This is the FAQ for the Tomorrow People mailing lists and associated web pages. If you have a question that isn't answered here or if you need clarification on an answer that is here, contact the list administrators. The questions answered herein are:
General
Who are the list administrators?
What does ADMIN mean?
Why did I receive a blank message from tpdis-owner or
tpfict-owner?
I haven't received any mail in days. Have I been unsubscribed?
I was unsubscribed, but I don't know what I did wrong.
Can I resubscribe?
My post to the list hasn't shown up yet. Can I resend it?
Why are the TPFICT archives and Galactic Federation page so void of
graphics?
Why are there so many rules?
TPDIS and The Galactic Federation Communications Hub
How do I subscribe?
Can we talk about homosexuality/religion/politics?
How often is the Galactic Federation Communications Hub updated?
What is the Thread Theory?
How do I add a thread to the Thread Theory?
Where can I find tapes of the show?
What's with this GFTCH stuff?
TPFICT and the TPFICT archive
How do I subscribe?
Why is erotica banned from TPFICT?
I'm over 18 and I want to post/read TP erotica.
There's a story in the archives that has something wrong with it . . .
There's a story in the archives that I don't like. Will you remove it?
Why do the stories in the archive have numbers next to them?
Where did the counters on the stories go?
(formerly: Why does the counter on so many stories start only on July 31, 1997?)
What do I need to do to write a TP serial?
Why are there so many Highlander and Stargate: SG1 crossovers?
How often is the TPFICT archive udpated?
What serials are there?
What is WORLD EX?
General
Who are the list administrators?
Listowner: Wendy Perkins, ladyslvr@xmission.com
Asst. Administrator: Beth Epstein, tptigger42@earthlink.net
Asst. Administrator: Shaun Hately, drednort@alphalink.com.au
It means that one of the list administrators is posting an adminstrative declaration, usually a rules change or clarification. These posts are not to be ignored. Only the list administrators have the power to post ADMIN messages. Anyone else caught doing it will be unsubscribed. When responding to such a message, please remove the ADMIN part.
Why did I receive a blank message from tpdis-owner or tpfict-owner?
It means that Xmission has been tinkering with the list software again and wanted to test to see if it still worked. Take it as a good sign, delete it, and let it no more trouble your thoughts.
I haven't received any mail in days. Have I been unsubscribed?
Maybe. The TP lists do go through cycles, often resulting in days or weeks where no one posts anything followed by days or weeks in which everyone plays catch-up. If you think you've been unsubscribed, do not send a test message to the list. Those only serve to annoy everyone. Contact Beth, Shaun or I and we'll tell you if you've been unsubscribed.
I was unsubscribed, but I don't know what I did wrong.
If you were removed from either list for a rules violation, you will be notifed of it. You may also have been unsubscribed if your account started bouncing messages. In this case, there's no way to notify you.
If you were removed from the list for a rules violation, no, unless a list admin clears it. Any other circumstance, yes.
My post to the list hasn't shown up yet. Can I resend it?
Please ask first. There may be a problem with the list software that resending your post will only aggravate. There may also be a problem with the wording of your post that the list software is choking on. The software is configured to bounce any posts that include majordomo commands (e.g., subscribe, unsubscribe) to the listowner for verification. On one notable occassion, the software choked on the word "unstable". If your post hasn't shown up, there's a good chance it's sitting in my mailbox waiting to be approved. Resending it will only add more copies of the post to my mailbox, and that annoys me.
Why are the TPFICT archives and the Galactic Federation page so void of graphics?
By popular request, I was asked to keep both web pages lynx compatible. That's the biggest reason. From time to time I do experiment with graphic lines and other visual perks, but usually they don't last very long. Also, while there's plenty of room on the xmission account for maintaining both pages, graphics eat up space very quickly. The space is better allocated for other purposes, like being able to store more stories.
Let's put it this way: if you were going to a dinner party, you'd already know most of the rules of etiquette that applied to the situation, e.g. Keep your feet and elbows off the table; no food fights; and (unless it's a really unusual dinner party) keep your clothes on at all times. You know these rules because they've been drilled into you from the time you were born. Perhaps you don't even realise that these are rules. You just think of them as common sense ways to behave.
