FAQ

So I think an eLynah Forum FAQ would be a really keen idea. Age said if someone else puts it together, he'd put it up here. I'm psyched to do the work, but y'all know the stuff. Willing to help me out?

Some things I think would be useful to have on the FAQ:
-Where's that cool list of Cornell's record against every team we ever played going back to the begining of time?

-Where's the irc chat, and how do I get to it?

-What are these magic numbers people talk about sometimes?

-Why do we throw fish at Hahvahd?

-Why shouldn't we throw fish any time after the anthems?

Any other questions that we hear every year or two on the forum? Anyone have a clear answer to the above (sure, I know the last couple...)

Give me the ideas and the facts, and I'll put it together and make this forum a more beautifu (and froshfriendly) place. : )

Adam Ganderson wrote:

-What are these magic numbers people talk about sometimes?

-Why shouldn't we throw fish any time after the anthems?

OK, the fish is an easy one. We don't throw fish at any time after the anthems because (see the beginning of the 2nd period of the game at Lynah a couple weeks ago) the team can be assessed a penalty for it.

A magic number (anybody who's more well-versed in stats than I am can feel free to trash my definition altogether), conceptually, is a measure of how far a team is from being assured of finishing higher than another team. In hockey, they're typically expressed in points; in baseball, in games. You don't usually hear them used in other sports, as far as I know. For example, Cornell now has 27 points, Harvard 20. Each team has 6 games left, for a total of 12 potential points. Therefore, the maximum points Harvard can finish the season with is 32. In order to assure a finish ahead of Harvard, Cornell then needs 33 points. The magic number is 33 - 27 = 6. Each point gained by Cornell, and each potential point "lost" by Harvard (1 for a tie, 2 for a loss) is subtracted from the magic number, and when the magic number reaches 0, Cornell has clinched a finish ahead of Harvard.

Adam Ganderson wrote:

Some things I think would be useful to have on the FAQ:
-Where's that cool list of Cornell's record against every team we ever played going back to the begining of time?

-Where's the irc chat, and how do I get to it?

-What are these magic numbers people talk about sometimes?

-Why do we throw fish at Hahvahd?

-Why shouldn't we throw fish any time after the anthems?

a) Keith?

b) I'll write this one

c) Josh got it already unless JTW wants to add more. I'd suggest sticking to a short version with a link to the long version

d) I've been planning on writing why Harvard? and why BU? features. Perhaps I'll bang something out tonight.

e) Penalties silly


Seriously, do we just want a static html page or do we want to be ubergeeky with a php based automagic FAQ?

All time lists of games are available from at least three places my site, Greg's "TBRW?" and on the official Cornell page. All are linked on the left.

Adam, may I also suggest that you check out my site (TBRW). If you like this sort of thing, you may like the Statistics, History, Games, Hitchiker, Curiosities, ECAC, Ivy, and NCAA indexed pages (accessed off the left hand menu):

[www.spiritone.com]

(Note: non-standard Browsers sometimes gak on TBRW pages, especially if they are braindead about cascading styles, so if you have any problems please report them to me. Working harder to serve you better, etc.)

While I'm always more-than-eager to flex my PHP muscles (see the Champ Belt page ), I think a single static-with-anchors (not the stupid ones that Netscape Composer makes, Hayes) was made for FAQs. But if it comes down to people compiling info and dumping info on me, I'll just do it with PHP and a database. Just watch.

Q: What is the irc chat people keep referring to and how do I get to it?

Really Short Answer: irc://irc.warped.net/lynah

Short Answer:
Point your IRC client to irc.warped.net. We can be found on #lynah about 30-45 minutes before game time.

Longer Answer:

Don't have an IRC client? Chatzilla is a cross-platform IRC client that comes bundled with Mozilla[link:www.mozilla.org]. Other popular clients include mIRC[link:[www.irchelp.org]] (Windows) and Ircle[link:[www.xs4all.nl]] (MacOS 8.x/9.x).

Once you get your client installed, try connecting to irc.warped.net. We can usually be found on #lynah 30 minutes before game time.

Really Long Answer:

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a form of instant messaging that predates AIM, Yahoo IM or MSN IM. Within an IRC server, topics are organized by channel. IRC servers are arranged into distinct families known as nets. The largest nets are EFnet, Undernet, IRCnet, DALnet, and NewNet. We choose to use a smaller net known as Warped.

When you connect to a net, you actually connected to the closest available server. Because channels are shared across servers, you can talk with your friends around the globe without needing to be connected to the same server. Thus, I can actually be connected to a server in Silicon Valley while transparently chatting to a friend who is connected to a server in Boston.

Each user is known on IRC by a "nick", such as JTW91 or Beeeej. To avoid conflicts with other users, it is best to use a nick that is not too common, e.g., "john" is a poor choice. Given that it is unique and easy to type, your NetID makes a good nick.

Alhtough we don't bother with it, as we are a generally friendly bunch, each channel may have one or more "operator" who controls the channel. Channel operators or just "ops" for short, control the channel by choosing who may join (by "banning" some users), who must leave (by "kicking" them out), and even who may speak (by making the channel "moderated"!

where do u guys and gals get all the cool animated faces? besides the ones above to choose from. like the vader one....

So is that a question for the faq, or is that something you really want to know? )

I could tell you where I get mine, but then I'd have to kill you.



Ok, I'll be serious for a moment. I get them from here:

[www.mysmilies.com]

I think some of the other people get their fancy smilies elsewhere, though. Do a google search or something and you'll find them.