News from the DVDaria Blog:

... that was actually supposed to be a pre-Thanksgiving update, but ah well. Anyway, I spoke to my source at MTV, and it sounds as though the new boss, who is in charge of direct response, is still settling in; thus, no major decisions have been made regarding Daria on DVD as of yet. The good news? The new boss comes from Rhino, which knows a thing or two about cult/niche programming.

Outpost Daria has updated, so check out what's new here.

Congratulations to Daria fan Isabelle Young-Johnson on her engagement.

On the PPMB:

An interesting topic in "Deep Thoughts" by The Angst Guy on the portrayal of redheads and blondes in the Daria Universe.
Kara Wild released Part 2 of "Tomorrow Never Knows". (Part 22 of the "Driven Wild" Universe.)
Lawndale Stalker released another snippet of "Once Upon a Time in College".
MsHand completed Part 8 of "Priceless".
Richard Lobinske completed Parts 2 and 3 of "Falling Into College 41: Run, Jane, Run".

At the SFMB:

The Great Saiyaman created a new page of Party at Lindy's in the hidden section of SFMB.
psychotol completed Part 2 of "An Accident".

And now, an appropriate image given the last post by Greybird. (Large image is here. Original image is here.) By TeamSmithy, at DeviantArt.

When an entire fan-works culture is based upon borrowing the creations of others, as the basis for one's own, how far should you go in giving credit? Or in gaining permission? It merits considerable thought.

A current discussion at the PPMB has one fan artist being criticized, in varying degrees, for unknowingly using fan art by Liliane Grenier as the basis for his own piece.

Some thought it a courtesy to at least acknowledge the fan-works source. Others saw anything short of gaining that artist's permission to be inadequate. The current artist has chosen to make a general apology to other fans and has taken down his piece, at least for the time being.

I have to wonder at this. Many in Dariadom apparently know Ms. Grenier (who doesn't seem to have been active or reachable recently). Many more respect her fan artworks, and -- I would say -- with good reason.

Yet none of the works using "Daria" characters, verbally or visually, have involved obtaining the permission of Glenn Eichler and the other writers and animators on the original series. All borrow from their creations freely.

The consensus, in this and all other fandoms, is that this becomes a benign tribute to the originals, and that their consent is neither feasible nor, frankly, even necessary.

Why, I've wondered, does no one suggest that those creators be contacted for their more general moral or symbolic consent? Could part of this have to do with their being more distant and having worked for a corporation (here, Viacom) in creating the original series? Is it easier to be concerned about Ms. Grenier's permission because she's a fellow fan?

Apart from matters of personal knowledge and affinity, we have legalities. Not all fan works, by any means, even note in passing the copyright and trademark rights of MTV, and that the fan creator didn't seek its permission. That credit may be awkward to add, it may end up being a mere legal incantation, but it's an act of courtesy, isn't it? (We added such a note to this Blog recently.)

"Daria" fan works in general exist in "fair use" gray areas of copyright and trademark laws. And by the benign indifference of MTV, which doesn't want to make a public-relations nightmare, or doesn't see it worth their lawyers' time, to insist that they be removed from the Net.

(If MTV wanted to do so, all fan sites could be shut down at its request tomorrow, under the highly unbalanced Digital Millennium Copyright Act. We should never forget that.)

We who create fan works would do better in not insisting on other fans doing more, in matters of gaining consent, than we're willing to do ourselves.

If giving passing respect and mention to Eichler & Co. is sufficient for borrowing their creations, a similar credit ought to be enough to give for our borrowing from other fans' works. Anything more than that, if possible, would be a personal courtesy, and not morally required.

That may not be what we'd prefer to see, but it would be more consistent. Fandoms sit on a large pile of derivative works that have no explicit legal sanction. Deriving in turn from those same works just builds that pyramid higher, and doesn't really change its nature.

Your thoughts are welcome, either in the comments area or -- if you want to send longer ones along for posting -- by e-mail.

Deref, thsutton, and Bootstrapper met for a MicroDariaCon in Canberra, Australia. A good beer was had by all.

Argentinian Daria fan nmorgendorffer has recently moved and is waiting for the Internet connection to be worked out ... so be patient.

At the PPMB:

DJW completed Parts 1 and 2 of "Something New".
Richard Lobinske completed Part 1 of "Falling Into College 41: Run Jane, Run".

