http://www.wired.com/news/culture/story/3431.html

[Dale L. Larson]

Thanks for pointing that out. The article contains several errors 
of fact, and I'm writing Wired to point them out. 

Lineland is a complicated book, and it doesn't have a single simple subject. 
I think that's why Wired made mistakes in reporting about it and why many
p-listers are much more upset about the book now than they will be once the
book is available and they've read it. 

Among the more important corrections to the Wired article...

Lineland does include some flame wars that occured on Pynchon-L, but it 
is not about the flame wars, nor is it really about Pynchon and his 
privacy. Though the book does include some new information, the bulk of 
its Pynchon info was published in a 1977 Playboy article which is 
reprinted in Lineland. This is a book about Siegel and his experiences 
online, which happen to have revolved around the Pynchon list and do 
include a significant amount of discussion of Pynchon. In addition to 
Pynchon and flame wars, a wide range of topics is discussed (drug 
culture, music, communes, and more), and the book should serve to really 
explain the human side of the Internet to those who haven't been deeply 
involved in online discussion groups before. It also serves to discuss 
the issues of privacy in the information age and of what happens to our 
words when we publish them online.

Chrissie is not Siegel's wife.  She is his ex-wife -- they've been 
divorced for something on the order of 20 years.

There is a drawing by Crumb in the book, but it is not a drawing of 
Pynchon.  It is a drawing Crumb drew in one of Siegel's journals years 
ago, and is used as an illustration when Crumb is discussed (remember, 
the subject of the book is not flame wars). Siegel didn't draw an 
illustration of Pynchon, either, but the book does include art and 
photographs with various other subject by Siegel and others.

The only Pynchon illustration in the book is drawn by Christine Wexler 
(aka Chrissie, the former Mrs. Siegel and once Chrissie Jolly).