The alt.fan.sandra-bullock FAQ Document

Version 4.0 - 21 Dec 2004
Version 4.1 in development
Newest Version of the original alt.fan.sandra-bullock FAQ
Authored by Christoph S., chrissicom@sandrabullock.de
Originally modified by Duane Ebersole, duane@cass.net
Original Author Todd Lawson, tlawson@amug.org

Contributors:
Robster@usa.pipeline.com
andrewc@ix.netcom.com
sirfitz@earthlink.net
homais@indirect.com
bskca@cnsnet.com
TheKohser@aol.com

Table of Contents
1. Some Basics
1.1 - What is this document?
1.2 - What's the point of this group?
1.3 - Is this group moderated?
1.4 - How do you post?
1.5 - What does this acronym stand for?
2. a.f.s-b Content
2.1 - What if I think Sandra sucks?
2.2 - Can I post pictures here?
2.3 - Why is there a restriction on the placement of binaries?
2.4 - What about the group alt.fan.sandra-bullock.binaries?
2.5 - Where are photos of her?
2.6 - What about advertisements and solicitations?
3. Sandra Info
3.1 - What about Sandra herself?
3.2 - Is Sandra really on the Internet?
3.3 - Does Sandra monitor this newsgroup?
3.4 - Does she have email?
3.5 - Does Sandra have an account on AOL?
3.6 - Does she go on IRC?
3.7 - What is her address for regular mail?
3.8 - Does Sandra have a boyfriend?
4. Regular a.f.s-b Controversies
4.1 - Does Sandra have big feet?
4.2 - Does Sandra have an annoying voice?
4.3 - What is her birthday? How old is she?
4.4 - Has Sandra posed nude? Where are the pictures?
4.5 - Does Sandra have anorexia?
4.6 - Who is "Softsofa"?
5. Administrativa
5.1 - What about questions not in this FAQ?
5.2 - How are things added to this FAQ?
5.3 - Wait, my site doesn't get alt.fan.sandra-bullock. What do I do?
5.4 - Where did the huge site list go that was in earlier versions of this FAQ?

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1. Some Basics

1.1 - Q: What is this document?
A: This is the alt.fan.sandra-bullock Frequently Asked Questions (and answers) file. If this is your first time reading alt.fan.sandra-bullock (a.f.s-b), then you should browse through this file to familiarize yourself with the regular goings on here. The point of this is to educate new readers so they'll know the standard fare around here, preventing new user embarrassment and regular reader irritation.

1.2 - Q: What's the point of this group?
A: You can tell the point of any group by looking at its name. 'Alt' is a series of groups about different topics, 'fan' indicates a newsgroup discussing fans of various things, and 'sandra-bullock' tacked onto the end indicates this is a fan group about Sandra Bullock.

1.3 - Q: Is this group moderated?
A: No, there are no moderators. The are many regulars around though who are very familiar with the basic posting guidelines that UseNet readers are subject to. These guidelines are clearly laid out below, and it is highly recommended that new readers familiarize themselves with them.

1.4 - Q: How do you post?
A: Be sure to read the instructions and help files with your newsreader. Try making a test post in the group misc.test. If you still can't figure out how to post, ask your local news administrator for help.

1.5 - Q: What does this acronym stand for?
A: Here's a list of standard alt.fan.sandra-bullock (a.f.s-b) acronyms: WSP - Who Shot Pat?
WTPO - When the Party's Over
WEH - Wrestling Ernest Hemingway
FOTA / LP - Fire on the Amazon / Lost Paradise
LP#9 - Love Potion Number Nine
DM - Demolition Man
WYWS - While You Were Sleeping
TIBS - Two If By Sea
ATTK - A Time To Kill
IL&W - In Love and War
FON - Forces of Nature
PM - Practical Magic
POE - Prince of Egypt
HF - Hope Floats
28D - 28 Days
GS - Gun Shy

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2. a.f.s-b Content

2.1 - Q: What if I think Sandra sucks?
A: Remember your audience here. This group attracts people who are fans of Sandra. Therefore, your comments will not be met nicely if they are presented as flames. If you present your comments constructively, then you'll spark actual debate.

2.2 - Q: Can I post pictures here?
A: No. Pictures are commonly referred to as binaries, because of their encoding for transport on the internet. UseNet protocols prohibit posting of binaries in any newsgroup that does not have the word 'binaries' in the group name. alt.fan.sandra-bullock is therefore not an appropriate forum for pictures. Please use alt.binaries.pictures.celebrities instead (and do not cross-post them to a.f.s-b). Or, even better, get a web page and put the pictures on it!

