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Old 07-22-2007, 08:03 PM   #1
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The History of Gothic.Net!

The following history has been put together informally with little research, the main sources being Vyvyan Blackthorne and The Goth Bible by Nancy Kilpatrick. I will not be offended if anyone posts corrections and constructive criticisms, and more importantly expanded details if they have intimate knowledge of events and people pertaining to our beloved Gothic.net, or Gnet as it has come to be called by perennial members. This is a living thread, and I hope it is continued by others who have seen the actual history posted or through face to face conversations, phone calls, police records and whatnot.

In the Beginning there was Darkness:

In 1998, Darren Mckeeman together with other internet professionals were enjoying a bizarre weekend in Niagara Falls with mass quantities of alcohol when during this self medicating social activity, he came upon an epiphany that would effect the entire world wide population of horror writers, goths, and everyone else who enjoyed "clanky chains and ghosts in castles" as Darren described it. Thus, the domain Gothic.net was conceived.

Membership rose, some from around the world, stories were posted and enjoyed by thousands, the servers were upgraded from resurrected trash heap survivors to faster and newer hardware, more disk space was added, and advertising revenue began to grow to an amount that could sustain Gnet. After a while, it had such a large membership that forum moderators were needed to police thread activity, allowing a sane and civilized forum for the above average literary community.

Sold out! (This portion is dramatically incorrect - Gothic.net)

But after five years of success, (Gothic.net languished, getting less and less of Darren/Weaselboy's attention, and finally going offline altogether, as he worked on other ventures, most notably his now defunct gothic porn site.) and having gained world wide notoriety, Darren sold Gnet to a woman who is known only as Amelie (Incorrect). She temporarily shut down Gnet and fired the mods (Not really accurate). A "reorg" took place, with Darren now hired as an Admin, and a new mod, WeaselBoy (Wholly not accurate) (Join date Oct. 2003, his profile may be seen at https://www.gothic.net/boards/member.php?u=3 ) was placed in control. Surprisingly, he only made 44 posts, his last being June of last year.

(Darren is WeaselBoy, always was. Amelia G had been providing hosting for Gothic.net many years; it had gone dark on Darren/Weaselboy's watch for a long period a number of years back and Amelia G was responsible for bringing it back and putting Darren/Weaselboy back in the editorial role. Darren/Weaselboy complained about the various financial burdens maintaining the site had caused him and he sold it to the individual who had already been providing free hosting. However, he was kept on as editor of the site. Eventually some of the older scripts became vulnerable and were in drastic need for upgrade. Darren/Weaselboy was in charge of the upgrades but never brought them to fruition. These old Gothic.net scripts were responsible for allowing a fairly major server hack job and the site was taken off line while replacement scripts were put together by the host/owner. After failing on this front, Darren/Weaselboy went his separate way and was no longer acting Gothic.net editor.

Some long time members were briefly interviewed for moderator rolls, but ultimately, these moderators didn't work out. Some were very helpful and we appreciate their efforts, but the site moderation strategy was shifted to people less invested in the day to day interpersonal drama. This strategy seems to have been more successful. ~Gothic.net )




The Mutiny and Purge!

Before June of 2003, a power struggle began between the core members and the Admins and Mods. There were member complaints about specific individuals accused of being trolls, or were just not liked, complaints about post deletions, and other debatable issues that divided the community. The Moderator WeaselBoy decided to quit and left Gnet in anger at the members who were accusing him of not moderating as they thought he should (That was still Darren using his WeaselBoy handle to mod.). One of the most vocal members was Xng, now known as DarkHeartedDemoness. She was banned after complaining about a member who was making improper posts towards a member who was of minor age (Incorrect, or at least not why she was banned anyway). Just before she was banned she began to threaten legal action against Gnet because of Gnet Admin's failure to ban the one she accused of the improper posts after which she was banned. (If this is incorrect I apologize, and humbly request the actual sequence if anyone disagrees, including you DHD. I do not wish to libel or slander anyone.) By this time she had become the most prolific member on Gnet, having written over 9,000 posts!

Following her banning, some of her friends who loudly protested the admin action were also banned. This further agitated the remaining core members some of who were banned and others who left in a mass exodus in protest. They went and formed their own website, which shall not be named to avoid this author from being banned himself. The members who voluntarily left occasionally return from time to time. But some returned in disguise: In the Summer of 2006, a mass (fake) invasion of trolls took place, which it was later suspected by the Admins as being launched by the disaffected banned and self exiled members (Based on IP's as well as proof provided by other members). More bannings took place, but this time of bogus troll accounts formed merely to cause trouble for the Admins and Mods on Gnet.

