Researching the history of internet FP forums

[carlos.q]

Since the birth of the internet FP geeks have shared information thru email lists, BBS and USENET. With the appearance of the World Wide Web FP forums have appeared, thrived and disappeared. One of the drawbacks of Internet forums is that it is difficult to investigate their history. From a superficial search I have found these names:

Lion and Pen
Pentrace (now exists as newpentrace)
Rambling Snail
... any others?


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Do you know any of any other, now defunct, FP internet forums? Did you participate in them? Do you know their history? Why did they disappear?

[Jon Szanto]

Before that were mailing lists. I was never a member but the most well-known of those was the Zoss list, which I believe spawned forums out of that membership.

[FredRydr]

Before that were mailing lists. I was never a member but the most well-known of those was the Zoss list, which I believe spawned forums out of that membership.
LOL I still have it bookmarked! There was talk of the PCA taking it over somehow, but the amount of serious interest amounted to naught.

[guyy]

Don’t forget usenet. I think it was alt.collecting.pens or something like that. Frank Dubiel & Nathan Tardif were on it. I really enjoyed Frank’s posts & had a few conversations with Nathan.

[Freddie]

Off of the top of me head.....alt.collecting.pens-pencils {The Wild West}.....Penlovers......
ikonPen......Penthusiasm......There are others......

Fred

[carlos.q]

Off of the top of me head.....alt.collecting.pens-pencils {The Wild West}.....Penlovers......
ikonPen......Penthusiasm......There are others......

Fred


You mean these?


53530


53526


53527


53528

[guyy]

Looks like it

[Farmboy]

For a while there was Fountain Pen Board.

fpnuts.com

[carlos.q]

For a while there was Fountain Pen Board.

fpnuts.com

Checked it out and it seems to exist in a comatose state: no recent traffic and the last new member joined in 2017.

[kazoolaw]

David Isaacson started a FaceBook page devoted to pens which seems to be high traffic.

As I don't have a FB account I access it from the link on Vacumania.

[kazoolaw]

David Isaacson started a FaceBook page devoted to pens which seems to be high traffic.

As I don't have a FB account I access it from the link on Vacumania.

Which, since last I looked, apparently requires FB membership.

[carlos.q]

It seems like the fpnuts.com (fountainpenboard.com) site passed from comatose to extinct. So did the vacumania.com site.

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[kazoolaw]

A vestige of fpnuts apparently lives on in the URL of the Fountain Pens public FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/fpnuts/

[welch]

Vacumania looks alive.

[catbert]

Vacumania looks alive.

It's back up but hasn't been updated for a while. September 2018? (http://www.vacumania.com/websitesales/newpens.htm)

[carlos.q]

Vacumania looks alive.

That is correct. And fpnuts.com (fountainpenboard.com) also came back to life. It must have been a temporary glitch.

[Deb]

There's not much life in fpnuts. It has never quite died but the vast bulk of the activity has transferred to Facebook.

[top pen]

I find the idea of how these forums grew from a semi dormant stage into active forums quite interesting. Did it work by the same individuals posting weekly until they struck gold on google search algorithm?

I do find it quite interesting you stumble upon the ones that never quite made it. Which are in this extinct but still out there to be viewed before someone eventually tires of paying the hosting bill.

On side topic I do wonder the impact of loss of the "Fpgeeks main sites" had on the forum growth. has it made it less discoverable. When I search repair related queries 90% of the time it's FPN, reddit and youtube.

[jar]

I was pretty active at alt.collecting.pens-pencils but not as much on the other usenet pen sites sites. Now when the topic was hamster.duct-tape ...

[carlos.q]

I find the idea of how these forums grew from a semi dormant stage into active forums quite interesting. Did it work by the same individuals posting weekly until they struck gold on google search algorithm?

I do find it quite interesting you stumble upon the ones that never quite made it. Which are in this extinct but still out there to be viewed before someone eventually tires of paying the hosting bill.

On side topic I do wonder the impact of loss of the "Fpgeeks main sites" had on the forum growth. has it made it less discoverable. When I search repair related queries 90% of the time it's FPN, reddit and youtube.

You pose some interesting questions that I cannot answer. I had hoped that some members who once participated in these now extinct forums would speak up about what made these grow and explain the causes for their decline. But apparently it seems there is an unspoken "don't ask, don't tell" vision of FP forum histories that seems to be quite curious. In my research I have found just a very few references to this history but it seems most of it has been sanitized to protect the parties involved.

