This is NOT the biggest FAQ on the Web. See Eric Gjovaag’s FAQ on his site.

These are ALL the questions we’ve been asked. If you can’t find an answer for your question here or on Eric’s page, you can e-mail me, or try the International Wizard of Oz Club Message board, on the IWOC site.

1. What about these Oz games you made that you told about?
That was “My Adventure of Oz” and “Dot and Tot of Merryland,” two original text adventures. See the downloads page to get a copy. “Dot and Tot” was based on the book by Baum, and “My Adventure” is an original, in which the player plays Button-Bright, getting Ozma’s guests for her party. Both games are quite short. Recently, they were "repackaged" with later game packs.

2. What about that “WIZARD OF OZ” game you told us about?
Windham Classics/Telarium in association with Spinnaker Software made a complex text adventure, with music and pictures. Half of the PC version can be found at the Underdog’s Website. A complete C64 (Commodore 64) version is in the downloads page, in our D64 Oz Pak #1.

3. I remember a book by an Oz Author, but what was the title?
If you have this problem, try the IWOC message board on their site. I might be able to help, so e-mail me. There may also be a chance that the book was related to the Oz stories, and all these are listed (and many e-texts are there as well) on our library page.

4. Can you give me a list of Oz references pertaining to a particular item?
No. People have asked for lists of Oz/Oz-related songs/songs with the word "Oz" or an Oz reference in them (the list was supposedly to be for a birthday present, and if he was going to be that cheap, it would mean more if he did the research himself) or for movies that used props from the MGM "Wizard of Oz" movie. I personally don't research this stuff. Why? Because there's too much out there! Oz has been part of pop culture for over 100 years! I could not possibly get all these references! So no, I will not research references for you. I have a life outside of Oz, people!

5. How can I purchase your Oz computer games?
You don't. If I thought these games were of such a high quality to be sold, I would. Instead, you download them from the downloads page.

6. Whoa! Glinda wasn't the Good Witch of the North?
There are two reasons this question is asked. In the Oz books, Glinda is the Good Witch of the South, or Glinda the Good, a powerful sorceress. However, in some books, she was accidentally mentioned to live in the north. But the most popular reason for this question is that she is the Good Witch of the North in MGM's famous film The Wizard of Oz. This at first seems to be just so they wouldn't have to get another actress, but when you look at the dramatic pacing of the MGM film, it was not the time to introduce another character at the end of the story, and Glinda worked just as well. (Though that whole "she had to learn it for herself" bit seems to be a cheap cop-out!)

7. Who owns the rights to the Oz books?
That depends on which Oz book you are talking about. Any book by Baum is in public domain, in fact almost all of his works are. (The only exception I can think of is "The Littlest Giant: An Oz Story," which is not an Oz story.) Only a few of Ruth Plumly Thompson's books are in public domain, and the rights to the ones still under copyright are held by the Baum Trust. John R. Neill's family has kept his books under copyright, but Jack Snow's books are in public domain. The works of Rachel Cosgrove Payes and the McGraws are still under copyright, I believe by the authors themselves. In addition, some of the Royal Historians' later Oz books are copyrighted by the authors, the International Wizard of Oz Club, or the publishers. (Hungry Tiger Press on some.) Any later Oz books are copyrighted by the publishers or their authors.

It was recently said that Oz Central held the liscensing rights to all the Oz Books. However, Oz Central is now who you have to go through to get rights or liscenses from the Baum Trust. The Baum Trust also liscenses book-based Oz merchandise and a new series of Oz books, but all you're really getting from them, unless it's something from one of Ruth Plumly Thompson's copyrighted books, is a seal. You don't really need it, as the other Oz books are in public domain (meaning any information from them, or any part, including excerpts or whole texts and the original illustrations or the original layout, can be used by anyone in any way without permission because there is no one who holds the rights) and they do not own the rights. The Baum Trust is simply an unnecessary authority on approving new Oz items. (E.g. They did not approve this website, but they can't take legal action against me.)

8. What do you mean the hanging man in the MGM movie is just a big bird?
Augh! I knew I'd get this question sometime! Here's what I've heard...
One of the Munchkins hung themselves in Munchkinland.
No, that's not true! Security was tight on the set, and the Munckins were carefully watched. One was saved from drowning in a toilet. Hanging themselves on set would be a far cry from MGM's security's devotion. Furthermore, I've stepped through ALL of the frames in the spots where people claim to see a hanging Munchkin. IT'S NOT THERE!
The hanging man is in the forest as Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man sing "Off To See The Wizard."
The trees were fake and could not have supported a suicidial person, even if it was a Munchkin, and the especial tree that the "man" hangs himself from is a painted backdrop. The neck of the big bird (identified as a crowned crane) standing against it looks thick enough to be a man's torso, but it's not.
The "hanging man" in the forest could not be a Munchkin, because the scene in question was filmed before the Munchkins arrived at the studio. Furthermore, even on low-quality televisions, it has never looked like anything to me but a big bird. Those people who claim it's a hanging man and insist it is just have really sick imaginations.
The hanging man was edited out of the 50th Anniversary video release in 1989. If so, whoever did it is in huge trouble. The movie has been on the National Film Registry since 1989. The Library of Congress requests that films on the Registry, if altered for broadcast (or video or DVD release) state HOW the film was changed. Video producers and broadcasters have been very good about this request, even on films not in the Registry. On the most recent release of the MGM Oz movie, Warner Brothers included a documentary on how the film was restored. Nothing about editing anything out of the picture except age spots and lines was included, and they also state that their copy of the print was taken from the best available source of the original version. Lying on a documentary like this would mean huge trouble if discovered, and prints before the 1980's did NOT contain a hanging!
THERE IS NO HANGING MAN IN THE MGM WIZARD OF OZ!!! THERE NEVER WAS!!! QUIT SAYING THAT THERE IS!!! IT'S A CROWNED CRANE, AND THAT'S ALL IT LOOKS LIKE!!! STOP THE RUMORS!!!

9. Hey! I like your profile picture! Can you e-mail/chat/meet me?
NO. In fact, if you e-mail me this, I will not reply and send all further e-mails from you to my Junk folder and likely never read it. It's nothing personal, but I'm not interested in starting relationships via the Internet. I have many people who I'll e-mail or PM, and I even let one person have my cell phone number (more for business than personal items), but other than that, I don't form relationships over the Internet. I work with people in person at my job, at church, and practically wherever I go. Many webmasters have a photo and profile of themselves on their websites, and many have their e-mails available, but this is just to let visitors know who they are hearing from or let them ask questions about the site's topic, not to "hook up" with someone.

10. Hey! Do you not like answering questions?
No, I actually enjoy getting e-mails from people and getting to share information. I, like many other people, just hate redundancy or answering questions that have already been answered. (Mentions of the IWOC message board here are reccomended so you can get a more well-rounded opinion.) Also, I only check my e-mail accounts a few times a week. Please, feel free to e-mail me if you have a question, but note that I don't generally answer personal questions from people I don't know.

11. Hey, can I send you a question about something on your site/blog/YouTube video/etc?
Yes. But please remember I don't have a lot of time to dedicate to the Internet, so I have even less time for e-mail. I probably won't answer it in a couple days, but I'll answer!