Changes (Star Wars article)
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| Title: | Changes |
| Creator: | James Addams |
| Date(s): | summer 1999 |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | Star Wars |
| Topic: | |
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Changes is a Star Wars essay by James Addams.
It was published in Blue Harvest #17 in the summer of 1999.
Some Topics Discussed
- the internet and Star Wars fandom
- netfans and print fans (though he doesn't use those precise terms)
- cooperation among fan resources
Excerpts
It was in 1992 that Mary Jo and I first started talking about Blue Harvest. At that time, there were no Star Wars web sites at all - there was no web at all - and Star Wars Galaxy Magazine was still in the distant future. The Star Wars Insider was waiting to be born from the ashes of the Lucasfilm Fan Club Magazine, but that hadn't happened just yet either. Taking a look around, we had Bantam putting Star Wars back on the bestseller lists, Topps issuing the now classic SW Galaxy I card series, and Dark Horse reminding us how magical SW comics can be. Clearly, there was a need for a resource in which SW fans could learn about upcoming releases, read editorials and opinions from other fans, and get the straight dope on what was worth their time and what was Bantha Pudu. Tomart's hadn't issued their price guide yet, and Steve Sansweet and his legendary collection hadn't yet made the splash he was destined to make. So collector's information was needed as well. The SW Adventure Journal wasn't around just yet, so gamers had nowhere to learn of WEG's plans. So Mary Jo and I came forward to fill the void.
... in 1993, we were able to get the new release schedules from Bantam, Dark Horse, Topps, West End Games, and others a few months to a year in advance. With BH publishing three times per year, it was no problem to get this info out to you a few weeks after we got it. It still felt current, even when the next Episode of BH came out four months later. These days, our pals over at TheForce.net are posting this stuff every four hours. It's just ridiculous to think that a magazine that only comes out in February, June, and October is going to be able to compete as a news resource with a medium that posts updates all day, every day.
When we started, neither MJ or I had a modem. I got one in late 1994, and MJ's came in '95. Daniel Wallace soon wrote a column for us called "Star Wired" which talked about Star Wars resources on the internet: BBS's, Email, and UseNet groups. The mighty Web Page was still forthcoming! By '97 the web was here, and we put up a site to advertise Blue Harvest, but we wondered how many of our readers even had modems. From my smokin' fast 14.4 modem, we watched TheForce.net and other great sites like starwarz.com spring up overnight, and grow to mammoth proportions. Steve Head, BH reader and contributor since Episode 1 (that's Ep. 1 of BH, not Ep. I of the film series) jumped ship and joined the Force.net crew. By 1998, national news magazines had taken to behaving as though the web was all there is to SW fandom. 'Zines that had been around for ages, like Blue Harvest, many of the fan fiction journals, and the (recently folded and sadly lamented) Star Wars Collector were brushed under the rug by journalists too lazy to seek us out, or so interested in the hype surrounding the Internet that they refused to feature fans other than the wired ones. And the weird ones, but that's another rant for another time.... By this time, most of our readers had modems, and many had forgotten to renew subscriptions because they were busy surfing. So, very briefly, we harbored some resentment for the web sites who were stealing our thunder. But then we realized something important, which is that we're all on the same team here. Star Wars fandom can take many forms, and with some careful readjustment, there is room for all of us.