I have had a relatively brief participation in FP forums. Like many others I started out with FPN. It was back in 2011 when searching information on FPs that I stumbled upon that forum. After the great FPN meltdown of 2013 I began looking for other options and found FPGeeks. During a long time FPG was (for me) a most stimulating environment when compared to the heavy handed moderation style over at FPN. And to think that FPN started out as a very small forum practically screaming for help! On the other hand, the lack of basic moderation in FPG has alienated some contributors which I believe does not bode well for our little lifeboat.

There is an old adage that says "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." The problems I surmise have occurred in other forums seem to repeat themselves. And as we choose not to remember this past we may very well be repeating it. I believe that things can and should be done to avert disaster but there has to be a willingness to address these issues.

[Deb]

I was active in Lion & Pen for a while. It was, perhaps, the most scholarly of the pen boards, at least where US pens were concerned. Politics destroyed it which was a great loss.
I contributed to alt.collecting.pens-pencils too but I had more fun in alt.tasteless.

[guyy]

I went over to Pentrace once ISPs stopped providing usenet. Pentrace was once much more active than it is now. I can’t remember what bunched everyone’s knickers about pentrace. All i remember is that a lot of people were all of a sudden all at FPN and some other places.

[Deb]

Isn't it the case that Pentrace doesn't archive?

[Johnny_S]

I went over to Pentrace once ISPs stopped providing usenet. Pentrace was once much more active than it is now. I can’t remember what bunched everyone’s knickers about pentrace. All i remember is that a lot of people were all of a sudden all at FPN and some other places.


There were a lot of bickering arguments on Pentrace, but these same people started arguing on FPN.

The last time I went on alt.collecting it had a virus which froze my computer, nothing worked at all apart from the on-off button, I was on a work computer which was embarassing, I had to bring our IT people in who traced the virus to a University in either Aberdeen or Inverness, I forget which. Click on the link at your peril.

[guyy]

I went over to Pentrace once ISPs stopped providing usenet. Pentrace was once much more active than it is now. I can’t remember what bunched everyone’s knickers about pentrace. All i remember is that a lot of people were all of a sudden all at FPN and some other places.


There were a lot of bickering arguments on Pentrace, but these same people started arguing on FPN.



I know right. Ridiculous.

I never took to that place, perhaps for that reason. Not the arguments, mind you— i like a good argument as much as the next person — but rather, the dishonest disavowal of argument.

[guyy]

Yes, it’s correct that Pentrace doesn’t archive. The interface is a bit clunky, too. It’s best viewed with the lynx browser. (I’m only somewhat joking.)

[kazoolaw]

I was active in Lion & Pen for a while. It was, perhaps, the most scholarly of the pen boards, at least where US pens were concerned. Politics destroyed it which was a great loss.

As I recall, L&P was established to allow posting and preservation of FP research. Some of the more scholarly folks shared their information and resources. To the casual user, some of the discussions were very narrowly focused but we're the place to go for following what was "official" and what was off catalog production. As you've gathered by now, the focus primarily vintage.

Being neither scholarly nor connected in the FP community, I never heard exactly why the plug was pulled. I do remember the reaction to the loss of so much information. Several of those originally involved in that site reached far back into the FP scene, and don't seem to be active anymore.

You can still find some of the in depth information on David Nishimura's site.

[Deb]

There are a couple of L&P contributors still around. At least one has the site backed up. The site owner held a particular viewpoint (of US politics) very strongly and liked to use the site to attack those of an opposing view. He took that too far in attacking an individual (now deceased) who was held in some regard in the pen world. The owner was severely criticised by many of us for his action and decided to close the site in what can only be described as a towering huff.

The pen discussions in L&P were of a very high quality, unmatched anywhere else, though David Isaacson's FPnuts was very good and surprisingly free of Mr. Isaacson's endless arguments that he conducted elsewhere.

[kazoolaw]

Slight sideways thread deviation: this post brings up a host of old-time names, friction in the FP world, and even a couple pre-internet FP sources.

http://fountainpenhistory.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-problematic-pfc.html

Am I remembering correctly that Dr. I was "He who cannot be named" on one, if not two, sites?

