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ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC ███████┐ ████████┐ ██┐ ██┐ ███████┐ ███████┐ ██┐ ██┌──██│ └██┌──██│ ██│ ██│ ██┌────┘ ██┌────┘ ██│ ███████│ ███████│ ██│ ██│ ███████┐ █████┐ ██│ ██┌──██│ ██┌──██│ ██│ ██│ └────██│ ██┌──┘ └─┘ ██│ ██│ ████████│ ███████│ ███████│ ███████┐ ██┐ └─┘ └─┘ └───────┘ └──────┘ └──────┘ └──────┘ └─┘ Version 1.1 ───────────── Copyright 1993 by Dan M. Shaw All Rights Reserved Last updated: May 1993 "You pudding-headed mouthbreather! You couldn't program your way out of a wet paper bag! What a load of fiddle-faddle! This has got to be the cheesiest, most ridiculous program I've ever seen!" -- early user "No one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public. Nice try, though!" -- H. L. Mencken ABUSE! Manual Page 1 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC Credits ─────── ABUSE! was written by Dan M. Shaw. The ABUSE! manual was written by Dan M. Shaw. The ABUSE! database contains words and phrases gleaned from friends, early users, movies, newspapers and the scholarly sources listed in the Bibliography. Copyright Notice ──────────────── ABUSE! is Copyright 1993 by Dan M. Shaw. All rights are reserved. This document is Copyright 1993 by Dan M. Shaw. All rights are reserved. Trademarks ────────── ABUSE! is a trademark of Dan M. Shaw. All trademarks and registered trademarks referenced within this document are the property of their respective holders. Warranty Disclaimer ─────────────────── DAN M. SHAW MAKES NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. DAN M. SHAW DOES NOT ASSUME ANY LIABILITY FOR THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE BEYOND THE ORIGINAL PURCHASE PRICE OF THIS SOFTWARE. IN NO EVENT WILL DAN M. SHAW BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY ADDITIONAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST SAVINGS, OR OTHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THIS SOFTWARE AND ITS ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF DAN M. SHAW HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. ABUSE! Manual Page 2 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Table of Contents ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Introduction ....................................................... 5 What is ABUSE!? ................................................. 5 System requirements ............................................. 5 Keystroke conventions ........................................... 5 The help system ................................................. 6 Installation ....................................................... 6 Registered diskette ............................................. 6 Shareware diskette .............................................. 6 Compressed file ................................................. 7 Can't read it? .................................................. 7 What are all those files? ....................................... 8 Quick Start ........................................................ 9 Demo mode ....................................................... 9 Browsing ........................................................ 9 Navigating ..................................................... 10 Help ........................................................... 10 Exiting ........................................................ 10 Program Features .................................................. 10 Special keys ................................................... 10 Definitions .................................................... 11 Categories ..................................................... 11 Filters ........................................................ 11 Male filter .................................................... 11 Female filter .................................................. 11 Vividness filter ............................................... 12 Double your adjectives ......................................... 12 Random ......................................................... 12 Memory ......................................................... 12 Escape ......................................................... 13 The ABUSE! Menu ................................................... 13 Colors ......................................................... 13 Erase .......................................................... 13 Help ........................................................... 13 Information .................................................... 13 Key ............................................................ 14 Unload ......................................................... 14 ABUSE! Manual Page 3 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC Using ABUSE! With Other Programs .................................. 14 The PATH statement ............................................. 14 Saving to a file ............................................... 15 Memory-resident programs ....................................... 15 Hot key conflicts .............................................. 15 Pasting into your application .................................. 15 To swap or not to swap? ........................................ 16 Swapping version ............................................... 16 Non-swapping version ........................................... 17 Word processors ................................................ 17 Offline readers ................................................ 17 Communications programs ........................................ 17 Removing ABUSE! from memory .................................... 18 TSR conflicts .................................................. 18 ABUSE! and DESQview ............................................ 18 ABUSE! and Microsoft Windows ................................... 19 Known problems ................................................. 19 The Psychology of Verbal Abuse .................................... 19 Introduction ................................................... 19 Kinds of verbal abuse .......................................... 20 Expressing anger ............................................... 21 Maintaining behavioral norms ................................... 21 Establishing membership in a group ............................. 22 Power relationships ............................................ 22 Subtle aggression .............................................. 22 Verbal Abuse and Political Correctness ............................ 23 How to Design a Good Insult ....................................... 23 Know your target ............................................... 23 Paint a picture ................................................ 24 Universals ..................................................... 24 Alliteration and rhyme ......................................... 