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Kazz D'Avore ....................... Anabar Thy'lend
Joined:
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/16/2010 9:17:15 AM
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1000th post - not really anything to celebrate about that
CADRE OF THE FALLEN
"I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death." Leonardo Da Vinci
"Some believe in Destiny, and some believe in Fate, but I believe that Happiness is something we create" - Sugarland
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Black Staff Admin
Joined:
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/16/2010 9:41:38 AM
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1000th post - not really anything to celebrate about that
I think it shows our dedication, if nothing else, which should be applauded. It's bittersweet, in my opinion. I just wish he'd publish the book so I can start making fun of the people who want Winds within a year. 
As far as GRRM not understanding his base, I'm not sure. There are a small percentage of crazies out there -- hell, I've seen threads devoted to ME out there that are filled with vitriol and erroneous information about my own writing despite these people having never met me -- but that small percentage are loud and vocal. I would say there is a small percentage of people who are fine no matter what, leaving an ocean of people between the two sides who are disappointed. George is aware of that middle. He and I have spoken about it before. But he can only do as much as he can and in his mind he has done everything he possibly can to get this book out the way he wants it to be.
I think it's that "I'm going to do this my way because it's my life's work" notion that steels GRRM against the angry naysayers and keeps him from having any empathy for those disappointed in the middle.
"I'm not for hire, and I don't get to choose my path." -- Sider Ament
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Black Staff Admin
Joined:
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/16/2010 9:43:09 AM
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That lack of empathy, by the way, is why his jokes fall flat.
"I'm not for hire, and I don't get to choose my path." -- Sider Ament
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Joined:
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/16/2010 12:08:50 PM
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As sort of a corollary to these various comments in the last few posts, I think Martin views the internet and his blog as representing everything. In other words, a few crazies, a few loyal sycophants that will praise all that he does, regardless, and a majority in the middle ground.
But what he fails to consider is that for every single person who posts on-line, there are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of his readers who never post anywhere. Some may check out the internet sites without posting, including his website, but some may never even do that. The generation before mine, for instance, are avid readers, but have never touched a computer, much less frequented internet sites.
So this means there is a huge number of disappointed fans out there, who are fuming silently. A lot of the mildly disappointed fans might just periodically check out his blog, and were "tricked" by his attempt at humor, and now they are leaning towards the crazies' viewpoint. They in turn inform other friends and readers who don't follow author websites and don't even own a computer.
Now the small number of irritated fans becomes a much larger number.
Will such stuff actually affect sales? I suppose not, although I have read a few posters on other sites who positively state that they have no intention of buying Dance ever as a hardcover, and probably not as a paperback, but might read it from the library for free. They are that sick of Martin's shenanigans. Will they stick to their principles? Who knows?
But I'm near the breaking point myself now. In fact, I think I'll go ahead and stick my neck out right now, and you guys can call me on it down the road.
IF MARTIN HASN'T FINISHED DANCE BY THE END OF THE YEAR, AND IT HASN'T BEEN PUBLISHED BY APRIL, I'M DONE. SCREW THE SERIES.
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Joined:
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/16/2010 12:43:44 PM
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Here's a quote from another site I found right up my alley:
Whether he viewed it as a joke or a way to blow off some steam or whatever, the man is a best-selling author with thousands worldwide who monitor what he says and does. He IS a public figure whether he wants to be or not, and whether he's speaking on national television or writing in his own "not-a-blog." That is a sacrifice people make when they make money off their own popularity.
So I'm baffled that his friends and publishers have not forced a P.R. guy on him yet...somebody to say, "You know what George, this is the kind of joke you can make at a con in Kansas City where you can whip the Wild Cards book out from behind your back for the punchline in front of people who will love you even if you were the antichrist, but putting it on your blog for the world to see is probably not a good idea."
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Black Staff Admin
Joined:
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/16/2010 1:47:18 PM
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"I'm not for hire, and I don't get to choose my path." -- Sider Ament
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Black Staff Admin
Joined:
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/16/2010 1:48:32 PM
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By the way, Kamchak, would you consider changing your name back? I much preferred Roland. 
"I'm not for hire, and I don't get to choose my path." -- Sider Ament
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Joined:
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/16/2010 2:04:28 PM
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I'd be happy to change, but when I look at my profile, I don't see where I change my name.