[carlos.q]

Slight sideways thread deviation: this post brings up a host of old-time names, friction in the FP world, and even a couple pre-internet FP sources.

http://fountainpenhistory.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-problematic-pfc.html

Am I remembering correctly that Dr. I was "He who cannot be named" on one, if not two, sites?



This is an excellent resource! That site will take some time to research.

As I finished the article the name "George Kovalenko" struck a cord. I checked my archives and found he is one of the few people that have written (or whose accounts have survived) about the history of FP forums. Here is a post from FPN which is very interesting:

First some facts.

FPN was started in late-June 2004. This is the earliest post I could find here, message #5. But FPN wasn't archived on the Wayback Machine until Feb 13, 2005. This is what it looked like back then. FPN was started, partially, as an alternative to all the strife going on at Pentrace, mostly caused by people like David Isaacson and his enablers and apologists. Here's an early message on the topic.

L&P was started in late-May 2005 and was first archived on the Wayback Machine on Oct 26, 2005. Here's what it looked like back then. It was started basically as a private preserve for Rob Astyk to play in with impunity. He had been banned from practically every other message board, except Pentrace, and Ron Dutcher set up L&P as Rob's personal blogspot, or soapbox. I was there as a moderator and advisor, not an admin, when it was first started up, and I fought desperately to keep the Chatter, Politics, and Religion forums off the website, but that was the real reason-for-being for the site, and I lost out. It was also the reason I finally left the post of moderator.

And that's the problem with David Isaacson's message board, too. It was started basically as a private preserve for him to play in with impunity. It's nothing more than a glorified personal soapbox and unofficial blogspot. He has been banned from every pen message board he has ever participated in except Zoss, and he's drawing a fine line there as well. He wasn't getting enough attention on his real blog, or rather, enough traffic, so he tried for something with a bit more legitimacy in this new message board. If you suffer from repetition compulsion, and you like abuse, then you're his perfect match. But don't fool yourself. He'll pull the same antics over there as well. How long will it be before he is banned from his own website? ;~) Just look at what pen2paper wrote above. Her inquiry over there for gathering core references was "met with jest". Sure, he can stack up all the high-powered advisors and moderators that he can persuade to join, but it's still doomed to fail for the same reason that L&P failed. It's not the moderators and advisors that count. It's the admin.

So here we are. This is the state of affairs. We currently have about 6 or 7 fragmented and dissociated message boards, and no real central home for pen history. It truly is a dysfunctional family. Here's a metaphoric group portrait of the pen-collecting community. I'm the little, peripheral ninja guy up in the upper right corner, just barely peaking into the picture...;~)

George Kovalenko.

PS: I couldn't get the links to work (these are underlined in the text above) so if any one would like to reference the original source materials and sources they should check out the original post:
http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/157621-is-lion-pen-gone-for-good/?p=1632275

[carlos.q]

And talking about FP forum history, this is FPGeeks main page as it appeared on April 7, 2010:

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[Deb]

I was a member of Isaacson's Fpnuts from its inception until it faded out when he moved to Facebook. I think there might have been a couple of occasions when he launched into one of his well-known diatribes or never-ending arguments - if you can call what he does arguing. For the rest of the time he behaved surprisingly well, allowed debate to run uninterrupted and, in all, did a fine job. Nobody knows better than me how obnoxious he can be and almost always is but credit where credit's due, he made Fpnuts the place to go for serious pen discussion and sharing of information, free from the nagging of the sturmbannfuhrers of FPN. I don't know how he behaves in the Facebook version. I don't go there.

[Fermata]

I was a member of Isaacson's Fpnuts from its inception until it faded out when he moved to Facebook. I think there might have been a couple of occasions when he launched into one of his well-known diatribes or never-ending arguments - if you can call what he does arguing. For the rest of the time he behaved surprisingly well, allowed debate to run uninterrupted and, in all, did a fine job. Nobody knows better than me how obnoxious he can be and almost always is but credit where credit's due, he made Fpnuts the place to go for serious pen discussion and sharing of information, free from the nagging of the sturmbannfuhrers of FPN. I don't know how he behaves in the Facebook version. I don't go there.


I had to look up sturmbannfuhrers thinking that it meant barnstormers and therefore I couldn't get the context, in case you are as dumb as I am it is a reference to a Nazi SS military rank equivalent to Major and prone to shock tactics.

