. It's so interesting how differently we all got into fandom. I think I joined the HL Rhysher forum -- my first experience with fandom -- about a year after you did. But since I didn't pay any attention, I'm not sure if it was '99 or '00. ::runs to check:: Well, my Reunion T-shirt says May 2000, and I went just a year after finding Rysher, so I guess it was 1999.
Regardless, I was completely clueless about fandom when I wandered in -- I just discovered there was this group of people on the internet who were discussing HL, and I had nobody in my area to talk to about it, so I settled in and had a ball.
You're right -- the people of fandom are all kinds of awesome -- exuberant and creative and kind (usually) and friendly and, best of all, inclusive. If you're a fan of their source, you're welcomed with open arms, regardless of nationality, gender, color, socio-economic status, or anything else. Heady stuff. Through fandom, I talk to people all over the world, and I've been exposed to concepts and ideas that I never would have encountered in my small town America.
So, I do remember it was right around my birthday -- sometime in March -- and now I've decided it was 1999. So, I'm coming up on nine years old. <g> You and I are such babies; I know people who have been in fandom since before the internet, when the only way to read/share fanfiction was through 'zines. And yet, they still welcome newcomers with open arms. Yay fandom! .
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Date: 2008-01-13 01:48 am (UTC)It's so interesting how differently we all got into fandom. I think I joined the HL Rhysher forum -- my first experience with fandom -- about a year after you did. But since I didn't pay any attention, I'm not sure if it was '99 or '00. ::runs to check:: Well, my Reunion T-shirt says May 2000, and I went just a year after finding Rysher, so I guess it was 1999.
Regardless, I was completely clueless about fandom when I wandered in -- I just discovered there was this group of people on the internet who were discussing HL, and I had nobody in my area to talk to about it, so I settled in and had a ball.
You're right -- the people of fandom are all kinds of awesome -- exuberant and creative and kind (usually) and friendly and, best of all, inclusive. If you're a fan of their source, you're welcomed with open arms, regardless of nationality, gender, color, socio-economic status, or anything else. Heady stuff. Through fandom, I talk to people all over the world, and I've been exposed to concepts and ideas that I never would have encountered in my small town America.
So, I do remember it was right around my birthday -- sometime in March -- and now I've decided it was 1999. So, I'm coming up on nine years old. <g> You and I are such babies; I know people who have been in fandom since before the internet, when the only way to read/share fanfiction was through 'zines. And yet, they still welcome newcomers with open arms. Yay fandom!
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