Roswell Slash Archive
| Archive | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Roswell Slash Archive |
| Date(s): | 2000 - 2004 |
| Archivist: | Jose Cheung |
| Founder: | Jose Cheung |
| Type: | slash |
| Fandom: | Roswell |
| URL: | http://josecheung.slashcity.net/jcheung/rsa/ |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Roswell Slash Archive is a Roswell fansite for slash and femslash that was associated with the Yahoo Groups (originally eGroups) community RoswellSlash mailing list (deleted & purged in 2020). The 1999 TV series aired on the WB and was based on the 7 book YA novel series Roswell High written by Melinda Metz & edited by Laura Burns, both of whom became staff writers for the television series, the popularity of the show prompted an additional three books. The 2018-2019 season saw a reboot of the Roswell High universe when the CW began airing Roswell, New Mexico in January of 2019. Roswell, New Mexico as of 2022, is currently in its fourth season.
As of May 2022, the Roswell Slash Archive has not been imported as a collection to the Archive of Our Own as an Open Doors Project, although it has been recommended for import. Attempts to reach Jose Cheung at the address listed to receive permission to do so have not been successful, the archive is considered 'at risk' as its parent site, slashcity.com, is also largely defunct, as is the WebHost[1] which became inactive in 2014.
The Beginnings
The Roswell Slash Archive went live in October of 2000,[2] as a backup for the RoswellSlash list on Yahoo Groups & other fandom mailing lists by creator & moderator Jose Cheung. The site was created in homage to the fictional science fiction author 'Jose Cheung' from Season 3, Episode 20 of the X-files.
Select stories were copied over for archival or were submitted directly by the authors to The Roswell Slash Archive for preservation, in its final form the archive contains well over a hundred works from 163 authors. In addition to fiction, the RSA featured fandom commentary by the founder and four pages of links to external fandom resources of all types.
Work Categorisation
Pairings
There are a wide range of pairings, including threesomes, foursomes and pairings resulting from crossovers with other popular TV shows of the same time period, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer.[3] The most commonly used pairings include Liz/Tess, Isabel/Tess, Max/Michael, and Kyle/Max.
Categories, Ratings and Warnings
While there does not appear to have been a formal system of categorization, given its posting to the Yahoo Groups list, the RSA is searchable by Title, Author, Pairings, and Familiar Faces (a category for slash about other characters played by the WB Roswell Cast). Entries had the following general header:
TITLE:
AUTHOR/E-MAIL:
ARCHIVE: (denoting permission to list in the RSA)
PAIRING:
RATING:
SPOILERS:
NOTES/SUMMARY:
DISCLAIMER:
FEEDBACK:
DEDICATION/ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
However, customization was heavy as authors often included additional information or altered the order of this information (either through rearrangement, renaming portions, or removing portions) either when submitting to the archive or when posting to the original mailing list.
Developments
While the archive remained primarily stable in its format, it is no longer actively maintained. The primary changes that occurred over its existence related to the RSA's Links section, where Cheung would announce newly linked sites, groups, challenges seeking members, and information related to the WB Roswell cast.[2]
References
| Related Links | |
| People | Jose Cheung |
| Places | |
| Things | Archive, Automated Archive, Fan Fiction |