I saw evidence of that line of thinking on FPN today, on this particular day when the entire World is looking at Minneapolis I saw one FPN poster saying that they were going to use a black pen and then reflect on the world as they completed their journal. That post lasted all of 5 minutes until FPNer Praxim complained and had it taken down because he thought it was political.

Good ol' FPN, the grey porridge of pen sites.

I have only had one interraction with Isaacson, someone I knew had a big early Parker collection to sell as one job lot, it would have needed deep pockets to do the deal. I put the two in touch, I have to say the he was civil to me, and appreciative.

I know that he had a big bust up with Wim on FPN and saw the revenge porn links that Isaacson made for Vacumania links from FPN - they were bad links and contained images that you would not want on your hard drive - but I never understood the issues behind the bust up.

[Deb]

I was a member of Isaacson's Fpnuts from its inception until it faded out when he moved to Facebook. I think there might have been a couple of occasions when he launched into one of his well-known diatribes or never-ending arguments - if you can call what he does arguing. For the rest of the time he behaved surprisingly well, allowed debate to run uninterrupted and, in all, did a fine job. Nobody knows better than me how obnoxious he can be and almost always is but credit where credit's due, he made Fpnuts the place to go for serious pen discussion and sharing of information, free from the nagging of the sturmbannfuhrers of FPN. I don't know how he behaves in the Facebook version. I don't go there.


I had to look up sturmbannfuhrers thinking that it meant barnstormers and therefore I couldn't get the context, in case you are as dumb as I am it is a reference to a Nazi SS military rank equivalent to Major and prone to shock tactics.

I saw evidence of that line of thinking on FPN today, on this particular day when the entire World is looking at Minneapolis I saw one FPN poster saying that they were going to use a black pen and then reflect on the world as they completed their journal. That post lasted all of 5 minutes until FPNer Praxim complained and had it taken down because he thought it was political.

Good ol' FPN, the grey porridge of pen sites.

I have only had one interraction with Isaacson, someone I knew had a big early Parker collection to sell as one job lot, it would have needed deep pockets to do the deal. I put the two in touch, I have to say the he was civil to me, and appreciative.

I know that he had a big bust up with Wim on FPN and saw the revenge porn links that Isaacson made for Vacumania links from FPN but I never understood the issues behind the bust up.

In truth, though he can be civil - who can't - Dr Isaacson is an unutterable wretch. As noted above, he's been kicked out of just about everywhere for his bullying and disruptive behaviour. I was really reporting my surprise about how well he handled his pen board. I expected him to revert to type at any moment but it didn't happen. He reported on at least one collection he bought a few years ago. Perhaps that was it. The grey porridge of pen sites - that is so good!

[TSherbs]

That Dr. dude was an ass to me once, so I never went back. Like off the handle rude. Whatever.

Sent from my Moto E (4) using Tapatalk

[guyy]

Also today on that Stepford site there’s a thread where folks are patting themselves on the back for being there and noting how happy everyone is.

—Yum yum Mr Mod we sure do love us some grey porridge! Please continue to eliminate flavoring agents!
— Shut up & keep slurpin’ or i’ll send you packin’.

[TSherbs]

Hey I like FPN just fine. I post there way more often, actually (requires heavy use of adblocker, though). But this place has its own charm. Mostly. ;)

Sent from my Moto E (4) using Tapatalk

[guyy]

My main issue with FPN is that they disappear my posts for mysterious reasons. The posts seem innocuous enough to me. I just assume that they get pruned in the interests of thread management, for flow and so that the desired storyline comes through. Once i saw that happening, i couldn’t trust what i read over there. How much gets edited out?

[TSherbs]

How much gets edited out?

Dunno. On pen-related information, facts, suggestions, procedures...very little. On opinion threads, more. When I need crowd-source info, I go there. Not many active posters here, really.

I have been very critical of FPN on FPN and I have always been tolerated. I follow the rules about generalizations and ad hominem attacks. I have had a few posts removed. I have deserved it each time. I have been critical of some of my experiences with pens. Again, just follow the rules. I don't feel muzzled at all because they only curtail me when I am generalizing beyond the facts of my experience.


Sent from my Moto E (4) using Tapatalk

[Empty_of_Clouds]

Mob mentality exists on both sites. Over there it's the mods, here it's the members. Human nature I suppose.

