.com" quickly and easily.

I admit in some shame that I haven't (and probably won't) avail
myself of this week's freebie (Ms. Lackey not being my cuppa), but the
prior two rocked my socks. That's a heck of an average (even in spring
training) and I am looking forward to the upcoming season!

Posted March 11, 2008 2:00 PM by Bruce Adelsohn

More fun than getting my taxes done (which was what I did this morning)!

I've been saying 'no thanks' to all the little scout-things
infesting the shopping centers the last couple of weeks. Tomorrow they
hit the building where I work. Oh the horror! (Samoas?)

Posted March 11, 2008 2:03 PM by P J Evans

More shiny things. I am going to run to library where my email is not blocked so I can sign up.

I've been away from ML for about two weeks, I have statistical analyses that continue to plague me. I miss you.

Posted March 11, 2008 2:07 PM by Tania

#74: All your productivity are belong to Tor.

Posted March 11, 2008 2:12 PM by Arachne Jericho

Cool.

Posted March 11, 2008 2:21 PM by Spherical Time

Just wondering how long it takes to cough up the acknowledgement email. Checked the spam box as well...

Posted March 11, 2008 2:25 PM by Larry Brennan

Larry 86, the fine print says "Within a day or so of sending us your
address, you should receive an email with a download link for this
week’s free book." It also says some other cool things.

Posted March 11, 2008 2:28 PM by Xopher

For all that I like the new Tor website, I remember fondly the N
H-written FAQ on the old one. A precursor to the tone of ML, it made
backstage, as it were, look almost as cool and fun as onstage.

Also -- Farthing! Worth signing up just for that.

Posted March 11, 2008 2:45 PM by Sarah

@Xopher - Thanks. I didn't read the fine print closely, and most of
these engines are automated these days, creating expectations of an
immediate response.

Posted March 11, 2008 2:56 PM by Larry Brennan

Well, I'll be jiggered. They done Tor us a new one.

Posted March 11, 2008 2:57 PM by Michael Weholt

Madeleine Robins @ 67

Please do write sestinas. I like them a lot, but I don't have time to write them very often; somebody ought to.

Posted March 11, 2008 3:02 PM by Bruce Cohen (SpeakerToManagers)

Larry #86:

I didn't hear back until the next e-book was made available (in a
bulk post?). So, if it was sent out the day before you signed up, you
might have nearly a whole week to wait.

Posted March 11, 2008 4:23 PM by Soon Lee

Michael Weholt said @90:

Well, I'll be jiggered. They done Tor us a new one.

Oh, the Torment.

(But I've already signed up, so clearly I'm asking for it.)

Posted March 11, 2008 4:42 PM by Peter Erwin

What? No torpitude?

Posted March 11, 2008 4:59 PM by Serge

How can you guys disTort the language to make those Torrible puns?
Well, I suppose I should try to weather the sTorm. I can't stop you,
though perhaps I can Torque the process just a little.

All this brings me to my next idea, which is that the regular commenters on the Tor site should be called Toreadors.

Posted March 11, 2008 5:07 PM by Xopher

Today's special... Tortellini.

Posted March 11, 2008 5:08 PM by Serge

THE PLAIN PEOPLE OF FANDOM: And you, of course, spoke Perl when it was neither profitable nor popular!

Posted March 11, 2008 5:19 PM by Julia

But I actually WANT the Mercedes Lackey - I haven't read anything by
her since junior high, and I just read Farthing on my Christmas
holidays. It lasted almost the whole flight.

Posted March 11, 2008 5:26 PM by EClaire

Bruce @81: Right now my Firefox feels that if I type in "tor", what I want is http://www.torproject.org/

Which is a good and fine thing in its own right, but is not tor.com :-(

Posted March 11, 2008 6:56 PM by Julia Jones

Yay.

I signed up for the newsletter the first week. And I've sent my email for the beta.

rasfw has been pretty unreadable for a while, and LiveJournals, while fun, are too fragmented.

This should be good.

Posted March 11, 2008 7:33 PM by Elyse Grasso

Not sure if I'll take the e-books (I have the hc of Farthing)
but this looks like an interesting site -- although it will have more
room for interest if I retire (cf several previous comments about
productivity). Which brings up a question: why are the offered age
brackets 1-11, 12-17, 18-30, and 30+? Are 30++ assumed to be still
reading? Niggling minds want to know....

Posted March 11, 2008 7:34 PM by CHip

Russ @63: Looks like it worked. I can't see your e-mail address any more.

