----------------------------------------------------------------------------- T H E U T O P I A N S Infofile v.2.0 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greetings all! The last information letter regarding the organisation was not very cleat and left a lot of people wondering who and what we really are. That is why I've written this file. Consider it The Utopian Info-File, version 2. ABOUT ME -------- I am Zippy, a norwegian coder, president of The Utopians. I'm a member of the demogroup Utopia, which is unrelated to The Utopians. I am also the author of the DemoScene Starter-Kit series of programs. ABOUT THE ORGANISATION CALLED 'THE UTOPIANS' -------------------------------------------- The Utopians is a brand new organisation. It exists as a contact-network, and an organisation that fights to keep the demoscene, as we know it, alive. It is completely unrelated to the *demogroup* Utopia. The Utopians is not a demogroup. Becoming a member of The Utopians does not mean that you commit to beeing a graphician, a coder, or a musician for a group. It only means that you strive to reach the goals of The Utopians, which will be mentioned in detail, later in this text. It is, of course, non-profit, and membership is, of course, free. We fight for a living breathing, friendly demoscene without predjudism, that accepts newbies. It is an organisation for people who love the demoscene, and are dedicated to keeping it alive. In other words, the demoscene vision of Utopia. You do not have to be an established demoscener or from an established demogroup to join, all you have to do is support our goals. We encourage newbies to join, as that is a fundamental part of keeping the demoscene alive, bringing new talent into it. We also encourage well-known/skilled demosceners to join, so they also can show their support, and prove that we are past the days of callind newbies lamers, just because they are new. Members are expected to support each other with a friendly attitude, regardless of how 'famous' they are. BECOMING A MEMBER OF THE UTOPIANS DOES NOT MEAN YOU QUIT BEEING A MEMBER OF YOUR CURRENT DEMOGROUP. The Utopians is not a demogroup. You are just member of an organisation, as well as a demogroup. I mean, you don't say: 'NO! I will not join the army, I'm already in Future Crew' :) It's a completely different thing. However, I hope we will be able to release a few demos and other productions under The Utopians name. We will try to be present at most big demo-parties, and have some fun 'official' Utopian activities there. And at places like The Gathering'99 we are hoping for a strong presence so we can chase away the lame 'quake-party' feel, and reclaim the demoparty, for real demosceners. TG'99 will be the place of the first major Utopian meeting. There is also a Utopian newsletter that I hope to release ca. once a month. It has articles written only by members. All members will recieve it by e-mail. There is life after demonews after all! :) We also have an official web-page: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Hills/1571/utopians.html ABOUT THE GOALS OF THE UTOPIANS ------------------------------- Anyone ever play a series of computer games called Ultima? Remember the seven virtues of the Ultima-games? Well, these are the seven virtues of the demoscene. :) These are the goals of The Utopians (in order of importance): 1. Keep the demoscene alive. 2. Make the demoscene a place for genuine friendship. 3. Make demos works of art. Not simply 'showing off computers and coders'. 4. Create a tolerant demoscene. 5. Recruit fresh demosceners. 6. Protect it against becoming the 'getting into the games-industry'-scene. 7. Encourage progress, while preserving the oldskool-style. Becoming a member of, or simply supporting The Utopians, means that you agree with these ideals, and strive for our Utopian view of the demoscene, as shown in our goals. ABOUT THE NEWSLETTER -------------------- It will be a newsletter, not a diskmag. That means there won't be any interface, only ASCII. We accept ASCII-art, and articles, but only from members. It will have tutorials, texts for newbies, texts for pro's, ASCII, info for coders, graphicians, and musicians, and also normal articles, like you'd expect to see in DemoNews, or Imphobia. Perhaps some poetry, but just if I like it. :) ABOUT THE UTOPIANS AS A DEMOGROUP --------------------------------- The Utopians will also function as a demogroup, so members are free to initiate projects under 'The Utopians' name, however, I hold the copyright on 'The Utopians' name. This means that I have the copyright on the name, but you, of course, still have the copyright on your work. When someone has made a production they wish to have as an official Utopian production they have to: * Send it in to me. * I review it together with my co-organizers, Blade, and Pearl Hunter. * If we OK it, then it will be open for viewing for Utopian members. * Unless someone has any major qualms about releasing it, it will then be released to the general public. This is as democratic as you can make it in a large organisation, like The Utopians, methinks. You may feel free to make Utopian demos, gfx-disks, music-disks, etc, but there are some basic rules that must be followed: * Nudity is allowed, but not pornography. There is a difference. * No blasphemy. (Even if you don't agree, check out goal no.4 above.) * It has to have been through the Utopian release-process mentioned above. HOW WILL THE MEMBERLIST BE? --------------------------- You will not be listed alphabetically, but according to when you joined. The earlier you are the higher you are on the list. This has nothing to do with 'rank' or anything like that, :) it's just the easiest way to maintain the list. Here is an example of how you will be listed: Handle E-mail Function 1. Zippy demoscener@hotmail.com President/organizer, writer, coder, designer. (The current memberlist (17 members, at the time of writing this) is available from the homepage of The Utopians.) WHAT CAN I DO WITHIN THE UTOPIANS? ---------------------------------- You don't have to do anything, other thatn beeing friendly, and have a wish to strive for the goals of The Utopians. You may however, if you wish to do more, send me a suggestion for the gfx-logo for the webpage. I plan to change the logo on the webpage quite often, with new ones, or just cycle the ones I already have. You are welcome to initiate other productions, or start any sort of demoscene related project in the name of The Utopians, so long as you follow the rules (see above). SUPPORTING THE UTOPIANS ----------------------- It is not required to be a member of The Utopians, just to support us. A lot of people don't want to become members for various reasons, but agree with our ideals. Therefore I encourage people, if they don't want to become members, to have a link to us on their webpages, or mention us in their text-files, or demos, or other productions, simply by stating 'We support The Utopian cause', or 'We support The Utopians', or similar messages. HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER ---------------------- These are the requirements for membership: You must be interested in the DEMOSCENE, not simply computers. You must have an e-mail adress. If you are a well-know and/or skilled demoscener you must be prepared to give advice to other members. If you wish to become a member of The Utopians, you must send an e-mail to me, at the following adress: demoscener@hotmail.com In your e-mail you must tell a bit about yourself, what your interest within the demoscene is (code,gfx,music,design,etc), what brought you into the demoscene, your handle, and group. If you are interested in writing articles for the newsletter, or starting a demo-project, please say so. Your real name is not required. Neither is your phonenumber, or snailmail. You will then shortly recieve an e-mail telling you (most probably) that you have been accepted as a member of The Utopians. There will always be a reply, so if you haven't got a reply after a couple of weeks, send your letter again. If you don't already have it, you will recieve the most current version of The DemoScene Starter-Kit, by e-mail, as a 'welcoming gift'. Version 4 will hopefully be ready late August'98. You will then be added to the member-list. The memberlist will included in each newsletter, updated with new members. The most current memberlist will be present on The Utopians' homepage. Show your dedication to the demoscene, and join today! Keep the scene alive! Zippy PS. One last thing, for all you worried people out there, WE ARE NOT A WEIRD SUICIDE CULT! :)