A mailing list is just another social event with its own standards of etiquette. However, most people, through no fault of their own, join mailing lists without knowing what behaviors are expected, and what behaviors are condemed. Most of the so-called rules for this list are just reiterations of standard mailing list net-etiquette (netiquette).
People who've been on lists for awhile are usually familiar with these rules at a "common sense" level. New people don't have that benefit, but you'll probably also find that you don't receive much sympathy if those common sense behaviors are violated too often or too severely. That's why it's always a good idea to read and be familiar with any Introductory or Welcome messages you receive when you join a new list. The number one rule of course applying here as well: if you have any problems, questions or concerns, contact the list admins.
TPDIS and the Galactic Federation Communciations Hub
Go to http://mailman.xmission.com. Scroll down until you find Tpdis. The Xmission lists are in alphabetical order so you'll have to scroll a ways. Click on the link. Follow the directions.
Can we talk about homosexuality/religion/politics on TPDIS?
Yes, but only if it relates directly to the Tomorrow People and gets no more explicit than PG-13 -- the same standards that apply to every other topic anyone may want to discuss. If you have any questions about whether something you want to say follows these guidelines, run it past Shaun, Beth or I first. Also, keep in mind that these are hot topics and many people will have differing opinions from yours. Someone disagreeing with your beliefs is not the same thing as them attacking you.
How often is the Galactic Federation Communications Hub updated?
The Galactic Federation Communications Hub, usually referred to as the GF page is updated whenever I can get around to it. Which means, usually only a couple of times per year.
Thread Theory is the name for the compiled TPDIS discussion posts. Only a small percentage of discussions end up archived in this way, but they're usually the ones deemed humorous or interesting, especially if taken out of context. These threads are also usually extremely long lived, with people contributing to them months or years after they're started. Anyone can contribute to a Thread Theory.
How do I add a thread to the Thread Theory?
There are two ways. The first is to start a thread on the TPDIS mailing list. Since threads are not by default archived in this way, if you think your contribution fits into the Thread Theory, then it wouldn't hurt for you to mention to me in some way that you'd like to see the thread archived. The second way is to get your contribution to either a finished or postable state, and email it to me directly. Again, please mention that you'd like to see it archived or I may just respond privately and then delete the post. Keep in mind, though, that once a topic has been added to the Thread Theory it becomes fair game for anyone to add to as they wish. It's also up to me to decide which contributions get added and when. If you've made a contribution either to the list or to me directly and haven't seen it added, it could just be a matter of time. Or, you might want to jot me a note reminding me that the contribution exists. Email has a tendency to get lost in my mailbox.
Where can I find tapes of the show?
DVDs of both the original and new series are available in the UK. These DVDs are Region 0 (despite what their listing says) which means they'll play on just about any DVD player. However, they're also in PAL format, which means they won't play on equipment commonly sold in the US/Canada/Mexico unless that equipment comes with or has a PAL-NTSC converter. In short, if you're in the UK or Australia, there shouldn't be any problems. If you're in the US or Canada, your name brand DVD player probably will not play the DVDs correctly. Your off-brand player might. If your player is an Apex (available at Wal-Mart in the US for $45), it probably will, though you won't have much luck getting that same player to show your Star Trek DVDs.
The original TP is also available as of May 31, 2005 in the US through any standard retailer. They're in region 1 format and will play in a standard DVD player on a regular television set. Besides being in NTSC format, the only real differences between the US release and the UK release are a) the cover art, and b) the audio commentary track from Slaves of Jedikiah is the only one included in the US release.
While there are rumors of the New Series being released on DVD in the future, these are still rumors. Information will be made available on the list when and if these rumors change.
For about a month very early in the GF page's inception, it was called the Galactic Federation Trig Communications Hub. That was when all the main files were created and most of the off-site links to the page were established. Although the Trig part of the name was quickly dropped, it seemed far too confusing to change the file names, especially since YAHOO had finally gotten it right. As a result, even though the initials of the page are technically GFCH, the GFTCH has stuck as the official unofficial name.