Pretty much all the posting guide is the couple boxes above the comment box (starting with the one that begins "Welcome to Making
Light's comment section."), though at least one bit of it is out of
date, viz. that these days about four URLs will get your commend held
for approval. There's also an implicit "don't be a d--k" guideline, but
you seem to have a good handle on that already. :-)

Xopher @70: I was trying to find a way to point out that today's
fandom seems to be larger and more diverse than the numbered fandoms of
youre, but you mostly said it better than I could have. In a way, Making Light is
a Focal Point Fanzine for one thread of modern fandom. (It was
certainly a large part of my introduction to same, though I'm still
just nudging about the periphery.) The trend toward diversity isn't
confined to fandom. Modern media markets---what I want to call the
modern attention market---is more diverse and therefore more
fragmented, and no one thing of any kind---movie, TV show, web
site---is seeing the kind of centralized attention it might have seen
in the Olden Days.

Here's a question pertinent to the original topic: Who will be moderating the new tor.com site?

Posted March 11, 2008 7:48 PM by Kevin Riggle

Waiting for my confirmational email has been Torture.

Posted March 11, 2008 9:06 PM by Terry Karney

As you know Bob, I want to be a beta tester. I hope they let me in.

Posted March 11, 2008 9:23 PM by Christopher Turkel

How many different ways are there to be "in," because I'm totally all of them.

Fucking. Rad.

Posted March 11, 2008 9:27 PM by Will Entrekin

Very very nice.

Mmm, not wanting to sound ungrateful, because this really is the
bestest thing I've heard of in a long time, but, umm, what's the
privacy policy? (It's this pesky EFF droid drilled into the base of my skull that makes me ask such ungrateful-sounding questions.)

Posted March 11, 2008 9:35 PM by Dan

I did the initial signup, but didn't download books. So far they've
been books I already had in paper or Mercedes Lackey. I'll go sign up
to beta test now. I used to break software for a living. ;)

Posted March 11, 2008 9:53 PM by Marilee

Congratulations, and thanks. Umm, you will still be here too,
please, right? This is an addition, not a move? (That is, yum, free ice
cream; change still a little scary.)

Posted March 11, 2008 10:00 PM by karen

103: But will you break? We want... information.

Posted March 11, 2008 10:01 PM by Rob Rusick

Marilee @ 107

I used to break software for a living.

Does that make you a code whisperer?

Posted March 11, 2008 10:04 PM by Bruce Cohen (SpeakerToManagers)

I do think I may die happy now, having seen references to both Myles na gCopaleen and Jonathan Coulton on the same web page.

If you could have worked in something about Yeovil HQ as well, I most likely would have spontaneously combusted right here.

Posted March 11, 2008 10:48 PM by Julia

Daniel @ 54: "Also, the "successfully subscribed" message needs
to appear in a more visible place. As it is right now, under the form
in the same font, color, and size, it is easily missed, leading to
confusion, multiple signups, and the breakdown of western civilization.
Or parts thereof."

Seconded. Especially misleading is the "All Fields Required" message
at the top, which is particularly evocative if an "input rejected"
screen.

Since no one else has mentioned it, I like the free wallpapers! If
Tor decided to release all their book art as wallpapers (especially
backstock), I would be decidedly squeeful.

Posted March 11, 2008 10:54 PM by heresiarch

Privacy policy, for those who asked.

Confirmational emails to those of you who offered to be beta testers
are going out in intermittent batches. Don't fret if you don't get one
for a day or three. There'll be nothing to see until early April
anyway. Oh, and yes, we're still accepting beta testers.

Confirmational emails to people who preregister at www.tor.com are also batched, although somewhat more automatic.

Posted March 11, 2008 11:45 PM by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

I still want to Watch The Skies, but get the widow saying "Email
Address is invalid". It isn't, honest. I'm guessing this has something
to do with using an antique Macintosh version of Internet Explorer, and
that eventually I'll discover a workaround. Grumpf!

Posted March 11, 2008 11:46 PM by Don Fitch

heresiarch @#112: I love the wallpapers, too! Although the Palencar*
gave me a chuckle, musing on how it would work as a wraparound cover
(it's not really a wraparound).

*it's perfectly lovely, like all of his covers. I'm just goofy.

Posted March 11, 2008 11:55 PM by Mary Dell

114: Well... it's a lonely window.

Posted March 12, 2008 12:01 AM by Don Fitch

BTW, I believe just enlisted a couple of coworkers for the ebook
thing. I should have done it a couple weeks earlier so they could've
got in on Old Man's War, et al.