[Fermata]

Mob mentality exists on both sites. Over there it's the mods, here it's the members. Human nature I suppose.

It all depends on you.

Some people have a sign on their arse saying Kick Me.

Take the sign away and, surprise surprise, the kicking stops.

[guyy]

How much gets edited out?

Dunno. On pen-related information, facts, suggestions, procedures...very little. On opinion threads, more. When I need crowd-source info, I go there. Not many active posters here, really.

I have been very critical of FPN on FPN and I have always been tolerated. I follow the rules about generalizations and ad hominem attacks. I have had a few posts removed. I have deserved it each time. I have been critical of some of my experiences with pens. Again, just follow the rules. I don't feel muzzled at all because they only curtail me when I am generalizing beyond the facts of my experience.


Sent from my Moto E (4) using Tapatalk

See, my problem is that my technical pen posts get disappeared. (The enforced/produced happy happy in FPN’s chattier sectors is creepy, so i avoid them.) I really can’t figure out why unless it’s for narrative flow.

[Deb]

Mob mentality exists on both sites. Over there it's the mods, here it's the members. Human nature I suppose.

Mob mentality? What are you raving about now? I'm not fond of FPN (as you might have guessed) but the last thing I would accuse that controlled environment of is mob mentality. Indeed, it's hard to see how such an appellation can be applied to something as disparate as a web-based discussion board.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

As you may recall, I was once a moderator there. My statement is a simple observation based only on what I've personally witnessed.

[carlos.q]

:focus:

[Chrissy]

:focus:
Agreed. :)

[Empty_of_Clouds]

:focus:

Sorry, I was just reflecting on the insights that were offered by others in earlier posts. Hadn't realised it was drift.

[TSherbs]

Isn't it Polonius who says "Drift is the soul of wit"? ;)

Sent from my Moto E (4) using Tapatalk

[Empty_of_Clouds]

I'm not well (or at all) read in the classics, so I don't know. Isn't Polonius some kind of Italian sausage?

[Deb]

Did anyone mention The Fountain Pen Community? It's still there but there has been no activity for years. It was started by Dennis Lively, if memory serves. I think this was another case of someone with nowhere else to go starting his own board. I think it faded away because it had nothing special to recommend it - nothing that wasn't being done better elsewhere.

[Fermata]

Did anyone mention The Fountain Pen Community? It's still there but there has been no activity for years. It was started by Dennis Lively, if memory serves. I think this was another case of someone with nowhere else to go starting his own board. I think it faded away because it had nothing special to recommend it - nothing that wasn't being done better elsewhere.

I have heard that Dennis could be fractious, at best, I recall that he had a real bust up with Ian at Cathedral Pens, the most easy going of men. If that is true then Fountain Pen Community may be one to avoid.

[carlos.q]

Did anyone mention The Fountain Pen Community? It's still there but there has been no activity for years. It was started by Dennis Lively, if memory serves. I think this was another case of someone with nowhere else to go starting his own board. I think it faded away because it had nothing special to recommend it - nothing that wasn't being done better elsewhere.

I didn't know of this board. Thank you!


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[Deb]

Did anyone mention The Fountain Pen Community? It's still there but there has been no activity for years. It was started by Dennis Lively, if memory serves. I think this was another case of someone with nowhere else to go starting his own board. I think it faded away because it had nothing special to recommend it - nothing that wasn't being done better elsewhere.

I have heard that Dennis could be fractious, at best, I recall that he had a real bust up with Ian at Cathedral Pens, the most easy going of men. If that is true then Fountain Pen Community may be one to avoid.

I haven't heard of Dennis for several years. I don't want to go too deep into history and repeat old gossip but he was a character, to say the least. He announced his own death at least once, maybe twice. On the other hand he produced pen repair videos that were a good start point for those who wished to do that.

[top pen]

Didn't it become the Fedralist pen forum or was that something else? Before it demised?

[carlos.q]

According to information from an earlier post, FPN started out late June 2004. If you happened to visit the site on February 12, 2005 this is part of the front page you would have seen:

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If you had clicked on the top left side to find out "About FPN" this is what you would have read:

Welcome to the Fountain Pen Network where the pens are abundant and the ink and chatter flows freely.