24 Rhythm ......................................................... 24 Frequently Asked Questions ........................................ 25 Thank You ......................................................... 25 Shareware ...................................................... 25 Contributions .................................................. 26 Keystroke Reference ............................................... 27 Command Line Options .............................................. 28 Bibliography ...................................................... 29 License and Registration .......................................... 30 Trial use license .............................................. 30 Limited distribution license ................................... 30 Order form ..................................................... 33 ABUSE! Manual Page 4 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Introduction ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── What is ABUSE!? ─────────────── ABUSE! is a toy for people who love colorful language. ABUSE! is an interactive thesaurus of obnoxious language. It helps you create the perfect insult for that special person, and then it pastes the insult into your word processor, communications program or offline reader. ABUSE! composes grammatically correct sentences. You simply select words or phrases from lists of synonyms, and ABUSE! puts them together. The lists are cross-referenced, so you can go from one to another. In fact, if you're one of those wackos who enjoy browsing dictionaries and thesauruses, you'll have fun browsing the large and colorful vocabulary of ABUSE!. You can use ABUSE! to write a letter to your favorite politician. You can use it to help you leave flaming messages on bulletin boards. You can even use it on chat boards. ABUSE! will turn the most inarticulate techno-weenie into a foul- mouthed master of vituperation. System requirements ─────────────────── ABUSE! will run on a PC-compatible with DOS 3.0+, 256K and one floppy, but a hard disk and more memory will make things easier. If you have extended or expanded memory, you can use the swapping version. Keystroke conventions ───────────────────── Anything in [square brackets] represents a special key or combination of keys. For example, [F1] is function key 1. [Alt-R] means hold down the key labelled "Alt", press the "R" key and then release both keys. [Enter] is the big key that is labelled "Enter" or "Return" or just has a hooked arrow, depending on your keyboard. ABUSE! Manual Page 5 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC The help system ─────────────── When in doubt, press [F1], the Help key. ABUSE! has a context- sensitive help system with extensive cross-referencing. Just high- light the topic and press [Enter] to go to another help screen. To exit the Help system, press [Esc], the escape key. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Installation ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ABUSE! is easy to install, but the procedure varies depending on where you got the program. Registered diskette ─────────────────── Congratulations! You've just purchased one of the most preposterous products on the market. Just make a directory on your hard disk and copy the files over. 1. Make a directory on your hard disk: MD \ABUSE 2. Go to that directory: CD \ABUSE 3. Copy the files: COPY A:\*.* Shareware diskette ────────────────── If you purchased a disk containing ABUSE! from a shareware disk vendor, the program is probably almost ready to run. Just follow the instruc- tions provided by the vendor. What, no instructions? List the direc- tory on the diskette. If there are a bunch of files, follow the instructions above for a registered diskette. If there is only one big file, or one big file and a couple of small ones, follow the in- structions below for a compressed file. ABUSE! Manual Page 6 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC Compressed file ─────────────── If you downloaded a file called ABUSE11.ZIP or something similar, it has been compressed with PKWARE's PKZIP program. You'll need PKUNZIP to uncompress it. If the file extension is .ARC or .ARJ or .LZH, you'll need the appropriate decompression program. The bulletin board where you got the compressed file should have the necessary programs and instructions on how to use them. The following instructions assume that you downloaded a file called ABUSE11.ZIP and that you have PKUNZIP.EXE: 1. Go to the directory where ABUSE11.ZIP is located. 2. Make a directory on your hard disk: MD \ABUSE 3. Unzip the compressed file into your new directory: PKUNZIP ABUSE11 \ABUSE 4. Go to the new directory: CD \ABUSE Can't read it? ────────────── If you're running ABUSE! on a monochrome graphics screen or a laptop, and you're having trouble reading the screen, try running the program with the -M option: ABUSE -M ABUSE! Manual Page 7 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC What are all those files? ───────────────────────── It seems like a lot of files, but everything is there for a reason. File Name Description ─────────── ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── README.DOC Information about unpacking the shareware distribu- tion file and printing the various documentation files; program descriptions for uploading to BBSs; other last-minute notes and instructions. PACKING.LST A list of the other files and their descriptions. ABUSE.DOC The complete ABUSE! manual. ABUSE.EXE The non-swapping version of ABUSE!. ABUSE-SW.EXE The swapping version of ABUSE!. ABUSE.CFG The ABUSE! configuration file. ABUSE.DAT The data file used by ABUSE!. ABCHKMEM.EXE A program which checks your memory and tells you whether you can use the swapping version. LICENSE.DOC License information for individual and company users. ORDER.FRM Extra order form for registering ABUSE!. REGISTER.DOC Information on the benefits of registering ABUSE!. SHR-WARE.DOC Information about shareware. UPDATE.DOC Update history. VENDOR.DOC Special instructions for shareware distributors, disk vendors, user groups, and BBS sysops. WARRANTY.DOC Warranty disclaimer. ABUSE! Manual Page 8 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Quick Start ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Demo mode ───────── Ready for some ABUSE!? Go to your abuse directory and start up ABUSE! in demo mode: CD \ABUSE ABUSE -D If you're running ABUSE! on a monochrome graphics screen or a laptop, and you're having trouble reading the screen, try running the program with the -M option: ABUSE -D -M If you have the shareware version, you'll get a reminder screen. I know, it's annoying, but without the reminder screen, you wouldn't register, now would you? Admit it! You had no intention of registering this program, did you, you unprincipled, double-crossing cheapskate!! Seriously now, I hope that you'll like ABUSE! enough to register