FF:VIC ALL ACTIVE USERS - UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!

Be interesting to see how many responses you get and compare them to a list from 5 years ago. Somehow I can't help but think there's probably a massive drop off in numbers from those heady days of excitement.

It's funny because I used to lament the lack of activity on the Vic forums but it looks like all the other states (with the possible exception of SA) are going quiet too.

Is this possibly spelling the death knell for the Oceana Forums?

 

in the words of Dr "Bones" McCoy..."It's worse than that...he's dead Jim"

 

And I'm just about to move back to Melbourne..

 

Melbourne Fandom is alive and well...just the forums that have dropped off.

 

When's the next Star Walking meet? I might drop in, if I can wrangle it.

 

I thought the Boards moving was an April Fools joke???

I think the Boards need to promoted in Aus somehow to get more Aussie users on here in general. Perhaps there is a Facebook Group we can promote?

Mind you, I don't have any other friends that are Star Wars fans- feel sorry for me

 

Don't sweat it as I think we've all been in that situation at one time in our lives. Before fan clubs were established and the Internet made its presence felt, it was easy to think you were the only SW fan in the world running around until you discovered the rest of the community.

For myself the journey started in 1984 when I stumbled across a theatre group made up of Star Wars and Star Trek fans, from then on I never looked back.

 

Wow. So many locked topics. I guess everyone found a better place to hang out?

 

Yep, fraid so. What spins me out is that the other states are also in the same boat (except maybe for SA) and they've always been more active than VicFF - as evidenced by our lower number of threads.

Someone in QLD said that most of their communication is through Facebook these days, meaning that these forums - which sustained the online Star Wars social community for 10 years - have been abandoned in droves.

For myself I joined the forums back in 2000 but left for a few years when the place was overrun by an army of immature students. These guys took over the place while freely admiting that Star Wars WASN'T a priority to them (something I just couldn't fathom ... ya know being a SW forum and all). Anyway they eventually all left and so I opted to come back to keep what little flame VicFF has left alight.

And so where we are, looking back on all those locked topics that were mainly from last year. I could be wrong but I think "the walls are closing in!" on the forums.

 

I think things like LiveJournal are also taking over. It's starting to look more and more like forums are becoming the "last year" thing. Not to mention I'm sure most people are members of Starwalking and meet up there. I'm not a member yet - I am of AusTrek and DWCV (Doctor Who Club of Victoria), but not Starwalking as yet.

 

Now THAT's the bizarre thing. Most of the immature people visiting here WEREN'T members of Star Walking and the reason is that they...
1. Didn't want to attend any Star Wars type meetings (called Skyforce)
2. Couldn't handle being face to face with other forum members

Number 2 is especially true as eight VicFF once turned up to a Skyforce meeting where they met each other for the VERY first time. Believe it or not they looked like lost sheep not knowing what to say or do so they just stood there in a corner. Sure enough for many of them it was their one and only visit.

The irony here is that NSWFF members went to Sydney Skyforce meetings all the time but our VicFF people couldn't get into it. So even though we had more Star Wars based social events than any other state in Oz, VicFF people refused to support it. Go figure.

I see you're a member of Austrek, if you were at their Chrissy meeting a few days ago then we will have crossed paths 'cause I was there.

FYI - the last Skyforce meeting for the year is being held this weekend.

 

Mmm. I do understand #2 though. Nowadays I seem to actively seek out events where I know nobody because that way I get to meet new people! and that's cool! and maybe I will like them! But it wasn't so long ago when I was just so shy that rocking up to an event with people I had never met before, or only met online, was really daunting. So don't decry them for showing up and looking lost; at least they showed up, and that takes guts.

 

Now, just out of curiosity, given that I myself was a teenager in high school when I first joined... what category do I fall into?

Mind you, I have been guest speaker at the Melbourne Science Fiction Club, and represent Torchwood Australia at the multi-club mini-con. I'll probably be at that again next year.

 

Actually I can decry them because they turned up as part of a group AND they were at a Star Wars club meeting of which they were fans ... supposedly. This meant that EVERYONE was a potential friend and believe me it's a lot harder going to a meeting by yourself for the first time - which I admit can be daunting if you're shy - than going with a group.

Furthermore, they looked lost to EACH OTHER - which was weird because they'd been in regular online contact for a couple of years so you'd think they'd all be friends. So with the absence of a keyboard and screen, they had simply forgotten what it was like to intermingle with other people face to face. Now THAT can't be a good thing.

As for taking guts to go a meeting, remember we're talking about a harmless Star Wars social event not knocking on the door of the Hell's Angels clubhouse. Let's get a bit of perspective here.

 

I'd say #1. By your own admission you haven't been to any Star Walking events and there's no problem with that, but by the same token you've been to MSFC and are involved in other groups so clearly you don't have an issue dealing with social events.

So you've been a guest speaker at MSFC, well done. In all my years in fandom I've not been given that opportunity (mini-cons notwithstanding). So what did you present?

If you were at the mini-con, that means we have crossed paths although we probably didn't speak to each other as I wouldn't have visited the Torchwood table.

 

Ugh, have you never been an insecure teenager? Sometimes being in a group can be worse: what if they don't like you IRL even though you're friends online, what if they're better friends with each other than they are with you and you feel left out, etc. The possibilities your mind can throw up are endless. Kids like that need kindness and understanding, not contempt.

That said, with any luck, they've outgrown it by now as I have. Unfortunately they also seem to have outgrown this place.

 

I understand where you're coming from but I don't believe the solution offered is the best remedy.

Based on this scenario you're suggesting that all shy people should just stay at home and live out their lives online. Now I fully accept that an online existance has a LOT of benefits to it, but by the same token it shouldn't replace actual social contact otherwise you simply alienate yourself from the rest of the world which - let's face it - is not a healthy way to live.

Also using the VicFF people visiting Skyforce as an example. What type of people do you think attend club meetings? Believe it or not most who attend ARE social outcasts, so they know better than anyone else what it's like to not fit in with others. This is why these meetings work so well because no one judges anyone else and everyone is welcome. Furthermore, if you're a Star Wars fan then everyone is a possible new friend and that's how it should be viewed.

 

No no no ... I am not saying they should never stray outside the comfort of their own homes. Just that we shouldn't be all judgey when they step outside and are all awkward about it.