GNU Terry Pratchett - Revision history

Guybrush: Copyedit for readability; small expansion

2025-03-12T10:01:41Z

Copyedit for readability; small expansion

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:01, 12 March 2025
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	==Origin==		==Origin==
	“GNU” comes from the [[Discworld]] novel {{GP}}. While it’s also a reference to [[wikipedia:GNU\|real world computing history]], in the context of the Discworld it's a prefix code used in the “Overhead” of [[Clacks]] messages, the part reserved for information used by the system itself (or its operators), ~~rather than the part that includes~~ customers’ coded messages. The code consists of three parts:		“GNU” comes from the [[Discworld]] novel {{GP}}. While it’s also a reference to [[wikipedia:GNU\|real world computing history]], in the context of the Discworld it's a prefix code used in the “Overhead” of [[Clacks]] messages. The Overhead is the part of a message reserved for information used by the system itself (or its operators), separate to customers’ coded messages. The code consists of three parts:
	* G: Send the message onto the next Clacks Tower.		* G: Send the message onto the next Clacks Tower.
	* N: Do not log the message.		* N: Do not log the message.
	* U: At the end of the line, return the message.		* U: At the end of the line, return the message.

	It's most prominent use is in chapter four of {{GP}}, where operatives in [[Tower 181]] of the [[Grand Trunk]] discuss the phrase “GNU [[John Dearheart]]”. The message was sent after John's death, and is continuously sent up and down the Clacks network as a tribute, conferring a kind of immortality. As the character [[Grandad]] says at the end of the chapter, “A man’s not dead while his name is still spoken.”		It's most prominent use is in chapter four of {{GP}}, where operatives in [[Tower 181]] of the [[Grand Trunk]] discuss the phrase “GNU [[John Dearheart]]”. The message was sent after John's death, and thanks to the GNU code, is continuously sent up and down the Clacks network as a tribute, seen only by the operators, and conferring a kind of immortality. As the character [[Grandad]] says at the end of the chapter: “A man’s not dead while his name is still spoken.”

	In a post on the website Reddit, under the subreddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/ r/discworld], several fans came up with the idea to create a ~~website plugin or~~ text ~~that could be hidden~~ in the code or headers of websites. The most prominent example is “X-Clacks-Overhead”, a non-standard [[wikipedia:HTTP\|HTTP]] header - essentially the world wide web's equivalent of the Clacks’ ~~“Overhead”~~.		In a post on the website Reddit, under the subreddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/ r/discworld], several fans came up with the idea to create a method of hiding GNU text in the code or headers of websites. The most prominent example is “X-Clacks-Overhead”, a non-standard [[wikipedia:HTTP\|HTTP]] header - essentially the world wide web's equivalent of the Clacks’ Overhead.

	Several websites such as [http://gnuterrypratchett.com GNUTerryPratchett.com] and [http://xclacksoverhead.org XClacksOverhead.org] list the myriad plugins and other methods for adding this message to websites, servers and scripts. There are also browser plugins that can detect X-Clacks-Overhead messages on websites and display them, many using a digital display that resembles the Clacks towers from the books.		Several websites such as [http://gnuterrypratchett.com GNUTerryPratchett.com] and [http://xclacksoverhead.org XClacksOverhead.org] list the myriad plugins and other methods for adding this message to websites, servers and scripts. There are also browser plugins that can detect X-Clacks-Overhead messages on websites and display them, many using a digital display that resembles the Clacks towers from the books. Most websites that include the overhead populate it with the text “GNU Terry Pratchett”, but some add the names of others they wish to be remembered as well. (This sometimes causes display issues for plugins if the names are separated by commas, as established Clacks code doesn’t include punctuation.)

	==Other==		==Other==

Guybrush: Added mention of plugins which display the overhead

2024-09-06T06:26:41Z

Added mention of plugins which display the overhead

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:26, 6 September 2024
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	In a post on the website Reddit, under the subreddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/ r/discworld], several fans came up with the idea to create a website plugin or text that could be hidden in the code or headers of websites. The most prominent example is “X-Clacks-Overhead”, a non-standard [[wikipedia:HTTP\|HTTP]] header - essentially the world wide web's equivalent of the Clacks’ “Overhead”.		In a post on the website Reddit, under the subreddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/ r/discworld], several fans came up with the idea to create a website plugin or text that could be hidden in the code or headers of websites. The most prominent example is “X-Clacks-Overhead”, a non-standard [[wikipedia:HTTP\|HTTP]] header - essentially the world wide web's equivalent of the Clacks’ “Overhead”.