2.3 - Q: Why is there a restriction on the placement of binaries?
A: All the binaries are grouped together in 'binaries' groups, so if a site chooses, they are easy to block. They'd chose to block them because there are copyright issues involving transmitted pictures (who owns the image?) and the fact that binaries take up large amounts of disk space. Many disk-space-starved admins drop alt.binaries to save space. Basically, if administrators find binaries in a.f.s-b, they'll kill the group and move it to the alt.binaries section - restricting its audience and probably losing subscribers in the move. This happened to a Paulina Porizkova newsgroup, for example.

2.4 - Q: What about the group alt.fan.sandra-bullock.binaries?
A: This group may or may not exist on your news server. In an effort to clean up misplaced binary groups in the alt.* hierarchy, Bill Hazelrig (haz1@nwu.edu) issued the rmgroup message for it on March 12, 1996. Many sites did not remove the group however, and it still exists on many sites. Despite its existence, it is still preferable to use alt.binaries.pictures.celebrities for pictures of Sandra. a.b.p.c has a much better distribution pattern, and follows the naming conventions for UseNet. Questions about alt.fan.sandra-bullock.binaries should be addressed to alt.config, or to your local news administrator. A separate alt.fan.sandra-bullock.binaries FAQ is under development.

2.5 - Q: Where are photos of her?
A: There are many quality Sandra Bullock image sites on the World Wide Web. The photos are easier to view, easier to download, and save bandwidth in general. For a list of these sites, consult the Sandra Website List at http://www1.tip.nl/~t353608/sb_main.htm

2.6 - Q: What about advertisements and solicitations?
A: These can take many forms, from solicitations for fantasy baseball pools, to surveys, to phone sex ads. All of them are off topic here in alt.fan.sandra-bullock. Unless you are soliciting for something narrowly tailored to Sandra Bullock, please don't post it here. Even if it is narrowly tailored, do not post it more than once every five days, or cross-post it to more than 10 other newsgroups. There really is no place for advertisements here in a.f.s-b, while many other newsgroups are specifically designed to be forums for advertisers and potential customers. Look for those groups, and post there.

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3. Sandra Info

3.1 - Q: What about Sandra herself?
A: This FAQ isn't really the best place to put a full biography about Sandra and all the things she's done. The best place to find the most current up-to-date information about Sandra's career is on the World Wide Web.

3.2 - Q: Is Sandra really on the Internet?
A: Her agent, in the Wall Street Journal 3/28/96, says she is. However, it would seem she only uses the Internet for e-mailing friends and relatives (Also see the answer to the next question).

3.3 - Q: Does Sandra monitor this newsgroup?
A: Unfortunately, if she does she has just been lurking. Although many people have faked posts using her name, the real Sandra has never seen or read alt.fan.sandra-bullock. She has said in interviews that she is too afraid to look. In recent magazine articles it has been implied that her father reads some newsgroups and checks out some websites to let her know what people are saying about her.

3.4 - Q: Does she have email?
A: Sandra has said that she has an e-mail account, but that it is under a different name that she won't divulge. She wants privacy, and her agent suggests writing a snail-mail letter instead (for the address, see question 3.7).

3.5 - Q: Does Sandra have an account on AOL?
A: The America On Line addresses are AT BEST *rumored* to belong to her, and the AOL profiles to these accounts indicate that they do not (one indicates it's owner is a "Robert"). If it makes you feel better, go ahead and send mail to them. But you're likely just filing mail in a delete spool somewhere. Here's what a.f.s-b reader (and web site maintainer) Michael G. McCool had to say: "First of all, I don't think that she would actually create a member
profile to be found, and have her mailbox flooded with email, and second,
an account at AOL can have up to 5 different screen names... Most likely,
this is a hoax by someone."
Sandra did say, on "The Tonight Show, with Jay Leno", that she had an account on AOL, but that it had taken her several weeks to figure out the name for it. This indicates that she came up with a pseudonym, and if someone were to figure out it was her, she'd probably change it again quickly.

3.6 - Q: Does she go on IRC?
A: Apparently not. She has been on moderated AOL discussion forums though, being the subject of one. She is just too afraid to make a public presence on the net.

3.7 - Q: What is her address for regular mail?
A: Sure. According to Cyd and the Internet Movie Database her publicist is Brigid Walsh at (???) ???-???? (I do not know the phone number at this time).