I'm actually getting new reading material faster than I have time to read it at the moment; that's odd.

Posted March 12, 2008 1:24 AM by Clifton Royston

Don Fitch #114:

If you delete the Tor cookies & try again, does that fix it?

Tor cookies: A thunderbolt in every bite!

Posted March 12, 2008 1:39 AM by Soon Lee

I'm... tempted... to send in a beta-admittance request.

But... I'm trying to get retirement papers together, trying to
job-hunt at the same time, I still have the annual
run-around-the-house-cursing-hunt-for-everything-to-file-taxes-with
coming up next month, plus this winter's heavy rains have made the
backyard a jungle of weeds.

(Yes, I've finally taken that big scary step, and started retirement
proceedings from the Postal Service. If I'd know it would feel THIS
damn good, I'd have done it sooner.)(I've liked my actual job for
thirty-plus years, but... my god... the management system is so damned
toxic!)

So... I'll pass... for now.

[excessive ellipsises provided by the Bill Bowers Memorial Ellipsis Mine]

Posted March 12, 2008 1:54 AM by Bruce Arthurs

pnh @ #14: I admired the the shortness of "pnh@tor.com" back in 1994
when I was "rfm@sun.com"
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.sf.fandom/msg/797eb27d26a989f3

Neither rfm @sun .com or rfm@eng.sun.com works for me now, but I don't have to get up in the morning...

Posted March 12, 2008 2:50 AM by Rich McAllister

It sounds like a site that was long overdue... nice!

And it made me wonder what kind of policies will there be for submitting stories for this new venture.

Posted March 12, 2008 3:15 AM by Santiago Casares

Mary Dell @ 115: "Although the Palencar* gave me a chuckle, musing on how it would work as a wraparound cover (it's not really a wraparound)."

Heh! "So, uh...apparently this book is about butts. And crows."

Posted March 12, 2008 7:46 AM by heresiarch

so, not to be a wet blanket, here, but the first thing i thought was
'but Baen Books already has that!' of course, the more stuff out there
for us reader-types, the merrier, and i'm happy TOR is putting this
together, and i wish them luck.

but it does make me wonder if you (collectively) are designing this
site to be in *competition* with Baen's site, or *complimentary to* it.
ie, same services, trying for the same readers, or different services
in degree or kind. i don't actually have an opinion either way, except
for 'yay! more book-stuff on the web!', but i am curious.

in any event, if you haven't checked out Baen's site for ideas, i
urge you to do so. if they're doing something you like, there's no
reason to re-invent the wheel, and site maintainers are pretty
reachable.

good luck with the new site!

-boogieshoes

Posted March 12, 2008 7:57 AM by boogieshoes

boogieshoes, Baen's Bar is highly publisher-specific, and it's a publisher with a very specific market identity.
Baen is the go-to place for red-blooded American MilSF, plus sidelines
in fantasy (including humorous fantasy) and alternate history, and
about 20% anomalous stuff on the side that doesn't really fit in the
above categories. And the barflies reflect this. This isn't meant as a
criticism, by the way -- I just wanted to point out that the bar
provides a hang-out for a particular type of fandom rather than the
whole thing.

There are other SF hangouts on the net; the newsgroups on SFF.net,
for example, or the general rec.arts.sf.* hierarchy (if you can filter
out the spammers and sporgers who seem to overrun it these days). But
they're all somewhat fragmented.

I for one would love to see the Tor site -- or anyone else, for that
matter -- do an outreach thing: use RSS or ATOM syndication to link out
to the other SF fan fora, not in an embrace-and-extend Microsoftish
kind of way, but in order to build bridges within the SF-ish
fluorosphere, linking the archipelago into a land mass. We'll see.

Posted March 12, 2008 8:12 AM by Charlie Stross

Apparently, I signed up too late to get the Scalzi ebook download. I guess I'm just tough out of luck.

Earl, I have reason to believe that if you send a nice email to the
address that comes with the current book download email, they might
well send you the Scalzi link.

Posted March 12, 2008 8:17 AM by Eimear Ní Mhéalóid

Am I the only one who -- when trying to sign up at the "holding"
page -- keeps getting a message saying that my e-mail address is
invalid? The very same e-mail address with which I send and receive all
my e-mail.... It's very discouraging...

Posted March 12, 2008 9:02 AM by Suzette Hade Elgin

If this is Phase One, will there be a Phase IV?

