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canyonwalkerThe debut on Amazon Prime of a Wheel of Time streaming series got me thinking again about how my own story interweaves with the series of books. Or rather, the story of the series of books. As I noted in another blog a week ago, I started reading WoT 30 years ago. I was a big fan at first and for several years after. I made many friends through our shared fandom. Then I lost interest in the series well before its completion, but kept some of the friends. Here's part of that story. It's not the whole story, as that would imply a beginning and an ending— and all WoT fans know that there are neither beginnings nor endings to the Wheel of Time. Also, it's a long story. So here's part of it.
Usenet News was divided into channels called groups. Historically, it had started about 10 years earlier with just a handful of groups. It grew fast, though, being the form of social media on the Internet. In 1993 there were anywhere between 2,000 and about 10,000 groups depending on how you counted them.
With even 2,000 groups at the conservative end of the range— and I saw about 3,500 on my server— I couldn't be on top of them all. But I did notice new groups as they were created; there were a few a week. One of those weeks I saw
The alt.fan group was a bum steer because it was created by someone who actually disliked Robert Jordan and wanted to use it to get rid of WoT fans. I learned that quickly from a person who posted on the alt.fan group that the real action was on
WoT discussions on rasfw were vibrant. We discussed plot points, character development, new bits of the world and its cultures and history revealed, what we liked overall about the series and how those opinions evolved with new info added, etc.
With the release of the 5th book, The Fires of Heaven in Oct 1993, WoT discussions became especially vibrant. The series had become a major bestseller so the publisher coordinated its on-sale date to hit the top spot. That meant lots of us bought it on the same day, or within the range of a day or two. Then we binge-read it, staying up late at night for a few days to finish a 600+ page hardback novel. The upshot of all this was that WoT discussions became a huge portion of the overall discussion volume on rasfw.
The reason the alt.fan group didn't work, aside from it being created in scorn, was that it was created in a section of the Usenet News hierarchy that didn't have rules and thus didn't have broad distribution. Remember what I wrote above about there being between 2,000 and 10,000 groups depending on how you counted? It was in the portion that not everybody counted.
So I followed the rules. I wrote a proposal. I posted in it in the correct place. I conducted a straw poll. I invited discussion and incorporated the best feedback into a formal request, which I also posted in the correct place. Then there was a one-week voting period. Because I'd crossed my Is and dotted my Ts, and built a base of support, the motion passed. Our new newsgroup was approved & created!
"Rec.arts.sf.written.robert-jordan," you might be thinking, "What a mouthful!" Or, less politely, what a ridiculous name. I thought it was a ridiculous name, too. But it was the one I could build enough support behind. You take what you get. 🤷♂️ Then you make it yours.
Update: Think this is old? How about a web page from 1994! Keep reading in this series.
New Newsgroup Appears!
Back in 1993 I was active on a few Usenet News discussion groups. Usenet News was a form of social media that predated the world wide web and all the tools that evolved atop it that you might be familiar with today. Usenet was a text based system, vaguely similar to BBSes in an earlier era, but with messages transmitted between servers on the Internet in peer-to-peer fashion.Usenet News was divided into channels called groups. Historically, it had started about 10 years earlier with just a handful of groups. It grew fast, though, being the form of social media on the Internet. In 1993 there were anywhere between 2,000 and about 10,000 groups depending on how you counted them.
With even 2,000 groups at the conservative end of the range— and I saw about 3,500 on my server— I couldn't be on top of them all. But I did notice new groups as they were created; there were a few a week. One of those weeks I saw
alt.fan.robert-jordan appear. "Great!" I thought. "I love Robert Jordan's books, and here's a new group that's discussing them."Discussions Online; Hatred Online
It turned out the alt.fan group was a bit of a bum steer— but one that led me quickly to the right place.The alt.fan group was a bum steer because it was created by someone who actually disliked Robert Jordan and wanted to use it to get rid of WoT fans. I learned that quickly from a person who posted on the alt.fan group that the real action was on
rec.arts.sf.written (rasfw), a group for discussion of all authors/books within the category of fantasy & science fiction.WoT discussions on rasfw were vibrant. We discussed plot points, character development, new bits of the world and its cultures and history revealed, what we liked overall about the series and how those opinions evolved with new info added, etc.
With the release of the 5th book, The Fires of Heaven in Oct 1993, WoT discussions became especially vibrant. The series had become a major bestseller so the publisher coordinated its on-sale date to hit the top spot. That meant lots of us bought it on the same day, or within the range of a day or two. Then we binge-read it, staying up late at night for a few days to finish a 600+ page hardback novel. The upshot of all this was that WoT discussions became a huge portion of the overall discussion volume on rasfw.
A Group of our Own: rasfwrj
The struggle on rasfw, between WoT fans and everyone else, was real. We WoT fans were a lively bunch and had a lot to talk about. People who chose not to read WoT were resentful— yes, resentful— that "we" were generating so much traffic on "their" newsgroup. There wasn't a way to convince the haters they were wrong and should tolerate discussions that were clearly within the charter of the group. Haters were just going to hate. So we left. But we did it right.The reason the alt.fan group didn't work, aside from it being created in scorn, was that it was created in a section of the Usenet News hierarchy that didn't have rules and thus didn't have broad distribution. Remember what I wrote above about there being between 2,000 and 10,000 groups depending on how you counted? It was in the portion that not everybody counted.
It's often said, "Academic politics are so bitter precisely because the stakes are so small." Welcome to Usenet, the next level down.
Being a computer-savvy and Internet-savvy person I learned the ins and outs of Usenet News. That meant learning both the technical protocols that drove it as well as the governance protocols that its volunteer caretakers held sacrosanct. And yes, they were very sacrosanct. Are you familiar with the observation— attributed to a variety of people including Henry Kissinger— "Academic politics are so bitter precisely because the stakes are so small"? Usenet was, in that sense, the next level down.So I followed the rules. I wrote a proposal. I posted in it in the correct place. I conducted a straw poll. I invited discussion and incorporated the best feedback into a formal request, which I also posted in the correct place. Then there was a one-week voting period. Because I'd crossed my Is and dotted my Ts, and built a base of support, the motion passed. Our new newsgroup was approved & created!
rec.arts.sf.written.robert-jordan was born."Rec.arts.sf.written.robert-jordan," you might be thinking, "What a mouthful!" Or, less politely, what a ridiculous name. I thought it was a ridiculous name, too. But it was the one I could build enough support behind. You take what you get. 🤷♂️ Then you make it yours.
Update: Think this is old? How about a web page from 1994! Keep reading in this series.