At the SFMB:

DJ completed art of Jane in the buff in the hidden section of the SFMB. (low whistle)
Roentgen completed a new segment of "Legion of Lawndale Heroes".
psychotol added some artwork to "Legion of Lawndale Heroes".
Brother Grimace added "The Trouble With Veronica", an original work to the Sheep's Fluff.

Added to Fanfiction.net:

"Daria: Daria in Feelings" by satoshitajiri
"Refuge" by Leapin' Ladeedah

Fan art: What might have happened if the hurricane in "Daria!" touched down. By Wouter Jaegers (big image is here).



P.S. Greybird and I are still working out links vs. no links.

Kara Wild suggested that individual links to discussion threads mentioned in this Blog would be helpful. We'd like your feedback about it!

Everything not already at PPMB, SFMB, or fanfiction.net has normally had a link here, especially if it's fan art. Or if a separate Webpage is used, such as for an author's or artist's collection, or for a site's "What's New" summary.

We hadn't used thread links -- speaking for myself, anyway -- because nearly all who leave Blog comments have been PPMB or SFMB regulars, and would likely know their way around. Individual windows from clicking separate links here might get in their way, if they were already browsing the boards.

The boards' section descriptions, and most thread titles, have also been fairly clear. Readers of serial fanfics would likely know where those threads were already, and would most need to know when they were updated.

We do want to be helpful. It would take more time to prepare, but we can add links to every board thread mentioned, if most Blog readers would prefer it.

Would you benefit from this? Or would you prefer to do that surfing yourself at the major boards? Please tell us with comments to this post, or by e-mail at the addresses in our profiles linked at the upper left.

"Thanksgiving tried to step up, but he's got a lot of screwed-up family problems, and always gets depressed by the end of the day." -- St. Patrick's Day, about Holiday Island High leaders, in "Depth Takes a Holiday"

Let's hope that doesn't happen to you and yours! Enjoy the turkey, ham, or whatever from what, we do hope, is -- like the Sloanes' -- your incredibly well-stocked refrigerator.

"Daria" co-creator Glenn Eichler apparently is one of the writers for "The Colbert Report," a new satirical-news entry following "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central.

fanfiction.net has changed its direct link to the "Daria" section, and it's been updated at left.

Kemical Reaxion has updated her Kem Collection personal gallery but, for the moment, is delayed in doing so for Glitter Berries, and will keep us posted.

At the PPMB:

~ Milderbeast has the first portion of "Lawndale Forrest," a crossover with Winston Groom's characters, as also portrayed in the movie "Forrest Gump" with Tom Hanks.

~ Kara Wild is planning to release the fully-written part 22 of her "Driven Wild Universe" in several installments, to urge "actually reading the fic." In light of her past comments, she notes where the rotten veggies are available to be thrown {g}

~ A lengthy and forthright interview - response by Nemo Blank, to Eric Smith's queries, brings out many aspects of the very lengthy and intricate story "Ring Toss."

~ The Angst Guy is at Chapter XIV "plus notes" of "Outcasts from Beyond."

~ RLobinske has finished "First Summer" part 6, "It's Not All Bad."

~ A compilation of "the works of Daria Morgendorffer" is meant to note everything the character wrote in the original series as shown. Fanfic mentions are being added.

~ Bro. Grimace has made his "annual Thanksgiving release," the first part of a story set in part at Amy's wedding, "A Path of Roses and Thorns."

~ A seasonally fitting Iron Chef has entries of various characters "gathering together." Robin Sena has done the same with some fan art.

~ Several intriguing "alternative logos" for Daria (character and series) have been sketched, here and at the SFMB.

~ In personal pictures, Fr. Martin is back from Andalusia and Wales, and Deref and others hoisted quite a few recently in Canberra.

And in outtake news, Jane gets a bump on the noggin ... no, not the same Noggin (night-time version) that's cut so much spice out of her Lawndale adventures with Daria ...

Review: "The Return of Tom Sloane", by chubby redburn

Now how long has it been since I reviewed anything? Much less a story at fanfiction.net? Well, I'm going to climb back in the saddle again after hearing some kind words somewhere about my reviewing.

What would I tell anyone who wanted to get into this bizarre job? The first thing I will tell you is that you'll earn no fame from reviewing. People remember the works more than they remember what someone else said about them, unless the works are so sadly lacking that the review is more interesting than the work reviewed.

