This FAQ is generally posted around the first of the month and maybe
around the 14th of the month. Sometimes more often when the traffic in
the newsgroup is high, say, due to a recent television show on magic, or
what-have-you.
Thought for the day:
"ask for a secret, you'll get abused"
"ask where to learn or get more info about a secret, you'll get answered"
1. What is this FAQ's purpose?
2. Why is there more than one FAQ for this group?
3. What is alt.magic.secrets purpose?
4. What isn't alt.magic.secrets purpose?
5. What is the deal with this Bill Page guy?
6. How do I find how ....is done?
7. Is there a good list of books, videos or magazines?
8. Why did all these magicians rip my lungs out when I posted a secret?
9. Why did all these magicians rip my lungs out when I asked about...?
10. What are some things safe to post?
11. How do patents, copyrights, and trademarks cover routines?
12. What things will get me enough flame to make an asbestos suit
worthless if I post them?
13. What are some effects/methods that are in the public domain?
14. What are some effects/methods that are protected?
15. How is flash paper/powder made?
16. What is a troll?
17. What do I do when somebody trolls?
18. What is and how do I *plonk*?
19. Can I make commercial posts in alt.magic.secrets?
1. What is this FAQ's purpose?
To provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and..wait
that's the preamble to the U.S. Constitution. Really, it's to help
define the boundaries of what is a trade secret and what is in the
public domain to keep the number of flame wars to a minimum, as well as
removing any myths involved with the newsgroup. Its purpose is NOT to
teach you how to use the Usenet or your newsreader. That's another forum
altogether and outside the scope of this newsgroup.
2. Why is there more than one FAQ for this group?
Some people find that the other FAQ doesn't address many questions that
are actually frequently asked and appears only to address the ego of
the author, Tilman Hausherr; read it and see; one of his few updates
came from my suggestion..why NOT to make flash paper. This one is
written by myself but is revised promptly when new questions/answers
arise.
3. What is alt.magic.secrets purpose?
Some will say to reveal magic secrets, others will say that it is to
keep those very secrets. In reality, it's a mixture of the two and
should be taken with advice from a certified doctor. I'm not sup****ting
either side because they are two opposing extremes and there are good
points for both sides.
4. What isn't alt.magic.secrets purpose?
To ruin a magician's career or put magic dealers out of business, no
matter how unlikely.
5. What is the deal with this Bill Page guy?
Bill Page is in essence a child in a man's body. He's harmless but can
be annoying. If you find him unbearable there is no reason to
complain publicly about him, just add him to your killfile to ignore him
and be done with it.
6. How do I find how .... is done?
Read a book, check the web, watch a video, go to a class, use some
resources other than just being spoon fed the info. You can ask but
don't expect any answers to be very informing unless you want to
exchange secrets with other magicians.
You can also try checking out Mitch Leary's Deja file. It has many cool
ideas and tricks that may or may not be dangerous to your health. So, as
usual, proceed with caution; it could cost you your life. He's got an
awesome reading list that he posts once every now and again and you
should find every book he mentions and read a thousand fold. Trust me, I
own a mere 3 or 4 of these books and they have priceless information.
http://groups.google.com/groups?as_ugroup=alt.magic*&as_uauthors=Mitchell%20Leary&num=100&hl=en
7. Is there a good list of books, videos or magazines?
Yes there is, in the alt.magic FAQ Lots of other things can be found
there too..
The alt.magic FAQ is archived at:
http://www.learn-great-magic-tricks.com/
(Note: Other sites appear to carry older, out of date, versions
of the FAQ. The above sites are sent those parts which have been
amended, near the end of each month and *should* be current.)
For those who do not have a web browser, individual parts of the
five part FAQ may be obtained from an auto-mailer. Send blank
e-mail to: altmagic@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
for details.
8. Why did all these magicians rip my lungs out when I posted a secret?
Probably because you posted a secret about something that they paid good
money for and isn't in public domain yet.
9. Why did all these magicians rip my lungs out when I asked about....?
Did you ask "Who fooled Houdini" "What is another name for the Elmsley
count" or some other question posed by many magic sites to prove you're
worthy of entry? Maybe you asked "How did <insert magician here> do..."?
Many of the magicians in this newsgroup will chastise someone who
doesn't want to spend the time to find, learn, and practice, or just
plain *pay for* the trick in some shape, form or fa****on. Do a simple
web or google search before asking and maybe you will be accepted as
someone who is knowledgeable and/or willing to expend the energy to
learn.
10. What are some things "safe" to post?
Methods that are in the public domain and can be used in other routines
are safe to post. Your own routine is safe to post as long as you are
the originator. Routines of other magicians are safe to post as long as
they are in the public domain.