Desert ants suddenly form a collective intelligence and begin to wage war on the desert inhabitants. It is up to two scientists and a stray girl they rescue from the ants to destroy them. But the ants have other ideas.

Posted March 12, 2008 9:06 AM by Serge

Serge @ 137: Only if you use the Phase-a-matic Converter (Phase-a-matic).

Posted March 12, 2008 9:26 AM by Ginger

Ginger @ 128... Isn't the Phase-a-matic Converter the gizmo
that the Federation uses to keep Borg weapons from making thru their
forcefields?

Posted March 12, 2008 9:29 AM by Serge

Picard: "Ensign, run that message through the Phrase-O-Matic Converter."

Menacing Machine Voice: "Really, you're going to end up doing what
we want anyway, so why work yourself up over it? We'll all be together
by and bye. Now, isn't it time or elevenses? We are the Borggina!"

Posted March 12, 2008 9:50 AM by Bruce Cohen (SpeakerToManagers)

Bruce and Serge: I belong to the Canadian Borg. Resistance would be impolite.

Posted March 12, 2008 10:04 AM by Ginger

Ginger #131: Wouldn't the Canadian Borg issue its commands bilingually?

Posted March 12, 2008 10:15 AM by Fragano Ledgister

Fragano: Of course. Pour l'assimilation en francais, veuillez appuyer le "2".

Posted March 12, 2008 11:24 AM by Xopher

Patrick @ #34 - Actually, I noticed that the corporate website was
no longer partying like it's 1999. Do I get a cookie for noticing? ;)

Russ @ #56 - It's that wacky "view all by" link. Chock full of tasty email address goodness.

boogieshoes @ #123 - Yes, I know about Baen's Bar. My SO lives there. I'm totally not their target audience.

Posted March 12, 2008 11:26 AM by Katherine Mankiller

Suzette Hade Elgin: No, Don Fitch has expressed the same concern/ I
hope it will comfort each of you to know you are not alone.

Posted March 12, 2008 11:54 AM by Terry Karney

Eimear Ní Mhéalóid #125:

Apparently, I signed up too late to get the Scalzi ebook download. I guess I'm just tough out of luck.

I'll do that. I had some kind-hearted people email me the link, but I prefer not to use it unless I get official permission.

Posted March 12, 2008 12:00 PM by Earl Cooley III

Fragano@ 132: Mais oui, M'sieur. Votre point est?

Posted March 12, 2008 12:05 PM by Ginger

I believe the correct nomenclature should be betor testor.

Posted March 12, 2008 12:20 PM by Lance Weber

Lance Weber @138:

As in, neener, neener, I'm a betor tester than you?

Must we?

Posted March 12, 2008 12:58 PM by abi

Abi @139: You make it sound so immator...

Posted March 12, 2008 1:02 PM by Lance Weber

Ah! I've been thrown out of bettor tors than this!

Posted March 12, 2008 1:22 PM by Serge

Suzette Haden Elgin, Don Fitch, and anyone else having trouble registering at tor.com should send me email at pnh@tor.com describing as best as possible what happened. It will
get fixed and meanwhile we'll make sure they get pre-registered even if
we have to hand-inscribe their information on magnetic media with a
broken egg whisk.

I note, by the way, that the "www" problem has been fixed; going to simply "tor.com" works now.

Posted March 12, 2008 1:31 PM by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

I presume there will be some sort of Tor conclave, presumably in
Toronto or Torino? Patrick, I'm sure, will not long keep us in torment.
Undoubtedly, there will be a torrent of good things coming down from
the skies, since none of the good people of Tor would want to torture
us with prolonged anticipation.

Posted March 12, 2008 1:38 PM by Fragano Ledgister

re Charlie Stross @ 121:

"Baen is the go-to place for red-blooded American MilSF, plus
sidelines in fantasy (including humorous fantasy) and alternate
history, and about 20% anomalous stuff on the side that doesn't really
fit in the above categories. And the barflies reflect this."

yes, i certainly do! ::grins::

but yes, i know Baen is very target specific. i think what i'm
trying to ask is how Tor and the Nielsen-Haydens envision their new
site and etc fitting into the already existing information stream from
publishers to readers? Baen's site, while offering a lot of promotions
and things not available in dead tree versions, is primarly a site for
reader to kvetch with each other and their favorite authors.

there is a considerable stream of information from Baen authors vis
a vis various sf/f things - mostly convention appearances, what the
next books will be, that sort of thing - as well as a considerable
amount of conversation over the state of the world today.

i'm asking, out of curiosity mind, if Tor plans to have a similar 'feel' to their site, or a more formalized place.

