The 9 Forum

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Forum · Message Board
Name: The 9 Forum
Date(s): 2009-present
Moderated:
Moderators/List Maintainers: ♥TaylorRose♥, 6&7/MLP Fan, Annadesu, ~{Eli-the-Panda}~
Founder(s): Zenoah
Type: Movie fandom, Proboard forum
Fandom: 9
URL: The 9 Forum, Archived version
AO3 collection
9 Forum Banner.PNG
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The 9 Forum is the first and longest running fansite and forum for the 2009 animated film 9. While there were groups on DeviantART and other small 9 fansites, the majority of fans congregated on the 9 forum. The tropes and fandom culture of the 9 fandom frequently arose from threads in this forum. It thrived for many years after the film's release. Though mostly inactive since the 20s, there are a few sparse posts between 2019-2022, such as a thread from Jan 2019 titled Feeling Homesick.[1]

History

The 9 Forum was created by Zenoah (the "Forum Mother")[2] on March 12, 2009, a few months before the movie's September release date. According to the very first thread made by Zenoah, before the 9 forum there was an IMDB forum from which the very early fans migrated from.[3] The Roleplay Section of the forum was created on March 26, 2009, after a forum poll dictated that it was something desired.[4]

A logo contest was opened to change the site's banner on June 10, 2009.[5] Unfortunately, due to many of the image links being broken the majority of entries are no long available. The winning banner was voted for, and the user Evayo won. The banner has remained since.

The movie section was voted for on Sept 16, 2009, and later evolved to include a movie of the moment board as well.[6]

There was once a mature board in the early days of the forum, however on Sept 22, 2010, Zenoah received an email from Proboards detailing their rules. Proboard's rules did not permit not safe for work content. The mature board was moved off site.[7]

In December 2022, it was announced that The 9 Forum's fanfiction and fanart would be moving to the Archive of Our Own as an Open Doors Project.[8]

Community

The community was once a small, tight-knit group of 9 fans. The staff would often create specific threads to celebrate members' birthdays, as well as giving them exalt points (a system similar to giving likes or upvotes on ProBoards). The community was considered friendly and art-driven, with several categories on the forum for various types of art and fanart.[9]

Outside of the forum, there was a chatbox, which still regularly sees messages throughout the year. The chatbox can be found at the bottom of the forum when a member logs in. It is now mostly used for advertising anniversary events on 9/9. The forum also used to host a Xat, which was linked to on the forum rather than embedded. It's no longer in use but can be found here. There was a Skype group as well.[10]

Threads

  • 13 the mod's introduction

  • Taken numbers thread

  • Funny 9 stories

  • 9 Mash Episode 26 thread

  • Secret Spook gift exchange

The Staff

Mods came and went as the fandom aged. At first only Zenoah, Dimitroff (now a guest account), and a user named 13 were staff. Then on Sept 6, 2009, the first applications to add two global moderators was opened.[11] The two mods added were Gigidoni (now a guest and called Gidgiddonu), and Nicky (who was the creator and admin of The Source). Neither of these users are mods as of the 2020s. Around this time Dimitroff (nicknamed Dimi) became Zenoah's second in command.

On November 3, 2012, Zenoah stepped down as the main admin and handed the reins to Annadesu. She also said she would give mod privileges to Eva (Evayo) and JJ (Jenny-Jen).[12] Zenoah's title beneath their name has said "retired" ever since. In their goodbye post, their final request as the main admin was that the new management never delete the forum, no matter how dead it became. JJ is no longer a mod and Zenoah's final post was on Mar 2, 2013.

Annadesu ("Anna"), the main admin from 2012-present, left quite a mark in the 9 fandom and forum. Anna became a mod sometime on or shortly before Oct 7, 2009. She was also the creator of a 9 art club on DeviantART- likely before DeviantART rolled out groups to all members. She and her friend Sarah created one of the early meme videos on Sept 21, 2009, which is sometimes viewed during watch parties of the film. They also created another fandom classic, the Pope Doll song, on Sept 26, 2009. Sarah lost the battle with cancer in 2010, and a digital memorial was posted by Anna in her memory. Annadesu was also mod to host and run gift exchanges and art/video contests, even while Zenoah was admin. She boosts a larger thread and post count compared to Zenoah. Annadesu's last post was on Jun 11, 2018. She is currently active on Tumblr and was a relatively popular Steven Universe blogger.

~{Eli-the-Panda}~ ("Eli") became a mod sometime in 2009. They were one of the original founding members from the IMBD forum. Eli began long distance dating another mod, called Evayo, and had a "forum wedding" to them. However, in 2010 they made a post detailing how they lost all interest in 9, its fandom, and its forum.[13] They ultimately decided to give everything a long break, but came back just one month later. Eli's final post was on Mar 22, 2018.

TaylorRose likely became a mod some time in 2009 or early 2010. At one point in 2010, she had decided to step back from the forum for a few weeks, but disappeared for a few months instead.[14] Taylor created a Xat chat called Stitchpunk Paradise, which was a different Xat from the main one that the forum used. TaylorRose's final post was on Sept 10, 2013.

6&7/MLP Fan (previously Vance) became a mod sometime between 2009-Sept 2010.[15] They were likely meant to review posts and threads, as they did not host any contests, gift exchanges, or anniversary events, suggesting less responsibility. However, MLP Fan did review fanworks, so while they may not have hosted them, they may have still been involved. [16] MLP Fan's final post was on Sept 10, 2018.

Other mods that were otherwise unaccounted for (due to no longer being mods and/or having no obvious trail leading back to them having been mods) are listed in this thread. However, this list was only for those who were currently staff as of Mar 25, 2011.

Forum Culture

The forum community developed quite a bit of 9 fandom culture. The creation of the very first 9 icons, reaction images, memes, and roleplay tropes came from the 9 forum.[17] Then, there were frequent forum events, such as video contests,[18] secret gift exchanges (which later carried over to the more active DeviantART groups), and character of the month threads.[19] The "Fanworks of the Month" ended on July 1, 2012, due to lack of participation.[20]

"Forum weddings" were sometimes held. This would be when two forum members wanted to be married on the forum. An example of this is on Aug 22, 2009, between members Evayo and ~{Eli-the-Panda}~.[21] Zenoah "officiated" the wedding. Part of the ceremony involved "praying" to Shane Acker, 9's creator. On Feb 3, 2011, Eli made a thread in celebration of Eva proposing in real life after Eli had gone to visit them.[22]

Dear friends, we have come together to share in the joy of Evayo and Eli's love for each other.

We witness the celebration of that love in the warmth's of 9's presence. A wedding is a celebration of spiritual love, and a covenant to love each other, in the presence of 9. I invited you to be at peace, and to listen with your hearts and your souls, to this most joyous ceremony. May 9 fill your spirit with love and truth. Let us pray.

O Acker, we gather to celebrate your gift of love, and its presence among us. We rejoice that these two people have chosen to commit themselves to a life of loving faithfulness to one another. We praise you, O Acker, for the ways you have touched our lives with a variety of loving relationships. We give thanks for your love and your friendship. Renew within us an affectionate spirit. Enrich our lives with the gracious gift of your love so that we may embrace others with that same love. May our participation in this celebration of love and commitment, give to us a new joy and responsiveness to the relationship we cherish. We pray these things, believing in the name and in the uniting power of Shane Acker.

Zenoah hosting the forum wedding

The anniversary of 9 is celebrated every year. The very first anniversary event was hosted by the then-mod Annadesu, and the original thread for it can be found here. The first anniversary was hosted on the Xat chat, and included things like pictionary, trivia, and 9 video streaming. The 3rd anniversary and 4th anniversary were similar, being hosted on the Xat chat. Later, old fandom members gathered in Discord every 9/9 to stream the movie and catch up with one another. The Discord that the "party" is held in is usually advertised in DeviantART groups as well as the chatbox at the bottom of the forum.

Forum "Goodies"

  • Old forum icons, most images now broken

  • Reaction Gifs by Evayo

  • Downloads for early official 9 videos

Anniversaries

  • 9's release date celebration

  • The 9th anniversary

References

  1. ^ Feeling homesick Dated Jan 2019 (Accessed 12/21/19)
  2. ^ Zenoah's Return: NEED IMAGES Dated Jun 30, 2009 (Accessed 12/21/19)
  3. ^ IMPORTANT: Please Read Dated Mar 15, 2009 (Accessed 12/21/2019)
  4. ^ Roleplay Section? Dated Mar 26, 2009 (Accessed 12/21/19)
  5. ^ Logo Contest: CLOSED Dated Jun 10, 2009 (Accessed 12/21/19)
  6. ^ Upcoming Movie Section Dated Sept 16, 2009 (Accessed 12/22/2019)
  7. ^ MB has moved Dated Sept 22, 2010 (Accessed 12/22/2019)
  8. ^ The 9 Forum's Fanworks are Moving to the AO3 (Accessed 19 December 2022)
  9. ^ Fanworks (Accessed 12/21/19)
  10. ^ (Un)Official Forum Skype Group! Dated Dec 28, 2011 (Accessed 12/22/19)
  11. ^ Global Mod Application Dated Sept 6, 2009 (Accessed 12/22/19)
  12. ^ Goodbye's the saddest word Dated Nov 3, 2012 (Accessed 12/22/2019)
  13. ^ It was bound to happen eventually Dated Apr 21, 2010 (Accessed 12/22/2019)
  14. ^ It's officially official!! FINALLY!!! Dated July 7, 2010 (Accessed 12/22/19)
  15. ^ The death of the MB Dated Sept 22, 2010 (Accessed 12/22/19)
  16. ^ Attention please! Dated July 7, 2011 (Accessed 12/22/19)
  17. ^ Forum Goodies, dated Oct 27, 2009 (Accessed Jun 4, 2020) (Archived Jun 4, 2020)
  18. ^ Halloween AMV Contest - Break The Tie Dated Oct 27, 2009 (Accessed 12/22/19)
  19. ^ Character Appreciation Month (Accessed 12/21/19)
  20. ^ Notice Dated Jul 1, 2012 (Accessed 12/22/19)
  21. ^ Evayo and Eli's Wedding: The End Dated Aug 22, 2009 (Accessed 12/22/19)
  22. ^ It's officially official!! FINALLY!!! Dated Feb 3, 2011 (Accessed 12/22/19)
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