Note: This site is no longer being maintained, unfortunately. Most of the pages haven't been modified for years. See the homepage for the only part of this site that is being kept up to date.
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WARNING: This FAQ is so old it makes Strom Thurmond look like Jonathan Lipnicki. (Apologies to Dennis Miller.) What I'm saying is, most of the info in this FAQ is 5 years old, so caveat reader. The instructions on subscribing to the list still work, though. (Except now Majordomo sends out a confirmation message instead of immediately subscribing you.)
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[next part of this answer / next question]
This is a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions file) for the ``clarissa'' internet mailing list (``the list''), which is devoted to discussion of the actress Melissa Joan Hart (MJH).
This document contains information about the mailing list itself, including how to subscribe/unsubscribe and where to get old list mail. If you are looking for information about Melissa Joan Hart or other topics that are discussed on the list, see one of the following FAQs:
http://www.obkb.com/info/mjhpages/mjhfaq.html
http://www.obkb.com/info/mjhpages/ceiafaq.html
http://www.obkb.com/info/mjhpages/sttwfaq.html
[next part of this answer / next question]
The latest version of this FAQ is the hypertext version at:
http://www.obkb.com/info/mjhpages/listfaq.html
A plain-text version of the old ``Clarissa FAQ'' may be found at:
ftp://ftp.tcp.com/pub/clarissa/guides/clarifaq.txt.gz
Note: If you're not using a web-browser, the above URL is interpreted in the following way:
ftp.tcp.com
pub/clarissa/guides
clarifaq.txt.gz
(The .gz extension means that this is a GZIPped file.
See the README file in the same directory
for info about decoding GZIPped files.)
For more information about anonymous-FTP, see Zen and the Art of the Internet at:
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/docproject/zen/zen-1.0_toc.html
If you are using a web-browser, just use the link provided (which actually uses HTTP to connect to the site -- don't worry if you don't understand what that means).
[next part of this answer / next question]
The main source of information I used in compiling this FAQ (other than just my experience on the list) was archived ``clarissa'' list mail. When I say something like ``Adam Lieberman said on 08 Mar 1993...'' or ``(Adam Lieberman, 08 Mar 1993)'' I am referring to a message that Adam sent to the ``clarissa'' list on that date.
Most of the stuff in this FAQ won't be changing over time, but some of the info in questions 7 and 8 is a little out of date. Sorry, but I just haven't taken the time to update these questions. I'll get to it someday.
I have tried to make this FAQ as correct as possible, but there may be a few mistakes.
Please let me know if you find a mistake. (My e-mail address should be at the top and bottom of this document.)
tcp.com.
A mailing list is basically just a bunch of people who are interested in sending and receiving e-mail about a topic of common interest. The purpose of the ``clarissa'' mailing list is the discussion of Melissa Joan Hart, Clarissa Explains It All, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and other related topics of interest to Melissa fans.
The mailing list itself is a single address
to which people send their messages.
For example, the ``clarissa'' list address is
<1@2.3>,
where the numbers represent the words
``clarissa'', ``tcp'' and ``com'',
respectively.
(Sorry for the convoluted way of giving the address.
I did it that way so web robots wouldn't be able to
get the list address off of this page.)
Note that this is not the e-mail address of Melissa Joan Hart or (if this were even possible) Clarissa Darling! Nor is it the address of any person or entity officially associated with the show, Nickelodeon, or Thunder Pictures. Finally, it is not the address you use to subscribe to the list; see the next question for that.
When someone sends a message to the list address, copies of the message are sent out to everyone who has ``subscribed'' to the list. ``Subscribing'' to the list just means placing your name on the list of e-mail addresses to which the messages are distributed. It doesn't cost anything to subscribe to the mailing list.
Easy.
Send an e-mail message to Majordomo@tcp.com
with the single line:
subscribe clarissa
in the body of the message. Your e-mail address will be picked out of the header of your message, so be sure to subscribe from the computer where you want to list mail to be sent. What you put in the subject line of the message doesn't matter; it is ignored.