TPFICT and the TPFICT archives
Go to http://mailman.xmission.com. Scroll down until you find Tpfict. The Xmission lists are in alphabetical order so you'll have to scroll a ways. Click on the link. Follow the directions.
Why is erotica banned from TPFICT?
Erotica is banned because I know for a fact that there are many people subscribed to the list who are under the age of 18. I cannot accept the responsibility of sending erotica into their mailboxes. Since there's no way to filter erotica only to those people who are old enough that I won't go to jail if their parents complain, it had to be banned.
I'm over 18 and I want to post/read TP erotica.
Go to Expressions, the Adult archive.
Please tell me about it. If it's already in the archives, I don't know there's a problem, so I can't fix it. Be as specific as possible when reporting errors or changes that need to be made. That is, don't just tell me the title of the story that isn't working. Most often, it's not the actual story file that has problems but rather one of the links that leads to the story. Since any given story can be accessed from as many as a dozen different links throughout the archives, I need to know the exact page you were on when the error occurred, as well as what the error was.
There's a story in the archives that I don't like. Will you remove it?
Only if you're the author. The TPFICT archives aren't a "Best of TP Fanfic"; any story posted to the lists will be archived there unless it breaks a list rule or unless the author specifies otherwise. Authors are, however, more than entitled to change their minds about whether one of their stories should be archived.
Why do the stories in the archives have numbers next to them?
Those numbers indicate the file size of the story. Usually stories are talked about in reference to number of pages, but on the web there's no way to tell how many pages a story has, so the archive uses kilobytes instead. Five single spaced typed pages is roughly equal to 10-12K.
Xmission changed the software running their servers, which made the counter code obsolete. Since there is no alternative under the new software, the counters had to be eliminated.
What do I need to do to have a TP fanfic serial?
First, declare in some place I can see it (on list or in private email to me) that you intend to write and post your serial. Second, give it a name. Third, write and start posting your serial. Once the third story has finished posting, an entry for the serial will be created on the TPFICT web page.
Personal plea: avoid using the word "Tomorrow" in your serial title. So many serials use this word that it's become essentially useless as a distinguishing title.
Why are there so many Highlander and Stargate: SG1 crossover stories?
Highlander: Tomorrow People can't kill, not even to save themselves. Immortals have to kill to survive. It's a dichotomy that many people find creatively fascinating to explore.
Stargate: SG1: Not a clue. It's a very popular show among TP fans, so that's probably explanation enough.
How often is the TPFICT archive updated?
Once a week, on Saturdays, schedule and posts permitting. Obviously, if nothing has been posted to the list, then there's nothing with which to update the archive. Also, if I happen to be out of town or otherwise busy, the archive won't be updated.
Blood of Tomorrow, Sins of Yesterday [BoT] - New Series
Edge of Fovever [EoF] - Original Series/New Series/Highlander
Elements of Change [EoC] - Original Series/Sapphire & Steel
Forever Tomorrow [FT] - New Series/Highlander
The Joining [J] - Original Series
Kindred Spirits [KS] - Original Series
Legacy of Tomorrow [LoT] - New Series/Poltergeist: the Legacy
A More Perfect Union [MPU] - Original Series/New Series
New Horizons [NH] - New Series/Charmed
Opposites Attract [OA] - New Series/Power Rangers
Shadows and Light [S&L] - New Series/Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Highlander
Tapestry [T] - New Series
Tears In Heaven [TiH] - New Series/Stargate: SG1/Highlander
Tomorrow's Future [TF] - New Series/Highlander/Sliders
Tomorrow's Guardians [TG] - Original Series
WORLD EX is the name of the organization for which General Bill Damon works in the New Series.
In relation to this site, it's also the Writers Online Resources Lending, Development and EXchange. It's the area of the site for anything related to stories or story writing that isn't itself a story. Current information there includes story seeds (idea for possible stories), fanzine information, the results of the TPFICT Awards, and past archive updates.
Submissions and ideas for submissions are always welcome.