Also, I'm on a different computer with a different e-mail address than previously, so won't the system not allow me to use Roland of Gilead, because it will think there is already a Roland of Gilead registered?
By any other name, still tech-challenged. 
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Black Staff Admin
Joined:
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/16/2010 2:21:59 PM
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I can change your alias name to whatever you want. Just let me know. It's a simple thing to do.
"I'm not for hire, and I don't get to choose my path." -- Sider Ament
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Joined:
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Total Posts:
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/16/2010 2:39:50 PM
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Fire away and change it back to Roland of Gilead then. Thanks.
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Black Staff Admin
Joined:
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/16/2010 2:48:37 PM
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Grr, since your prior name is still in the database, I can't change your alias to it. I changed it to Roland Deschain though. I'll talk to Tyren about getting your old account back up and running.
"I'm not for hire, and I don't get to choose my path." -- Sider Ament
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Joined:
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Total Posts:
274
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/18/2010 8:35:50 AM
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Something I did find funny is him gearing up to do a big post about the ton of casting announcements from Friday, getting about three people in and then saying, "Sod this, this will take ages, I'm off to work on ADWD."
And the Knot, as far as I can tell, has been beaten into submission. I don't think GRRM has commented due to his previous experience with having come close to sorting it and then needing to go back and redo it again.
Visit The Wertzone for reviews of science fiction and fantasy!
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Black Staff Admin
Joined:
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/18/2010 1:28:26 PM
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And the Knot, as far as I can tell, has been beaten into submission.
What makes you think this?
"I'm not for hire, and I don't get to choose my path." -- Sider Ament
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Joined:
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Total Posts:
274
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/18/2010 4:10:24 PM
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His prior comments about cutting the Knot into 4 chapters, completing two of them, wrestling with the other two for ages and then rewriting one of the two remaining ones copiously:
SPOILERA Tyrion chapter, which at least indicates who and what is involved.
So at last count that is one chapter of the four left to brutalise into shape, and that may have been done some time ago. We know his focus recently has been on the epilogue and other non-Knot material (like the Arianne chapters moved to TWoW).
I also double-checked that the 1400 MS page count is correct (slightly over) and the plan remains to bring in the book shorter than ASoS, so right now the book 'should be'* less than 100 MS pages from completion. The time factor, of course, remains highly debatable. At various times in the writing of these two books Martin has finalised 200 pages in about three weeks (near the end of AFFC) and at other times has taken four months to finalise 100, so who knows?
* Take with a grain of salt the size of the explosion Yellowstone Park will make the next time the whole thing explodes.
Visit The Wertzone for reviews of science fiction and fantasy!
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Black Staff Admin
Joined:
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/18/2010 4:40:04 PM
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I don't know... him rewriting one of the Knot chapters "copiously" doesn't mean it is close to being done. It just means he is still working on it... like he has been doing for years and years.  Time will tell, I guess. I'll be seeing Anne this week I would imagine at Comic Con, which means I'll be hearing her telling GRRM fans what is going on.
"I'm not for hire, and I don't get to choose my path." -- Sider Ament
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Joined:
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/19/2010 6:33:13 AM
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Thanks, Shawn. Roland Deschain, as the saying goes, is close enough for government work.
And I side with you on this Knot issue. Wert, methinks you're analyzing it this time from your heart instead of your head.
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Kazz D'Avore ....................... Anabar Thy'lend
Joined:
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Total Posts:
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/19/2010 8:04:00 AM
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I'll be seeing Anne this week I would imagine at Comic Con, which means I'll be hearing her telling GRRM fans what is going on.
Well, hopefully all goes well and you and Anne and others can avoid these guys:
(taken from Pat's Fantasy Hotlist)
The Topeka, Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church, which is headed by Fred Phelps...have announced that they plan to picket the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con from 1:15 pm to 2 p.m. on Thursday, July 22.
The reason they're going to protest the con? We think it's best described in their own words, as posted on their website:
"Are you kidding?! If these people would spend even some of the energy that they spend on these comic books, reading the Bible, well no high hopes here. They have turned comic book characters into idols, and worship them they do! Isaiah 2:8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made: 9 And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not. It is time to put away the silly vanities and turn to God like you mean it. The destruction of this nation is imminent - so start calling on Batman and Superman now, see if they can pull you from the mess that you have created with all your silly idolatry."
