I know that this is supposed to be a thank-you/recognition page, and trust me, we'll get to that. But before we do, I thought it might be helpful to put here:
Skip Neo's Notes: Warning For Possible Confusion.(Bottom of Page)
NOTE!! As of 11/05/04, I HAVE to add a HUGE update to this page to thank the system of La Senza Fine for HOSTING THIS SITE!! Yes, it IS a big deal. I owe you a huge vote of thanks, my eternal gratitude, and a host -- no pun intended -- of other things. THANK YOU! [EDIT: Even though we've moved this site to our new domain, we are still eternally grateful to LSF. Thank you so much.]
If you notice that the graphics are missing from this page, it means there are technical difficulties that need to be addressed: quite a lot of work was put into just this page alone, and the last thing I want is to find out that the graphics aren't showing up. So if you find that that's the case, please e-mail or contact one of us ASAP -- and you'll get a mention on this page in thanks for your time.
The people listed on this page are not listed in any particular order: nor are the sizes of the paragraphs relevant to how helpful the person or people have been. (One tip that only takes a sentence to describe might have been the key to unlocking a whole week's worth of problems.) Likewise, the size of the person's "logo" graphic has absolutely nothing to do with importance, either: they were chosen for style and aesthetics. (i.e., how pleasing they are to the eye.)
If there is anyone that should have been mentioned here but isn't, even though I've tried my absolute best to be all-inclusive, even to people who've contributed five minutes or one line or whatever --since all help is equally important -- I apologize in advance. Contact one of us and say "Hey! I did[something]and you forgot me!" and we'll do our best to fix it right away.
Also, if you're a visitor to this site and you find an image or item that you think you have a claim to, please let me know. I've tried my best to credit everything I've used down to the tiniest bit, but I'm "only human", and I might easily miss things. Please be assured that no theft/infringement or anything of the sort is intended. If you find something of yours[a situation I try to avoid by making all of my own graphics], you have two choices: contact me and let me know so I can credit you with all due thanks, or let me know that you don't want said item up here, and I'll take it down and replace it.
Anything "outside" that I've used, I've used because it moved me to tears. Consider it a compliment: and please remember that none of us are making any money from this site, etc. The entire purpose of this site is to raise consciousness/find others/help people/free minds. That's all. [However, I do keep copies of all the graphics I've made stored on my local drive, so if you e-mail me and say "You stole that 'Neo's Notes' graphic!"... I'll know better. I hate even saying it, but for every one soul we touch, there are fifty people who love to make everyone else's life harder.]
Just because there's a "Credits" page here, does not mean that it's a "fake" or "fan" site that's pretending to be serious: a good example of this(and a FANTASTIC piece of interactive fan work) is this MetaCortex site. If you're reading this page first -- although I don't know why you would be -- go back to the Mainframe and read that first. Everything on this site is 100% serious, honest, and desperately important to the people that built and maintain it. There are two reasons for there being a credits page: they are that I, Neo--
--could never have done this entirely by myself, no matter what anyone says, and
--believe that all of us are important parts of the whole. Like I said earlier tonight: "I might be 'The One', but I'm not the only one." We all need each other.
Do you get it? It's more of an "Acknowledgements" page than a "Credits" page, anyway. As in: all these people helped me to do what I have to do, either technically, or emotionally. And I want to thank them.
The icon system used here might be a little confusing at first: but it's really not that complicated. Beneath each person's name and contribution, there's a list of Messengers/Websites/Journals that that person has expressed a desire to put here. Most of the icons are links: for Yahoo! Messenger I've chosen to use the "Send Message" function rather than the "Add Friend" function, because people can receive Yahoo! messages even if they're offline. Conversely, I've used the "Add Buddy" feature for AIM rather than the "Send Message" function, since there's no sure-fire way of knowing if an AIM user is online. With me so far? [I have to add here for the sad minority that if you use this feature to harass anyone on this site, you will be immediately blocked and reported to the appropriate authorities.]
Websites and Journal links are pretty self-explanatory: however, it's worth noting that just because five people have the same Yahoo! icon under their names, it doesn't mean that it's the SAME link. What I mean is, if X, Y, and Z all have a LiveJournal icon beneath their names, obviously the links don't go to the same place -- the icon under X's name takes you to X's journal, the icon under Y's name takes you to Y's journal, etc. etc.
Also, not everyone listed here has the same links listed: some chose to restrict their listing to a few items, and some just don't have certain Messengers/Journals/whatever. And on one more note to that subject, if one or more of the icons below someone's name is only an image and not an actual link, it means that yes, they do have that service but a)chose not to have it immediately accessible here or b)prefer that you contact them and ask for the information first.