it and get the latest version, without that reminder screen. If not, at least I got you to load the program on your computer and try it out, and that's what shareware is really all about. OK, now press [Esc]. You should see your screen fill up with random abusive language. Watch it for a while. What? How do you stop it? Hmmm... that's a really good idea. Maybe I can put a stop key in the next version. Actually, just press [Esc]. Browsing ──────── Now start up ABUSE! in browse mode: ABUSE The top window holds your abusive language and the bottom right window is for making selections. Try out your up and down arrow keys. To make a selection, just press [Enter]. If you select an item in <angle brackets>, you go to another list. Otherwise, the item is transferred to the top window. The bottom left window tells you which special keys are active. See the section on Program Features. When you finish one sentence, ABUSE! will start another one. ABUSE! Manual Page 9 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC Navigating ────────── Besides the up and down arrows, you can use the [PgUp] and [PgDn] keys to see a screenful at a time. The [Home] key takes you to the first item in the list, and the [End] key takes you to the last item. Here's another shortcut: if you press an alphabetic key, A through Z, ABUSE! will jump to the next item that starts with that letter, if possible. When you're comfortable navigating your way around the lists, see the section on Program Features for some ways to change the display. Help ──── Help is always available! Just press [F1], the Help key. ABUSE! has a context-sensitive help system with extensive cross-referencing. Just highlight the topic and press [Enter] to go to another help screen. To exit the Help system, press [Esc], the escape key. Exiting ─────── To exit a list, just press [Esc]. If you escape from the first list, ABUSE! will expand the top window show you all the language you've generated. Press [Esc] again, and ABUSE! will exit to DOS. To do something with that language, see the section on using ABUSE! with other programs. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Program Features ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Special keys ──────────── ABUSE! has a number of special features which are sometimes available and sometimes not. For example, the Double key works on adjectives and adverbs, but not on nouns. Some categories have phrases which are specifically male or female, other categories do not. After you play around with the program for a while, this will begin to make sense. In the meantime, the Special Keys window at the left side of the screen will tell you which features are available at any given time. ABUSE! Manual Page 10 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC Definitions ─────────── If a word is preceded by a period, that means that the database contains a definition. Just press the Definition key [F2] and the definition will appear. Press any key to make it go away. Categories ────────── A word or phrase enclosed in angle brackets, <like this>, is a link to another category of words. Just select the link and you'll get list to choose from. Everything is interconnected and you may enjoy just browsing around from one category to another. Some of the lists have zillions of words (well, dozens anyway) and there's a lot stuff to scroll through if you're looking for another category. Use the Category key [Alt-C] to change the display. Press it once and you'll see links to other categories only. Press it again and you'll see a larger list. Press it a third time and you'll get all the individual words again. Try it! Note to computer nerds: some of the links are "calls" and some are "jumps", but the display doesn't distinguish between them. The difference is apparent in the action of the escape key, [Esc], which returns to the last "call". Filters ─────── The idea of the filters is to reduce the length of the lists so you can find what you want faster. There are three filters, and they work like the Category key. Male filter ─────────── The Male key, [Alt-M] changes the display so that you see only those words and phrases which are characteristically applied to males or masculine women. For example, "male chauvinist pig" is such a phrase. Press the key again to get the complete list. Female filter ───────────── The Female key, [Alt-F] changes the display so that you see only those words and phrases which are characteristically applied to females or effeminate males. For example, "bitch" is such a word. Press the key again to get the complete list. ABUSE! Manual Page 11 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC You can use this information in two ways. First, you can match the insult to the gender of the target. Second, you can deliberately use a word that is associated with the opposite gender. For example, if you call a man a jerk, you are insulting his personality. If you call him a bitch, you are insulting his masculinity as well. Vividness filter ──────────────── The Vivid key, [Alt-V], changes the display so that you see only those words and phrases which are particularly vivid. For example, "butt- breath" is vivid, "halitosis" is not. Press the key again to get the complete list. Double your adjectives ────────────────────── If you are looking at a list of adjectives or adverbs, you can make multiple selections by using the Double key, [Alt-D]. Your selections will be added to the sentence, separated by commas and "and" as appropriate. The Double key can add a little extra spice to an insult, but don't overdo it, or you'll end up with a sentence that is tedious, boring, repetitive, monotonous, plodding, dreary and interminable. Random ────── The Random key, [Alt-R], will finish your sentence, making choices at random. It's like Demo mode, but you have a little more control over it. Try it! Sometimes the random combinations are pretty silly, sometimes they are pretty good. The Random key will occasionally double an adjective or adverb for you. Memory ────── ABUSE! has a memory, of sorts. When you go to a list, the cursor will often be positioned at a category that you've used recently. The idea is that if you've just called somebody one kind of an idiot, you're likely to call him another kind of an idiot. In Demo mode, or if you press the Random key, ABUSE! will avoid repeating words that have been used recently. ABUSE! Manual Page 12 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC Escape ────── The Escape key, [Esc], will take you out of any list, erasing part of the sentence if necessary. If you press [Esc] enough times, you will exit ABUSE! entirely. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── The ABUSE! Menu ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── You can activate the ABUSE! menu by pressing [F10] or the slash key. The menu has a few features that you'll want to use now and then. Just press the first letter of the option, or move the bar cursor up and down with the arrow keys and press [Enter]. Colors ────── This option lets you change the ABUSE! color scheme. The choices are Standard (the default), Tropical, Western and Monochrome. See which one you like best. ABUSE! stores your choice in the configuration file ABUSE.CFG. Erase ───── This option erases the ABUSE buffer so you can start over. You may find this option handy if you are running ABUSE! under DESQview or Windows. Just leave ABUSE! in its own window and erase as needed. If you are running ABUSE! as a memory-resident program under DOS, you will automatically start over with an empty ABUSE buffer every time you press the hot key. Help ──── Another way to get to the help system instead of pressing the Help key [F1]. Information ─────────── Displays the version number and how to contact the author. ABUSE! Manual Page 13 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC Key ─── This option lets you change the ABUSE! hot key. You can't use just the shift keys by themselves, like [Alt-Shift], but you can combine them with another key, like [Ctrl-Alt-Shift-W]. ABUSE! will save your new hot key in the configuration file ABUSE.CFG. If you have a sudden attack of amnesia and forget your hot key, don't have a cow, man! Whenever you start up ABUSE! with the -R option (memory-resident), it will tell you what the hot key is. Unload ────── This option takes you out of ABUSE!, unloading it from memory if appropriate. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Using ABUSE! With Other Programs ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Playing with the program is lots of fun, but you'll want to transfer the resulting abusive language to another program so you can send it to someone else. In this section, we'll call that other program an "application program". It could be a word processor, a communications program, an offline reader or something else. There are basically two ways to use ABUSE! with an application program. If you have DESQview or Microsoft Windows, the simplest way is to run ABUSE! and the application program in separate windows and paste from one to the other. Alternatively, you can run ABUSE! as a memory-resident program or TSR. The PATH statement ────────────────── If you're not organizationally challenged, you have ABUSE! in its own directory and your application program in another directory. To start ABUSE! from anywhere on the disk, you need to add the ABUSE! directory to your path. Go to the DOS command line and type: PATH You'll see a line that starts with: PATH=... ABUSE! Manual Page 14 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC This is your current path. You need to add the ABUSE! directory to the PATH statement in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Your DOS manual will tell you how to do this. If you don't understand this, don't mess with it! Ask a small child to help you. Alternatively, you can go to the ABUSE! directory before starting the ABUSE! program by typing: CD \ABUSE at the DOS command line first. Saving to a file ──────────────── If you run ABUSE! without making it memory-resident, the final screen gives you an option to save the abuse buffer to a file. If you choose this option by pressing F, ABUSE! will save the abuse buffer to a text file, ABUSE.TXT, in the current directory. You can print out this file and wrap fish with it, or anything else you would normally do with an ASCII text file. Memory-resident programs ──────────────────────── In order to use ABUSE! with another program, you must first load ABUSE! as a memory-resident program by going to your ABUSE! directory: CD \ABUSE ABUSE -R Hot key conflicts ───────────────── Make sure that your application program does not use the ABUSE! hot key for something important. ABUSE! is shipped with a default hot key of [Alt-A]. If your application program uses this key for some purpose, you should change the ABUSE! configuration so that it uses a different hot key. See the section on the ABUSE! Menu, Key option. Pasting into your application ───────────────────────────── Now start up your application program. When you are ready for some abuse, press the ABUSE! hot key. When you finish with the ABUSE! program, the windows will disappear and the abusive language will be pasted into your application program as if you had typed it yourself! ABUSE! Manual Page 15 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC To swap or not to swap? ─────────────────────── ABUSE! has two versions, a swapping version and a non-swapping version. Swapping version ──────────────── If your computer has at least 300K of extended memory or expanded memory, you can use the swapping version. This program uses only 10K of conventional memory and keeps the rest of the program in the other memory. When you activate ABUSE!, it "swaps" your application program out of conventional memory and swaps ABUSE! in. When you exit ABUSE!, it swaps your application program back in. Why go to all this trouble? Some application programs are real memory hogs and won't run with the non-swapping version. If your computer has 2 Megs of RAM or more, you have extended memory. However, you need to have a memory driver to make use of it. Look in your CONFIG.SYS file for something like this: DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS DEVICE=EMM386.SYS DEVICE=QEMM.SYS Are you confused yet? Maybe you don't know your extended memory from a hole in the ground. Relax! Just go to your ABUSE! directory and type: ABCHKMEM This program will check your memory and tell you whether you can use the swapping version. If you don't have enough memory for swapping, the swapping version will still run, but it will swap to disk, which is slower than a three-legged mule. In general, you should use the swapping version with word processors and offline readers and the non-swapping version with communications programs. You can start the swapping version of ABUSE! by: CD \ABUSE ABUSE-SW ABUSE! Manual Page 16 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC Non-swapping version ──────────────────── This version of ABUSE! does not swap itself in and out, it just stays in conventional memory. It's simpler and faster, but you won't be able to run giant programs with it. You start the non-swapping version of ABUSE! by: CD \ABUSE ABUSE Word processors ─────────────── Write an abusive letter to your favorite politician! ABUSE! works with text-mode word processors. If your word processor shows different fonts and different sizes of type on the screen, it is running in graphics mode and ABUSE! will beep instead of popping up. If you want to use ABUSE! with a graphics-mode word processor, see the sections on DESQview and Microsoft Windows. Microsoft Word can run in either text mode or graphics mode. If you are in graphics mode, go to the