Anniversary: Ten years ago...

[Rusty]

Congratulations JJ Naas! That means I must be coming up for close to 10 years as well. I joined Dotmusic shortly after PSB got their own forum, which must have been around the middle of 1999 I think. I lurked for a long time before then though, I certainly remember reading that ever growing PSB topic in the general discussion section. I was so nervous about my first post for some reason, I have no idea why. I suppose it was a bit like being the new kid in the schoolyard. I remember some of the shinanigans that used to go on, like the trashing of the Mariah Carey forum, that was quite funny (although I'm sure Mariah's fans didn't think so!). Spaceman's descent into madness was slightly disturbing although often entertaining. I often wonder how many people from that era are still posting but just under different aliases. I've not really kept up with the many forum transitions and transformations.

[dVTB]

I think 10 years ago I don't know what you want but I can't give it any more was the first Psb single to leak online before official airing. I remember the clip was low quality but it got everyone really excited...a new era began.

I remember the leaking of I don't know what you want but I can't give it any more too. Or was it the first play on BBC Radio 1. I remember being extremely disappointed... I was in disbelief about PSB delivering such a poor single. And now, 10 years later, I still don't understand why they picked that song.

I can't recall when I joined the Introspective mailing list. Must have been around 1996, I think. Because I remember reading the tracklisting of Bilingual before its release.

[StevePSB]

In reply to people correcting me on my saying Dot was the first forum, I meant forum as in this type of forum - a modern definition of forum, not an Intro list or usenet type of thing. Dot was the first PSB specific modern type forum, of that I am near certain.


StevePSB

[StevePSB]

I joined the Dotmusic forum July 1999. How time flies...

I remember how much Steve hated New York city boy when it came out.

Still very much a 'skip' track for me!

I remember getting e-mails from someone very annoyed I dared declare anything but praise for PSB. That kind of blinkered fan is just sad. Just because it is PSB doesn't mean you have to automatically think it's great even when it isn't. Look at what I (seemingly alone!) think of Yes, for example.


StevePSB

[Blogo]

I'm shocked that PSB flew on by me until 2004.


I feel ashamed.

[JJ Naas]

Congratulations JJ Naas! That means I must be coming up for close to 10 years as well. I joined Dotmusic shortly after PSB got their own forum, which must have been around the middle of 1999 I think. I lurked for a long time before then though, I certainly remember reading that ever growing PSB topic in the general discussion section. I was so nervous about my first post for some reason, I have no idea why. I suppose it was a bit like being the new kid in the schoolyard. I remember some of the shinanigans that used to go on, like the trashing of the Mariah Carey forum, that was quite funny (although I'm sure Mariah's fans didn't think so!). Spaceman's descent into madness was slightly disturbing although often entertaining. I often wonder how many people from that era are still posting but just under different aliases. I've not really kept up with the many forum transitions and transformations.

I've had several years of inactivity (lurking) so I don't know much what went on between 2003 and 2006. I got a bit fed up after the Sky -forum hassle. But yeah, I remember Mariah Carey forum bitching, but we were on relatively good terms with the Spice Girls forum and were much more respected on Dot's General Discussion forum than the Mariah or Boyzone forum members.

I remember Drico and DavePSB coming over from the Introspective mailing list and Blueswan's petition to get the PSB forum up on Dot. Those days There weren't that many forums around in general.

I'm shocked that PSB flew on by me until 2004.
I feel ashamed.

I was 16 years old when I was converted (Very) despite being familiar with It's a Sin and West End girls. I only used to listen to Duran Duran before.

[JJ Naas]

God, the old days of Dot before there was a PSB forum anywhere, Dot included.

Sorry Steve, there was a thriving Usenet community of fans waaay back in 1992/1993. It was a marvel to discuss Very with people across the globe, truly amazing at the time. alt/rec/music/petshopboys had fans talking before there even was a Web in the mainstream, graphical sense. We'd even trade rarities, though a song would be chopped into pieces and take all night to download!

Well that was certainly putting the the new technology to good use. I remember one al.music.petshopboys discussion area.. but was this Usenet area you're talking about readable via a browser (must've been Mosaic at the time)?