PLEASE, don't steal from this site. A couple paragraphs up, I talked about trying to make absolutely sure I didn't inadvertently forget to credit anyone for their work -- please extend me the same courtesy. So far, the programming and graphics alone have taken nearly a month, not including the text itself, which is HIGHLY personal and difficult to write: and no one else can do that for me. [Don't say I'm a lousy programmer for taking so long *laughs* -- it's done in-between other things(although it IS my top priority right now) usually in overnight sessions.] But for obvious reasons, the graphics, especially the icons, are highly personal to me and I've put a lot of myself into them. [Big example: the Trinity animation.] So if someone gleeps them thoughtlessly, it's kind of like they're cutting off one of my limbs in my sleep to sell it on the black market. [Actually, no: it's more like they're siphoning off my emotions to bottle those and sell them on the black market.] And direct-linking to these images is even worse. We're working with huge limits already.
The source code for this site is a jerry-rigged combination of scripts, and is probably incomprehensible to anyone but me. Stealing it because you like the layout or whatever... well, it's a nice thought, but if you understand what this site is about, then you understand why I tried so absolutely hard to make it as unique as possible. If two hundred identical pages suddenly crop up, then how will anyone remember which is which? [Not that this site is SO amazing, but you get my point here.] A lot of my coding was helped along by refresher sites when my brain refused to work(see Notes below), so they deserve some credit, too.
That being said: BECAUSE of the purpose of this site in the first place, and what I'm trying to accomplish, I understand if there's something here that you want: provided you don't want it to show your friends what a/n l337 graphic artist you are. If there's something here that moves you[I can hope] or that you'd really like to share, just contact me somehow and let me know -- chances are, if you credit, you can have it and put it wherever you like. And some things I don't even need credit for: just knowing they're out there being used is enough.
Two quick endnotes to this: if you see something you like/are inspired by/whatever, and you want me to try and make you something similar, just go ahead and ask. Obviously, I have a lot on my plate right now and a lot on my mind: but I'll try. And as far as the "popular culture" images go on this site -- I don't own ANY of those. As I've stated repeatedly, I might be Neo: but I'm not Keanu Reeves. There IS a difference. A big one. Of course. If you want those images, take them: just make sure you either credit the source[Ugh, bad phrase: but I mean Warner Brothers] or the people I credited for the 'screencaps'.
[And to those of you out there who are scowling at the screen and saying, "If he's 'The One', what the hell is he doing worrying about some idiot on the World Wide Web who's going to steal his graphics?" -- that's actually a good question. I guess, in the end, it doesn't really matter. Not in the grand scheme of things. But I won't delete that section, because maybe if you read it, you'll join me in that realization. Hmm. Why did I even bother writing that in the first place? Maybe it's a throwback to my open-source days as Thomas Anderson. Maybe my mind is just tired.
And finally, if you want to link to this site/add it to a webring/advertise it/post it on message boards/recommend it: by all means, please do! If you're linking to us, please contact me and let me know, just so I know where you are. The entire point of this site is to get the message out there, using the technology we have right at our fingertips right now, to reach even one person out there and free their mind. So the more word-of-mouth happens, the better chance we have of doing just that. [Even on the Nebuchadnezzar, the equipment is, to put it politely, shoddy. Sorry, guys.]
Now that I've wasted obscene amounts of your time... let's get to the actual credits, acknowledgements, and thank-yous, shall we?
As stated in other places on this site, none of this at all could have been done without her help and support. Aside from that, she's responsible for the Daemmerung image on the main page(isn't it fantastic?), the coding on the mainframe that prints the scrolling text("It's all about choice... so make yours..."), the image map coding that allows you to take the red or the blue pill, a good deal of the wonderful "popular culture" screencaps that were used, the answers to some of the FAQ questions, and other general moral support: not to mention putting up with my inane random questions out of nowhere concerning bandwidth, etc., whatever. Couldn't have done it without her. [Not to mention she makes freezing-cold overnight watch bearable, which I thought was an impossible task.]
Also known as "Macabre Divinity": A gifted writer, animator, and artist, he's responsible for the opening poem on the "Call for Trinity" page("The Dreamer"), a great deal of the questions in the FAQ, the "Blind" piece of artwork(done by hand), the edited version of the music that plays on the CFT page, the Niobe animation on the Tribute to a Friend page -- AND he's responsible for not only giving me the utility to make my own animated pictures, but giving me a crash course in how to do it. In addition to all this, he was there to lend moral and emotional support throughout the entire process.
Provided friendship, belief, and moral support through the process. Kept a couple of us sane. [Not naming any names...] Thanks.
Supplied some great questions for the FAQ, and has been there from day one as a supportive, encouraging force in the completion of these tasks. No one can truly accomplish anything without the love and support of friends and believers. Thanks for proving the power of faith.