11. How do patents, copyrights, and trademarks cover routines?
If a routine uses a specialized device/method for that routine, then
chances are the device/method is patented. In the United States a
"device" is not patented unless you apply for a patent and spend a
couple $1000 and wait a year or two for the Patent Office to issue you
one. It then assigns it a number and your full description of the device
becomes public knowledge. The complete description is available at many
libraries and on the internet at the IBM(*not* International Brotherhood
of Magicians) site and probably at the US Patent site. If your novel use
is not described in the patent such that a person knowledgeable in the
field cannot understand it then it isn't protected by the patent. You
cannot hide the patent number because until the patent holder makes
known publicly the existence of the patent others may assume it is not a
patented device and act accordingly. On the other hand, if you are
talking a design patent then only the specific design is protected.
Making relatively minor changes in the appearance of the device is
generally sufficient to get around this kind of patent. This is where
the grey areas begin though. If you use a common device/method but use
it in an original routine then the routine is subject to copyright but
the method is in public domain. So if Copperfield uses public domain
device A with an elevator, he can copyright the fact that it is an
elevator for the presentation, but I can perform with the same device A
instead with a 69 Mercedes Benz and be free from any copyright
violations from Copperfield. Trademarks cover names or logos, like
"D'Lite" or "Mofo"(Penn and Teller's psychic primate). {note:needs
editing but works for now}
12. What things will get me enough flame to make an asbestos suit
worthless if I post them?
Try posting how David Blaine did his latest routine. Actually, almost
anything can start a flame war so if you can't handle the heat, post
with extreme caution. Usenet is pure anarchy and there's nothing you can
do to stop it other than to have a thick skin and asbestos suit.
13. What are some effects/methods that are in the public domain?
[snipped directly from Andru Luvisi's wonderful suggestions]
I don't think it's accurate to say that these are "sold as if [they
were] unique invention[s]", but here are some old tricks that you can
find in a magic shop:
Several trick decks are described in The Encyclopedia Of Card Tricks,
my edition of which is copyright 1937. The Encyclopedia Of Card
Tricks can also be gotten for free from The Learned Pig Project
(http://www.thelearnedpig.com.pa/).
* Stripper Deck
* Svengali Deck
* Mirage Deck
* Mene-Tekel Deck (I've heard that the Infinity Deck is related to
this)
Some trick decks which date back to the days of Sachs and Hoffmann:
* One Way Forcing Deck
* Electric Deck (See "More Magic" under the heading "To Spring the
Cards from the one Hand to the Other (with Mechanical Pack)")
The Brainwave Deck was invented by Vernon and is described in issue 49
of The Jinx for October 1938. In The Encyclopedia Of Card Tricks,
under the heading "A Super-Reverse Problem" you will find essentially
the same trick but using wax instead of R/S. The Invisible
Deck/Ultramental Deck is a variation of the Brainwave Deck that is at
least as old as Tarbell 3 (1943 for the book), where it is described
in the chapter at the end on mental magic.
Marked cards are as old as the hills. Even Robert-Houdin mentions them!
The principle of "McDonald's $100 Routine" dates back to Hofzinser
(check out "The Power Of Faith" in "Hofzinser's Card Conjuring").
According to T. A. Waters' book "The Encyclopedia Of Magic And
Magicians" Ralph Hull died in 1943, which means that the ****st/Mental
Photography Deck and the Pop-Eyed Popper Deck, both of which Waters
says he invented, are at least that old.
Theodore DeLand, who according to Leo Behnke's booklet "Find The Ace"
invented the oldest known gaffed Three Card Monte, died in 1931
according to Waters. The trick was called "Pickitout" and used
misprinted indices. I have seen this trick under several names over
the years.
Of course I've barely scratched the surface with the above, but it may
be enough to get you started.
[if you, the reader, have any additions, changes, etc., please either
post them or preferably email them to me]
14. What are some effects/methods that are protected either by
copyright, trademark, or patent?
[Thanx to Mitch Leary for posting these]
Steinmeyer's Origami Illusion: Patent #D345,595
Adam's Mirror Production Box: Patent #4,023,794
Magician's Anti-Gravity Boots: Patent #5,255,452
Theatrical Levitation Device: Patent #4,244,566
Tenyo's Inexhaustible Cigarette Drawer: Patent #4,557,476
China Change & CSB Type Coins: Patent #3,822,879
Tenyo's Phantom Clock: Patent #5,886,936
<I'm sure there are more to come>
15. How do I make flash paper/powder?
First answer, you don't. You lose 4 or 5 fingers first trying like an
idiot to save a few bucks and then you buy it from a magic shop like you
did before.
