Freqently Asked Questions

Um, Does This Website Even Need a FAQ?

The short, practical answer is no. The long, forward thinking answer is maybe. My top-of-the-head answer is sure, why not?

There are a few questions that I get asked from time to time that might be best served to have in one convenient place. This is also a way for me to organize my thoughts from various sections into one whole. Finally, there is a chance that, over time, this website might grow to serve as more than just a personal site and so this is just a way for me to have a place for a FAQ to go.

How Old Is This Site?

The original version of this site showed up at the end 2002. At that time it went by Wyrmis.Net. It had a very similar sort of layout, though it tended to have an uglier color scheme. Just like now, it was a place for me to post bits here or there.

This incarnation (which was ".com" because ".net" had be picked up by some advertsing/parking group trying to sell it back to me) started in 2006 or so. I hashed out what sort of rough sections (a selection I am generally still proud of, but if I had my druthers would probably re-arrange at least slightly, and have been doing on later pages).

Is There Any Way to Subscribe to Updates for the Site?

I have a simple, RSS feed set up for my blog.

Something Is Showing up Kind of Weird on This Site

I am trying to use fairly standard HTML and CSS with a few scripts (besides for rare effect) and with images properly labeled and posted and check and etc etc. Still, there will always be browswer conventions that I did not account for. I test the website with Lynx, w3m, Firefox, and Chrome regularly (each has their own way of displaying it, slightly) and I am happy with those four. If you use I.E. or Opera or something else and it's not coming through at all, then drop me a note and let me know. Take a screenshot if you will and I'll do what I can to work on it.

I've Just Quoted You, or You Helped Me With Some Research, or I Think You Are Cool...Is There Anyway for Me to Help You Out?

If you find something you like on this website, then feel free to link to it or copy it (read the CC at the bottom) and share it, or just tell someone about it. I know this is largely something that can remain unspoken, but I just wanted to make it known that I am 100% cool with it. If there is something you absolutely hate, well, I suppose the same applies.

You can buy me something from my Amazon.com Wishlist. There are number of different types of gifts to choose from. I mostly use that for my own record keeping, but if a gift from it did find its way into my hands, I would be tickled.

Or, alternately, go and support Project Gutenberg through donation or just by giving them traffic or by linking to them. They are much larger, more important site than my own. They are an excellent service that needs to stay alive. Any gifts to them inspired by my site, I will consider a gift to myself.

Aren't You Nervous Putting All of Your Personal Information Online?

Yes and no. Yes, there is always a risk that the information here will be used against me, but in my experience if someone wants to target you they can find ways to do it no matter how hidden you are.

What the Hell Did that Phrase You Used Mean?

I came up with words or phrases or meanings or copy them from obscure sources. For these words and phrases, try Phrases I Use (Handy Guide.

Can I Use Something I Found on the Site?

Most likely. I consider every original bit of this site (including the stylesheets and stuff that works behind the scenes but is available client-side) to be free to use, free to copy/share, free to remix, free to quote, and free to talk about. Not everything on here is mine, though, so keep that in mind. I will try and let you know somehow, but just because I post something from someone else does not mean I am also posting away their rights to it. The two limitations I prefer when using my stuff are to give me proper attribution (by name - Doug Bolden or William Doug Bolden, by "wyrmis", by email address - doug@wyrmis.com, and/or by site address - wyrmis.com - all work for me), and what you make out of it will be considered "share alike". You can read more information on the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). This means that if you take a poem of mine and use it in something of yours (one person used one of my poems in a Flash movie she made, which was kind of cool) then it is under the idea that you will also release your product freely (see Creative Commons more generally for what I mean. Note, not exclusively freely. Just you will make a free copy available for other peoples to use yours in a similar way.

This wished for limitations imply absolutely no infringement on your normal fair use rights. If you quote me in a paper, then you don't have to give the paper away. Only if you significantly take my work. The degree of borrowing that might, in a traditional transaction, require a fee/royalty/agreement.

If you do use my stuff, my only additional request is that you let me know. I'm interested in what other people thought and how they made use of it.

I Wanna HOTLINK!

No.

Well, maybe. Some of my images are actually hosted via Google's Picasaweb, so I wouldn't even know, but generally I consider it bad form in most cases. If you *do* hotlink, please see above about the whole share-alike and attribution clauses. I consider hotlinks to count as derivative works, for the most part, especially if the image/chart is obviously mine.

I Just Stole Your Stuff! Thanks for the Book Report, Idiot!

It happens.

I'm not ok with it, mind you. I will do what I can to rectify it. But I do acknowledge that it's at least a risk I run by posting stuff online.

OK, Will You Write a Book Report For Me?

I've been asked this a couple of times due to this site. I will probably be asked this again. The answer I always give is "no". I will help with stuff, no problem. I will sell you stuff for commercial use. But I will not do classwork for you. I have done it twice, way back in the past (about a decade or more ago, now), and I never plan to do it again. In both cases, the person took my help and then tried to still be lazy with using it. Causing me to get in some trouble as well.

Will You Host Something for Me?

Probably not. Sometimes friends and strangers will wonder if I can host something (usually an image or file) so they can post it somewhere. There are plenty of free services to handle that elsewhere and that way I don't have to worry about them later having to track me down and get me to remove it. At the same time, I have done it for time to time so just ask if you want. If I don't know you personally, then it probably won't happen.

Can You Help Me with My Design?

Probably. I've spent a little bit studying formatting and CSS and the like and have a good idea of how many things work. Just ask and I'll give you want pointers I can dig up. If you want me to build a website for you, then that will probably cost, but I'm relatively cheap and have done it before.

Something on Your Page is Totally Ripping Me Off!

If that is the case, then let me know. The poetry and writings posted here are all original to me, but that does not mean that I did not cross a line at some point in time when talking about an additional work. I have no intention of stealing from another, but mistakes sometimes happen. I will post pictures or webcomics or sound bites and whatnot that I found elsewhere but tend to download and rehost here because I don't want to steal bandwidth. In these cases, I try and make it pretty clear whose files they really are and hopefully never make it sound like I am responsible for them.

I'm an Author and Would like to know if You Could... Or, I Am in a Band and... Or, I Make a Blend of Tea or Pipe Tobacco and Was... Or, etc...

I love to talk about the things I love. I talk about favorite authors, favorite bands, favorite blends of tea, favorite pipe tobaccos, favorite whatevers. If you have a movie or a book or blend or a album or a song and would like me to 1) review it, 2) promote it, 3) discuss it, or 4) link to it, just let me know.

I have to warn you, though. I try to be honest in all of my reviews and promotions. Free samples will not automatically win me over. Also, I don't have a lot of free money just laying around. If you want me to review something then it will have to be after I can buy a copy (and of this, books get priority). If you have a review copy that you can send me, my address is on the site. I'm a friendly enough guy overall, and am willing to work out some sort of arrangement.

Are You the Doug Bolden that I Know?

Possibly. Born in 1977. Grew up around Evergreen and McKenzie. Went to Hillcrest High and Jefferson Davis Community College before the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Have worked at Subway (in Evergreen), West (in Huntsville), as a Resident Advisor (at UAH), and at Waldens (keyholder after working at the calendar kiosk) and Book Gallery (manager). Have had a few works published, but I kind of forget where. Besides that, have done some poetry readings and hung out in various circles, usually artsy or geeky. Does that sounds like me?

Do You Have Any Other Websites?

Yes, my other main website right this moment is Doug Loves Sarah. That website is dedicated to my wife.

All other blogs or journals that you have found by me or about me are considered out of date right now, and I am letting them drift into being obsolete.