New members, introduce yourselves here!

[Aquarius]

^ OMG, I think I just came down with a really bad case of OLD!!!

[Distracted]

Oh, it's DoubleD that's in college then, eh? Okay, so maybe you WERE born when I was in school. I've just never been to Detroit. Snow and I just don't get along.

[Aquarius]

Yeah, I'm a little older than college age...okay, a LOT older, lol!

Let's just say that when I started watching Star Trek, there was only ONE series. It had already been canceled, but not THAT long before I was born.

And I think we're even...I don't like snow, either!

[Distracted]

Same here about the original series. I was shipping for Spock and Christine before the term was even invented. And I hate snow so much that when I was applying to med schools (almost twenty five years ago now) and my new husband made me send an application to Harvard just to see if I could pull it off and I got put on the wait list (I got this letter saying they wouldn't tell me if I was accepted or not until I promised them I would go ), I told them never mind. It SNOWS up there!!!

[Aquarius]

lol! The snow in and of itself isn't too bad...here, sometimes it's TOO COLD to snow, so you get pretty happy to see the white stuff because that means it's warmed up!

Do you still ship Spock and Christine? My friend Cheree runs a S/C Yahoo group and website and stuff. I can give you the info if you're interested.

[Distracted]

Meh. It's been decades. I have all I can do to keep up with this place...plus work and kids and writing. I read some S/C fanfic not long ago, but I had to wade through the Kirk/Spock slash to do it. Does her site have stories? I wouldn't mind reading them without the extra baggage one finds at BLTS.

[Aquarius]

Everything is accessible through her Falcon Press website, where she sells her zines, collectibles, etc. The Spock and Christine and 1001 Trek Tales links are down toward the middle left. I think she's consolidating Spock and Christine into 1001 Trek Tales to cut down on spending a bit, but I'm not sure if she's started yet or not. I know she doesn't write slash, and I don't think she's archived any from other people, so I don't believe you'll run into that issue. It's been a while since I've poked around there, if I'm honest.

Cheree is a good writer, so I'm sure you'll enjoy her stuff.

[Distracted]

She's SELLING her work? Isn't that a copyright violation?

[Aquarius]

Well, it could be, but...

Cheree isn't doing anything that hasn't been done since the 70s. In the Dark Ages before the internet, this is how fanfiction and fan art was shared, and zine culture is still alive and well today. The ethical editors (which most are, because face it, no one wants anybody coming down on them) charge only enough to recoup the costs of their materials and postage, and even so generally operate at a loss, so there's no profit being made in order for anybody to get bent out of shape about. This is explained in more detail at my own zine's FAQ page: http://www.somerescue.com/Shipped-First-Class-FAQs.html

In fact, there is a con that I go to every year called Media West in Lansing, MI, and it's devoted to fanzines. Any fandom you can think of is represented there.

[Distracted]

Hmmm. Still sounds dangerous to me.

[Aquarius]

The worst that's ever happened is a few years ago, Lucasfilm handed out some cease and desist orders regarding some fanfic he found distasteful...and to be honest, I think those were actually people who posted on the net

As for Star Trek, it has historically been a fan-friendly fandom. Roddenberry knew what side his bread was buttered on, since the fans saved his show not once but twice. He and TPTB who succeeded him were very open to fanfic, because they understood how much interest and enthusiasm it helped to generate. They even set up writer workshops and contests to encourage fans to break into episode writing and profic novels. Trek author Jean Lorrah started out as a fanfic author and went pro. She still writes fanfic. I see her every year at Media West. She'll even autograph your novel for you at her dealer table.

Honestly, as long as you don't make a profit and don't do anything to tick off the creators, you're generally safe whether you have your work published in a print zine or on the web. My main worry is that once legislation catches up with technology, I think it's going to be net-based fanfic that gets targeted, because it's much more easily accessible than zine work. Fan fic and fan art is not a phenomenon unique to the internet, it just adapted into the internet.

Any way, if you've ever been to a con in the last 30 years, I know you've seen zines in the dealers rooms. It ain't nothng new under the sun.

[Pitseleh]

Man, I come up to Florida (yup, that’s up for us CR folks), don’t get connected for a couple of days ‘cause of sheer exhaustion, and we get a wave of newcomers.

Enjoy the TnT madness, Aquarius! Glad you joined the bunch of us who were attracted by TnT’s hotness. I have a few authors I read over and over again like HopefulRomantic, Rigil Kent, Aquila, Ludjin, Zane Gray… I could go on and on. A lot of them post here, so that’s pretty cool too IMO.

Hi there, Trippy. Welcome! Full uncensored TnT 'shippiness 27/7.

[Alelou]

Yup, fanzines have been around forever, and nobody ever bothered ST zines, any more than fanfic online. I'm fairly amazed to hear that new zines are still being made.

I just gave away my old zines a couple of years ago.

[Trippy]

I have two aunts who were 'zine fans too...back in the pre-internet days Even I'm old enough to remember that!

[Elessar]

Same here about the original series. I was shipping for Spock and Christine before the term was even invented. And I hate snow so much that when I was applying to med schools (almost twenty five years ago now) and my new husband made me send an application to Harvard just to see if I could pull it off and I got put on the wait list (I got this letter saying they wouldn't tell me if I was accepted or not until I promised them I would go ), I told them never mind. It SNOWS up there!!!

I would have to say that the first ship I shipped for before knowing what a ship was, was Picard and Dr. Crusher... when I was about 6... watching TNG with my mom . I went "OOooh, pretty doctor lady with red hair..."