Second answer. It's basically the first answer but with more info. Flash
powder(the stuff that flash paper is coated with...a generalization to
be sure but for the purposes of the stupid..it'll do..) is EXTREMELY
dangerous and is the hardest pyrotechnic to make without injury to
yourself or others, and that doesn't count improper use once you're
done. With that being said you can find it in "The Magicians Arsenal" by
Lee Scott or rec.pyrotechnics. If you need to know more, I have some
more info that used to be in this sentence's place but now probably got
overwritten by some accident. So either write me and ask or wait for
more info as I find it.
Now, if all the warnings don't deter you, read this next part.
A friend of mine who is both a magician and an experienced pyrotechnic
decided that he would make his own. He made it successfully and had been
using it with awesome results for a while and then one time he had a
piece between his hands(they were palm to palm) and when he opened them
quickly the sudden rush of air(oxygen), combined with the heat from his
hands, set the stuff off in his hands, no flame/spark needed. After this
he quickly used his remaining stock and vowed to just save the fingers
and buy it.
This same friend told me about a company that a few years ago was
advertising that they had flashpaper that had different colors of flash.
There was apparently a huge demand so some BIG magic dealer put in an
order for tens of housands of dollars. One month p*****, no paper; two
months, no paper; three months and everyone is starting to get worried
as to whether they were ripped off so they start investigating. Then
they found out what happened. There had been so much demand that they
were in soo much of a hurry that they skipped some safety details and
promptly levelled their entire facilities. If you've ever seen what a
pyrotechnic's site looks like, it's generally spread over several acres
to eliminate the possibility of this.
In short..Flash is dangerous and it's manufacture needs to be left to
professional pyrotechnics.
16. What is a troll?
It's name is derived from people fi****ng and that while they are moving
in a boat, they let their bait "troll" behind them in hopes they'll
catch a hungry fish. And that's basically what happens, someone puts out
a very controversial post that will attract a lot of posts in anger or
what-have-you. They quite often also put very inflammatory subject lines
on their posts in an attempt to "grandstand" and try to make their
trolling more effective.
A good person to start ignoring is Tilman Hausher since he's not a
magician and you should share no magical knowledge with him.
I used to have a list of other trolls here but I simply decided that you
can determine for yourself if you think someone is not serious about
this newsgroup by the way they are rude, insult, overreact(actually
attacking someone's character for no real reason when the person is
simply asking a "newbie" question or simply disagreeing with their point
of view), drone on and on about things that have nothing to do with this
newsgroup(especially topics that are already heavily debated like
politics, religion, etc); and they don't have to use vulgar language but
that can be the case.
Though it isn't always reliable, it can be helpful to see what the
opinion of the overall group is toward this individual's posts by
reading responses to their posts or posts made about them. In using this
method for research, be certain that you're reading more than simply 2
or 3 people who dislike this person since we're not all friends here and
even a troll can have people who agree with him/her on a couple of
topics(the old adage of a stopped clock being right twice a day comes to
mind).
Many that I used to list here will be discovered to have these
traits that you will see repeated within 10 hits of a search. Here's
the link to do your own search if you don't already know how..
http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search?hl=en
17. What should I do if somebody trolls?
Trolls need attention and they starve if you don't give them any so
ignore them and maybe *plonk* them.
18. What is and how do I *plonk*?
Plonking is putting someone in your killfile so you can ignore them. How
do you do it? For *how to *plonk* in 23 newsreaders see Killfile and
Anti Troll FAQs at http://www.hyphenologist.co.uk/killfile
. If you
reader isn't listed, RTFM(read the fine(or f---ing) manual) and then
tell the person who runs the page how to do so...
19. Can I make commercial posts in alt.magic.secrets?
A: Technically, you can make any post you wish in an alt.* heirarchy
however as a courtesy to those who frequent the newsgroup, it is
requested that you add the following to the beginning of a subject line:
AD:
If you are simply posting an advertisment, use the AD with a full colon
after the letters.
FS:
If you are selling something, use this to indicate an item For Sale.
FA:
If you are posting an item for auction or link to an item for auction,
use this to indicate that it is For Auction.
FT:
Use this if you are indicating an item that you are posting is For
Trade.
If you use the full colon after the letter combination, those who want
to filter out based on FA:, FS:, FT:, or AD: won't miss any posts with
subject lines containing words that have those letter combinations
without the full colon such as FAilure, soFT, ADmit, and others.
Example:
AD: Just Released - ****celain Cups and Balls!
Thanx to all who have contributed to this FAQ even if you are unnamed.
There is much more to add here and I hope to have time in the upcoming
couple months to get the editing done.
To do:
Define what does and does not count as "protected" in many contexts.
Add more questions as they are asked.
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