The second is that a review should not be a dissection, a transformation of something alive into something dead, like a robot trying to understand a joke by stripping it down to the grammar. Rather, a good review tells you something about the story that even the writer didn't know when he was writing it. This comes perilously close to what some people would say is "divining the writer's intent". One gets the rejoinder, "the only person who really knows what a story is about is the person who wrote it". To which I would reply, "That might be true -- but I think he ended up saying something other than he wanted to say, probably by accident."

I decided to look at a new story by chubby redburn called "The Return of Tom Sloane, Chapter 1". Anything that begins "Chapter 1" has a hard act to follow. When you say "Chapter 1", the first chapter needs to be the foundation stone for what follows, and if it isn't strong, one suspects the rest will sink into the swamp.

I'm getting that sinking feeling, and I'm feeling alligators nipping at my heels.

The story starts with the meeting of a middle aged businessman and ex-Vietnam vet named Lloyd Derry. Derry is returning from a business trip to Singapore. He's a successful businessman who believes that "people (do) business with people they knew and with whom they were comfortable," who places great value on personal relationships. On the way back to Lawndale, he meets a young marine sergeant in a dress-blue uniform named Tom Sloane.

Yes, that Tom Sloane.

It's definitely an interesting beginning. Our boy Tom has reached at least E-5, a medium pay grade and has achieved some level of responsibility. However, Tom speaks a bit oddly. He says that "the idea of having long hair is repellant to me" instead of "I hate long hair". He says "that's something I cannot do" instead of using a contraction. Initially, I thought this was Tom experimenting with being more profound and more responsible; a Tom paying more attention to his speech and making the mistake of using five words where one will do.

As it turns out, Derry speaks in the same awkward sentence structures, leading me to believe that the writer hasn't quite learned Mark Twain's rules of literary art. Rules 12 through 14 are:

"(An author should) say what he is proposing to say, not merely come near it."
"Use the right word, not its second cousin."
"Eschew surplusage."

In particular, Rule 18 is violated. "Employ a simple and straightforward style". A lot of this short chapter is taken with the details of Derry getting on his plane, life on a plane, and the details of disembarking from a plane.

This was a bit disturbing to me. Someone had written, somewhere, that what distinguished a pornographic novel -- a dirty novel you hide under the covers -- was that between the sex scenes, the only goal of the writing was to get the character from one sex scene to the next. Such work has a lot of emphasis on travel, how the characters are conveyed to locations. I'm sure that Mr. Redburn was padding his work for other reasons, but if he was trying to convey the tedium of life on a plane, he could have written "it was a boring flight" and we would have all understood.

Furthermore, there are really only two interesting moments in the entire chapter.

The first is where Derry describes himself to Tom as "a poseur". Other Daria writers would probably sum up Tom Sloane as a "poseur", so one might conclude the author is going to contrast Derry's life with Tom's as a poseur. Instead, the contrast is a different one, where Derry describes how he ended up in Vietnam. As it turns out, Tom did not end up in the Marines for the same reasons ... or at least, that's what we're led to conclude. If there's some subtext that leads one to conclude otherwise, I missed it.

However, the second "big moment" -- Tom's meeting with his parents -- was a major disappointment to me, sort of a cold shower after being led to believe that something intriguing might happen. Mr. Redburn manages to combine three cliches together in the final narrative of the story, and drags in something very important that happened about four years ago which should never be used by anyone but the best of writers.

What those three cliches are, I won't recall -- I'll leave a sharp reader to ferret them out. However, I wrote a big essay on this called "Controversy More Than Ever" where I talk about the difference between controversy and melodrama. I don't think Mr. Redburn was trying to be controversial, but what he is writing breaks down into melodrama, and not good melodrama.

They are:

1. a sensational event or controversial subject
2. a building of suspense
3. coincidence
4. conventional thinking.

By that, I mean pedestrian thinking, where there is no middle ground in either decisions, conclusions, or characterization. The example I gave was homosexuality, where either one is a "good liberal" and tolerant of homosexuality to the point that one would be a heterosexual saint in the gay community or a troglodyte that wants to drag queers by chains over gravel roads. Another example would be abortion, where either one sees a fetus as no more than a group of dividing cells and its excision from the body of no more importance than clipping a toenail or a firebreathing Christonut who wants to shoot doctors and make women wear chastity belts. I am not trying to say to argue that one point or the other is the incorrect one; merely that many people fall in the unhappy middle in a lot of truly "controversial" issues.