[Your Funny Uncle]

Ah, Mosaic... When all web pages had grey backgrounds... I started what I believe to be the second ever PSB fan site, which basically just contained pictures I'd scanned using the flatbed scanner at my uni and a bit of ASCII art. Amazingly there are still a few references to the site despite the fact that it's over ten years since it disappeared...

[Firthy2002]

Congratulations!

[Kris]

I think I have about a year to go for my 10th anniversary, though my memory is somewhat sketchy. If I remember rightly I joined Dotmusic not long after Drunk's release in 2000 and initially called myself "Lurker_Kris" as I rarely posted.

[Deschanel]

God, the old days of Dot before there was a PSB forum anywhere, Dot included.

Sorry Steve, there was a thriving Usenet community of fans waaay back in 1992/1993. It was a marvel to discuss Very with people across the globe, truly amazing at the time. alt/rec/music/petshopboys had fans talking before there even was a Web in the mainstream, graphical sense. We'd even trade rarities, though a song would be chopped into pieces and take all night to download!

Well that was certainly putting the the new technology to good use. I remember one al.music.petshopboys discussion area.. but was this Usenet area you're talking about readable via a browser (must've been Mosaic at the time)?

Hey JJ- no, it was all dreary text, but I have to object again to Steve saying he meant Dot was the "first modern" PSB community, whatever that means. It only came a few years after there was a Usenet PSB community. It was still a community, and hey, we're all communicating by text today right? Usenet was closer to what was called a BBS- bulletin board system? I think that's the acronym.

JJ, it wasn't a browser because it wasn't the Web. Usenet was its own ugly beast, unmoderated and unpretty like the names: alt/rec/music/pet-shop-boys. The format was created by geeks, it was untamed Wild West at the time, and most of us accessed it in the US through dial-up services like Compuserve but especially AOL, which had started blanketing the country in floppy disks.(Parodied on the Simpsons at the time). AOL premiered its primitive web browser (based on Mosaic iirc) in Spring 1994, but there wasn't much content then. NASA.gov was comparatively thrilling then.
Anyway, I shall say that I never liked or gave a damn about Dot music, and further it's just wrong to say that it was anything like the first online PSB fan community. On Usenet there was just as much group dynamic, real characters, and human interaction as whatever Dot inspired. In fact, more- for many of us, "speaking" with fellow fans across the entire globe really was a marvel in 1993, a revelation of what was to come for all of us. And it was fun, and I will say we were pioneers of a sort.

And for the record I just turned 40, not 90 in October.

[Your Funny Uncle]

I got the same feelings from the introspective mailing list at the same time, deschanel. I was never so much of a fan of usenet for discussions, for some reason...

[StevePSB]

but I have to object again to Steve saying he meant Dot was the "first modern" PSB community, whatever that means. [snip]Anyway, I shall say that I never liked or give a damn about Dot music, and further it's just wrong to say that it was anything like the first online PSB fan community.

What I actually said was 'I meant forum as in this type of forum - a modern definition of forum'. At no point did I say anything about Dot being the first modern PSB community. Dot was (to my knowledge) the first PSB forum, and by forum I meant and still mean a forum in the same kind of style as this place, the same kind of style as Sky, the same kind of style as Hostboard, the same kind of style as any number of internet discussion forums these days.

In what I said I intended to take nothing away from those of you who were there on text based lists. It's great that you were there in those days and able to be amongst the pioneers. I wasn't online at all until 1999, so I know almost nothing of the really early days and was only on Intro for a few months until the squabbling got too much to be bothered with.

Sometimes, it feels to me as though you can't even post a well meaning comment in an innocent thread any more without someone wanting to make you want to eat your words. *sigh*


StevePSB

[Deschanel]

Sometimes, it feels to me as though you can't even post a well meaning comment in an innocent thread any more without someone wanting to make you want to eat your words. *sigh*

StevePSB

Sorry Steve, I do realize I am belabouring a point needlessly; it must be the geek in me, not wanting that pre-Web era to be forgotten. But I was overbearing and I apologize. I don't want to exasperate you any further than your usual.

[StevePSB]

Thanks for the apology. Accepted.


StevePSB