"The Ultimate Hang" 2nd edition

**sandykayak** · 11-15-2011, 12:02

We KNOW people will invent new gadgets and there will HAVE to be a 2nd edition, so I thought we could post our suggestions and Derek can take notes.

I received the elephant trunk and knew that I'd seen it in the Kindle version so, when I got to the hardcopy I went to the back to look up the page number in the index. ACK!!

NO INDEX. I've always wondered how indexes were "made," but assumed that nowadays there's some software to make it easy. I really think this would be a welcome feature.

**dejoha** · 11-15-2011, 12:34

Indexes are all made by hand. It's a pain.

I considered an index and started to create one and decided instead to mash up a pseudo-index with the packing list. At the time, I didn't think most people would be looking up specific items like Elephant Trunks, but rather generic topics.

I am interested, however, to hear what people think. I do plan to keep The Ultimate Hang up-to-date, and with digital editions this is easier than ever, so what about an index? In my mind, you'd organize it much like a table of contents since something like "Elephant Trunks" probably makes no sense in a hammock book index unless you know what the heck you're looking for

E
Elephant Trunks (see hardware)

H
Hardware
> Dutch Clips . . . . . . ##
> Elephant Trunks . . . ##

Etc.

**Floridahanger** · 11-15-2011, 12:52

How appropriate is this thread. Just as I finished reading the http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=42190 thread on a window in a hammock. Now is the 2nd addition being talked about.

**fuzzie** · 11-15-2011, 14:34

Maybe two or three perforated pages with the Hammock Ruler! That's pretty cool, and

**************SPOILER ALERT**************

a nice surprise ending to a great book!

**shumway** · 11-15-2011, 14:49

If you're reading the e-book you should be able to do a search. No index necessary.

**wizardofhaws** · 11-15-2011, 14:57

Read the kindle version and really appreciated it as a soon to be hanger. One thing I would suggest is similar to the sticky of full hammock systems for different budgets. Another useful item would be a discussion on DIY gear with some of the basic items.

Thanks for the book it was a great start.

**dejoha** · 11-15-2011, 15:48

Wizard,

I hear you, but I intentionally steered clear of promoting systems for a few reasons. As soon you elevate one system over another it introduces a bias I wanted to avoid. I tried to be as even-handed as possible in the current edition, but I can't have a hammock book without talking about the current models available. I tried to highlight the most "unique" styles out there as best as possible.

The other problem with listing hammock options and even DIY projects is that prices and availability change so quickly. I took a risk with the current edition by trying to show a comprehensive list of suppliers currently available. The website will live to list the most up-to-date information, but still, my book is out-of-date the moment it was printed. This is one issue with Ed's book too -- his DIY sections don't reflect current trends, methods, or materials.

I'd love to have a DIY section, but that gets complicated since so many of the DIY projects were not created by me. I could possibly get the OPs to contribute or get permission to re-post their work, but it can complicate the process. And what about knock-off projects like a DIY Hennessy or Warbonnet? Legal issues? Sticky business.

Plus, I think DIY is out of the scope of my intended audience. Yes, HF-ers lean more that way, but I wanted the book to be more evangelical for new and budding hangers. I think the forums are the best outlet for the addicts like you and me

I think the DIY model is best suited for the web where projects can stay active and move forward more quickly.

**Mustardman** · 11-15-2011, 16:04

Originally Posted by dejoha

Indexes are all made by hand. It's a pain.

It's definitely possible to use the right software packages to auto-create an index. I do all my writing in LaTeX, a document markup language used mostly by science geeks, and it makes this functionality very intuitive. Some of the packages for MS word are much less so. The general idea is that there is some sort of marker that identifies where a given keyword is referenced in the text, and then the software assembles all of those keywords and figures out what pages the text is on.

It's a pain to set up and learn, and maybe not worth it for one book, but if you're doing a lot of writing, automatic creation of your table of contents, reference list, table and graph numbering, and citations is an absolute lifesaver.

**dejoha** · 11-15-2011, 18:01

Originally Posted by fuzzie

Maybe two or three perforated pages with the Hammock Ruler!

That's a pretty cool idea. I'll have to see if the publisher can do that...

**dejoha** · 11-15-2011, 18:08

Originally Posted by Mustardman

It's definitely possible to use the right software packages to auto-create an index. I do all my writing in LaTeX, a document markup language used mostly by science geeks, and it makes this functionality very intuitive.

Thanks Mustardman. My friend who mentored me when I put together my book also writes a lot of books using LaTeX. I'm a Unix geek and used LaTeX all through graduate school. Pretty cool stuff.

I'm going to look into making an index for future editions. I would also like to hear about what folks think about DIY. I may need to start a new post.