	Several websites such as [http://gnuterrypratchett.com GNUTerryPratchett.com] and [http://xclacksoverhead.org XClacksOverhead.org] list the myriad plugins and other methods for adding this message to websites, servers and scripts.		Several websites such as [http://gnuterrypratchett.com GNUTerryPratchett.com] and [http://xclacksoverhead.org XClacksOverhead.org] list the myriad plugins and other methods for adding this message to websites, servers and scripts. There are also browser plugins that can detect X-Clacks-Overhead messages on websites and display them, many using a digital display that resembles the Clacks towers from the books.

	==Other==		==Other==

Guybrush at 08:47, 24 July 2023

2023-07-24T08:47:31Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:47, 24 July 2023
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	In a post on the website Reddit, under the subreddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/ r/discworld], several fans came up with the idea to create a website plugin or text that could be hidden in the code or headers of websites. The most prominent example is “X-Clacks-Overhead”, a non-standard [[wikipedia:HTTP\|HTTP]] header - essentially the world wide web's equivalent of the Clacks’ “Overhead”.		In a post on the website Reddit, under the subreddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/ r/discworld], several fans came up with the idea to create a website plugin or text that could be hidden in the code or headers of websites. The most prominent example is “X-Clacks-Overhead”, a non-standard [[wikipedia:HTTP\|HTTP]] header - essentially the world wide web's equivalent of the Clacks’ “Overhead”.

	Several websites such as [~~https~~://gnuterrypratchett.com GNUTerryPratchett.com] and [~~https~~://xclacksoverhead.org XClacksOverhead.org] list the myriad plugins and other methods for adding this message to websites, servers and scripts.		Several websites such as [http://gnuterrypratchett.com GNUTerryPratchett.com] and [http://xclacksoverhead.org XClacksOverhead.org] list the myriad plugins and other methods for adding this message to websites, servers and scripts.

	==Other==		==Other==

Guybrush at 08:47, 24 July 2023

2023-07-24T08:47:15Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:47, 24 July 2023
Line 11:		Line 11:
	In a post on the website Reddit, under the subreddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/ r/discworld], several fans came up with the idea to create a website plugin or text that could be hidden in the code or headers of websites. The most prominent example is “X-Clacks-Overhead”, a non-standard [[wikipedia:HTTP\|HTTP]] header - essentially the world wide web's equivalent of the Clacks’ “Overhead”.		In a post on the website Reddit, under the subreddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/ r/discworld], several fans came up with the idea to create a website plugin or text that could be hidden in the code or headers of websites. The most prominent example is “X-Clacks-Overhead”, a non-standard [[wikipedia:HTTP\|HTTP]] header - essentially the world wide web's equivalent of the Clacks’ “Overhead”.

	Several websites such as [https://gnuterrypratchett.com GNUTerryPratchett.com] and [https://~~cclacksoverhead~~.org XClacksOverhead.org] list the myriad plugins and other methods for adding this message to websites, servers and scripts.		Several websites such as [https://gnuterrypratchett.com GNUTerryPratchett.com] and [https://xclacksoverhead.org XClacksOverhead.org] list the myriad plugins and other methods for adding this message to websites, servers and scripts.

	==Other==		==Other==

Guybrush: Copyedit of first paragraph

2023-07-24T08:47:03Z

Copyedit of first paragraph

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:47, 24 July 2023
Line 1:		Line 1:
	[[Terry Pratchett]] sadly passed away in March 2015. The phrase ~~'GNU~~ Terry ~~Pratchett'~~ has become a term ~~among~~ fans to mourn and ~~also to try to help~~ memorialise ~~Terry Pratchett~~. ~~The phrase~~ has been ~~used~~ in ~~website and server coding in order to pay~~ tribute ~~to Terry Pratchett~~ in ~~reference to~~ {{GP}}.		[[Terry Pratchett]] sadly passed away in March 2015. The phrase “GNU Terry Pratchett” has become a term used by fans to mourn and memorialise him. As well as being written by fans in messages, it has also been embedded in the infrastructure of the internet as a tribute, inspired by its origins in {{GP}}.

