Hettinger (hettingr@iglou.com)
Fri, 21 Nov 1997 14:51:46 +0100
Diana McPartlin wrote:
> Hi everyone
>
> It has become customary on the Internet for newsgroups and mailing lists
> to develop FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) so that the groups can
> avoid having to answer the same questions over and over again everytime
> somebody new joins the list.
>
> But I'm starting to realize that, for the time being anyway, this isn't
> really what the Lila Squad needs. What we do need IMHO is what Pirsig
> describes as a catechism of quality. For those not familiar with
> Christianity, a catechism is a statement of the principles of the
> religion (or in our case philosophy) in the form of questions and
> answers. It is a far more precise and rigorous document than a FAQ and
> is intended more for the benefit of believers than for the purpose of
> convincing newcomers.
>
I think the best way to convince newcomers would be to have them want to
read Pirsig. And it occurs to me that there are more accessable aspects of
ZMM and Lila and MoQ that are plenty interesting. How about:
Experiences with Zen or Lila; how have these books affected each of us
personally (which you suggested and we have talked about a little. Maybe
this could be pulled out of our letters.)
Naming of characters in Lila--that marvelous letter by Hugo(?) (that I can't
find) would be very much of interest to a visitor to the site.
Favorite quotes--we could invite everyone here to submit three "best"
snippits.
How about the text of Lila? I'd be willing to type part of it. Would
Pirsig and publishers be amenable? It can't hurt sales of the book, only
help. I find the online version of ZMM invaluable.
I always recommend to new readers of ZMM that they have someone cut out that
afterword--the "Chris is dead" bombshell that's published with the book
now. It destroys the book. If I had a site that was actually attracting
potential readers, I'd make sure that piece of advice was included.
> To be honest I have thought this all along but I also thought that some
> people might find the idea of a catechism rather hard to swallow so I
> kinda disguised it as a FAQ.
>
> But it needs to be said now because it is clear that others are trying
> to gear the FAQ towards newcomers, even to the point of glossing over
> the main points because they might upset people. Perhaps that's fair
> enough - for a FAQ - but it's not appropriate for a catechism.
>
> It's not that I don't want a FAQ, but I tend to feel that one will
> emerge sooner or later anyway. At the moment the LS is so young that all
> the questions are new and none are frequently asked. Also, I'm all for
> teaching others about the MoQ, but if we're not sure about our
> principles ourselves I don't see how we can explain them to anyone else.
>
> So what I'm going to do is retitle the FAQ a "Catechism of Quality" and
> pursue that instead. If anyone wants to pick up the FAQ and create
> something geared towards newcomers please go ahead. Otherwise I suggest
> we wait and write the FAQ after the catechism, or just let it emerge
> when it's ready.
I'm going to share a personal reaction here. The word "catechism", like
"proselytize", which has also been turning up here lately, are a real
turn-off for me. I'm a born and raised Catholic, and am very active in my
church, but I consider my work there it mostly a give-back, a service. The
world of Pirsig and LS that I inhabit all these stray hours, doesn't fit
into that mold. That's an old concept-- still extremely valuable, useful,
dangerous to our society to dissolve--but...
I'm all for static latching, but "catechism" hurts.
And I don't think it would help the cause. Newcomers might pick up a "cult"
connotation and never read further.
Diana, I don't think what you're saying you want to do is wrong at all. I
think you're right on track. It's just the word.
Maggie
PS. In looking for Hugo's letter (maybe Hugo didn't even write it. I
always mean to go back to it) I realized again what a treasure this heap of
correspondence is. If the LS dissolved today, I'd be mining these writings
for the rest of my life. Guess I'd better back up my hard drive. ;-)
-- post message - mailto:skwok@spark.net.hk unsubscribe/queries - mailto:diana@asiantravel.com homepage - http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/4670
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