Healing...

Only a few members were left, one of who just happened to be one of the youngest, Godslayer Jillian, and also a new member joined who was (until recently) the youngest member yet: disorder. These new members were the seeds that would later form a new generation of members like an internet Adam and Eve, a new generation that did not know of the past mutiny, and so were not "poisoned" against the site admin and mods. As more and more new members joined (myself included, HumanePain), the community took on a new look and feel, one less antagonistic and more friendly, and this new culture began to draw even more members, which now exceed 10,000.

Today, the site more or less functions as it should, with members posting poetry and stories, commentary and reviews about music and books, and most popular of all, the Picture Thread.

In summary, the site is an enjoyable place, with most members being between
the ages of 15 and 20, with extremes of between 12 and 51.

If anyone has any corrections or can expand on any details, please feel free to do so. Thanks for reading, and may you enjoy our hallowed and darkened halls as much as I!

(Obviously, we've always appreciated Gothic.net. I remember when Darren showed it to me moments after he completed the very first design. It had a very nice sort of Grey's anatomy based navigation and turned out very well. We were sad to see it fall on hard times and we've been supportive of it in every way we could since day one. It has always been our goal as care takers of the site to have a pleasant enjoyable fairly open place for the culture to congregate. It's had its ups and downs, its false starts and bad ideas, as well as some great conversations and cool contributors. Occasionally, minor events are a bit opaque to the average user, but know that many of these things have been handled with the best interest of Gothic.net in mind.)

(Could someone please let us know any portions of this Nancy Kilpatrick, through any of her writings or otherwise, was responsible for? Vyvyan?)
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Old 07-22-2007, 08:26 PM   #2
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It's so EPIC!
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Old 07-22-2007, 08:58 PM   #3
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Very good job, HumanePain. Where did you get this information from, may I ask?
I had heard rumors about the epic user who was also a Peter Murphy, but never knew the reasons behind her banning. I believe people deserve a second chance though, maybe the banned users were treated too harshly.
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Old 07-22-2007, 09:01 PM   #4
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That's a rather good history you've written, and admirably even-handed. It might be a good idea to mention a few more of the core members from the 'pre-schism' days-- Santarea, edible_eye-- and perhaps take note of the dramatic conflicts between members that occurred soon before and during the bannings.

Out of curiosity, how did you manage to piece together the middle ages of g.net using The Goth Bible, which I assume only deals with the early successes, and Vyvian's account, considering she's only been around (in this alias, at least) since January?
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Old 07-22-2007, 09:01 PM   #5
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oo i liked that tell us another story!!
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Old 07-22-2007, 09:38 PM   #6
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That purge/exodus happened around a year ago, actually. ><


by the way, the other site kinda sucks.
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Old 07-22-2007, 09:45 PM   #7
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There should be a movie about this.
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Old 07-22-2007, 09:49 PM   #8
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The reason the other site sucks, funnily enough, is that the people there like each other and keep a tight rein on bullshit.
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Old 07-22-2007, 09:53 PM   #9
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Wasn't the first 'major' banning EPS? I remember Xng didn't leave until quite a few other members already had. I was in Alaska without internet at the time, so I can't remember too well.

Excellent history thought. The drama of the purge could definitely be further elaborated on - it really was a crazy time - but other than that I'd call it an A+ history paper!
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Old 07-22-2007, 09:53 PM   #10
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YEAH.

Basically. ><


Didn't they cuss out e_e for being conservative, though?
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Old 07-22-2007, 10:21 PM   #11
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I wasn't very active during that time, but I also recall a few memorable dramatic interludes involving Geisha_Girl and two others whose names escape me (three largely separate events, however.)

Jillian remembers Geisha, oh yes.

On the other site? I imagine someone has, but I haven't been paying much attention. He was always active in the political section of this forum, and he and Sternn (as well as Binky, I believe) got into some pretty intense sparring matches. I believe there was someone on the other site with whom he had a similar conflict.

I miss the conflict, though. There are no longer any Clashes of the Titans on gnet, and always more and more Clashes Between Pretentious Assholes Whom I Loathe But Not Enough To Remember Their Names and Idiot Newbies Whom Everyone Hates Anyway. I wish Spright hadn't left/been banned. Hell, he, Draco, and Jillian were the reason I came back-- and, to be honest, I wouldn't have stayed without Spright. Kinda makes me wonder while I'm still here.