CADRE OF THE FALLEN
"I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death." Leonardo Da Vinci
"Some believe in Destiny, and some believe in Fate, but I believe that Happiness is something we create" - Sugarland
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Joined:
6/16/2010
Total Posts:
136
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/19/2010 9:30:56 AM
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Spas, this guy is a local embarrassment here in the Midwest. Topeka is just a short distance from Kansas City, where I live.
Phelps and his twisted crew picket all sorts of events, but they're main protest movements are aimed at homosexuals - I remember a bunch of them were picketing the Cher concert in KC a few years back, simply because Cher has a large gay fan following.
I sure hope the rest of the country doesn't think this nutbar is typical of my neck of the woods. 
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Black Staff Admin
Joined:
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/19/2010 9:41:30 AM
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I'm sure Comic Con and the San Diego Police Department have been made aware of this whack jobs. I think it would be cool if a platoon of Stormtroopers encircled them and would let them leave. 
"I'm not for hire, and I don't get to choose my path." -- Sider Ament
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Joined:
7/16/2009
Total Posts:
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/20/2010 11:58:53 AM
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And I side with you on this Knot issue. Wert, methinks you're analyzing it this time from your heart instead of your head.
I think it's more a case of basic mathmatics. He has 1400 MS pages done, and wants to be done in less than 1500, so the book has less than 100 MS pages to be finalised to get to where it needs to be (and if it gets any bigger than that it will be split into two volumes anyway). I don't think there's much room for misunderstandings there.
Visit The Wertzone for reviews of science fiction and fantasy!
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/20/2010 1:25:08 PM
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He has 1400 MS pages done, and wants to be done in less than 1500, so the book has less than 100 MS pages to be finalised to get to where it needs to be (and if it gets any bigger than that it will be split into two volumes anyway). I don't think there's much room for misunderstandings there.
But theoretically, he could have as little as 20 pages left to write, and if it's the Knot problem, it might as well still be 200. Also, he could be within 3 pages of finishing, but then decide that 30 other pages need to be rewritten.
Page count is not necessarily the issue here. It's whether Martin believes he has put together the best product he possibly can and he's 100 percent satisfied with it.
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Black Staff Admin
Joined:
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/20/2010 1:58:56 PM
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I think even the naysayers by now know -- and they'd better -- that Martin is on the cusp of finishing the book when it comes to page count.
But as has been my supposition all along, it's not the page count that has necessarily defeated Martin. And it definitely is not his other endeavors or watching football or the like. It's the Knot. The Knot has been the problem for years now. It's stolen his time and energy. It's stolen him writing words down that remain. Instead those words disappear in what appears to be a never ending cycle of throwing pages in the trash. Roland is right that he can be within 30 pages of finishing, but those last 30 pages -- two Knot chapters -- might as well make it 1500 pages left for him to write.
It's a sad thing to think about. Trust me, I know. Until he tells us he has resolved the Knot, I won't think it even close to being done. 
"I'm not for hire, and I don't get to choose my path." -- Sider Ament
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Joined:
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Total Posts:
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/21/2010 10:10:32 AM
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None of which is in dispute. It just remains an issue as long as the Knot remains in play, and as of right now, it is less of an issue than it was a while ago. If GRRM resolves everything else and pours 100% of his attention onto what is left of the problem, I can't see it remaining for much longer (as he did with the Red Wedding which similarly afflicted the writing of A CLASH OF KINGS and A STORM OF SWORDS until he crushed it at the end of the writing period).
On the plus side of things, GRRM just killed Pat from Pat's Fantasy Hotlist. It's also apparently snowing heavily in Santa Fe, which is odd as weather websites say it's 28 degrees. Intriguing.
Visit The Wertzone for reviews of science fiction and fantasy!
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Black Staff Admin
Joined:
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/21/2010 10:39:58 AM
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Boy, I hope you are right, Wert. I really do.
As for Pat dying, couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Honestly. I'm happy it is snowing in Santa Fe. I like that George put posting stuff about HBO to the side in favor of working on Kong. That to me tells me he is on a roll, as he says in the post too.
"I'm not for hire, and I don't get to choose my path." -- Sider Ament
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Joined:
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Total Posts:
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RE: GRRM - Will It Ever Be Published?
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Posted:
7/21/2010 11:41:39 AM
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It's also apparently snowing heavily in Santa Fe, which is odd as weather websites say it's 28 degrees. Intriguing.
28 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal snow weather.
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