	==Origin==		==Origin==
Line 9:		Line 9:
	It's most prominent use is in chapter four of {{GP}}, where operatives in [[Tower 181]] of the [[Grand Trunk]] discuss the phrase “GNU [[John Dearheart]]”. The message was sent after John's death, and is continuously sent up and down the Clacks network as a tribute, conferring a kind of immortality. As the character [[Grandad]] says at the end of the chapter, “A man’s not dead while his name is still spoken.”		It's most prominent use is in chapter four of {{GP}}, where operatives in [[Tower 181]] of the [[Grand Trunk]] discuss the phrase “GNU [[John Dearheart]]”. The message was sent after John's death, and is continuously sent up and down the Clacks network as a tribute, conferring a kind of immortality. As the character [[Grandad]] says at the end of the chapter, “A man’s not dead while his name is still spoken.”

	In a post on the website Reddit, under the subreddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/ r/discworld], several fans came up with the idea to create a website plugin or text that could be hidden in the code or headers of websites. The most prominent example is “X-Clacks-Overhead”, a non-standard [[wikipedia:HTTP\|HTTP]] header - essentially the world wide web's equivalent of the ~~Clacks~~ “Overhead”.		In a post on the website Reddit, under the subreddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/ r/discworld], several fans came up with the idea to create a website plugin or text that could be hidden in the code or headers of websites. The most prominent example is “X-Clacks-Overhead”, a non-standard [[wikipedia:HTTP\|HTTP]] header - essentially the world wide web's equivalent of the Clacks’ “Overhead”.

	Several websites such as [https://gnuterrypratchett.com GNUTerryPratchett.com] and [https://cclacksoverhead.org XClacksOverhead.org] list the myriad plugins and other methods for adding this message to websites, servers and scripts.		Several websites such as [https://gnuterrypratchett.com GNUTerryPratchett.com] and [https://cclacksoverhead.org XClacksOverhead.org] list the myriad plugins and other methods for adding this message to websites, servers and scripts.

Guybrush: /* Origin */ Copyedit

2023-07-24T08:35:56Z

Origin: Copyedit

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:35, 24 July 2023
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	==Origin==		==Origin==
	~~The acronym GNU~~ comes from the [[Discworld]] novel {{GP}}. In the context of the ~~novel GNU translated on~~ the [[~~clacks~~]] system to:		“GNU” comes from the [[Discworld]] novel {{GP}}. While it’s also a reference to [[wikipedia:GNU\|real world computing history]], in the context of the Discworld it's a prefix code used in the “Overhead” of [[Clacks]] messages, the part reserved for information used by the system itself (or its operators), rather than the part that includes customers’ coded messages. The code consists of three parts:
	*G: Send the message onto the next Clacks Tower.		* G: Send the message onto the next Clacks Tower.
	*N: Do not log the message.		* N: Do not log the message.
	*U: At the end of the line, return the message.		* U: At the end of the line, return the message.

	~~The~~ most prominent use of ~~this in~~ {{GP}} is the phrase ~~'GNU~~ [[John Dearheart]]~~,' the phrase~~ was ~~created~~ after ~~his~~ death to continuously be sent up and down the ~~sequence of clacks towers~~ as a tribute ~~and keep his name being spoken in~~ a kind of immortality.		It's most prominent use is in chapter four of {{GP}}, where operatives in [[Tower 181]] of the [[Grand Trunk]] discuss the phrase “GNU [[John Dearheart]]”. The message was sent after John's death, and is continuously sent up and down the Clacks network as a tribute, conferring a kind of immortality. As the character [[Grandad]] says at the end of the chapter, “A man’s not dead while his name is still spoken.”

	In a post on the website Reddit, under the subreddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/ r/discworld], several fans came up with the idea to create a website plugin or text that could be hidden in the code or headers of websites. ~~One of the~~ most prominent ~~examples~~ of ~~this would be~~ the ~~'X-~~Clacks~~-Overhead Header~~.'		In a post on the website Reddit, under the subreddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/ r/discworld], several fans came up with the idea to create a website plugin or text that could be hidden in the code or headers of websites. The most prominent example is “X-Clacks-Overhead”, a non-standard [[wikipedia:HTTP\|HTTP]] header - essentially the world wide web's equivalent of the Clacks “Overhead”.

	Several websites such as GNUTerryPratchett.com and XClacksOverhead.org list the myriad of plugins and methods ~~to add~~ this message to ~~various~~ websites, servers and scripts.		Several websites such as [https://gnuterrypratchett.com GNUTerryPratchett.com] and [https://cclacksoverhead.org XClacksOverhead.org] list the myriad plugins and other methods for adding this message to websites, servers and scripts.