Is it because
Quote:
the community took on a new look and feel, one less antagonistic and more friendly
? No. I'm still here because the site has managed to suck in some of the greatest people to stare blankly into a monitor, and I'm hoping it dredges up some new ones soon.
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Old 07-22-2007, 10:31 PM   #12
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The "less antagonistic and more friendly" attitude actually bores me a lot.

It seems to be too lenient on annoying newbies.
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Old 07-22-2007, 11:48 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Circle V
Jillian remembers Geisha, oh yes.
Don't even mention her. >_<
It was funny that I was one of the ones that was right about her, yet it never makes me feel better, because it doesn't matter what I thought about her, people still stopped liking me, and Sanctus was driven away.
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Old 07-23-2007, 03:11 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cicero
Wasn't the first 'major' banning EPS? I remember Xng didn't leave until quite a few other members already had. I was in Alaska without internet at the time, so I can't remember too well.

Excellent history thought. The drama of the purge could definitely be further elaborated on - it really was a crazy time - but other than that I'd call it an A+ history paper!
Damn, how could I have omitted that!? And the rest that everyone else mentioned? (sigh) This is why we need to document the history, it should be recorded before it's forgotten! Empty Purple Stars is the owner of the "Newbies start here" thread that we point newbies towards, and was one of the more spectacular "Clash of the Titans" as was Geisha and Edible Eye.
:: makes notes to rewrite history ::
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Old 07-23-2007, 03:17 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by biohazard
Very good job, HumanePain. Where did you get this information from, may I ask?
Personal memories (which certainly can play tricks on me), conversations with Vyvyan and The Goth Bible, written by Nancy Kilpatrick.
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Old 07-23-2007, 04:15 AM   #16
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Nice, epic story! A+ all the way! Unfortunately does it foreshadow what will happen to some forums I run myself... some days one are SO sick and tired of users complaining when they get to use things for free and without a thought of the tedious labour that is daily backups and small bugfixes etc...

Anyway, I'm in the extreme range.. neat!

Still wonder though just how many of the 10K members that are active... It feels more like 30-40 active members and lots of lurkers.
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Old 07-23-2007, 04:33 AM   #17
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The troll invasion was not the former members, though.
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Old 07-23-2007, 05:58 AM   #18
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Originally Posted by MollyMac
The troll invasion was not the former members, though.
Do tell! Please!
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Old 07-23-2007, 07:31 AM   #19
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How wonderful! I'd contribute, but I'm just so young when compared to other members who've been here for years and years.
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Old 07-23-2007, 07:47 AM   #20
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I only arrived in the late Admin wars, but kept lurking for quite a time before signing up... yep, this was one crazy place. I remember being scared away to that other forum mentioned because this place seemed to be one constant bitching zone... But then I joined out of sheer boredom some months later anyway. Heh.
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Old 07-23-2007, 07:48 AM   #21
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Nicely done Humane Pain. I was away between April & August last year, so I had no real idea where everyone had gone when I came back. Well, thank you for putting it all down.
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Old 07-23-2007, 07:51 AM   #22
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Good goth! Well very well-written HP, glad to have helped out with the history. But there's something I need to inform you of: WeaselBoy IS Darren. That's the reason he only did a few posts. He actually was good friends with EPS and Wolfy.
Oh, and the site shut down in 2005 to re-open and that was when Ameila, who I believe is registered here as Gothic.net, took over.
The people I miss the most would be JuliaGaltic and Wolfie, for they contributed to goth subjects when everyone was just messing around and fighting. I honestly never read Geisha's posts, but I've seen them in quote bars, she was harsh and even abusive O_o. Ever see Tnet's sig?

RIP Darren

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Old 07-23-2007, 07:53 AM   #23
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Vyv, I'm curious. Your join date is Jan 2007 but you know so much about Gnet stretching back to the dawn of its inception! Please do illuminate me.
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Old 07-23-2007, 08:15 AM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by maggot
That purge/exodus happened around a year ago, actually. ><


by the way, the other site kinda sucks.
That's what I was thinking. I was around when Xng was here, and I'm from about the very beginning of '06.
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Old 07-23-2007, 08:18 AM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Godslayer Jillian
Don't even mention her. >_<
It was funny that I was one of the ones that was right about her, yet it never makes me feel better, because it doesn't matter what I thought about her, people still stopped liking me, and Sanctus was driven away.
Was that the crazy chick that kept lying about...things...that won't be mentioned?
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