moyix's favorite TeX '82 help messages

favhelp.txt

I'm broken. Please show this to someone who can fix can fix
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I dddon't go any higher than filll.
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Things are pretty mixed up, but I think the worst is over.
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Sorry, I don't know how to help in this situation.
Maybe you should try asking a human?
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If you really absolutely need more capacity,
you can ask a wizard to enlarge me.
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One of your earlier faux pas has wounded me deeply,
so I'm barely conscious. Please fix it and try again.
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A funny symbol that I can't read has just been input.
Continue, and I'll forget that it ever happened.
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The page just created is more than 18 feet tall or
more than 18 feet wide, so I suspect something went wrong.
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Hyphenation exceptions must contain only letters
and hyphens. But continue; I'll forgive and forget.
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Your sneaky output routine has fewer real {'s than }'s.
I can't handle that very well; good luck.
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I've inserted a begin-math/end-math symbol since I think
you left one out. Proceed, with fingers crossed.
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You've closed more groups than you opened.
Such booboos are generally harmless, so keep going.
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Sorry, Pandora. (You sneaky devil.)
I refuse to unbox an \hbox in vertical mode or vice versa.
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Wow---I never thought anybody would tweak me here.
You can't seriously need such a huge discretionary list?
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You rang?
Try to insert some instructions for me (e.g.,`I\showlists'),
unless you just want to quit by typing `X'.
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I suspect you've forgotten a `}', causing me to apply this
control sequence to too much text. How can we recover?
My plan is to forget the whole thing and hope for the best.
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A number should have been here; I inserted `0'.
(If you can't figure out why I needed to see a number,
look up `weird error' in the index to The TeXbook.)
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You meant to type ## instead of #, right?
Or maybe a } was forgotten somewhere earlier, and things
are all screwed up? I'm going to assume that you meant ##.
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I've put in what seems to be necessary to fix
the current column of the current alignment.
Try to go on, since this might almost work.
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Sorry, I already gave what help I could...
Maybe you should try asking a human?
An error might have occurred before I noticed any problems.
``If all else fails, read the instructions.''
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I'm afraid I won't be able to make use of this font,
because my memory for character-size data is too small.
If you're really stuck, ask a wizard to enlarge me.
Or maybe try `I\font<same font id>=<name of loaded font>'.
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The box you are \vsplitting contains some infinitely
shrinkable glue, e.g., `\vss' or `\vskip 0pt minus 1fil'.
Such glue doesn't belong there; but you can safely proceed,
since the offensive shrinkability has been made finite.
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Sorry, but I'm not programmed to handle this case;
I'll just pretend that you didn't ask for it.
If you're in the wrong mode, you might be able to
return to the right one by typing `I}' or `I$' or `I\par'.
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This error message was generated by an \errmessage
command, so I can't give any explicit help.
Pretend that you're Hercule Poirot, examine all clues,
and deduce the truth by order and method.
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The paragraph just ended includes some glue that has
infinite shrinkability, e.g., `\hskip 0pt minus 1fil'.
Such glue doesn't belong there---it allows a paragraph
of any length to fit on one line. But it's safe to proceed,
since the offensive shrinkability has been made finite.
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I've inserted something that you may have forgotten.
(See the <inserted text> above.)
With luck, this will get me unwedged. But if you
really didn't forget anything, try typing `2' now; then
my insertion and my current dilemma will both disappear.
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I've deleted a group-closing symbol because it seems to be
spurious, as in `$x}$'. But perhaps the } is legitimate and
you forgot something else, as in `\hbox{$x}'. In such cases
the way to recover is to insert both the forgotten and the
deleted material, e.g., by typing `I$}'.
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I can't figure out why you would want to use a tab mark
or \cr or \span just now. If something like a right brace
up above has ended a previous alignment prematurely,
you're probably due for more error messages, and you
might try typing `S' now just to see what is salvageable.
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Please don't say `\def cs{...}', say `\def\cs{...}'.
I've inserted an inaccessible control sequence so that your
definition will be completed without mixing me up too badly.
You can recover graciously from this error, if you're
careful; see exercise 27.xx in The TeXbook.