The Early Years

Well, Its been about 5 years or so since I started chatting in the Yahoo! Star Wars Rooms. Friends have come and gone, some remain, new have been made. The room itself has gone through some drastic changes. Just before "The Phantom Menace" was released we were bombarded by new chatters reeking havoc with rumors and spoilers and the typical "Star Wars Sux" exclamations. Some of the old school chatters left do to these annoyances and some remained while changing their names. After "TPM" was released a rift formed by those who liked the movie, those who disliked the movie and those who downright thought Lucas "sold out" to the hype and money. This rift was fueled by the development of the "REG" syndrome and the wildfire adoption of Star Wars based Role Play.

The "REG" Syndrome

A rather annoying disease that spread through the room. Its symptoms included swelled head, aggressive behavior, and violent outburst of foul language directed at chatters who ask the simple question "ASL?" We all fell pray to this epidemic, taking our status as veteran Star Wars enthusiasts and using it against those who simply wanted to taste the knowledge and enjoyment of the Star Wars Universe. The dreaded "Newbie" became the target of this epidemic being irradiated from the room before it was even known if they were friend or foe. Some of us realized we had caught the "REG" syndrome and sought out treatment for ourselves. Those of us who were cured of this dreaded disease began trying to welcome new individuals to the room. Those who fell pray to the advanced stages of "REG" syndrome were either banished or were forced to take the treatments to lessen the severity of the symptoms. All things considered, the room and some of us survived. Occasionally there is a reoccurring outbreak of "REG" syndrome but it has yet to be allowed to reach the epidemic proportions it once held.

The Wrestlers and The Role Players

The room has seen it share of outside attackers as well. A group of wrestling fans from other chat rooms attempted to take over the room unsuccessfully. Many of them were banished, some were converted to our way of thinking. More problematic were The Role Players. The Role Players adapted quickly to the rising popularity of the Star Wars Role Playing Games. They brought the game into chat. The problem with Role Players in chat is that they absorb bandwidth with their attacks and counter attacks to the point where those individuals in the room wishing to discuss other things get blocked out. Unwritten rules were established to drive the Role Players into their own rooms where they could Role Play without interference from normal chat conversations.

The Rules of Chat

As these Unwritten Rules of Chat progressed, we saw a resurgence in "REG" syndrome or variants mimicking it. Chatters began taking the rules into their own hands, developing individual rules that did not coincide with the wishes of the group. Then posting these new Rules via emotes whenever someone didn't follow protocol. Once again the room went through a period of change as Long Time Chatters became offended and left to find more cordial surroundings. The Rules have now been brought back under control and are once again unwritten and enforced only in situations when things get out of hand.

The "Pants" Epidemic

One dark and dismal night in chat when things were slow, someone began coining "Pants" quotes from Star Wars. Quotes weren't a new thing. They had been going on for a long time. People quoting favorite lines from the movies and others responding with the next lines or their favorites. The "Pants" were different and often hilarious. The word "Pants" was inserted for key words in the quote, such as "May the 'Pants' be with you" and "The 'Pants' are strong with this one". This phenomenon lasted a couple of months with rumors saying that it had even reached a representative of Lucas Film or Lucas himself.

The Here and The Now

Here we are in 2002 getting ready for the release of Star Wars Episode II "Attack Of The Clones". The room still exists. Many of the same chatters come and go under new names, some still exist in their original forms. New people come in and out. We still have the occasional trial by fire but the room goes on. Those of us who have made friends meet there frequently to talk about our lives, loves, losses and achievements. We enjoy the company of individuals and families from around the world; the mainland United States, Canada, Hawaii, Australia, The U.K., New Zealand, and a host of other countries. Many of us have had the opportunity to meet individuals from the room. I myself have met some 6 or so of the chatters I call friends. We have had chatters from the room get married "in real life". It has been my experience that even though we are separated by miles we can become close knit friends even through chat, all starting from a basic commonality of the Star Wars Universe.

Thank you all for being my friends and putting up with me through everything.

May 15th, 2002

The craziness has begun. At 12:01 a.m. this morning, theaters overseas began playing Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Chat has already been attacked by massive invasions forces of new chatters. How massive? Last night there were two Star Wars rooms on yahoo. By this morning, there were as many as eight.

Similar to the release of Episode 1, the rooms are being by newbies asking "Has anyone seen Episode II yet?", throwing spoilers and generally arguing over what they did and did not like about the movie. I'll keep this site posted if new trends or topics immerge.