In this final paragraph, Mr. Redburn adds conventional thinking, a controversial subject, and a bit of coincidence that sink his "killer ending" pretty quickly in my eyes. You might have liked it, I didn't.

So what was YOUR view on the story? Do you like it? Do you hate it? What are its strengths? What are its weakness? Should the author be encouraged, and if so, how should the author be encouraged without breaking his spirit? Or should he just grit his teeth and start over?

P.S. If Mr. Redburn is reading this, I apologize for having turned my cannons in your direction. In the future, I'll try not to bombard an author before first figuring out how thick the hull is.

A second Daria get together is being planned at the home of James "CINCGREEN" Bowman in Atlanta, Georgia. My wife and I hope to set the get-together for some time in December or January. I've invited every Daria fan in the Georgia area (except for wyrmrider, whose e-mail address I don't know), but if you are outside the Georgia area and are interested in meeting other Daria fans in person, eating, and generally having a good time, please e-mail me either at cincgreen at yahoo (dot) com or contact me at the PPMB.

Gracias.

Father Martin Sylvester has returned from his "fortnight" off and we're glad to have him back on the boards.

Despite Kara Wild having her car broken into, she found time to e-mail Glenn Eichler and ask him if he were ready to answer any more fan questions. His response? "Bring 'em on!" E-mail Ms. Wild if you have any questions that Mr. Eichler hasn't answered.

Congratulations to Daria fan Deceleraptor for reaching the 1/2 century mark!

Happy Birthday to Isabelle Young-Johnson.

The new "Beavis and Butt-head: Volume One" CD collection is out. According to Mike Judge, the entire collection will consist of two-thirds of the Beavis and Butt-head short cartoons done for MTV that he liked. I've seen the first of the three CDs. Daria appears prominently in only two of the episodes.

-- "No Laughing". Daria laughs at the pain Beavis and Butt-head endure when Coach Buzzcut forbids them to laugh, or they'll be sent to an even worse high school than Highland High School where "their asses will be kicked on a regular basis". When Coach Buzzcut deliberately begins teaching a sex ed lesson, can B & B keep from exploding?

-- "Butt Is It Art?" Van Driessen takes a small group of students (including Daria and Beavis and Butt-head) to an art gallery -- a trip which is completely wasted on our two butt-munches. Beavis and Butt-head are in hysterics over something Van Driessen says, until Daria reminds the two of them that "he said master painters."

At the PPMB:

Angelboy finished Chapter 2 of "Diary Entries".
Greystar will soon release Part 8 of "The Longest Year" as soon as it's beta-read.
Deceleraptor added a new installment of "Human Beings in the Valley of the Short Grass" (title change pending).
The Angst Guy completed Chapter XIII of "Outcasts from Beyond".
Erin M. posted Part 3 of "Zero Blue".
Roentgen posted a few parts of "New Drum, Same Tune".
Ms. Hand posted Parts 6 and 7 of "Priceless".

At the SFMB:

The Great Saiyaman posted three more pages of "Party at Lindy's" in the hidden section.
ostragoth finished Chapter 7 of "Estrangesters".
M Man finished "Seeing Red", a sequel to his "Barely Popular".

Added to Fanfiction.net:

"The Return of Tom Sloane" by chubby redburn.

Fan art: "Sailor Daria" by kyria at DeviantArt ... full-size image link is here.

Note: This is a larger size image than we usually show, but I think you don't get the magic of the art unless you look at the picture in full size, so click the link above.

The 400th post, in less than a year! (Sorry if anyone's disappointed about the mail {g}) ... Hope we're doing something right, and that y'all will keep visiting.

Outpost Daria has made a fiction, art, and details update.

With 45 Dariafen now on the world map, we've added a link at left for "Frappr!"

At the PPMB:

~ A thread about underlines on linked items serves as a reminder: You can choose from among several "board styles" at both main boards. Look for the drop-down list in the top-of-page "Profile" link. For example, I've found "Winter ICE" to be more clear and compact than the default.

~ The Angst Guy is up to part XII on "Outcasts from Beyond."

~ Roentgen has an intriguing, comical what-if for the Morgendorffers in "New Drum, Same Tune." Bank balances or psychic balances? Would it have mattered? You decide.

