1. In general, I concur with the comments about the general
inappropriateness of placing FAQs on CD-ROMS, regardless of the good or
not so good intentions of the CD-ROM compiler. The media are supposed to
be quite different in purpose. An FAQ is a changeable file, updated at
intervals as current information changes. Some may be longer lasting in
a particular version than others, and some parts may be very durable
although linked to more changeable material. A CD-ROM, in contrast, is
supposed to be a very durable product, a permanent and almost
indestructable archive of matters (programs, graphics, reports, etc.)
that are for now and posterity.
However, some CD-ROM compilers simply use CD-ROMs as very large floppies,
and some are available on a subscription basis, updated quarterly or
semi-annually. The old ones in such series are, of course, only
recyclable trash. Although the sale of such CD-ROMs is riding the crest
of the growing popularity of the medium, one must question the economic
and ecological waste involved. One CD-ROM subscription series in amateur
radio provides a quarterly update of "callbook" information (calls,
names, addresses of radio amateurs) and then fills the disk with
otherwise available shareware, freeware, and text from exchanges on the
USENET interest groups devoted to amateur radio. The analogy that comes
to mind is the packaging of a three-inch item in a twelve-inch box and
the filling of the remaining space with filler material to overload the
landfills.
Although there may be FAQs that are apt for CD-ROM distribution, the ones
with which I am acquainted would only contribute to the filler material
on most disks. On the other hand, those very same FAQs serve important
purposes within the medium where they exist and are periodically
changed.
I would like to learn of FAQs that do not fit this model so
that I do not freeze my conceptions on the basis of too narrow a
knowledge base. For example, consider a data base so big that only a
CD-ROM is suited to its distribution and use, and yet changeable enough
to require periodic updates, perhaps quarterly. Are there related FAQs
whose change cycle is also roughly quarterly for which the CD-ROM would
constitute an additional and productive route of distribution to end
users, perhaps those without Internet connection? In such a case,
inclusion on a CD-ROM may make sense, assuming all appropriate
permissions can be obtained and also assuming appropriate explanatory
information is given also. Such information, which Internet users tend
to presume without saying, might include warnings about the short-term
durability of the information and where to find the latest information on
the FAQ subject matter.
2. As may be clear from the notes above, my FAQ maintenance activity
focuses at present on amateur radio. It will shortly include
professional as well as recreational subjects, as I shall be developing
FAQs for a Web site for the Southern Society for Philosophy and
Psychology. I note these facts so that readers may understand the
context out of which my remarks emerge. It would assist my understanding
of other helpful commentaries if writers could briefly allude to the
subject matter(s) of their FAQ work. I could then evaluate better
whether the ideas are transferrable to my own work.
L. B. Cebik
cebik@utkvx.utk.edu
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