Sandra Bullock
c/o United Talent Agency (UTA)
9560 Wilshire Blvd. #500
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
USA

Most stars prefer to be contacted through their publicists. Several readers have claimed to have real email addresses to contact her, or even her real street address. This information is probably false, and should be scrutinized before being accepted as fact.

3.8 - Q: Does Sandra have a boyfriend?
A: She dated Don Padilla, a grip from "The Net", who regulars here started referring to as "Greasy Don." Apparently Sandra broke up with Don after he went back for a fling with his former lover Claudia Ontiveros. Sandra's lateset relatioinship was with Matthew McConaughey and at this time there are very few details about the romantic portion but, both claim that they are very good friends and that is all they are now. Sandy has been since 11/03 in a serious realationship with 35 year Old owner of west coast choppers Jesse James. He is also Producer & Star of Discovery Channel's Hit Monster Garage.

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4. Regular a.f.s-b Controversies

4.1 - Q: Does Sandra have big feet?
A: Not really. She worries about it a bit, and people complain about it every once in a while, but it's not like she's Will Purdue (size 26).

4.2 - Q: Does Sandra have an annoying voice?
A: Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder, and a good voice is in the ear of the beholder. Keep in mind that she is an actress, and does occasionally alter her voice to fit her role (notably her accent in "Two If By Sea").

4.3 - Q: What is her birthday? How old is she?
A: Sandra's birthdate is July 26. What year she was born is a matter of much debate. Estimates run anywhere between 30 and 34 years old, depending on who you ask and what people use as proof. Keep in mind that Sandra started school in Europe, and may have graduated high school before she was 18. The most common estimate of her age would have her turning 36 in 2000.

4.4 - Q: Has Sandra posed nude? Where are the pictures?
A: This is the single largest controversy in alt.fan.sandra-bullock, and over the years of debate it is clear that there is no answer. Several readers have produced clear evidence of what can technically be called nude poses. Sandra jokingly admitted to nude pictures circulating around on the net - but these are not the blatant fakes that run rampant in some binary groups. Sandra probably joked away the nude photos rumor because there probably are some photos of her nude. We've seen some that, after careful inspection have shown, are not fake. For a more complete discussion of this topic, please see The Sandra Bullock Nude FAQ (currently in development).

4.5 - Q: Does Sandra have anorexia?
A: No. In a recent interviews Sandra stated that she has changed her eating habits and has begun a regular exercise program. She did this to get in shape for the movie "Forces of Nature." She said that she liked the way she looked now and was going to keep eating better and exercising so that she could keep this new figure.

4.6 - Q: Who is "Softsofa"?
A: He's an irreverent reader of a.f.s-b who seems to have a talent for making the silliest comments at key times. When he chimes in, don't be offended, disturbed or afraid. More often that not, his comments are actually hilarious. He's not dangerous - just one of the more vibrant net.personalities.

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5. Administrativa

5.1 - Q: What about questions not in this FAQ?
A: Submit your question to one or more of the search engines, or just post your question to the group. Maybe it's not a frequently asked question!

5.2 - Q: How are things added to this FAQ?
A: Post your comments in response to this FAQ to the group alt.fan.sandra-bullock. Strike up a discussion about them. If you think it might be a FAQ, say so and someone will add it.

5.3 - Q: Wait, my site doesn't get alt.fan.sandra-bullock. What do I do?
A: There are links on the web sites that might work. If that doesn't work, politely ask your administrator to pick it up. Usually he will. If he doesn't, seek out better internet access. If you are really desperate, use Dejanews (http://www.dejanews.com/).

5.4 - Q: Where did the huge site list go that was in earlier versions of this FAQ?
A: Because it was large and unwieldy, not to mention difficult to maintain, it was passed off to another maintainer, Jeroen Cramer <remarc@tip.nl>. It is posted in this group once every two weeks under the subject line "[alt.fan.sandra-bullock] a.f.s-b Web Site List." Corrections to this list, should be sent to Jeroen.
Some top recommended Sandra sites:
http://www.sandra-bullock.co.uk
http://www.sandrabullock.de
http://www.sandrabullockcentral.com
http://www.sandramovies.com

Note - This FAQ may be freely distributed and reproduced as a whole document. Excerpts from it should be attributed, but may be used without permission.
(C) 1997-1999 Todd C. Lawson, (C) 1999 Duane Ebersole.
(C) 2004 Christoph S..