Please excuse the following administrative messages (but read on if you
want to know how to sign off the list):
Mark Twain Forum on the Web
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There is now an MT Forum home page at the following URL:
http://web.mit.edu/troberts/www/twain/twain.html
Not much is there, beyond the Survival Guide, a link to the LISTSERV
Forum Gateway, and another link to Jim Zwick's excellent site, "Mark
Twain Resources on the World Wide Web."
I have the inclination to create a full-blown Web version of the Forum,
but unfortunately I don't have the time. Still, I've followed a good
suggestion of Kevin J. Bochynski <[log in to unmask]> to use to
graphics capabilities of the Web to offer a photo gallery of Forum
subscribers. The gallery is available off the URL above, and is small
right now, but Kevin and I encourage Forum members to take the plunge,
smile, and make their photos available.
Please feel free to send me your comments and suggestions. And watch
for photos of some Twain sites in the next couple of weeks.
Missing log files have been restored
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Some members may not have noticed this disaster, but a few months ago
there was a disk crash at York University (which hosts TWAIN-L), and the
log files from March 1995 to July 1995 were lost. Incredibly, York had
not made backups during that period. Fortunately, though, I make
frequent backups myself, and--after prolonged negotiations with the York
bureaucracy--I'm pleased to report that the missing files have been
restored to LISTSERV.
If you've been searching the Forum's database recently (e.g., from July
1995 until last week), you may want to re-run your searches to see if
you'll turn up more hits from that five-month period, now that those
months have been restored to the database.
More information about the Forum
--------------------------------
Many members have recently been asking such questions as:
- How do I sign off the list?
- What discussion has taken place on the Forum recently?
- Where can I get information on [whatever] about Mark Twain?
Before posting such queries to TWAIN-L, you are strongly encouraged to
read the Forum's Survival Guide, which I send to all new subscribers.
If you no longer have a copy, please retrieve the latest version by
sending a message to <[log in to unmask]> containing the single line:
GET SURVIVAL GUIDE TWAIN-L
Please be careful to send this message to LISTSERV, not to TWAIN-L.
The Survival Guide answers the above questions and explains clearly a
lot of other things that most members need to know at some point, and so
it's a good idea to print this file or store it on disk. I draw
particular attention to section 11, "Suggestions for Mark Twain
researchers," as it lists some helpful reference tools. General queries
that may be answered at the library should be researched there, and not
posted on the Forum until a solid attempt has been made to pursue
traditional lines of inquiry. When you post a research query, then,
it's is a good idea to indicate what sources you have already
investigated, as this will demonstrate that you have already done the
primary footwork, and will save people from suggesting resources that
you have already investigated.
The MT Forum unfortunately does not offer a digests option, and so it's
important that everyone use the Forum as it is intended to be used, and
not clutter it with messages that may be frustrating to many of the 400-
some-odd members. I think we've all done an excellent job at this,
considering that the Forum is unmoderated, but it doesn't hurt to remind
ourselves that many people already have enough e-mail to read.
If you have questions about the Forum, please feel free to send a
message directly to me (not to TWAIN-L), and I'll be glad to help.
Taylor Roberts
Coordinator, MT Forum
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