	==Other==		==Other==

Guybrush: /* External Links */

2023-07-24T07:40:27Z

External Links

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:40, 24 July 2023
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	==External Links==		==External Links==
	[https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/comments/2yt9j6/gnu_terry_pratchett/ Original Reddit Post]		* [https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/comments/2yt9j6/gnu_terry_pratchett/ Original Reddit Post]
			* [https://www.theguardian.com/books/shortcuts/2015/mar/17/terry-pratchetts-name-lives-on-in-the-clacks-with-hidden-web-code Article in the Guardian Newspaper]
	[https://www.theguardian.com/books/shortcuts/2015/mar/17/terry-pratchetts-name-lives-on-in-the-clacks-with-hidden-web-code Article in the Guardian Newspaper]		* [http://www.gnuterrypratchett.com/index.php GNUTerryPratchett.com]
			* [https://xclacksoverhead.org/home/about xclacksoverhead.org]
	[http://www.gnuterrypratchett.com/index.php GNUTerryPratchett.com]		* [https://en-gb.wordpress.org/plugins/gnu-terry-pratchett/ Wordpress Plugin]

	[https://xclacksoverhead.org/home/about xclacksoverhead.org]

	[https://en-gb.wordpress.org/plugins/gnu-terry-pratchett/ Wordpress Plugin]

	[[Category:Fandom\|GNU Terry Pratchett]]		[[Category:Fandom\|GNU Terry Pratchett]]
	[[Category:Terry Pratchett\|GNU Terry Pratchett]]		[[Category:Terry Pratchett\|GNU Terry Pratchett]]

Guybrush: /* Other */ Slight copyedit

2023-07-24T07:39:54Z

Other: Slight copyedit

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:39, 24 July 2023
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	==Other==		==Other==
	The videogame [https://www.minecraft.net/en-us Minecraft] features a [https://minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Splash splash text] on the ~~games~~ title screen ~~that reads 'GNU~~ Terry ~~Pratchett~~.' This is listed as Splash 338; it was added in the update to Java Edition 1.8.5.		The videogame [https://www.minecraft.net/en-us Minecraft] features randomised [https://minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Splash splash text] on the game's title screen, which can sometimes read “GNU Terry Pratchett”. This is listed as Splash 338; it was added in the update to Java Edition 1.8.5.

	==External Links==		==External Links==

BloodBaz: Corrected the Minecraft splash text number from 340 to 338 as per referenced page.

2023-07-19T09:38:01Z

Corrected the Minecraft splash text number from 340 to 338 as per referenced page.

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:38, 19 July 2023
Line 14:		Line 14:

	==Other==		==Other==
	The videogame [https://www.minecraft.net/en-us Minecraft] features a [https://minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Splash splash text] on the games title screen that reads 'GNU Terry Pratchett.' This is listed as Splash ~~340~~; it was added in the update to Java Edition 1.8.5.		The videogame [https://www.minecraft.net/en-us Minecraft] features a [https://minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Splash splash text] on the games title screen that reads 'GNU Terry Pratchett.' This is listed as Splash 338; it was added in the update to Java Edition 1.8.5.

	==External Links==		==External Links==

Moishe Rosenbaum: /* Origin */ corrected, I think - see talk

2022-12-20T18:51:24Z

Origin: corrected, I think - see talk

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:51, 20 December 2022
Line 7:		Line 7:
	*U: At the end of the line, return the message.		*U: At the end of the line, return the message.

	The most prominent use of this in {{GP}} is the phrase 'GNU [[John Dearheart]],' the phrase was created ~~by his father [[Robert Dearheart]]~~ after his ~~sons~~ death to continuously be sent up and down the sequence of clacks towers as a tribute and keep his name being spoken in a kind of immortality.		The most prominent use of this in {{GP}} is the phrase 'GNU [[John Dearheart]],' the phrase was created after his death to continuously be sent up and down the sequence of clacks towers as a tribute and keep his name being spoken in a kind of immortality.

	In a post on the website Reddit, under the subreddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/ r/discworld], several fans came up with the idea to create a website plugin or text that could be hidden in the code or headers of websites. One of the most prominent examples of this would be the 'X-Clacks-Overhead Header.'		In a post on the website Reddit, under the subreddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/ r/discworld], several fans came up with the idea to create a website plugin or text that could be hidden in the code or headers of websites. One of the most prominent examples of this would be the 'X-Clacks-Overhead Header.'