~ Kem has a great "example of why fanart and alcohol do not mix," but I'd call her drawing just an excruciating visual pun ... which, when it's a pun, is a compliment!

~ MDetector5 has DeviantArt links to some of his sassy Quinn drawings. Don't miss that cat(ty)girl!

~ Among many new Iron Chef suggestions are an "Age Trade" and an exploration of that eerily abandoned drive-in from "Life in the Past Lane."

Another "IIFY?" moment of aplomb ... it'd work better if they were out in the woods again.

Deceleraptor has returned to the Daria message boards after some health-related issues. The DFB wishes him good health and best wishes.

A belated Happy Birthday to long time Daria fan Kemical Reaxion.

At the PPMB:

MsHand completed Part 5 of "Priceless".
Atimnie completed a new segment of "Diary Entries".
Richard Lobinske completed "John Lane 12: A Time for Every Purpose".
DJW completed Chapter 7 of "The Dammitall Run".
LOTR_Dan completed Parts 1 and 2 of "People Who Need People".
Wormbait completed "Nightmares".
The Angst Guy completed Parts IX and X of "Outcasts from Beyond".
The round-robin fic "Daria's popular" continues on PPMB.

At the SFMB:

An interesting discussion is taking place about Reese Kaine's new message board (when it's not being hijacked by flame warriors). Crazy Nutso made the following comment:

But to get back to the thread's topic (kind of) I would agree that the creation of new boards is pointless. Historically, Daria fandom has only been able to support two boards, the 'main respectable' one (currently the PPMB) and the 'alternative (tm)' board (currently this'un). Any other boards tend to wither away and die obscure deaths.

One of the few times I agree with Mr. Nutso. Mr. Kaine's new board has the added disadvantage of a reader not being able to tell immediately when someone has added a new post. However, there is an interesting discussion regarding Ruthless Bunny's essay, "Fandom as a Cargo Cult", which can be found here on Mr. Kaine's board.

Screen capture: Daria prepares for yet another day at school. (Capture stolen from Scissors MacGillicutty.)

"The Nexus," yet another message board that offers you "Daria" discussion sections -- and a game-playing enterprise called the Lawndale Wrestling Federation -- has been started here by Reese Kaine.

At the PPMB:

~ Angelinhel has "My Date With Quinn," at once both a pithy "story of revenge" and Jake's revival of some truly classic recipes! Timeless combination here! ... Okay, some of us remember that stupid '60s food first-hand {g}

~ Two brief but dangerous liaisons ... well, endangering one's Dariaesthetic casting scruples, perhaps {g} ... Roentgen tells "A Lie" and Sleepless has a "Secret Rendezvous."

~ Sleepless also has "Broken Connections" updated to part 12.

~ Scissors' "Where's Mary Sue" saga has wound its way to a conclusion.

~ MsHand's "Priceless" is at part 4.

~ "Outcasts from Beyond" is up to part "IX-a" ... erm, T.A.G., there are plenty of Roman numerals available ...

~ The Bug Guy has begun "John Lane" 12, "A Time for Every Purpose," now at part 3.

~ Resources are being suggested and solicited for more computer-generated "'Daria' movie stuff."

Short works at fanfiction.net:

~ "Daria and Cousin Keara," by lilrockercutie.

~ "Lunchroom Encounter," by chubbyredburn.

(Many other serial fanfics, that are mentioned here when they're appearing on the two main message boards, are also posted at fanfiction.net.)

And now, courtesy of "Is It Fall Yet?", a reminder to have your brakes checked before Winter comes upon us ...

Some Daria Halloween costumes from Jennifer Anne Roehm and friends. Their whole party can be found here.

(Click on each picture to open it full-size in a new window.)

            

An intriguing thread about "moral values," being antisocial, and meeting expectations is taking place on alt.tv.daria. One especially perceptive comment:

[In "Daria,"] the "bad guys" are for the most part not evil. They are people who have compromised too much to gain ends of too little worth. Sometimes this is very fuzzy, as Daria begins to discover -- for instance, Helen has sacrificed much of herself to her job, but she has done so to a large degree out of love for her family -- something that Daria did not grasp at the beginning of the series but has come to grasp by its conclusion.

A provocative viewpoint on "Daria, Hypatia, and the standard of beauty" is on LiveJournal.