FPN is a site for Fountain Pen enthusiasts and provides dedicated forums to discuss every aspect of fountain pen use.

We are a member driven site where all aspects of fountain pen collection/addiction are discussed and where the input from the forum members has shaped and continues to shape this friendly community.

This site is 100% non-commercial and we do not have or wish to solicit sponsors. We are hosted for free, we use freely available software, and the members of the Administrative team are unpaid volunteers.

The respective forums you will find reflect the members' interests we have identified and the number and content of these forums will evolve under the direction of the community. You will find forums to discuss general pen topics, History, Repairs, Penmanship, Inks, Photography, Trade, and there is even a forum for off topic Chatter and a forum dedicated to all things "Sheaffer".

The forums will be regularly edited, to keep them readable and to assure quick information access. There is no cut-off time for most forums, so the information contained in your posts will be publicly available as long as the site lives.

We hope you will enjoy the site. See you soon on the board !

The FPN Admin Team.

[Deb]

Didn't it become the Fedralist pen forum or was that something else? Before it demised?

May well have been. I gave up on it.

[TSherbs]

According to information from an earlier post, FPN started out late June 2004. If you happened to visit the site on February 12, 2005 this is part of the front page you would have seen:

54257

If you had clicked on the top left side to find out "About FPN" this is what you would have read:

Welcome to the Fountain Pen Network where the pens are abundant and the ink and chatter flows freely.

FPN is a site for Fountain Pen enthusiasts and provides dedicated forums to discuss every aspect of fountain pen use.

We are a member driven site where all aspects of fountain pen collection/addiction are discussed and where the input from the forum members has shaped and continues to shape this friendly community.

This site is 100% non-commercial and we do not have or wish to solicit sponsors. We are hosted for free, we use freely available software, and the members of the Administrative team are unpaid volunteers.

The respective forums you will find reflect the members' interests we have identified and the number and content of these forums will evolve under the direction of the community. You will find forums to discuss general pen topics, History, Repairs, Penmanship, Inks, Photography, Trade, and there is even a forum for off topic Chatter and a forum dedicated to all things "Sheaffer".

The forums will be regularly edited, to keep them readable and to assure quick information access. There is no cut-off time for most forums, so the information contained in your posts will be publicly available as long as the site lives.

We hope you will enjoy the site. See you soon on the board !

The FPN Admin Team.



That's quaint.

[carlos.q]

An even earlier iteration of FPN was this site named fpnet.tk. If you had visited this site on July 9, 2004 this is what you would have seen:

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That day the board had 9 registered members and a grand total of 37 posts.

The site's creator was Denis Richard and the first person who volunteered to help with the site was KCat, who I believe is still over at FPN.

[carlos.q]

Since there is no published "History of FP Forums" and given the limits of the Wayback machine it is very hard to say who was truly the first. After the USENET and BBS systems that were prevalent at the dawn of the internet, the World Wide Web (WWW) became an ever increasing phenomenon beginning with the release of Mosaic in 1993, Netscape in 1994 and Internet Explorer in 1995. The oldest mention I have found to a WWW FP site is Penthusiasm who proudly proclaimed to be "YOUR Information Center to the WWW of Fountain Pen Collecting since 1996".

Here is a screen capture from August 2000:

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[AzJon]

I was a member of Isaacson's Fpnuts from its inception until it faded out when he moved to Facebook. I think there might have been a couple of occasions when he launched into one of his well-known diatribes or never-ending arguments - if you can call what he does arguing. For the rest of the time he behaved surprisingly well, allowed debate to run uninterrupted and, in all, did a fine job. Nobody knows better than me how obnoxious he can be and almost always is but credit where credit's due, he made Fpnuts the place to go for serious pen discussion and sharing of information, free from the nagging of the sturmbannfuhrers of FPN. I don't know how he behaves in the Facebook version. I don't go there.

He behaves the same. At least the last time I was there before leaving the group. Last I was there the group was David's charm amplified by the mire of civil discourse Facebook can bring.

[carlos.q]

Another early contender was iKonPen. I haven't been able to find out when it first appeared but this is the way that it looked back on October 9, 1999:

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Three things about this site:

First of all, there are no "y"s in the text. I don't believe it was like this originally so apparently this seems to be a glitch in the Wayback software.