Options menu and change the display mode before invoking ABUSE!. (Many people have Word set up so that [Alt-F9] switches between text and graphics modes.) Also see the comments on Word in the section on Known Problems. Offline readers ─────────────── If you haven't discovered offline readers yet, check them out! Once you start using them, you won't want to go back to reading and com- posing messages online. The memory-resident ABUSE! works with text- mode offline readers. If you want to use ABUSE! with an offline reader that uses graphics mode, see the sections on DESQview and Microsoft Windows. Communications programs ─────────────────────── Reach out and insult someone! You can use ABUSE! when you're posting messages on computer bulletin boards. You can even use ABUSE! on a chat board or CB simulator. Just hit the ABUSE! hot key, select your abuse, and the result will appear in your communications program as if you had typed it. You should use the non-swapping version with communications programs. Why? It's complicated, but for the turbo-geeks out there, here goes: ABUSE! Manual Page 17 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC When a character comes in over the modem, the serial port will pass the character over to the communications program. If the communications program has been swapped out of conventional memory, it's not there to receive the character and the character will be lost, which makes your screen look funny. With the non-swapping version, both ABUSE! and your communications program are in conventional memory at the same time. When a character comes in, the serial port can pass it to the communications program even if you are using ABUSE!. Removing ABUSE! from memory ─────────────────────────── First, exit your application program. Now type ABUSE -U at the DOS command line to unload ABUSE! Alternatively, you can use the ABUSE! hot key, activate the menu with / or [F10], and select "Unload" on the menu. You have to unload things in the reverse order of the way you loaded them. Since you started your application program after you loaded ABUSE!, you have to exit the application program before you can unload ABUSE!. TSR conflicts ───────────── Unfortunately, sometimes TSR programs don't work with each other. While I can't test every combination of TSRs, I have used a professional TSR library (Resident C, from South Mountain Software) in an effort to minimize potential problems. If you have trouble with ABUSE! and you suspect a TSR conflict, follow this procedure: First, make ABUSE! the ONLY TSR on your system. If the problem persists, it is not a TSR conflict. If the problem goes away, add the TSRs one by one, keeping ABUSE! the last TSR loaded. When the problem reappears, you've found the culprit. ABUSE! and DESQview ─────────────────── The simplest way to do this is to put ABUSE! in its own window and use DESQview's "mark and transfer" feature to cut and paste the abusive language to your application program. For best results, use these DESQview program options: ABUSE! Manual Page 18 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC Memory size: 150 Writes directly to screen: Y Uses its own colors: Y Window position: set for full screen ABUSE! and Microsoft Windows ──────────────────────────── If you run Windows in Enhanced Mode, you can run ABUSE! as a Windowed DOS Application and cut and paste to Windows applications. Known problems ────────────── DOS Edit (the edit program supplied with MS-DOS 5.0) -- ABUSE! does not work with this program. Microsoft Word for DOS -- there is a conflict with Word's keyboard interrupt handler that causes Word to duplicate pasted keystrokes under certain conditions. Workaround: make sure you give Word a keystroke before pressing the ABUSE! hot key. If you have Word 4.0, start it up with the /k option. If you have Word 5.0 or 5.50, you should use the "Bios safe" keyboard driver. You can specify this during the setup procedure, or with the MAKEVID program. See MAKEVID.DOC for details; it should be on Utility Disk #2. If you find a problem using ABUSE! with a common application program, please let me know. I will either fix it or document it! ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── The Psychology of Verbal Abuse ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Introduction ──────────── We are primates. Aggression is coded into our DNA, wired into our brains. When our ancestors started throwing rocks at each other instead of punches, they invented the TOOL. When they started throw- ing feces instead of rocks, they invented the SYMBOL. The rocks did more physical damage, but the feces had a greater psychological effect. We humans have the additional ability of language, and we can hurl verbal insults instead of feces. We can excrete ink on pieces of paper and publish the pieces of paper. We can excrete symbolic patterns of bits onto pieces of silicon and transmit the bits around the world. ABUSE! Manual Page 19 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC Kinds of verbal abuse ───────────────────── There a number of words which describe different kinds of strong language: Blasphemy: a direct attack on religious doctrine. Example: "God is dead." Cursing: the invocation of the supernatural to do harm to someone. Example: "I hope you rot in hell." Epithets: brief, forceful outbursts of emotional language. Example: "Ouch!" Insults: verbal attacks. Invective: insulting or abusive language. Obloquy: abusive language. Obscenity: a legal term for forbidden language, particularly of a sexual nature. The Supreme Court Justices can't define it, but they know it when they see it. Profanity: the irreverent use of religious terms. Example: "Jesus H. Christ!" Scatology: language relating to excrement. Slang: language used by specific groups, such as teenagers. Slang is often vivid and humorous. Vituperation: sustained and bitter abusive language. Vulgarity: language used by "lower" classes, "common" people, as opposed to respectable folk like you and me. The types of language used depend on time and place. The cursing and blasphemy of Victorian times began to give way to obscenity and scatology around World War I. According to Timothy Jay, French insults tend to be more sexual, while American and German insults tend to be more scatological. Men outswear women two to one and have larger vocabularies of stronger language. The ABUSE! database specializes in colorful, humorous verbal attacks on specific people, expressing anger, contempt and disgust. Verbal abuse, invective, insults, obloquy... whatever you call them, these are symbolic forms of aggression. We symbol-using primates use verbal aggression for much the same reasons that our non-verbal cousins use physical aggression: to express anger, to maintain behavioral norms and to establish our relationships with others. ABUSE! Manual Page 20 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC Expressing anger ──────────────── If you're mad at someone, expressing your anger makes you feel better. If you can express yourself in a colorful, creative way, you can change your anger into laughter. It's difficult to be angry when you're laughing so hard you can't breathe. Some people think that insults are "not nice." That's right, they're not, but what's the alternative? You can pretend that you're not angry and keep the anger bottled up inside until you get an ulcer. You can take it out on someone else. I think it's better to acknow- ledge your anger and express it. Within the bounds of prudence, of course; it's not a good idea to express your anger to someone who really is in a position of power over you, like a boss. See the section on power relationships. Maintaining behavioral norms ──────────────────────────── In any group, some kinds of behavior are acceptable and some are not. In fact, groups are often defined by rules of behavior. People maintain the behavioral norms of their group by insulting people who deviate from those norms. All of this depends on the particular group. For example, among a group that values a trim, athletic appearance, "blubberbutt" may be an extreme insult. On the other hand, among a group that thinks fat is beautiful, it may be a compliment! When we encourage a particular kind of behavior, we also discourage its opposite. For example, if our group values industriousness, we insult others by calling them "lazy." If, being human, we do not fully measure up to the standards of the group, we may suppress or deny our own occasional laziness. Thus, we end up accusing others of the very things that we deny in ourselves. The psychological term for this is "projection". We can take advantage of the relationship between behavioral norms and verbal abuse in two ways. First, if we know what the norms are, we can deduce what is insulting. For example, if we pick up a magazine and count the ads for cosmetics, clothes and diet products, we know that "fat, ugly slob" is an insult. Conversely, if we know what is insulting, we can deduce the behavioral norms. For example, if we see a group of boys calling each other "chicken", "wimp" and "sissy", we know that acting tough is their standard. ABUSE! Manual Page 21 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC Establishing membership in a group ────────────────────────────────── One of the best ways to establish membership in a group is to insult non-members. For example, a politician seeking the support of con- servatives may insult those card-carrying, free-spending, godless liberals. Note that here the relevant behavioral norm is that of the group being addressed, not that of the group being insulted. Power relationships ─────────────────── This subject is related to that of behavioral norms, because the norms are defined by those with power. The basic rule is that people with more power can insult people with less power. A classic example is the drill sergeant who insults the new recruits at boot camp. "Listen up, you maggots..." The converse of this rule is that people can disrupt power relation- ships by changing the direction of the insults. A teacher who allows students to insult him or her has effectively lost control of the classroom. Subtle aggression ───────────────── ABUSE! is designed for the "in-your-face" type of insult. Since the insults are obvious and everyone knows what's going on, the harm is minimal. There's also another kind of verbal aggression that is more subtle. Often the victims don't even realize they've been insulted. "If you really wanted to be accepted at this school, you wouldn't dress like that." In my opinion, this sort of thing is far more damaging than the direct insult. ABUSE! is not designed for these subtle forms of aggression, but if you're interested in the different kinds and how to counteract them, see "The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-defense" by Suzette Haden Elgin. ABUSE! Manual Page 22 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Verbal Abuse and Political Correctness ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Abusive language is definitely not politically correct, except for words like "insensitive", which may be applied to the politically incorrect. Or is "incorrect" too harsh a term? Perhaps we should refer to the "differently correct." (Just kidding!) The political correctness movement is an attempt to assert power by changing language. The goal is worthy and the strategy is correct: by refusing to accept insults, one gains power. However, in some cases the specific language changes seem ridiculous. Over the last thirty years, Americans of African ancestry have gone from being called "colored people" to being called "people of color." This is progress? By focussing on trivial issues of language, we may miss the bigger picture. We face social problems that are much more real and im- portant than replacing adjectives with prepositional phrases. If we humans are indeed primates, then political correctness faces an uphill battle against primates' natural obnoxiousness. Political correctness can only take neutral terms and turn them into terms of ridicule and abuse, and the database contains many of these phrases. For example, if you call someone "short", you are being insensitive. If you call someone "vertically challenged", you are being insensitive and humorous at the same time. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── How to Design a Good Insult ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Know your target ──────────────── The more you know about your target's values, the easier it is to insult him or her. Simply accuse your target of abandoning his values. If your target prides herself on her competence, call her incompetent. If your target is proud of his strength, call him a wimp. Take a neutral physical characteristic of your target and incorporate it into your insult. For example, if your target has a lot of freckles, call him a "freckle-faced idiot" instead of a "stupid idiot." This way, he knows that the insult is directed specifically at him. Somehow, the word "idiot" becomes stronger, even though "freckle-faced" would seem to be a much milder term than "stupid." ABUSE! Manual Page 23 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC Paint a picture ─────────────── Use words that create pictures (or sounds or smells) in people's minds. Say "blubberbutt" instead of "fatso". Be original. Metaphors wear out over time... we call people pigs, dogs and rats so often that the words no longer evoke images. Try calling people walruses or hyenas or gerbils instead. Universals ────────── The two basic emotions for insults are contempt and disgust, and it's hard to miss if you appeal to one of these. Sliminess is another good bet, since people seem to like things solid or liquid but not in