The DVDaria Blog has updated with disc-related news and speculation.

At the PPMB:

~ A query on "why 'Daria' fans are so obsessed with anime" has gotten into many byways, about CGI capabilities and storytelling parameters.

~ The premiere of the animated version of "The Boondocks" propels two threads, one making contrasts to Mack and Jodie.

~ The Angst Guy's "Outcasts from Beyond" (formerly titled "Green") is at part 7.

~ RLobinske has finished his "Accidental Future." He's also illustrated his "Mirror of Future Fears."

~ Ranchoth has "Janissaries," "the further adventures of Daria and Cobra."

~ A late-night AIM chat provoked a quickie "Twilight Zone" crossover. Nicely pitched. (And I was there.)

~ Scissors has an informal colloquium going on "writing canonical dialogue."

At the SFMB:

~ Shallow 15 has the second part of "Zero Blue."

~ "Jane's Revenge" and the "BDLE" round robin are both growing in the cellar.

Yet another outtake ... Is it fall yet? I just knew Ms. Li diverted funds for proper floor-cleaning supplies to the barbed-wire-fence budget.

Deref pinged a new service called "Frappr!" that creates, in this case, a very entertaining "Where In the World Are 'Daria' Fans?" map. Feel free to join about 30 fen thus far in adding your e-push-pin, serious-or-not picture, and pearl drops of "shoutout" wisdom.

"Beavis and Butthead" is all over the damn place. First on MTV2 (with a marathon this weekend), and now, from reports, at Comedy Central. Get it together, Viacom! Your best animated creation is languishing at The N, now having anywhere from none to three "Daria" episodes a night, at times spread all over a three-hour graveyard shift. {here endeth today's rant}

At the PPMB:

~ New art from Christ Oliver: Three alter egos that should have been!

~ The Angst Guy's "Green" monster-thing-ish story has part 5 posted.

~ RLobinske has reached part 9 of "Accidental Future."

~ New Iron Chefs include "New Year's Resolutions" and one that suggests dealing with pseudo-random computer-generated text. (Or the result of too much under-education about English in Ms. Li's type of lockdown, er, school. I can't tell 'em apart ...)

~ MsHand has two parts of a new angstfest, "Priceless."

~ M. Anon's "Better Homes and Housemates" has marriage cracks spreading faster after part 6.

~ More thoughts on "The Daria Temporal Analysis Project."

~ The apparently eternal debate over Lawndale's location has started up again, with interesting notes on the conundrum from Mike Xeno and others.

~ Wouter depicts a charming bit of Hallowe'en dress-up by Daria, which made Quinn faint away. Too much evidence of a "geek sister" having imagination for her to handle, eh?

At the SFMB:

~ DJW's "Dammitall Run" has part 6 posted.

~ Sleepless has an unsettling comic vignette, "Best Friends, Forever and Ever." It takes off from the end of "Boxing Daria."

~ Ostragoth has a wryly comic bit with Daria and Quinn trying to outdo each other "At the Harvest Festival." Doesn't anybody ever audit Ms. Li's books?

~ Bootstrapper has a creepily comic tale, "One Rainy Weekend." It takes off from the end of "Boxing Daria."

~ "Diary Entries" is up to 11 scenes in Chapter 2.

~ Psychotol has a new piece of art showing Daria taking off (literally) near the end of "Boxing Daria." ... Something's resonating here, isn't it? Hmmm.

Speaking of "green"ery: Everyone's had enough of hearing about Quinn's multiple dates!

I am honored to present Daria Fandom with the news that wedding bells are in the making for TAFKA and Lew. I just received the news myself, and wish them happiness and joy for the rest of their lives. (A date hasn't been set yet.)

Lew is Lew Richardson, the author of "Heroes".

TAFKA is an artist and flying dragon.

Best wishes to them both from the Daria Fandom Blog.

Update: We now have a nuptial date: January 20, 2007. -- CG

My remarks are in italics, and Ms. Goodman's are in boldface. This is from an e-mail exchange, obviously.

Part of the reason the Daria Fandom Blog was created
was to provide a one-stop shop where people wouldn't
have to slog through 1000 message board posts to
figure out what was going on in Daria fandom. If
you had a chance to read anything, I hope that it
was some use.

