I have put this sticky or permanent post at the top of the blog to allow readers to make general comments, ask questions, discuss topics, anything else. My goal is to be open about what’s happening on the site and that users are able to enjoy the content or learn something new.
A discussion board/forum is the first thing I would like to add and the last. The idea of allowing users a place to log in and discuss is an excellent idea but it killed the last two Philip K. Dick fan sites (from my understanding). I see the need for it but I’m determined that this site isn’t crushed by spam and seen as a Google Attack Site again.
The Facebook group may be meeting this need or only part of it, I’m not sure yet. But I wanted to try an experiment and put a blog post up where anyone is free to comment on what they would like as long as it is related to Philip K. Dick. It will also give me ideas for other things that the site might need. I’m still working on building out what my initial ideas were and some haven’t even been started yet.
I wanted everyone to be aware that I have a spam filter running on the comments and I haven’t seen any spam come through yet but if your legitimate comment doesn’t appear within a few days (usually less), please email me at philipkdickfans[at]gmail[dot]com. You can also use that email for any questions, comments, etc. that are only intended for me, the site developer. I also set up a Twitter feed and a Facebook page for site updates to go out.
Michael Fisher
Philip K. Dick Fan Site Developer
philipkdickfans[at]gmail[dot]com
http://twitter.com/#!/philipkdickfans
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Philip-K-Dick-Fan-Site/178859945536267
Brooklyn band “Kid Savant” has written a song that references “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep”. The title of the song “Four Years” is a reference to the 4 years the androids were programed to live. See if you can find and decipher the rest of the “Blade Runner”/”Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” references.
http://vimeo.com/29204111
Song lyrics about canonize PKD at:
Sohttp://www.lyricsmania.com/canonize_philip_k_dick,_ok_lyrics_world_inferno_friendship_society.htmlme
Better yet is Electric Shepherd: An Audio Tribute, at:
http://www.discogs.com/Various-Electric-Shepherd-An-Audio-Tribute-To-Philip-K-Dick/release/710168
Your comment about Discussion Forums being the death of earlier PKD sites is curious. What happened? Did too many people overload them, or was it spam that destroyed them? I’m wondering if something similar will befall The PKD Fan Group on facebook?
And, Michael, thanks for the work on this site, it looks great and has lots of content already. Keep up the good work!
I may have some facts wrong but that is generally what I saw. I saw that what could have been a discussion area was destroyed by uncontrolled spam that would infect your computer. It was so bad before Cal took the site over that Google had listed it as an attack site which means that the site is dangerous for your computer to visit. I went around this because at the time I knew that it was just the forums. I think that it because a burden to the site to try to manage the spam in the forums and contributed to Jason not having time to run it any more. I can’t remember where I’m getting all this information but if there are some inaccuracies the intent is not malicious. I think Cal also had a problem with all the spam and his ISP when he was running the site and he wasn’t able to keep the site going because of the level of spam it received. My main point is that I would love to add a place where anyone can post topics and start discussions without me needing to start a blog entry to allow others to comment, but with the spam levels reported by Cal and what I’ve seen in this blog, I think it would be very difficult to manage the discussions.
It won’t happen on the Facebook group because the Facebook registration is tightly controlled and to be a member of the group requires approval. And this approval can be revoked if needed. I would love to have the admins open this also but there could be issues of other users causing issues. I can definitely respect their decision here. Spam and spambots don’t seem to be an issue in Facebook. Twitter seems to have some issues with spambots but they have implemented a system that allows the feed to be removed if it’s spam and I haven’t seen any malicious code there.
My concern is with some of the other discussion board software that isn’t able to keep up with the spammers because they aren’t backed by a huge company.
I have the Library of America collection of “Ubik,” “The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch,” “The Man in the High Castle,” and “Do Androida Dream . . . ?” A section of notes states “[This volume] does not attempt to reproduce nontextual features of [the stories] typographic design.” I have an idea what is meant by said nontextual features, having just finished Bester’s “The Stars, My Destination.” Does anyone know whether any of these stories originally contained anything of the sort? Thumbing through the pages reveals only straight text.
I have become an avid PKD fan within the last 2 years. I would like to know if any of his short stories could be the basis for the new movie, The Darkest Hour. I have READ that story! I know precisely what happens in the movie… but I cannot recall what the name of the story is.
I know that the “illustrious visionaries” who filmed The Adjustment Bureau tried to deny Mr. Dick any credit for THAT story, so it wouldn’t surprise me that another set of creative geniuses attempted a repeat.
I remember that the beings fed on energy, basically vaporized people and that if you were next to a heated and/or electrical power source, they couldn’t see you as well. UGH!!! Please help!
Bo Cephas-The short answer is that I’m not aware of any like in Bester’s book or any other types. Sorry for the long delay in responding. I thought someone else answered this one for you.
MajinBuuButtercup-I’m not sure and I haven’t seem the film. If Philip K. Dick’s name isn’t in the credits, I would re-read his very early stores because they have gone into public domain and the filmmakers may have used one of those.