mozilla dot party dot faq
as told by an evil leprechaun to your host, Jamie Zawinski.

1. What's all this, then?

   Read the flyer.

2. So this is a joke, right? It's on April 1st. So it's a joke, right?

   No, it's not a joke. It's on April 1st, because the source is going to hit the net on March 31st. The source is going out on March 31st because that's when the folks who wrote Netscape's press release said it would go out, way back on January 22nd.

   Besides, posting a joke announcement a week before April Fool's Day would be bad form.

3. Who is throwing this party?

   The party is being thrown by Jamie Zawinski, Private Citizen, with extensive help from Random (promoter of the Slick fetish ball.)

   It is not being thrown by Netscape Communications Corporation, because, you see, Netscape is a very big company, and therefore has lawyers, and is therefore incapable of doing anything truly fun. However, I expect a whole lot of Netscape employees to show up, because Netscape employees are generally a fun bunch, even though the Body Corporate is not permitted to be.

4. Is this going to be some lame-ass corporate party?

   No. This is not going to be the kind of party where you ride a bus to the marina and then spend three hours trapped on a boat with your manager while a flock of baby boomers from Sales dance the ``Funky Chicken.'' Instead, it's going to be the other kind of party: the kind you would actually want to go to. See also ``fun'' above.

5. Am I actually invited, or is this only open to Netscape folks?

   This party is open to anyone who cares about Open Source. Open Source, Open Party, get it? Presumably, by that metric, there will be a lot of Netscape folks present, so come out and meet them!

6. Does that mean drinks are free?

   No, it means you get in for free. You still have to pay Nice Mister Bartender. What, do you think we're made of money?

7. I'm not yet 21! My friend is not yet 18! Can we still get in?

   Sound Factory is a 21+ venue.

8. I don't live anywhere near San Francisco. Will you buy me a plane ticket?

   Ha ha ha. No.

   If you live in Seattle, you might want to go to Paul's party, on the 31st (the day before.) If you're a truly hip jet-setter, you'll go to both.

   Some other folks are holding source-release parties on April 1:

   • Julie Lavoie is having a party somewhere in Montreal, Canada.
   • Dave Schrubbe is throwing a party at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh.
   • Sean Reifschneider is throwing a party in northern Colorado.
   • Rop Gonggrijp is throwing a party at The Waag in Amsterdam.
   • Chuck Peters and Eric Raymond are throwing a party in Philadelphia.
   • Samuel Potts is throwing a party in Durham, North Carolina.
   • Øyvind Møll is throwing a party in Trondheim, Norway.
   • Randy Shepherd is throwing a party in Huntsville, Alabama.

   If you're throwing a party in your own city, let me know and I'll list it here.

9. But I'm going to be at IETF in LA that day! Waaah!

   I'm sorry. The source goes out on the 31st. The following night is clearly the time to have the party. Flights from LA to SF are cheap and fast, and don't involve jet-lag. Live on the edge.

10. But I'm going to be in San Francisco for JavaOne the week before! Waaah!

    I'm sorry. The source goes out on the 31st. Having the party before that would be lame, and besides, we're busy getting the source ready to ship. Perhaps you should extend your stay for a few more days. There's plenty to do in San Francisco. Call in sick. It is your duty as an oppressed worker to steal from your employers.

11. But I was planning on going to see Marc Andreessen speak at the Silicon Valley Linux User's Group meeting that night!

    You can do both! Go see Fearless Leader, then come to the party. Rumor has it that the SVLUG folks are going to organize a massive carpooling effort of some kind, so this might actually be an easier way for you to get to the party, if you have a way of getting to San Jose but not to San Francisco.

    The marca talk runs from 7pm-9pm on the Cisco Systems campus in San Jose. See SVLUG's page on the event.

12. Are you going to broadcast live video of the party over the internet?

    Yes! Thanks to the generous help of the folks at Proxim, who are lending us the necessary hardware to get a wireless T1 link to the nightclub, and the folks at Hypnovista, who are providing the Internet connectivity at the other end, we will be able to broadcast (and receive) internet video at the party! Wish us luck; we've got a lot of machines to set up and cable to run and only a few hours in which to do it...
    

    We will be broadcasting video over MBONE, and also, thanks to the fine folks at RealNetworks, over RealVideo.

    Note: if you know how to reflect MBONE (vic/vat) into CuSeeMe, we'd like to hear from you...

13. Hey, how about Quake?

    Indeed! It looks like we'll have a few machines networked together for a big-screen Quake match. Details to follow...

14. Who's DJing?

    Our DJs will be:

    • Skip of New Wave City;
    • Sage of Bedlam and Slick;
    • Brian of Hyperreal (who is also one of the Apache hackers);
    • Markie of Wicked;
    • Caliban of weird blinking lights;
    • Fuzzboy of milk.com;
    • Mr. Meanor of House of Usher.

    The music will include a mix of new wave, electronica, industrial, ambient, trance, a jazz/funk/hiphop band, and whatever the hell else they feel like playing.

15. Did you say something about a band?

    Yes! In the Red Room we will feature the souliciousfunkdefied experience known as The Kofy Brown Band, featuring Netscape Unix hacker Spencer Murray!

16. Are there going to be giveaways?

    Yes, we've got some cool stuff lined up.

    Want to help? What does your company make? How many can you get your PR department to let us give away for free? Let jwz@netscape.com know.

17. How do I get there?

    ``There'' being Sound Factory, 525 Harrison at 2nd, San Francisco, 8pm-2am.

    From points east:

    Take the Bay Bridge to San Francisco. Stay in the left lane. Exit at Harrison / Embarcadero. Go left on Harrison. Cross 1st Street. It's on the left.

    From points south:

    Take 101 to I-80. Exit at 4th Street. Continue on Bryant to 2nd street. Turn left on 2nd. Turn right on Harrison. Go straight for one and a half blocks. It's on the right.

    By public transportation:

    The BART station is about six blocks away, and the CalTrain station is about four blocks away.

    The last BART train leaves Embarcadero Station at 12:26am, but the trains start running again at 4:25am, which isn't really all that long to wait. If you don't have a car, bring a book.

    The last CalTrain train leaves the 4th Street Station at 10:00pm, and the trains start running again at 5:00am. (Note: the schedule lists an 11:59pm train, but don't be fooled -- the footnotes show that that train only runs on friday.)

    You can also get to Palo Alto on by bus as late as 12:28am by catching the 7F Palo Alto at Mission and 1st; or to Redwood City by catching the 7B Redwood City at the same stop.

18. Is it true that Marc Andreessen will be cage-dancing nude?

    No, there is absolutely no truth to that rumor. Please don't mention it again.

19. Who did that cool graphic?

    Shepard Fairey of Black Market, who is also the mad mastermind behind the Andre the Giant has a Posse ten-year media blitz. Isn't it great?

20. Everyone I know is going to this party. Are there going to be just too many people?

    Um, it's looking that way, yes...