The Saga Continues - January 2003
(Or maybe just the Drama)

Well, the chat room survived the influx of newbies. We expected mass invasion and we got it. The newbies have gone and what it seems we were left with was a small group of very egotistical chatters that think they own the room, or at least rule it with an iron fist. It seems that many of the chatters who have been coming in regularly are beginning to get fed up with some of the antics of these chatters and are no longer coming in to chat. I have to agree with them. I have limited my time as well and have taken "breaks" from chatting for a week or two at times. Screaming at newbies who just want to find somewhere new to chat or offending old friends has not made for the best chat situations.

The other phenomenon that has happened is cloning of names. Evil chatters, for whatever reason, have begun cloning names and accounts. They can clone just the name or at times even clone the profile and type fade. It has become a problem in that these cloners seem to like to start trouble in the name of the person they cloned. I have fallen victim to these thugs at least once. I have been informed that I was in chat when I wasn't near my computer and have also received disturbing off-line messages asking about this or that as though I'd walked out on the middle of a conversation.

I checked around looking for other places to chat and have found that this sort of thing appears to go on everywhere. Its no wonder they say the internet lacks credibility anymore.

Time Flies! (June 28th, 2004)

Well folks, Here it is June of 2004 already. Chat has settled down again and the rash overpowering evil chatters has once again run its pace. Now we are back to the normal rash of newbies coming in asking when the next Star Wars is coming out. Speaking of which, we are now less than a year away from the opening of Star Wars Episode III, the final chapter in the prequel trilogy. The regulars are abuzz about the possibilities of finally getting a large group together at Celebration III. Many of us have met in one-on-one meetings or in small groups, but this would be the opportunity to finally have the gathering we have all talked about. Plans are being thrown around, rooms are being rented, costumes are being designed and hopes are being built. I too, am hoping that I can attend. The new job is allowing me to get back in the swing of things and hopefully I will be able to secure vacation for that time. Although not every chatter is on my list of people to meet, I do look forward to the fact that this gathering would allow me to meet some of the people I have spent so much time with in the chat room.

As for the approach of Episode III, we have already see the rumors and innuendos being thrown about the room. We have also seen several of the old time chatters return recently. Its nice to know that they still come in to check on the room now and again.

Speaking of old chatters, I have not updated this page since the passing of Bindo. I have taken over maintenance of the Original Chatters Site and have made updates to it to include a chatter's map and some memorial information provided by his family and friends. We have now lost three chatters to death. I find it truly amazing how touched I am by a person who I knew only through this medium we shared. When told that Mark's family hoped the chatter's pages could be saved, I brought to bear my knowledge and ability to deal with vendors at any level. I was able to obtain access rights, then ownership of the site. I have been in touch with Mark's brother and his mother during the course of these past months since the accident and have even been able to include some of their comments on the pages. Feel free to take some time to browse The Original Yahoo Star Wars Chatters Pages at www.angelfire.com/scif/StarWarsChat.

A Memorial page to two of our fallen chatters is located on this site. The third, I have to find a picture and some information for, but hope to include in the future.

Well, back to the chat at hand. Watch for further updates.

July 25th, 2004
Its official!

This weekend at Comic Con in California brought the official release of the name for EpIII.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Of course, those of us in the Yahoo Star Wars chat rooms know what that means. The invasion will begin soon. The rumor mongers and newbies with leaked scripts and fake copies of the movie will start coming out of the woodwork. Celebration III is scheduled in spring of next year and I hope to attend if all goes well. Several of the long time chatters are trying to attend and get together some time during the event. I hope it works out. Stay tuned to this page for further developments on the movie and Celebration III.

March 1, 2004
"Here we go again..." - C3P0

Well, here we are on the event horizon of the next chapter in the Star Wars Saga. Episode III approaches. The newbies have once again held up to their previous strategy of coming in with gossip, rumor, and spoilers. The room has grown in size again. I'm sure by the time May gets here we will again be running 3 rooms or more.
April brings a special event for the Yahoo Star Wars Chatters. Finally, many of the folks who have been around a while will be assembling in one place. Celebration III, in Indianapolis, has provided a target location for this get together. A special meet and greet has been planned. I had originally planned on going. I really wanted to, but recovering from the financial devastation caused by the back injury and loss of job, have left a large hole in my cash flow. The more I try to get ahead of the game to be able to go, the more things get in my way. I guess I will have to settle for hearing about all the fun and frivolity. I will be there in spirit.
 

-Curtis Farster
Captcurt31