Wednesday, February 05, 2003

Elvish Language Lesson #1
- Jincey @ 22:53 PST

#TheHallofFire was filled with almost 100 people this evening, all seeking to gain knowledge of the Elvish language. Our guest for this chat was Barliman's regular, and self-taught language expert Elostrion. Here follows the transcript of the log: [More]

IRC Server Update
- Demosthenes @ 01:05 PST

We've had to sort out a few minor bugs along the way, but hopefully everything is just about sorted and we won't have to endure any more service interuptions.

In the way of clarifying a few common questions, you do have to go through this new authorisation process with each nickname you have registered. For example, if you have five registered nicks, you'll have to authorise all five of them.

However, it is a once-only process for each registered nickname. Once you've authed properly, you simply go back to the straightforward logon identification process that we were using before.

You should never have to auth again - except in the most unlikely situation of something truly horrendous happening that forced us to wipe the nickserv registrations and start over.

Again, to learn the funky new stuff that you can do under the new services system (nickserv and memoserv), I encourage you to check out our brand-new FAQ.

Elvish Lessons Beginning at Barlimans
- Jincey @ 00:25 PST

So many folks have been asking questions about the Elvish languages since the movies came out and we have an opportunity to learn a bit about this now! Elostrion has volunteered to teach a short course in "How to Construct a Sindarin Sentence". [More]

Tuesday, February 04, 2003

SkyKing Sends this 'Farwell for Now' to All
- Jincey @ 21:14 PST

Many folks will know SkyKing, a regular here at Barli's. What many folks may not know is that in real life he is a member of America's armed forces. His real life job necessitates his lengthy absence from Barli's for several months. He sent along a letter for everyone to read: [More]

Sunday, February 02, 2003

Important News For Barliman's Regulars
- Demosthenes @ 18:57 PST

This evening we'll be upgrading TheOneRing.net's IRC server software. Most of the changes will be invisible to chatters, but will result in a better, more reliable chatting experience for everyone.

We strongly encourage you to take the time to acquaint yourself with these new features by reading through our brand new chat FAQ.

One change in particular will impact on everyone who has a registered nickname. This is a significant change to the registration process that regular chatters must be aware of.

This is extremely important information, that you must read if you're not to be totally confused by the changeover! [More]

Friday, January 17, 2003

Hall Of Fire Chats For January 18th & 19th
- Strider @ 20:10 PST

Of all the relationships that exist in the latter parts of The Lord of the Rings, the triangle between Frodo, The One Ring and Gollum is one of the most intriguing and arguably the most important to the story itself. This weekend, the Hall of Fire crew invite you to join us as we put this relationship under the microscope and examine what really was the key factor by which Frodo controlled Gollum.

Many people believe that Gollum's newly-found obedience when leading Sam and Frodo through the lands outside Mordor was inspired by Frodo's kind treatment of him; through Frodo's kind treatment, Gollum began to find redemption in assisting those who captured him. However through a chance encounter with Faramir and the Men of Gondor, whatever trust Gollum had for the Hobbits disintegrates, and he knowingly leads them to almost certain death in the form of Shelob's Lair.

But was it the humanity that Frodo showed Gollum that made him revert to the more morally bound Smeagol persona? Or was it simply that Gollum was so bound to the Ring that he had no choice but to lead the Ringbearer through Emyn Muil, under the control of the allure of the Ring? Could it be that The One Ring was the true reason that Gollum guided the Hobbits safely the the Black Gate of Mordor and beyond? Or was Gollum ever really under their control, his re-discovered conscience all a ruse to recapture his Precious?

If you share any of these opinions, then stop by the Hall of Fire this weekend and be prepared to join in on what should be a fabulous debate!

Upcoming Discussions:
Jan 25 & 26 - Arwen's Immortality Choice
Feb 02 & 03 - RotK Chapter One: Minas Tirith

Place:
#thehalloffire on theonering.net server; come to theonering.net’s chat room Barliman's and then type /join #thehalloffire .

Saturday Chat: 5:30 pm ET (17:30) [also 11:30 pm (23:30) CET and 7:30 am Sunday (07:30) AET]

Sunday Chat: 7:00 pm (19:00) CET [also 1:00 pm (13:00) ET and 4:00 am (04:00) Monday morning AET]

ET = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast
CET = Central European Time, Central Europe

Questions? Topics? Send ‘em here.

Saturday, January 11, 2003

Hall of Fire Chats - Jan 11&12
- Demosthenes @ 03:50 PST

No single character from Two Towers has caused more controversy than the writing of Faramir. Some people have been outraged enough to brand it "character assassination". Keeping in mind that there's much more of Faramir to come in RoTK, what do we think so far?

The Movie Characterisation of Faramir. Success or Failure?

Is Faramir off-base and miscast, as some have suggested, or have Jackson and Boyens brought onto the spotlight the darkness within and desperate desire for his father's approval? What can we expect to see in Return of the King? And regardless, does Jackson's interpretation enhance or detract from Two Towers? [More]

Friday, January 03, 2003

Hall Of Fire Chats For January 4th & 5th
- Strider @ 14:33 PST

Though The Two Towers has been in the most part a greater success commercially for Peter Jackson et al. than The Fellowship of the Ring, there is no doubt that the second film in the trilogy has attracted greater criticism from Tolkien fans and purists, particularly on the Internet. This weekend, the Hall of Fire crew invite you to join your fellow purists in arms as we rant and rave about the changes made to The Two Towers in what we call The Second Annual Tolkien Purists Whine and Cheese Party™.

Though many fans accept that due to running time constraints and the nature of film as a media, Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh and Stephen Sinclair have made some changes to The Two Towers that have been met with a mixed reception from 'Rings fans across the world; drastic changes to the character of Faramir, drastic changes to the Elves participation in the War of the Ring, numerous changes to the story in general - all have been met with firm criticism in one form or another.

Is Peter Jackson's The Two Towers a masterstroke or a massive blunder? Is the portrayal of Faramir in the movie an accurate portrayal or a shambolic misinterpretation? Can some fantastic CGI be enough to excuse the shortcomings of apoor screenplay? Whether you share or disagree with these views, visit us this weekend for one heck of a discussion!

Upcoming Discussions:
To Be Announced

Place:
#thehalloffire on theonering.net server; come to theonering.net’s chat room Barliman's and then type /join #thehalloffire .

Saturday Chat: 5:30 pm ET (17:30) [also 11:30 pm (23:30) CET and 7:30 am Sunday (07:30) AET]

Sunday Chat: 7:00 pm (19:00) CET [also 1:00 pm (13:00) ET and 4:00 am (04:00) Monday morning AET]

ET = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast
CET = Central European Time, Central Europe

Questions? Topics? Send ‘em here.

Monday, December 16, 2002

All-New Moviechat Channel
- Demosthenes @ 19:22 PST

It's movie release time, and the spoilers are definitely ramping up. So, to save the sanity of those who are avoiding movie spoilers, we've created a special movie talk channel - #moviechat .

If you want to discuss the Two Towers with likeminded people, head to #moviechat . (People who've never been there before, please note that our guidelines prohibit swearing.)

For our java users, it's as simple as selecting moviechat from the dropdown list and connecting. For other clients, type /join #moviechat once you've connected to the server.

Reminder: Do not take your spoilers into #theonering.net as it will only annoy the moderators there! Some people have to wait till after Christmas to see the movie, and we don't want their experience ruined.

Hope to see you there!