There is also a ``digest'' version of the list, which you can subscribe to by sending the message:
subscribe clarissa-digest
The digest version contains the exact same information as the regular version, but messages are collected into groups and sent out only a few times a day instead of one message at a time.
Note that Majordomo is a machine (or, actually, I guess it's a program).
It will not understand English sentences such as,
``Please put me on the Clarissa mailing list.''
You must format your request as described above.
(And be sure to send your request to Majordomo@tcp.com
and not to the list itself.)
If you have successfully subscribed, you should soon get an e-mail message from Majordomo giving you instructions on how to post to the list, what is and is not appropriate to post, and so forth. It also tells you how to unsubscribe from the list. Be sure to keep a copy of these instructions for future reference.
The first message in the list archives is dated 17 Feb 1992.
Jim Lick has been in charge of the list since it began.
He can be reached in his capacity as ``clarissa'' list manager at
1@2.3,
where the numbers represent ``clarissa-manager'', ``tcp'' and ``com'',
respectively.
(Again, I gave the address in that format to thwart web robots.)
By the way, this is whom you talk to if you have trouble subscribing to
or unsubscribing from the list.
Old ``archived'' list mail can be obtained via anonymous-FTP at:
ftp://ftp.tcp.com/pub/clarissa/list/
tcp.com archives
(so supposedly complete within any given month) --
covers Feb 1992 - Aug 1993 and Mar 1994 - last month.
ftp://ftp.tcp.com/pub/clarissa/listmail/
See the README files in the above two directories
for more information.
You can also search old list mail for key words and phrases at:
http://www.tcp.com/~dcljr/cgi-bin/mailsrch.cgi
The ``clarissa'' list used to be maintained on a computer called
ferkel.ucsb.edu
(at the University of California at Santa Barbara).
In Aug 1993, it moved to tcp.com,
which was physically located at a Washington state university.
So older list mail will have the ferkel address on it
and newer mail will have tcp.com.
(By the way, if you're wondering what the name ``ferkel'' refers to,
I think it's the name of a pig.
I don't know anything else about this, though.)
Until May 1996, mail sent to ferkel would be automatically
forwarded to tcp.com, but that has now been disabled.
(Many of the messages that went to the ferkel address
were of the ``junk e-mail'' variety anyway.)
So what is tcp.com?
Well, it's Jim Lick (list manager) and some of his friends,
who set up the site so they could continue to run various mailing lists
and other things.
That's all.
It's not an actual company.
In Feb 1996, the list had to move again (only physically --
the address didn't change).
Unfortunately, this move brought with it a monthly charge
for tcp.com's network connectivity.
So Jim and friends now have to pay $650 a month for partial use of a
T1 internet connection.
The only way the mailing lists, FTP archives, etc., at tcp.com
can continue to exist is through donations.
Please see the
Donations to tcp.com
web-page at
http://www.tcp.com/donate/
to find out how to make a donation to tcp.com
(and learn more about its history).
Every little bit helps!
Yes, she and her mother Paula (Melissa's agent) both know about the ``clarissa'' list, but neither of them have ever posted to it. For the past several months, I and another list member have carried on a (rather sparse) e-mail correspondence with Paula and occasionally posted messages from her to the list. You can see the results (so far) on my homepage, at:
http://www.obkb.com/info/mjhpages/paula.html
Yes. The editor of CEIA, Richard Fernandes, has posted messages to the list under the name ``Rickedit'', but he hasn't posted anything in a long time and is currently not subscribed to the list. Another editor using the name ``urien'' posted a few messages to the list in early 1994.