I did read through some of it - actually, I spent a few hours last night looking through sites like the Daria Fandom Blog, the PPMB, and a few livejournals just to see where the fandom had gone since my days of involvement. The feeling is similar to looking through my old high school yearbooks, to be honest - a sort of pleasant nostalgia.

I still have a few questions for you, on behalf
of Daria fandom, if I might be so adventurous to
ask them.

1. Do you mind if I publish the general particulars
of your letter on the Daria Fandom Blog? At least,
parts 1 through 4 of your reply? (Your e-mail will
not be included, BTW.) I'm sure that many of the
older fans will want to know that you're still alive
and kicking!

I don't mind if you publish the email. I don't imagine that many people will care much, but I'm flattered that you're even offering. You can even publish it verbatim if you like.

2. Are you open for questions from other fans,
i.e., if someone has something to ask that I don't
think of asking now, can I send them in the future?

Sure, that's fine. Like I said, I don't mind if interested individuals want to talk to me for any reason, though it should be known that I'm really not at all knowledgeable of the fandom or the show anymore. I'm just trying to keep my present identity a bit more incognito, yanno?

3. Was there any particular reason why
alt.lawndale.com was closed down, aside from
the usual reasons (financial upkeep or time)?

Simply put, the site closed down because I was sick of the fandom. The group involved had grown from a small, intelligent cluster capable of intelligent and witty conversation and discussion to a bunch of idiotic children who had no appreciation for the time and energy that running a large fansite takes. All they wanted was to take, take, take and never to give anything back. All the rewarding feelings and happiness that I used to derive from my fandom participation died, and I became increasingly scornful of 85% of the visitors to the message board and the site.

Another factor was that I was growing out of touch with the fandom because I stopped watching the show for the most part after Season 2. I was having a terribly difficult freshman year of college which caused me to lose touch with a lot of things I had enjoyed in the past. Anyone who frequented #daria+ (wherever it was at the time) was well aware of my rampant self-deprecation and irritatingly depressive behavior just before I left the fandom for good. During that time, I had also become an extremely obsessive anime fan, and most if not all of my cartoon-watching energy was devoted to that.

4. Did you continue to keep up with the show
after you left Daria fandom?

Nope. I have seen an episode or two since then, but I've still never seen the majority of Season 3 or any of Season 4 or the movies.

a) If "no", what were the reasons you stopped
watching, and when did you stop?

See above. I think I stopped after Season 2.

b) If "yes", then what are your impressions regarding
the series? What was your favorite season/episode?

I still think of all the episodes, my favorite was the final episode of season 1 and also "Run, Jane, Run." Jane was my favorite character and I relate the best to her, even today, so episodes that were mostly about her always ranked high on my list.

My impression of the series is a bit different now than it was then - I have changed drastically as a person since my days in Daria fandom, specifically I am far less pessimistic, negative, and judgmental regarding myself and others. So I look at Daria's sarcasm as less of a common point between her and I and more of something that I understand but don't relate as much to anymore. Which isn't to say that the show is bad, just that I don't feel the same way about it now as I did in 1997.

5. What kind of reaction did you get from "Ragged
Denim" after it was published?

I honestly don't remember much, believe it or not. That was during my sunset days of the fandom, so I think it was published shortly before I stopped participating in Daria-related activities at all. I remember the intelligentsia being amused by the story and the masses going, "Ew, that's gay!"

6. If specific fans do ask for your e-mail, should I
send it to them? (I won't post it in public.)

Sure, feel free.

7. What are you doing for a living? (You don't have
to be specific, just general.)

I'm actually in the process of a shift right now, but I'm about to make the transition from several years of unfulfilling administrative work to a career path position. Unlike my girl Jane, I've always been a little corporate monkey.

8. What other fandom are you involved in now?
(Once again, no specific details.)

I'm not an active "fan" of anything right now - I have a terribly hard time following TV shows and I don't read like I used to. I was involved heavily in anime/manga fandom for some time and I guess if I have a "fandom" that is it - I actually hold a management position at one of the major anime conventions in the USA and waste a lot of my time with that niche of the geek universe.

9. Do you still keep up with any Daria websites or
message boards, as a lurker?

Nah, not before last night. I try to avoid forums and message boards in general. Too much bickering and drama. :)

I apologize for being so bothersome. I merely wish
to let other long-time Daria fans know that you are
"alive and well in your new location". :)

No problem. It's almost like being interviewed or something. What a strange trip. :) Thanks for emailing back!

