The Simpsons Archive, also known by its previous

domain name A domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet. Domain names are often used to identify services provided through the Internet, such as websites, email services and more. As ...

snpp.com or simply SNPP (named for the

Springfield Nuclear Power Plant Springfield is the primary fictional setting of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and related media. It is an average-sized, fictional city within an indeterminate state in the United States. The fictional city's geography, surroundi ...

), is a

Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, a ...

fan site that has been online since 1994. Maintained by dozens of volunteers from—amongst other places—the

newsgroup A Usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from users in different locations using the Internet. They are discussion groups and are not devoted to publishing news. Newsgroups are technically disti ...

alt.tv.simpsons alt.tv.simpsons (called "a.t.s." by regular readers) is a usenet newsgroup dedicated to discussing the American television program ''The Simpsons''. Created in 1990, the newsgroup became a popular community in the early 1990s, and continues to ...

and ''Simpsons''-related forums, the site features information on every aspect of the show, from detailed guides to upcoming episodes and

merchandise Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative way that entices customers to purchase more ...

, to the episode capsules (text files documenting freeze frame jokes, quotes, scene summaries, reviews and the like), for which the site is well known. In a bid to steer clear of Fox's legal department after a conflict in 1996, the site contains no multimedia or interactive features, preferring to focus on documenting the show through textual material. As of October, 2005, the site receives roughly 1.2 million hits per month. In 2013, it was moved from snpp.com (which has now expired) to simpsonsarchive.com. The Archive began in 1994, the brainchild of Gary Goldberg, with extensive help from the members of alt.tv.simpsons at the time, includin
Raymond Chen
the first to compile the episode capsules, and Dave Hall, one of the first online Simpsons fans to champion list-compiling. The site, originally based on the Widener archive set up by Brendan Kehoe in 1989, featured a bright yellow and black design until 1998, when it was revamped to the more subdued style.

Site contents

; FAQs, Guides and Lists : FAQs, character files, merchandise information, broadcast history and, as the name would suggest, various lists (such as the cast list, couch gags, blackboard gags, song lyrics etc.) ;Upcoming Episodes : Guides to upcoming national schedules in the countries of (including, but not limited to) USA, UK,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, as well as details on episodes in production. ; Episode Guide : Brief episode synopsis for each episode, including guest stars and first character appearances. ;Episode Capsules : Probably the site's most well-known feature: comprehensive text files documenting quotes and scene summaries, freeze-frame jokes, reviews, animation errors and any other insight necessary. The capsules are mostly compiled from documentation posted to alt.tv.simpsons. The episode capsule is a convention that has since crossed over to many other TV show fansites and newsgroups, including co-

Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...

animation ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years ...

''. Episodes featured are up to and including thirteenth season's "

The Bart Wants What It Wants "The Bart Wants What it Wants" is the eleventh episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 17, 2002. In the episode, B ...

". ;Miscellaneous : A collection of both internal and external copies of academic papers, articles, interviews and the like relating to the show, dating back as far as 1987. ;Simpsons-L : The site's own e-mail-based discussion group, having over 1000 members. This list was

moderated Moderation is the process of eliminating or lessening extremes. It is used to ensure normality throughout the medium on which it is being conducted. Common uses of moderation include: *Ensuring consistency and accuracy in the marking of stud ...

to prevent

spam Spam may refer to: * Spam (food), a canned pork meat product * Spamming, unsolicited or undesired electronic messages ** Email spam, unsolicited, undesired, or illegal email messages ** Messaging spam, spam targeting users of instant messaging ...

. The mailing list was shut down in 2010. ;Web links : A comprehensive list of links to hundreds of other related sites, from fansites and character sites to the homepages of the

cast Cast may refer to: Music * Cast (band), an English alternative rock band * Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band * The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis * ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William ...

and

official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their su ...

sites. ;The Springfield Times : A

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to event ...

page, home to articles on new Simpsons-related information, events and products, as well as to the two sub-sections of DVD News and

Movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

News. In addition to this, the site offers a search facility and an ''About the Archive'' page which allows you to contact any of the various maintainers and check which new pages and episode capsules have been added since your last visit.

Publicity

The site has been featured in many publications, including the UK

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

WebUser ''Web User'', branded as ''WebUser'', was a fortnightly magazine published in the United Kingdom from 2001 until 2020. It covered topics relating to computing. Its sister magazine was ComputerActive. Overview ''Web User'' was founded by IP ...

'', in which the site ranked #3 in their list of the "Top 100 TV Websites" back in 2002, and several unofficial ''Simpsons'' books including the analytical ''

Planet Simpson ''Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation'', also abbreviated to ''Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Defined a Generation'', is a non-fiction book about ''The Simpsons'', written by Chris Turner ...

'' by Chris Turner and the UK-issued episode guides ''

The Pocket Essentials {{italic title ''The Pocket Essentials'' is a series of small, A6 sized books on various subjects. The publisher is also known as Pocket Essentials. Each book is written by a different author. The books have been credited with being full of rare in ...

: The Simpsons'' by Peter Mann and ''I Can't Believe It's A Bigger, Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide'' by Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood. In ''Planet Simpson'', Turner thanks the Simpsons Archive, saying that the book would have been impossible without it.

, creator of the show, was once quoted in the

Argentinian Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...

La Nación ''La Nación'' () is an Argentine daily newspaper. As the country's leading conservative newspaper, ''La Nación''s main competitor is the more liberal '' Clarín''. It is regarded as a newspaper of record for Argentina. Its motto is: "''La N ...

'' as saying: "Sometimes we have to look at fan sites to remember hat we have done before one of the best is www.snpp.com. I have no idea what those initials mean, but it has a lot of stuff. Though for them, every episode is the worst ever." Reviews from the site's episode capsules have also been mentioned in the DVD commentaries by various members of the show's staff. In 2007, it was ranked number five on ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

s list of "25 essential fansites".

References

External links

The Simpsons Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpsons Archive, The The Simpsons American online encyclopedias Internet properties established in 1994