between. Domestic animals, especially dogs and pigs, evoke contempt. Hey! Turnip-head! You've probably never seen this word before, but you know you've been insulted. The reason is that we have dozens of similarly constructed words that all mean some kind of mentally defective person: airhead, blockhead, egghead, fathead, knucklehead, meathead, etc. Here are some suffixes and the adjectives they suggest: -brain, -head: stupid -face, -lips, -nose: ugly -belly, -butt: fat -breath: smelly Just take a common word, like an animal, a vegetable or a food, and apply a suffix. Instant insult! Right, mustard-butt? Alliteration and rhyme ────────────────────── Use combination words that repeat sounds: booger-brain, jelly-belly, liver-lips, fungus-face. Rhythm ────── Try saying the words out loud to find out how easily they roll off the tongue. It's a lot easier to say "motor-mouth" than "machine- mouth." ABUSE! Manual Page 24 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Frequently Asked Questions ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Q: Why aren't there any REALLY offensive words? A: The shareware vocabulary is approximately PG. Many sysops run family-oriented BBSs, and a lot of kids have modems. I don't want to create problems for sysops, and I don't want the Thought Police to drive a tank through my front door. If you are an adult, you can register the Industrial Strength version. Q: How can I add words to the database? A: Sorry, but you can't. The database is more complex than you might think, and the programs that I use to maintain the vocabulary are too large, too slow and not fool-proof enough for a shareware product. However, if you have some really good words to add, please send them to me! I will include them in the next version. Q: Why doesn't ABUSE! work with DOS Edit? A: Beats me. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Thank You ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── I can't believe it! Someone actually read all the way through the manual! Call the Guinness Book! Thanks for trying out the program. I hope you have as much fun using ABUSE! as I did writing it. Shareware ───────── ABUSE! is marketed as shareware. The shareware approach lets me get my program to you without spending a lot of money on advertising, and it lets you try out the program without paying for it first. If you have enjoyed using ABUSE!, please support the shareware concept by registering. You'll get a printed manual, a diskette with the latest version of ABUSE! (without reminder screens) at a reasonable price, and your improved karma will keep you from being reincarnated as a slug. ABUSE! Manual Page 25 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC Contributions ───────────── Do you know any really DISGUSTING or HILARIOUS words that are missing from the ABUSE! database? I'd like to include them in the next version. If they're REALLY offensive, I'll put them in the Industrial Strength version. Send to: Dan M. Shaw Phone: (808) 533-7559 PO BOX 37418 CompuServe: [72407,1513] Honolulu, HI 96837-0418 Internet: U.S.A. 72407.1513@compuserve.com ABUSE! Manual Page 26 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Keystroke Reference ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Key Name Action ───────── ───────────── ────────────────────────────────────────── [Alt-C] Category Change display of categories [Alt-D] Double Double up with adjectives and adverbs [Alt-F] Female Display words associated with females [Alt-M] Male Display words associated with males [Alt-R] Random Finish sentence randomly [End] End Go to last item in list [Enter] Enter Select highlighted item [Esc] Escape Exit current list [F1] Help Access context-sensitive help system [F2] Definition Display definition of word or phrase [F10] Menu Display the menu [Home] Home Go to first item in list [PgDn] Page down Go to next screen [PgUp] Page up Go to previous screen / Slash Display the menu ABUSE! Manual Page 27 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Command Line Options ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── To start ABUSE! from the command line, simply type the program name followed by the options: ABUSE -D /m Start ABUSE! in Demo mode on a monochrome monitor ABUSE-SW /R Make the swapping version of ABUSE! memory-resident Options may be upper or lower case and may be preceded by a dash or a slash. If you use multiple options, separate them by blanks. Option Name Action ───────── ───────────── ────────────────────────────────────────── -B BIOS Use BIOS calls instead of writing to video memory -C CGA Eliminate "snow" on CGA monitor -D Demo Demo mode -H Help Display list of options -M Monochrome Use monochrome instead of color -R Resident Make ABUSE! memory-resident -U Unload Remove ABUSE! from memory ABUSE! Manual Page 28 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Bibliography ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Beard, Henry, and Cerf, Christopher. The Official Politically Correct Handbook and Dictionary. New York: Villard Books, 1992. Chapman, Robert L., editor. Thesaurus of American Slang. New York: Harper & Row, 1989. Elgin, Suzette Hagen. The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-defense. New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1980. Flexner, S. B. I Hear America Talking. New York: Van Nostrand, 1976. Flynn, Charles P. Insult and Society: Patterns of Comparative Interaction. Port Washington, NY: Kennikat Press, 1977. Jay, Timothy. Cursing in America. Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1992. Lerner, Sid, and Belkin, Gary. Trash Cash, Fizzbos and Flatliners. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. Linfield, Jordan, and Kay, Joe. Your Mother Wears Army Boots!: a Treasure Trove of Insults, Slurs, and Putdowns. New York: Avon Books, 1992. Maledicta: The International Journal of Verbal Aggression. Waukesha, WI: 1977. Montagu, Ashley. The Anatomy of Swearing. New York: Macmillan, 1967. Munro, Pamela. Slang U. New York: Harmony Books, 1989. Rawson, Hugh. Wicked Words, A Treasury of Curses, Insults, Put- Downs and Other Formerly Unprintable Terms from Anglo-Saxon Times to the Present. New York: Crown Publishers, 1989. Roget's International Thesaurus, fifth edition, edited by Robert L. Chapman. New York: Harper Collins, 1992. Spears, Richard A. Slang and Euphemism. Middle Village, NY: Jonathan David Publishers, 1981. ABUSE! Manual Page 29 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── License and Registration ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── This section contains important license information regarding the use of ABUSE!, Shareware Version 1.1. This information applies to indi- vidual users who wish to distribute copies to friends and associates. Shareware Distributors, Disk Vendors, Computer Clubs, User Groups, Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs), and