Supplied some amazingly incisive(and one really amusing)questions for the FAQ, put up with my random instant messages at all hours of the night about stupid details that I was bashing my head over, and has been an amazing supporter, advisor, and friend all the way through. Her faith has never wavered.
Added a couple of questions to the FAQ that no one else would have ever thought of, and was there to provide support to the 'newer' members of the crew. Rock on.
Contributed questions to the FAQ, and lent support and encouragement to the process.
Contributed a fantastic amount of very relevant, incisive questions to the FAQ, made me think, and offered support and belief through the process. Proved once again that if you give people a chance, they might just surprise you. Much appreciated.
Not only has she been incredibly supportive through the whole process, she also contributed some very intense questions to the FAQ. Ones that really floored me.
She has been "with the resistance" for a long time now: offering support and advice to all of us over a period of time when a lot of people would have quit to make it easier. There has been more than one occasion when I wouldn't have been able to get through a dark period without her listening to what I had to say. She also has contributed to the FAQ: both questions and answers, and was able to supply some "popular culture" screencaps that were VERY selectively chosen and nearly impossible to find.
Supplied some of the fantastic "popular culture" screencaps that were used in the CFT animation, various re-sized icons, links, etc: and these were caps that at first seemed impossible to find. Thanks!
Some people think that this should go under either the Disclaimer or "Other acknowledgements" -- but in addition to their obvious brilliance, Larry & Andy deserve their own mention up here for a number of reasons: but the biggest one in terms of this site is that if they hadn't done what they did[i.e., made the "popular culture" films], no one would have the slightest idea who I am. Now, I'm not saying that I should be a household name: my point is, that due to human nature, a lot of people who visit this site might be more compelled to keep reading, or to believe what I'm saying, because I am who I am and they've heard of me. And so I owe them thanks for that: as well as for laying the groundwork to make people start thinking about the true nature of reality.
Composed the score for the "popular culture" Matrix movies, which is absolutely brilliant: mentioned here because the short edited snippet that plays on the CFT page is from his "Spirit of the Universe"; and also, because of his song "Neodaemmerung" that inspired me to actually look up the definition of the word daemmerung[it means 'dawn'] and use it for this site. It was appropriate.
[Important note: whoever is listed here under the "thank you's", will remain here unless and until they ask to be removed. Regardless of what may or may not happen[i.e., interpersonal relationships between people listed here], all of these people contributed in a significant way to this project. That won't change just because they happen to be in my or someone else's "bad books". Not saying that's the case now, but what I am saying is that no one will be removed from this page "out of spite". They all deserve to be recognized.]
This is a fantastic site, where I got a lot of the scripts that I then tweaked[read: mangled beyond recognition] to make them do what I wanted them to do. Stuff I didn't know I remembered knowing how to do was refreshed here: and I also found some really neat stuff.
Another great site. Need to remember/learn how to do something with HTML? Go here.
This is the .GIF movie maker that I used for the Trinity animation, as well as the one used by Pyro to make the Niobe animation. It is fantastic, easy to learn and easy to use, and free as far as the 30-day trial goes. Definitely worth a look.
This absolutely ASTOUNDS me. I hear people talking constantly about PhotoShop, and about "not using Paint", and a hundred other photo-related subjects, but not once have I ever heard anyone mention IrfanView. It is simply the best photo-converting/creation utility I have ever used yet: and I found it quite by accident a couple years back, when I was looking for a free utility that could convert my .BMPs to .JPGs. It has since completely exceeded my expectations. I've made hundreds of captions, images, icons, and various other items with this, and I wouldn't stop using it for anything. It doesn't have a lot of photo manipulation functions[ i.e., if you want "fan" pictures you might want to use it in conjunction with something else]: but it is simply one of the best that's out there. [And no, they're not paying me to say that. *laughs* I'm an IrfanView disciple all on my own.]
I owe them a vote of thanks simply for reminding me never to take myself too seriously. For giving me a really good laugh when I needed it -- and a little perspective. You'll see what I mean.
Stephanie Pope
This is the author of a poem I found quite by accident: one of the lines, "In a last light leaping away", moved me so much I used it as one of the frames in the Trinity animation.
This site also link-exchanged with: Matrix-Explained: "Secrets, explanations and background info of the Matrix trilogy. Collection of theories regarding the Matrix trilogy. Matrix secrets explained and hidden hints revealed."
I do not own any of the images, logos, music, or any other related items from the "Matrix" movies, nor do I claim to. Everything not otherwise credited is property of Warner Brothers. Obviously, the films are different from reality: being who I am is not a copyright infringement. *laughs* That would make things difficult. I make no money from this site, nor do I intend to. It's "done for love, not money". [See "Neo's Notes".]
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