A STF.net History...

[LordOfTheBorg 1]

Ok everyone, heres the deal. I'm making a history of STf.net, like, when it started, why, how, etc,etc. I am just wondering if anyone wants to help out... (By giving me information, helping me write it, etc)

[deagletime 1]

i remember a long time ago i made a post basically asking VBG a buncha questions on his motivations for doing it and stuff... too lazy to find it

 

but the truth is out there...

[LordOfTheBorg 1]

No worries, the "Man" already sent me a coupla links on the history of this site... gonna use some info from there, and some info from members around the site... (like AE, dillard, the soongs, data, VBG(if he's not to busy)...um...hangon-maybe, and possible others...) mostly people who have been on close to, around, or at the starting of this site...

[Data 0]

Hey, LOTB

 

Sorry that I did not get back to you sooner. I started here about a month after VBG created this forum. This was not his first forum. As I found out a few weeks into my membership. I found out about this place from the forums on startrek.com. I only lurked there. I never posted. To be honest. I lurked here a couple weeks before I finally joined. So I was reading threads on here from the beginning.

 

I have not posted a lot here. But have been a regular on the trivia. I probably had more contact with master q and spacetigger than I have had with the other mods. They both have done a superb job.

 

As for VBG, he has always tried to make this place the best Star Trek site around. AE is a good backup for him. As for the other mods, they are always around to keep the troll problem to a minimum. Also, have been a good support group.

 

As for the rest of the members, I have only made friends with one, Yillara Soong. We became friendly mainly because of my username. She is a big fan of Data. But eventually our friendship became more well rounded than our interest in Data.

 

I found other interesting people here, from all around the world. This is truly an international site. Which goes to show you how well Star Trek has been received everywhere.

Edited August 12, 2005 by Data

[Angela 1]

I remember the exodus from the ST.com chat room to the STF room, I had seen it advertised in a chat room on the new years eve of 03 and decided that I would join that night. when the chat room was closed I started making noises about the one here which was and now is hardly ever used.

 

More remembering to follow

[VaBeachGuy 12]

i remember a long time ago i made a post  basically asking VBG a buncha questions on his motivations for doing it and stuff...  too lazy to find it

 

but the truth is out there...

346437[/snapback]

That was actually one of the links I sent him the other day for his research.

[LordOfTheBorg 1]

Partially done, not complete, rough copy:

(also, its gonna be different colours... bladck background and red text..)

Click For Spoiler

~Star Trek Fans.net~

A History

Written and compiled by Wally (LordOftheBorg)

 

What do you think of when you think of a trekkie/trekker? Do you think of a little fat/skinny kid with glasses, sitting on his computer? If so, your right… for most star trek fan sites… but not for startrekfans.net… no, at STF.net, we come in all shapes and sizes. We’ve got the Americans, we’ve got the English, we’ve got people from all over! We’ve even got… Canadians! We’ve got the regular people, who’ve seen a few episodes of star trek, and like it enough to find a fan site, then we’ve got the nerds, who’ve seen the entire first season of The Next Generation and love it… then we’ve got the geeks, who’ve seen every episode of every series… then… after all of those people, we’ve got Kevin(VBG)… he’s in a class all by himself! He sleeps six hours a day, works insane hours(4pm to 12 am, I think) and I he comes online at all hours of the night, just to make sure everyones happy! I think that he is the ultimate “133t”..

 

How STF.net Started: On that fateful day, sometime in March, 2003. Kevin transferred over from his Alabama fans board, to STF.net, and after that, people started joining left and right… Kevin designed STF.net, made STF.net, and runs STF.net.

 

A Little About Kevin: Kevin as a Credit Card Fraud investigator/analyst for Bank of America. He’s been involved with something or someone famous twice… first it was the sniper case in Washington… they asked to put a large sum of money into a credit card account. The FBI phoned Kevin and he helped them out… He also helped the producer of the show COPS… He pays for this site with his own money… he puts no banners, ads, or other money-making pop-ups on the site… He says that he doesn’t like to get pop-ups when he’s surfing the net, so why make people who come to STF.net get them… Does he sleep? According to him.. Yes! 6 hours a day! The secret of STF.net’s success? Kevin says.. The great members! Kevin was in the military… joined when he was 19. He was born in Maryland…He started watching Star Trek pretty much since he was born… star trek was his fathers favorite TV show of the time… so he would watch it with him. Other stuff that Kevin is a fan of is… Elvis Presley, Kenney Chesney, Brooks and Dunn, Tim Mcgraw, and many other country singers… Also, he likes classic music, from the 60’s and 70’s. How often does he wear his cowboy hat? Not a lot… And, he still maintains that nothing happens when 5 or 6 moderators are online… but I think otherwise.

 

Some Input From The Great Members Of STF.net:

 

Jack Bauer-“

Well, in my experience the site has always been run fairly but I had no negative contact with administration before I was a mod (not that any exists now), which is likely why I became a mod.

I have always loved this site and what it stands for. I once compared VaBeachGuy to Zefram Cochrane because this site was sort of a utopia away from all the pointless arguments that took place on other boards. I really enjoy this site.”

 

Data had a lot to say-

“I started here about a month after VBG created this forum. This was not his first forum. As I found out a few weeks into my membership. I found out about this place from the forums on startrek.com. I only lurked there. I never posted. To be honest. I lurked here a couple weeks before I finally joined. So I was reading threads on here from the beginning.

 

I have not posted a lot here. But have been a regular on the trivia. I probably had more contact with master q and spacetigger than I have had with the other mods. They both have done a superb job.

 

As for VBG, he has always tried to make this place the best Star Trek site around. AE is a good backup for him. As for the other mods, they are always around to keep the troll problem to a minimum. Also, have been a good support group.

 

As for the rest of the members, I have only made friends with one, Yillara Soong. We became friendly mainly because of my username. She is a big fan of Data. But eventually our friendship became more well rounded than our interest in Data.

 

I found other interesting people here, from all around the world. This is truly an international site. Which goes to show you how well Star Trek has been received everywhere..”

 

Sea_trooper had this to say-

“Well, the site is great. It's an ordered place with barely any restrictions, and alot of good people. Now I'd like to see a stereotypical person come here and read all the drama that goes on here and then judge every single Star Trek fan . The moderators are good too. They are dedicated and loose, the kind of people you would want as a moderator, you know, not arrogant and tight-assed, only shoving their modliness around. Now VaBeachGuy, he is a magnificent person. Friendly, always willing to help, plus "the maker". His dream in creating the ultimate Trekker hangout has changed many lives, and helped those Trekkers who don't feel so 'trekkish'. He is indeed up there, in the number with Roddenberry.”

 

 

 

 

I had the opportunity to have an interview with Kevin, when he was taking some time off from his super-busy schedule… Here’s some of the transcript…

 

 

[Data 0]

[LordOfTheBorg 1]

Im gonna go ahead and take that smiley face as a "I Like It!"

[Data 0]

Im gonna go ahead and take that smiley face as a "I Like It!"

346720[/snapback]

 

You would be correct.

[DrWho42 13]

I've always had this idea to make a history of STF.net, but it would have been vastly exaggerated and given needless mythic qualities since alot of it has went down into STF.net folklore.

For instance the mass exodus from the sinking continent of ye olde Starfleet Lounge across the cyberspatial sea to the lands beyond, and how the Lounger colonists found this site fit to continue their fandom.

Or the ancient tales in the early days of the Room Gods that peered through the inky black void to the Java-based chat room and spoke to us in red with no username... And the rise and fall of Roddenberry Road, whose storylines were populated by an immense array of oddities that included (but not limited to): mutant alligators, ghosts, elves, gnomes, and giant blob..

Not discluding the peculiar neighbors themselves, and to this very day some say the Big AE still roams Lake Roddenberry..

And others that haven't been properly written about by the bards or storytellers....

 

It may not be accurate and prolly considered highly apocryphal, but it's an interesting way to look back to our online history.

Edited August 13, 2005 by DrWho42

[Tina 0]

A long long ago in a Galaxy- Well maybe last year,. Or the year before

I migrated from the now defunct Startrek.com chatroom. I met mr Psy there. Angela Crewman greene- And many other weirdos

 

I came over here. i remember a tad bit of resentment (Ro and Alex the gruesome twosome)from some people. And it was my first board-So i had some problems adjusting. I was in Risa(now the closed Kronos boards) all the time.,picking fights. getting defensive against jeanway and her "crew"- querue upon querue i was forced into a life of lurking

 

BWHAHAHAHA- Then one day some people i couldn't stand- Left. So i posted-held my tounge. And walked in and out of kronos- I lurk between the offtopic and Tv threads. And sometimes the Tng,Ds9 threads- But still- I'm a troublemaker with a heart of gold.

[LordOfTheBorg 1]

@ who...

[Yillara Skye 1]

As for the rest of the members, I have only made friends with one, Yillara Soong. We became friendly mainly because of my username. She is a big fan of Data. But eventually our friendship became more well rounded than our interest in Data. 

 

Hello

 

Yes, it is definately true. Our friendship began as a common interest in Data. Then grew from there (including becoming a mod on one of Data's-meaning the poster, not the character- forums)

 

 

I started at this board back in March of 2003, I had first seen the link at ST.com. I had only joined ST.com about 3 weeks earlier and had posted alongside Lessa and Takara Soong, as well as dsbs on threads concerning Data and his family. The spammers got pretty bad then, and we all ended up migrating here one by one. I had lurked here prior to the final decision. But during a thread at ST.com, Takara suggested the move... and we all took her up on the suggestion (and I will forever be glad I did). We have all had our moments, but in the end it seems to be for the best. I ended up meeting Data, and we became pretty good friends he has been there for me through a lot (from the good to the bad).

 

There are so many interesting people that have joined this site over the last two years. And this site has grown soooo much. I mean, I was member #106... look at the site now, I think we are on member #4,700 or something like that.

 

And I remember when ddillard was first experimenting with the chat room modules and that we all used to have to have AIM in order to use the chat room. I also remember the server chats we had. Which was where we all joined in the chatroom (well, whoever was awake at the time, LOL) and just shot the breeze while the site was going through its updates. It would take most of the board offline for a half hour or so... so there was no posting at that time. This was done around 1am EST every Saturday night/Sunday morning.

 

I also remember that VBG had to keep updating the rank system, because there were a handful of us :blush 2: that went up in post count really quickly.

 

Another memory was when we had to start over in the TNG forum, somehow all the threads disappeared (keep in mind the site was still pretty darned new.. so things like that can and do happen). So Takara went and started a whole bunch of threads to save it. And many of those threads we are still bumping and posting on to this day.

Edited August 13, 2005 by Yillara_Soong

[HRH The KING 0]

The History Of StarTrekFans.NET

 

Pre-Monarchy = Sadness, desperation and darkness.

 

 

So be thankful that the Royal Era began here on 2nd February 2004.

[Jim Phaserman 0]

I was one who jumped off the sinking ship of Startrek.com's chatrooms, and was rescued by STF.net. I noticed shortly thereafter that I was, in fact, not the only member to be picked up from the waters of destitutism following the st.com chatroom closures. I do distinctly remember Tina from the Trek Chats, and a few others (Rivendell's King is probably the only one who came here with a different name, he used to be Voric). I did get into some trouble when I came here. Oh, who the hell am I kidding? I got into a big pile of it, and ended up leaving the board...or so it appeared. And yes, if you didn't know, I was "Agent J". That incident behind me, I returned with a vow never to get myself into that much trouble again. and I think I've been successful.

[Capt_Picard 0]

I was at the Star Trek dot Com chat room since 1997. I meet many people and I have kept think name since. When it closed and was no longer useable on Stardate: 0401.8 I had not place else to go. A friend told me of this site and I joined. For three months I stayed in the chat room looking for old friends, but few came. In Apirl I started posting in my log and a few months after that I started posting like anyone else. I still miss many of my old friends, but I have made many here. And, if I recall from earlier this year, it's great to be a part of a site the makes history(Save Enterprise). We tryed and we did our best.

Unlike sites that come and go... I bet this one will stay forever...

[Kor37 9]

I also came over from the StarTrek.com chatroom. In its dying days, someone there mentioned this place and I joined up. I had never posted before as I had always spent my time in the chatroom. But since sadly hardly anyone uses the chatroom here (which really really mystifies me), I started to post. I still check the chatroom every day in the vain hope that someone is there.

[HRH The KING 0]

Ahhhh, peace of mind.....finally.

 

Thanks.

[Theunicornhunter 2]

I don't really want to embarrass anyone by pointing out names of who I remember - I also don't want to leave anyone out - but what I remember of board history is:

 

I never participated in startrek.com chatrooms but I did see a post by VBG inviting st.com members to join his new board. I checked it out and ended up going back to st.com only rarely. Things have certainly changed since I joined. I can think of some posts in the early years of STF that expressed some rather unique and surprising opinions about things. There was quite a bit of discussion in Kronos. Then, does anyone else remember those long debates and their frequent references to the dictionary as to what sexist or nude etc. meant

 

In the beginning there was a group called the "soong sisters" but that "moved on" as well. I've seen a lot of people leave like our New Zealander Lollypop and one of our Australians - Starinmyeyes who only rarely visits.

 

There have been many young people that graced us with their enthusiasm and quick wit - some stayed for only a short time, many were strong supporters of the board. Who can forget the creative energy of QSMB.

 

There are many I wonder what happened to because they expressed concerns or were ill and maybe we never knew very well and just faded away.

 

Then there was a time where we had some very intellectual discussions - some of the members I remember from this phase have left and the others post very rarely.

 

I think all of our mods past and present have made significant contributions to the quality and nature of this board. Many have spent long hours to make coming here enjoyable to the rest of us - and a good history should include a highlight of each of them. They really all deserve our thanks for keeping things together.

 

I remember the "picture" phase when Takara introduced us to so much of VBG's very interesting life. That cowboy hat has certainly traveled the universe as well throughout history.

Edited August 14, 2005 by TheUnicornHunter

[Data 0]

In the beginning there was a group called the "soong sisters" but that "moved on" as well.

 

Yillara and Takara are still posting here.

[Angela 1]

My STF and Star trek.com experiences began in October ’03 I had just hooked up to the internet. I loved trek from age three, so I went to the heart of the beast, startrek com I found their chat room and enjoyed it

 

Fast forward to New Years Eve and I was the saddo who was there at midnight GMT, another member mentioned Startrekfans, was a cooler place and like semi-educated lemmings we made a trip over there to get a looksie. I liked, but felt intimidated. It would be only a week before the doom of the startrek.com chat room would be announced and my meanderings the week previous would come into play.

 

I had logged on as usual that morning and was told within 3 seconds that it was closing down permanently. everyone was bemoaning its demise and what were they going to do. I rememberd the chat room at stf, which seemed empty the four times I had been there, so suggested a change of site. NO ONE listened. So I kept on haranguing until people did, and after a while the great exodus occurred.

 

About 2 weeks in I had problems and whilst I can’t say what they were, I was severely freaked out. I couldn’t eat or sleep or anything. I ended up talking to Lee, (Bones88) and Dill (ddillard) they calmed me down and helped me through, they then became two really good friends. These days I chat with Dill and Lee hosts my website and helps with any technical questions.

 

I then in rapid order met the inimitable Rikerchick, who became in my eyes a big sister a great photographer, someone who had a great humour and was someone most if not all respected. I met Kevin, who is not only a website owner, but someone whose inbox is always open to those in need. Following that I met Alterego, and whilst I can’t say we have always seen eye to eye, I can say he is usually if not always coming from a place of good for all, and not a small minority

 

There have been interesting times, the time Rikerchick and Takara manipulated pictures, I mean wow VBG has definitely gotten around some, and Data/Lore have definitely been committing bigamy.

 

Who couldn’t in the early days remember Ro and Alex, which in the end died a death according to her live journal, me and my love life, some of the creepy people and the changes in the chat room, then the exodus part two to the boards, hangon on and Luthien, who gave way to a great relationship with DutchDebbie, who are still wonderful members and who had our first STF offspring Beautiful Mandy, Named after Rikerchick

 

I remember Jeanway and her inexhaustible posting and Q Stole My Bike who had a wonderful talent and a load of Australians who would inhabit the chat room in the early morning.

 

I remember when Enterprise was cancelled there was a huge outcry about it and pleanty of campaigns to save it, in the third season it was to be and worked, in the fourth, Paramount no longer saw the financial viability of a show that appeared on paper to have no fans.

 

I also remember the inflammatory remarks made by Kill enterprise people, that saddened me, that fans couldn’t get a long they had to be cruel and malicious, they had to bait each other and be cruel, it was nasty and there are still echoes of it all.

 

There have been a few good discussions, but lack of respect and civility towards others have led to the Kronos being shut down for a temporary break.

 

It’s a small thing to say that STF has changed a lot from the innocent days, we have all grown, and this was the first place I went when my mum died. It was the only place that kept me sane. It’s strange, the old thing of physical places holding memories, is now internet places holding memories.

[LordOfTheBorg 1]

w00t... i'm waiting for VBG to come online so i can interview him...

[VaBeachGuy 12]

w00t... i'm waiting for VBG to come online so i can interview him...

346986[/snapback]

I wound up talking to my brother on the phone for about 3 hours and missed the interview time. Let me know when you next want to do it.

[Theunicornhunter 2]

In the beginning there was a group called the "soong sisters" but that "moved on" as well.

 

Yillara and Takara are still posting here.

346970[/snapback]

 

There were two more...besides they don't mention the sister thing anymore

[Data 0]

In the beginning there was a group called the "soong sisters" but that "moved on" as well.

 

Yillara and Takara are still posting here.

346970[/snapback]

 

There were two more...besides they don't mention the sister thing anymore

347059[/snapback]

 

Yes, the other two were DSBS and Lessa. True, Yillara and Takara have not continued the Soong sister thing.

[LoveMalePecs1 0]

Fairly good Stf.net History LordOftheBorg I read a rough script that u made most illuminating there have been many changes since I joined as well when I come to think about it keep up the good work LOTB.

 

 

:o :) B)

[Yillara Skye 1]

In the beginning there was a group called the "soong sisters" but that "moved on" as well.

 

Yillara and Takara are still posting here.

346970[/snapback]

 

There were two more...besides they don't mention the sister thing anymore

347059[/snapback]

 

Yes, the other two were DSBS and Lessa. True, Yillara and Takara have not continued the Soong sister thing.

347064[/snapback]

Technically it continued between Lessa and Takara (especially with the formation of their website DataLoreFiction (I believe that was what they titled it). But Lessa has left(at least for a while, anyways. I think there was a thread or at least a post about her departure). I guess the best way to describe it was a "phase" that we all kinda went through. Since we were all fans of the Soong family and all migrated from ST.com at about the same time.

 

 

Another thing to remember of the history of STF, is the ever growing list of nations that have visited and joined this site. Started off with just a couple, then now look at the list.

[Matt 0]

I don't know if you've done your interview with VBG yet but if you haven't may I suggest you do it in the chatroom so others could join in if they're interested in learning more about the site and how it was founded.

[LordOfTheBorg 1]

Not yet, as VBG's comp won't let him get into the chat room.. so, we're gonna have the interview on the forums...