I was astonished and quite pleased to receive a message from Katherine Goodman a couple of days ago, out of the blue -- Ms. Goodman located the 2005 Excellence in Daria Fandom Nominees List (seen at the left) and felt compelled to respond. I have permission from Ms. Goodman to post both a mail she sent me, and the reply e-mail to a follow-up mail I sent her back.

For those of you who aren't aware of Ms. Goodman, she was the manager of alt.lawndale.com, which is probably the earliest premiere one-stop-shop / message board of Daria fandom from its earliest days. I'll let Ms. Goodman speak now, and I'll post the reply e-mail tomorrow sometime.

Hi there! I wonder, is contact from a dead fandom "legend" like receiving an email from beyond the digital grave?

As you no doubt could figure out from the name in your email headers, I'm Katherine Goodman, of the long-departed alt.lawndale.com. I found your email through the "2005 Excellence in Daria Fandom Awards" which my father found when he Googled my name. Ah, the days before internet pseudonyms and privacy concerns. I'd never use my real name on a public website now or publish the amount of information that I did back in the old days.

I read that I was nominated for your awards and smiled quite bemusedly. I'm not surprised that people from the old days of Daria fandom are still around but am a bit amazed that some of them still remember who I am. Then again, since then I've been involved in anime fandom in varying capacities and some of the old fans from the early 1990s are still remembered and even participating in said fandom. What a strange little online world it is. I'm amused and horrified by the continued existence of alt.lawndale.com (via the Internet Archive) and of that fanfiction that I wrote back in the day ... I can't bring myself to read the fanfiction, but going through the site brings back a slew of memories. *laugh* All those names of the others that were nominated! Man, I remember all of them except the very last one. Such nostalgia ...

In case you care, I'll clarify some of your information about a.l.c.:

1) I was a high school student at the time. It amazes me, when I think back on it, that I was as young as I was when I did all of that.

2) alt.lawndale.com opened (on geocities) and was operational from mid-April 1997 (a couple of weeks after the premiere of Daria, I believe) and was updated religiously through the end of May 1998. Coincidentally or not-so-coincidentally, the site fell into stagnation as I was preparing to start college. I was still somewhat active in the fandom for a bit longer, albeit as an extremely angsty, unpleasant college freshman. alt.lawndale.com was live but not being updated through about January or February 1999, when I finally closed it down.

3) MTV was actually in regular correspondence with me during my tenure as webmaster of a.l.c. I exchanged emails with at least two different MTV marketing representatives as well as Glenn Eichler, Alvaro Gonzalez, and probably a couple of other names that I'm forgetting. When MTV ran its "Daria Day" promotion for Season 2 of the show (on February 16, 1998) they asked me to advertise the "Ask Daria Questions" segment on my site, since I'm fairly certain that a.l.c. was getting more traffic from the fans than MTV's official site was. (They sent me some merchandise and let me ask a question of my own as compensation. Somehow I doubt such a progression of events would take place nowadays ...)

3a) I can't say for sure if Glenn Eichler was a fan of the site - but we did correspond several times, so I know that he was aware of it at the very least. If he was a fan of the site, that's pretty awesome. :).

4) I did co-author "Ragged Denim". I had started reading anime slash fanfiction and was heavy into that niche of fandom at the time, and I think that my co-author and I wanted to send a shockwave through the slowly burgeoning fandom by writing a slash story between Trent and Jesse. That was one of my final, if not my last, "contributions" to Daria fandom. I am also amused that the story is considered "infamous" - from what I remember of it (silk shirts and Morrissey lyrics?!) it was pretty infamously bad. *grin*

Anyway, sorry to ramble on - though as I'm sure you can tell from reading the remnants of a.l.c., brevity has never been my strong suit. I just thought I'd drop you a line ...

Before getting to the main point -- a brief update. You'll note that fellow Daria blogger Greybird has been doing the bulk of the heavy lifting as I've sort of gone AFK. That's because I'm preparing for a nationwide actuarial exam on November 9th. After that's over with, for better or worse, I'll be back.

A new Daria message board has been created at:

http://s14.invisionfree.com/TheDariaBoard/index.php

by The Daria Hunter. If you need another message board where you can chat about Daria, this is the place to go.

Fan art: Trent Lane, by vivre of the "Behind My Eyelids" fanlisting.