Second, there is a "iKonTalk" section that apparently led to a connected bulletin board system. I haven't been able to find a copy of that BBS page. However this "webpage-BBS combo" will become popular for future websites... including FPG.

Third, the site had an onboard magazine known as "iKonZine" for reviews and essays:

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[carlos.q]

iKonPen did not have a long life. This is a view of the site on December 3, 2000:

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[carlos.q]

Another early FP Bulletin Board was Penlovers. This is the way it looked way back on August 31, 2000:

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[carlos.q]

Four years later (July 2, 2004) the Penlovers site looked liked this:

54698

[silverlifter]

I would so love to be able to click on that link to the Omas Paragon in Arco Bronze to see what the asking price was in 2004... :p

# edit: found the page the following day on the Wayback Machine, but the individual threads are not archived, so I am none the wiser...

[carlos.q]

No matter the forum one thing is constant thru the years: "Is this Montblanc fake?"

[guyy]

Another early FP Bulletin Board was Penlovers. This is the way it looked way back on August 31, 2000:

54697

Lots of familiar names there.

[silverlifter]

No matter the forum one thing is constant thru the years: "Is this Montblanc fake?"

Heh. Or this one:


Breaking in pens a myth?

Posted by simon on June 7, 2004, 10:43 am

Is the notion of breaking in a pen a fallacy? I am aware that nib units need to be 'fully whetted', that some manufacturing glue deposit may need flushing out, that some nibs re-setting on the feeds etc; but surely the iridium tip is almost diamond hard and unlikely to adjust much with gentle use on the round. Would it not be fairer to say that it is the pen user who needs a breaking in period with the pen? That it is we who adjust to the pen's own nuances/idiosyncrasies etc. I think that it is more likely that we subconciously tweak our angle, pressure, grip, style etc to the particular pen we using. Any thoughts?

[carlos.q]

The Lion & Pen website was an important pen hangout back in 2005. This is the way it looked on October 26, 2005:

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According to some, it was the heated arguments in the final two forums at the bottom of the page ("Hot Buttons") that caused the site to shut down.


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[Deb]

Fond memories of that board. Thank you, carlos.q

[Freddie]

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Thanks for the stroll down memory lane.

Fred

[carlos.q]

Another early fountain pen forum was Rambling Snail Fountain Pen Citizenry (RSFPC). This site was up from April 2, 2003 to August 2006, so just a bit over 3 years.

Note that the Wayback Machine did not capture RSFPC's logo in this April 15, 2003 capture:

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Some time later RSFPC had incorporated BBS features. This is the way it looked back in July 8, 2005:

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Note the announcement for "a new online pen magazine and forum, named Lion & Pen" in the first post above.

A year later Rambling Snail was in trouble.... and up for sale. This is the view from August 9, 2006:

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Nobody ever bought the site. RSFPC, like many others, is now part of FP internet history.

[Frank]

Did anyone mention TFPC Yet??

The Fountain Pen Community was run by Yours Truly from 2008 till 2015.
My goal was to keep it active-and use it as a marketing tool for my (new then) retail venture.

The site is "inactive". I decided later in 2015 to close it to new posts to keep costs at a minimum.
I also stopped paying for a private URL as well, but you can still access it thru the host provider

www.thefountainpencommunity.activeboard.com (http://www.thefountainpencommunity.activeboard.com)

My Facebook Community Page pays tribute to this old forum.
I do not advertise Fed Pens deals on that Facebook Page, and I prefer contributors also not to be retail advertisers.
You are free to join either one- there is a WEALTH of information at the old forum above!
(You do not have to register, and you do not get spam or messages. No one is allowed to post- not even me.
That is how I avoid anything more than an "archive fee" from the host/Activeboard)

Happy Hunting! Join the Facebook "Fountain Pen Community" Page.
Share your love of pens- pics, info, stories welcome! :)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1142162949150072/?ref=bookmarks

Thank You for posting this page! I'm always looking to help grow this "Community"!

Best Regards,
Frank

[Frank]

I saw some chatter about it on prior pages..
that was back in the prior DWL days...
Again- still there for those who wish to check out the reference pages.
Also Active thru a Facebook page maintained by me today...

