This Evil Overlord List is Copyright 1996-1997 by Peter Anspach. If you enjoy
it, feel free to pass it along or post it anywhere, provided that (1) it is
not altered in any way, and (2) this copyright notice is attached.

AN IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING THE COPYRIGHT:

This Evil Overlord List grew out of the exchanges on what is now the Star Trek
mailing list "shields-up@spies.com", beginning in 1994 (when it was still
"startrek@cs.arizona.edu"). We were kicking around cliches that appeared on
"Deep Space 9" at the time, and I started to compile a list of classic
blunders they were making. The list came to about 20 or so items. In 1995, I
decided to try to make it into a Top 100 List. I attached a copyright notice,
some friends of mine posted it to a few newsgroups, and the contributions
quickly poured in. In 1996 I revised the list entries to their current form,
the Web page went up, more contributions were solicited, the list expanded
beyond 100 and I had to open up a dungeon. I continued to contribute items; my
total is around 40 or so. So while I am the originator, editor, and principal
contributor, I certainly did not write the majority of the items on the list
-- as may be seen by the sheer number of individuals who are listed as
contributors. Around 1997, as the final contributions were coming in, a couple
contributors mentioned that this was similar to a list of things not to do if
you capture James Bond that had appeared on a sci-fi newsgroup. I'd never
heard of or seen this list, so I assumed it was parallel development or
perhaps something I had inspired.

On November 12, 2002, I exchanged some emails with Jack Butler who has a list
on his website. Sayeth Mr. Butler: "This list has its origins on the
now-nonexistent FidoNet Science Fiction and Fandom (SFFAN) email echo, in a
discussion regarding a sketch seen on an episode of Saturday Night Live
sometime in 1990. In the sketch, several Bond villains were appearing on a
talkshow touting their new book, "What Not To Do If You Capture James Bond".
The discussion on SFFAN was specifically regarding what advice might be found
in that book. The instigator of the discussion was Alesia Chamness; other
contributors included Jason Welles, Brian R. Williams, Merideth Knepper, and
Alexi Vandenburg. I was also one of its contributors. When I originally posted
this list to the Internet in 1994, I did so without any awareness of Mr.
Anspach, the Star Trek mailing list on which his version of the list appeared,
or (later) his website."

Apparently both lists were compiled during overlapping periods of time.
Comparing the two, some items appear on one list but not the other. Other
items appear identical to those on this list; since many are the result of my
writing or editing, I believe they were taken from this list and posted to
that list without permission. But other items on that list appear identical to
contributions I received before I edited them. Those items may have been taken
from that list and submitted here under false pretenses, or they may have
innocently been submitted to both lists by their originators. It appears that
as a result of this "cross-contamination", the two lists have arrived at a
point where there are variations on each other and it is probably impossible
to untangle them. (I would still like to talk with Alesia Chamness. If you
know her, please ask her to email me.)

I believe Jack Butler when he says the list on his website is the current form
of the James Bond Villain list, and I thank him for helping to clarify
matters. Let me state that I had nothing to do with the FidoNet SFFAN list
which is firmly in the public domain, and I lay no claim to it. The copyright
statement attached to my list applies only to this list, in the form it
appears. 