other groups who wish to distri- bute ABUSE! should refer to VENDOR.DOC for information. Please show your support for shareware by registering the programs you actually use and by passing them on to others. Shareware is kept alive by YOUR support! Trial use license ───────────────── ABUSE! is a copyrighted computer program which is being marketed as shareware. It is not a public domain program, and it is not free. Dan M. Shaw hereby grants you a limited license to use this software for evaluation purposes only for a period not to exceed 30 days. If you intend to continue using this software (and/or its documen- tation) after the 30-day evaluation period, you MUST make a regis- tration payment to Dan M. Shaw. Using this software after the 30- day evaluation period has ended without registering is a violation of the terms of this limited license. You shall not use, copy, rent, lease, sell, modify, decompile, disas- semble, otherwise reverse engineer, or transfer this software except as provided in this agreement. Any such unauthorized use shall result in immediate and automatic termination of this license. All rights not expressly granted here are reserved by Dan M. Shaw. Limited distribution license: ───────────────────────────── As the copyright holder for ABUSE!, Dan M. Shaw authorizes distribution by individuals only in accordance with the following restrictions. Individuals are hereby granted permission by Dan M. Shaw to copy the ABUSE! package for their own use (for evaluation purposes) or for other individuals to evaluate, ONLY when the following conditions are met. ABUSE! Manual Page 30 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC The ABUSE! package is defined as containing all the material listed in the PACKING.LST text file. If any files listed in the PACKING.LST text file, or the PACKING.LST file itself, are missing, then the package is not complete and distribution is forbidden. Please contact us to obtain a complete package suitable for distribution. o The ABUSE! package - including all related program files and documentation files - CANNOT be modified in any way and must be distributed as a complete package, without exception. o No price or other compensation may be charged for the ABUSE! package. A distribution cost may be charged for the cost of the diskette, shipping and handling, as long as the total (per disk) does not exceed US$10.00 in the U.S. and Canada, or US$12.00 internationally. o The ABUSE! package CANNOT be sold as part of some other inclusive package, nor can it be included in any commercial software packaging offer, without a written agreement from Dan M. Shaw. o The PRINTED documentation may not be reproduced in whole or in part, using any means, without the prior written permission of Dan M. Shaw. In other words, the disk-based documen- tation may not be distributed in PRINTED (hardcopy) form. o The ABUSE! package cannot be "rented" or "leased" to others. o The person receiving a copy of the ABUSE! package MUST be made aware that each disk or copy is ONLY for evaluation, and that the author has not received any royalties or payment for the product. This requirement can be met by including the complete ABUSE! package, which contains any appropriate regis- tration reminders. o The person receiving a copy of the ABUSE! package MUST be made aware that he or she does not become a registered user until Dan M. Shaw has received payment for registration of the software. This requirement can be met by including the complete ABUSE! package, which contains any appropriate registration reminders. o Dan M. Shaw prohibits the distribution of outdated versions of ABUSE! without written permission from Dan M. Shaw. If the version you have is over twelve (12) months old, please contact the author to ensure that you have the most current version. This version was released in May, 1993. o You shall not use, copy, rent, lease, sell, modify, decompile, disassemble, otherwise reverse engineer, or transfer the licensed program except as provided in this agreement. Any such unautho- rized use shall result in immediate and automatic termination of this license. ABUSE! Manual Page 31 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC o U.S. Government Information: Use, duplication, or disclosure by the U.S. Government of the computer software and documentation in this package shall be subject to the restricted rights applicable to commercial computer software as set forth in subdivision (b)(3)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at 252.227-7013 (DFARS 52.227-7013). The contractor/manu- facturer is Dan M. Shaw, PO BOX 37418, Honolulu, HI 96837-0418. All rights not expressly granted here are reserved by Dan M. Shaw. Dan M. Shaw Phone: (808) 533-7559 PO BOX 37418 CompuServe: [72407,1513] Honolulu, HI 96837-0418 Internet: U.S.A. 72407.1513@compuserve.com ABUSE! Manual Page 32 of 34 ABUSE! 1.1 ABUSE.DOC ABUSE! 1.1 ORDER FORM Remit to: Dan M. Shaw Phone: (808) 533-7559 PO BOX 37418 CompuServe: [72407,1513] Honolulu, HI 96837-0418 Internet: U.S.A. 72407.1513@compuserve.com YES!! Send me some ABUSE! Registered ABUSE! Qty ____ @ $15 $_________ Latest version, same vocabulary as shareware. No reminder screens. Thanks for supporting the shareware concept! Industrial Strength ABUSE! Qty ____ @ $30 $_________ Latest version, vocabulary refers to ethnicity, religion, sexual practices, private parts and bodily functions. Some people will find these references EXTREMELY OFFENSIVE. Please sign and date the following statement: "I hereby certify that I am an adult, 18 years of age or older, and have a sense of humor." Signed: ____________________________ Date: ____________________________ Shipping and handling, US/Canada: $4 per order All other countries: $8 per order $_________ Total $_________ Payment by: ( ) Check (U.S. funds only, drawn on a U.S. bank) Name: ____________________________________ Title: ________________ Company: _____________________________________________________________ Address: _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ Day Phone: ________________________ Evening: ________________________ Disk format: ( ) 3.5" ( ) 5.25" [Distr: SDN] ABUSE! 1.1 Questionnaire Please help me improve ABUSE! by answering a few questions: Where did you get your shareware copy of ABUSE!? _____________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Do you have any comments or suggestions to improve ABUSE!? ___________ ______________________________________________________________________ Please insult the author with the most colorful and disgusting language you can think of: ______________________________________________________________________ Aw, come on! You sound like Mother Teresa! If you can come up with something really DISGUSTING or HILARIOUS, I'll include it in the next release of ABUSE! ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ [Distr: SDN]