The creator of CEIA, Mitchell Kriegman, has recently posted to the list and has been answering list members questions through another list member, HMurchison. You can read Mitchell's (voluminous) comments at my homepage:
http://www.obkb.com/info/mjhpages/mkint.html
Other people have posted saying that they know her as a friend, but, of course, such messages cannot really be verified. For example, a recent message of this kind came from Patrick Hait (20 Nov 1995):
I used to live right down the block from her before she moved to the city 3 or 4 years ago. We grew up together in West Sayville, Long Island. Me and her sisters were very good friends. Her mom, Paula and dad Bill were very good friends with my parents... (and still are). They have recently moved to elgelwood, NJ where they live in a MANSION. Melissa's whole family is very successful. Her second youngest sister, emily was the little `TOMMY' on Broadway a few years ago. They are a very successful family. As you would probably like to know, Melissa is the coolest person... She is very nice... well, anything else ya wanna know?...
Sometimes we can only judge the ``truth'' of someone's posts in retrospect. For example, on 27 Feb 1995, Jamie Walsh said:
Hi All, I just met Melissa Hart snowboarding on Friday. She is a really great person. A few of my friends and I stayed over at her condo and had lotsa fun with her and her sister. Anyone else know her personally?
Now, this might easily be dismissed as a play for attention were it not for a little piece of information he included in a later message (Jamie Walsh, 27 Feb 1995):
BTW in case anyone doesn't know, she is the guest star on ``Touched By An Angel'' next Saturday.
Melissa did indeed guest-star in an episode of Touched By An Angel that was filmed in Spr 1995, although it didn't air until 21 Oct 1995. (Incidentally, she met her current boyfriend, James Fields [not Walsh!], while filming this show.)
Other people on the list (now and/or in the past) have met Melissa at various personal appearances, etc. I hope to someday collect messages of this ilk on a page on my ``Melissa Joan Hart'' homepage, but I haven't had a chance to do this, yet.
Send the message
who clarissa
to Majordomo@tcp.com.
You will receive a list of e-mail addresses of people subscribed to the list.
Note that this gives e-mail addresses only, not real names.
(Actually, some addresses in the list do also have the member's real names,
but this is not true of everyone.)
For more information about what ``Majordomo'' can do, send the message
help
to Majordomo@tcp.com.
Remember that the subject line of the message is ignored. Place requests in the body of the message.
Once you're on the list, you'll see a lot of abbreviations being thrown around. Here are some you may run across.
alt.fan.teen.starlets, a Usenet newsgroup
(or the homepage for it)
See also my Alternate episode titles page for other episode references:
http://www.obkb.com/info/mjhpages/altttl.html
:-) :) :^) =) 8-) :> 8-> ...
<G> <g> <grin>
;) ;-) ;^) ...
:-}
}:-) };-) >:-) >;-) ]:-) ];-) ...
^_^
^ ^ and a mouth: _)
:-D
:-P :-b
:-P~
:-( :(
>:-(
:'-(
:-|
:-/ :-\
:-o =:-o
@@
See also Emoticon's guide to emoticons at:
http://wwws.enterprise.net/fortknox/emoticon/smiley.html
These don't often show up on the list, but just for the heck of it...
See also the glossary in Zen and the Art of the Internet and the Basic and Intermediate Web-Internet Dictionaries from Study Technologies.
The URLs for these things are, respectively:
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/docproject/zen/zen-1.0_toc.html
http://www.studytech.com/onelook/indexes/basic_index.html
http://www.studytech.com/onelook/indexes/web_index.html
I don't know of a way of doing this
by sending commands to Majordomo,
but you can read a copy of list rules from 28 Oct 1996 at my homepage at:
http://www.obkb.com/info/mjhpages/listrule.html
I would suggest (assuming you've read through the information in this FAQ):
http://www.obkb.com/info/mjhpages/mailing.html
To find out more about mailing lists in general, try:
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/docproject/zen/zen-1.0_toc.html
http://www.NeoSoft.com/internet/paml/
This FAQ is Copyright (c) 1996-2001 by Donald Lancon, Jr. Permission is granted to copy and redistribute the information contained herein provided that this copyright notice is included and provided that it is not redistributed for financial gain. This FAQ may not be included in commercial collections or compilations without express permission from the author.
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