Oh, Rocky, this is too bad! As you say, not unexpected, but too bad all the same. (Not that I've done a single thing to stop the ASC decline, mind you, having abandoned you all for HP.)
But I hope you feel a sense of accomplishment, too: the ASC awards have been such a delight over the years because of your (and your co-workers') careful, thorough work and your professionalism. Every Trek fanficcer owes you a huge debt. Thank you, thank you.
I wish you and the family a happy new year, and I hope you won't be an LJ stranger!
Thanks, Kelly. The newsgroup has been in a state of decline for a long time, as opposed to the fandom itself--there is still a lot of Trek fanifc being written. It's just not getting posted to the ASC. Awards have been hanging on by the skin of their teeth for the past few years. We've just reached the point where it's just not feasible to attempt to hold the awards, which are completely dependent on fan participation. It was a very wrenching decision, as you can imagine. Hopefully we will be able to pick up again in 2010. But, on the bright side, it's just the awards which are being shelved for this year. The newsgroup itself isn't going anywhere.
Wishing you and your loved ones a good year as well.
ASCEM does fare a little better but not much, and it seems that most of current trek fandom moved away from mailinglists and onto lj (which makes me nervous when thinking about it as a single point of failure).
.oONot that I'm helping the matter much easier, having all but moved on to lj myself...
ASCEM is doing better than ASC, that's for sure! In general, the stories are still being written, they're just not getting posted to the newsgroup. Message boards like VAMB, for example (for Voyager) still get a lot of stories. With google groups, posting to alt.startrek.creative is not at all hard. But for whatever reason, people are no longer doing so, and the lack of feedback is even worse. And we just can't do awards without participation. I really, really hope this is just a one-year blip.
As you say, this is not really surprising, but it still breaks my heart. I'm really only coming back into trek fandom after a prolonged absence, but I still have very fond memories of the ASC - it was a great, friendly and supportive place for a young writer - and the awards were a highlight of my fandom year. The ASC has also struck me as one of the most inclusive trek fanfiction hubs; so many other communities are built along pairing lines.
I'm guessing that there are a lot of factors involved, including a lot of the old guard moving on to new fandoms and the new blood not even knowing what usenet and newsgroups are. google's downright scandalous neglect of Groups as a platform can't have helped either. I wonder if a change of platform might worthwhile?
I'll admit, though, I wrote my first full-length Voyager story in several years just after NYE, and it didn't even occur to me to post it to the ASC. It went to fanfiction.net and VAMB. I might change that.
It has broken a lot of people's hearts, to judge by the reaction. Over on the newsgroup, there are some folks determined to go down fighting (if they must go down), who are issuing story challenges and trying to entice some new blood into posting on the newsgroup. Please, please do post your VOY story there!
As for a change of platform, that's Stephen's decision to make.
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But I hope you feel a sense of accomplishment, too: the ASC awards have been such a delight over the years because of your (and your co-workers') careful, thorough work and your professionalism. Every Trek fanficcer owes you a huge debt. Thank you, thank you.
I wish you and the family a happy new year, and I hope you won't be an LJ stranger!
~~Kelly
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Wishing you and your loved ones a good year as well.
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ASCEM does fare a little better but not much, and it seems that most of current trek fandom moved away from mailinglists and onto lj (which makes me nervous when thinking about it as a single point of failure).
.oONot that I'm helping the matter much easier, having all but moved on to lj myself...
Reply
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I'm guessing that there are a lot of factors involved, including a lot of the old guard moving on to new fandoms and the new blood not even knowing what usenet and newsgroups are. google's downright scandalous neglect of Groups as a platform can't have helped either. I wonder if a change of platform might worthwhile?
I'll admit, though, I wrote my first full-length Voyager story in several years just after NYE, and it didn't even occur to me to post it to the ASC. It went to fanfiction.net and VAMB. I might change that.
Reply
As for a change of platform, that's Stephen's decision to make.
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