::scratches head:: i'm not actually sure if that makes any sense, but i hope it does.

-bs

Posted March 12, 2008 1:39 PM by boogieshoes

::sighs:: that was supposed to be Charlie Stross at post 124, not
post 121... some days, it just doesn't pay to fall out of bed in the
morning.

-bs

Posted March 12, 2008 1:42 PM by boogieshoes

Are we still eligible for beta testing if we only visit Making Light
occasionally when pointed here by others? Or is this a semi-exclusive
offer/temptation/trap for regular readers only?

Posted March 12, 2008 1:59 PM by Joe Morrison

Joe @146: I like to think they're looking for people who will make great ambassators for their site.

Posted March 12, 2008 2:08 PM by Lance Weber

Fragano @ 143: I envision a race to collect the Tor line, which can
be called the Tor de Books. Before each race is run, the torch bearers
will flee run ahead. The directors will indicate the
opening of the store, and operators will stand by their phones. Wator
stations along the way will hydrate our contestors -- or are they just
testors? At cons? For the pain induced by the punstors, I'll suggest
the well known opioid, torbutrol, although -- like any opiate -- it
will make them torpid.

No need to get angry; getting torqued will not help. Winners will be
awarded a free trip to Tortola, where torch singers will serenade them.
Don't stay out on the beach too long, or you will torrefy.

Torry. Couldn't help myself.

Posted March 12, 2008 2:18 PM by Ginger

Ginger @148: And to the victors go the spoilers ( in the form of galleys of upcoming releases).

Posted March 12, 2008 2:26 PM by Lance Weber

#144: Having digested Patrick's exuberant burble above, I think the
new Tor site is intended to be the Ultimate Fanzine from the
Transcendent Beyond, with everything that should accompany that,
including fan feedback and more.

For example, it will not merely include authors talking about
what their next books will be, but feature Transcended AIs explaining
what those authors are going to write in the following books which
hadn't even occurred to them yet, reviewing new genres which are soon
to appear in writing, and so forth. Now you'll be able to form opinions
on the literary successors of Slipstream and InfernoKrusher without
having to wait for those pesky writers!

Or something.

Posted March 12, 2008 3:09 PM by Clifton Royston

Ginger @ 248... Couldn't help myself.

Yes, you could have.

You chose not to.

We need Tor reform.

Posted March 12, 2008 3:14 PM by Serge

Ginger #148: Dat's my 'tory an' I'm sticking to it. I'd be happy (if
someone else will provide the airfare) to read all the sTories at Tori
Oso*, a wonderful pub I'll have you know, on Rustenvredestraat in
Paramaribo.

*Since that means 'Story House', it's the most appropriate place so to do.

Posted March 12, 2008 3:18 PM by Fragano Ledgister

Serge #151...

'Ginger @248'

Got your time machine out again, have you?

Posted March 12, 2008 3:21 PM by Fragano Ledgister

Serge @ 151: Are you labeling me a tort-feasor? If so, I'm not bittor, although my torticollis is acting up.

Fragano @ 153:

"Serge #151...

'Ginger @248'

Got your time machine out again, have you?"

Isn't that redundant?

We should all be very careful not to get too excited, or we should
suffer torsades de pointes in our torsi, necessitating being slapped
upside the head with a torsk. Much bettor to get a torta (or torte, or
even a tortilla) in the face.

Ah, Nero Wolfe would be proud of my tortile taradiddles!

Posted March 12, 2008 3:37 PM by Ginger

Fragano @ 153... Got your time machine out again, have you?

It's a TORDIS.

Posted March 12, 2008 3:42 PM by Serge

#144 boogieshoes: i'm asking, out of curiosity mind, if Tor plans to have a similar 'feel' to their site, or a more formalized place.

I don't have anything to do with Tor (except that I may have
inadvertently triggered a torrent of Tor puns), but my guess is we'll
find out what its feel is like once it gets here and we all, you know,
feel it up for a while.

Posted March 12, 2008 3:45 PM by Michael Weholt

PNH #142:

Is it the cookies? For me, deleting the tor cookies & trying again worked.

Posted March 12, 2008 4:08 PM by Soon Lee

@ 156:

::groans:: bad pun, no biscuit!

actually, what's torquing me off right now is that as a bona-fide
SCA herald, i have free rein to pun at people, in the most torturous
manner possible. except that my brain is so sleepy, i cant.

-bs

Posted March 12, 2008 4:13 PM by boogieshoes