Thank You!
Frank

[carlos.q]

One of the nicest aspects of this trip down internet's memory lane is that sometimes you can find some very interesting information. For example, after Freddie's post (#71) I decided to check out some of the websites mentioned. The first one I looked for was inkblotters.com, a site that belonged to Len Provisor. Len is a friendly guy that currently hangs out at the Pentrace site.

Inkblotters was online apparently from the year 2000 to 2008. This was not an FP forum but a sales site for... you guessed it... ink blotters!

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I was instantly fascinated by the Montblanc biplane shown on the site. But the coolest part was that there was an explanation as to the history of, not only the plane, but also of the Montblanc image:

M O N T B L A N C
1922 LVG C VI
Luft-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft mbH

In the early 1920s a new marketing department was established by Montblanc under the direction of Grete Gross a prominent artist and designer from the Baltic region who went by the nickname Gre-Gro. With swept back black hair she was a tall imposing figure and had a self-assured demeanor. She was greatly responsible for the Montblanc stratospheric launch to world fame through her ingenious advertising. Her design and creativity borrowed heavily from the then popular Bauhaus art style. Grete Gross created a new image for Montblanc with exciting posters, advertising literature, special displays for stores and shop windows.

The goal of this new advertising was to create something entirely different than any other company, a new image that would make a strong impression on the public. Grete Gross was even responsible for the special design typography for the Montblanc name which has influenced their advertising to this day.

The most important of international trade events was the 1922 Leipzig Trade Fair and Montblanc wanted to present something novel showing great technological improvements. At this time in the 1920s Montblanc had more writing instrument products than ever before and the Leipzig Fair was a superb occasion to present this broad selection of products. During the period 1910-1924 a wide variety of Montblanc and Rouge et Noir-pens were produced. Soon the Montblanc name became so popular that the Rouge et Noir was discontinued in 1921. However the Montblanc Italian factory continued to produce Rouge et Noir until 1923.

This “Doppeldecker” aircraft was designed by Grete Gross as part of this aggressive advertising campaign to capture the public attention. The MONTBLANC “Doppeldecker” biplane was flown over the crowds of visitors attending the Leipzig Fair and created quite a sensation. This was an event that attracted great crowds of people to see the exhibits of manufactures in many areas of industry from household to industrial products. Another company that also used this LVG aircraft for aerial advertising using illuminated under wing letters was the famous Trumpf chocolate manufacturer.

The LVG C VI was built by the Luft-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft mbH of Berlin-Johannisthal as a high altitude observation aircraft. Powered by a powerful 240 hp Benz BzIVu. engine this allowed the aircraft to climb to great altitude. A conversion as early as 1919 enclosed the large rear two-passenger compartment making this a light “Limousine” for inter-city travel. Curiously, passengers preferred the open cockpit experience so not too many enclosed cabin LVG were produced. Soon the LVG was the aircraft preferred by DLR or Deutsche Luftreederei, the largest of the many German companies formed in the immediate post-war period providing mail and passenger transport service. Today the forerunner of DLR is known as Lufthansa Airlines.

Besides the sensational “Doppeldecker” Montblanc created a team of seven luxury Steyr touring automobiles decorated with a giant Montblanc pen on the roof and the star logo on the hub caps. These Montblanc vehicles and the biplane would create quite a sensation wherever they traveled.



Thanks to Len for this amazing research!

[FredRydr]

Carlos,

Montblanc provided its boutiques with scale models of that airplane for display purposes about 10-15 years ago.. I tried to get one from when I had a good friend heading the former headquarters for North America in New Jersey, but none were available. Then I pleaded with the King of Prussia boutique for theirs, but the assistant manager had already promised it to her young son. One day, someone will be cleaning house and set one out for $1 at a yard sale.

[kazoolaw]

You've done so well, did you find this one already?

https://community.fpc.ink/

[carlos.q]

You've done so well, did you find this one already?

https://community.fpc.ink/



Thank you! No I hadn't seen this forum before. It seems to be a rather modern forum with a regional focus. Am I correct?

I guess it's time for me to update my (very old) thread on fountain pen forums around the world:

https://fpgeeks.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-3788.html

[Freddie]

Carlos some more of Len Provisor blotters.....and if you purchased any or all of his models..you couldn't go wrong....For me the gem is the N.A.Mustang...
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Fred

[carlos.q]

Thank you Freddie. I've been in contact with Len regarding this thead. He is a very friendly guy. :thumb: