Interactive Fiction: Alive and Well
I would like to begin this article by asking all of you old EB.Netters like me to harken back to around September, 1999, when godofcows was your average #eb op, A.L. Holby (*sob*) was still a moderator, Matthew F. had yet to become Giovanni, and Blueberry Muffins were the in thing. Harkening? Good.
Well, someone who the EB community has probably all but forgotten posted a simple, relatively normal topic entitled "Add On Story." It was a huge hit, and eventually a board called "Interactive Fiction" was created, for the sole purpose of these stories. Guruzeth and the aforementioned A.L. Holby became it's moderators. Like the original topic, it was a huge hit.
This is where someone by the name of PSI322 came in. (I happened to pop in around this time as well.) She quickly garnered a reputation as a great (read: Awesuma) writer, and eventually became mod of the forum. She's probably the reason the IF Board eventually eclipsed General Discussion as the most used board.
But as all of this was happening, EB (Now Starmen.Net) Grew larger, l4m0rz seeping in at crazy rates as well. After the MS.Net fiasco, PSI resigned from adminship, and the board spiraled downwards. The climax occured around September, 2000, when a simple post by Picky entitled "Reminder" turned into a flame war, which caused both guru and PSI to leave the site completely.
And with that, even I left IF, and the rest of the site for dead, although I didn't actually leave. (That would require a life to go to.) But recently, reading through "The Truth about Friendship" by PSI322 and "Welcome Home", by Falcon24, I've discovered that the site and the forum aren't lost. Sure, it's gonna be hard to return this Forum to the way it was a year ago, when It first came in. But it is possible, if you try to make it that way. Believe.
I would like to begin this article by asking all of you old EB.Netters like me to harken back to around September, 1999, when godofcows was your average #eb op, A.L. Holby (*sob*) was still a moderator, Matthew F. had yet to become Giovanni, and Blueberry Muffins were the in thing. Harkening? Good.
Well, someone who the EB community has probably all but forgotten posted a simple, relatively normal topic entitled "Add On Story." It was a huge hit, and eventually a board called "Interactive Fiction" was created, for the sole purpose of these stories. Guruzeth and the aforementioned A.L. Holby became it's moderators. Like the original topic, it was a huge hit.
This is where someone by the name of PSI322 came in. (I happened to pop in around this time as well.) She quickly garnered a reputation as a great (read: Awesuma) writer, and eventually became mod of the forum. She's probably the reason the IF Board eventually eclipsed General Discussion as the most used board.
But as all of this was happening, EB (Now Starmen.Net) Grew larger, l4m0rz seeping in at crazy rates as well. After the MS.Net fiasco, PSI resigned from adminship, and the board spiraled downwards. The climax occured around September, 2000, when a simple post by Picky entitled "Reminder" turned into a flame war, which caused both guru and PSI to leave the site completely.
And with that, even I left IF, and the rest of the site for dead, although I didn't actually leave. (That would require a life to go to.) But recently, reading through "The Truth about Friendship" by PSI322 and "Welcome Home", by Falcon24, I've discovered that the site and the forum aren't lost. Sure, it's gonna be hard to return this Forum to the way it was a year ago, when It first came in. But it is possible, if you try to make it that way. Believe.
