Page 1 of 4 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 80

Thread: Researching the history of internet FP forums

  1. #1
    Senior Member carlos.q's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    On a hill in Puerto Rico
    Posts
    1,697
    Thanks
    2,214
    Thanked 1,813 Times in 794 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Researching the history of internet FP forums

    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?


    lion,pen77trans.gif

    logo.gif


    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?

  2. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to carlos.q For This Useful Post:

    Ahriman4891 (June 5th, 2020), catbert (April 22nd, 2020), Marsilius (April 22nd, 2020)

  3. #2
    Senior Member Jon Szanto's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    6,616
    Thanks
    7,795
    Thanked 11,039 Times in 4,010 Posts
    Rep Power
    22

    Default Re: Researching the history of internet FP forums

    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.
    "When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
    and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

    ~ Benjamin Franklin

  4. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Jon Szanto For This Useful Post:

    carlos.q (April 22nd, 2020), Marsilius (April 22nd, 2020), welch (May 30th, 2020)

  5. #3
    Senior Member FredRydr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Carlisle, Pennsylvania USA
    Posts
    4,907
    Thanks
    1,396
    Thanked 6,390 Times in 2,505 Posts
    Rep Power
    18

    Default Re: Researching the history of internet FP forums

    Quote Originally Posted by Jon Szanto View Post
    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.

  6. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to FredRydr For This Useful Post:

    carlos.q (April 22nd, 2020), Jon Szanto (April 22nd, 2020)

  7. #4
    Senior Member guyy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Brooklyn NY
    Posts
    775
    Thanks
    381
    Thanked 618 Times in 344 Posts
    Rep Power
    8

    Default Re: Researching the history of internet FP forums

    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.

  8. The Following User Says Thank You to guyy For This Useful Post:

    Jon Szanto (April 22nd, 2020)

  9. #5
    Senior Member Freddie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Gold Coast, NY
    Posts
    199
    Thanks
    47
    Thanked 283 Times in 133 Posts
    Rep Power
    11

    Default Re: Researching the history of internet FP forums

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

    Fred

  10. The Following User Says Thank You to Freddie For This Useful Post:

    carlos.q (April 23rd, 2020)

  11. #6
    Senior Member carlos.q's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    On a hill in Puerto Rico
    Posts
    1,697
    Thanks
    2,214
    Thanked 1,813 Times in 794 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: Researching the history of internet FP forums

    Quote Originally Posted by Freddie View Post
    Off of the top of me head.....alt.collecting.pens-pencils {The Wild West}.....Penlovers......
    ikonPen......Penthusiasm......There are others......

    Fred

    You mean these?


    Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 10.29.19 AM.png


    IMG_0221.GIF


    IMG_0219.GIF


    IMG_0220.GIF
    Last edited by carlos.q; April 23rd, 2020 at 08:47 AM.

  12. #7
    Senior Member guyy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Brooklyn NY
    Posts
    775
    Thanks
    381
    Thanked 618 Times in 344 Posts
    Rep Power
    8

    Default Re: Researching the history of internet FP forums

    Looks like it

  13. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    SFO USA
    Posts
    1,375
    Thanks
    13
    Thanked 1,113 Times in 573 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: Researching the history of internet FP forums

    For a while there was Fountain Pen Board.

    fpnuts.com

  14. #9
    Senior Member carlos.q's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    On a hill in Puerto Rico
    Posts
    1,697
    Thanks
    2,214
    Thanked 1,813 Times in 794 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: Researching the history of internet FP forums

    Quote Originally Posted by Farmboy View Post
    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.

  15. #10
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Posts
    1,735
    Thanks
    139
    Thanked 608 Times in 444 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: Researching the history of internet FP forums

    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.

  16. #11
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Posts
    1,735
    Thanks
    139
    Thanked 608 Times in 444 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: Researching the history of internet FP forums

    Quote Originally Posted by kazoolaw View Post
    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.

  17. The Following User Says Thank You to kazoolaw For This Useful Post:

    carlos.q (April 29th, 2020)

  18. #12
    Senior Member carlos.q's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    On a hill in Puerto Rico
    Posts
    1,697
    Thanks
    2,214
    Thanked 1,813 Times in 794 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: Researching the history of internet FP forums

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

    Screen Shot 2020-05-28 at 10.52.16 AM.png

  19. #13
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Posts
    1,735
    Thanks
    139
    Thanked 608 Times in 444 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: Researching the history of internet FP forums

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

  20. The Following User Says Thank You to kazoolaw For This Useful Post:

    carlos.q (May 28th, 2020)

  21. #14
    Senior Member welch's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    New York City
    Posts
    1,031
    Thanks
    1,504
    Thanked 510 Times in 344 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: Researching the history of internet FP forums

    Vacumania looks alive.

  22. The Following User Says Thank You to welch For This Useful Post:

    carlos.q (May 30th, 2020)

  23. #15
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Posts
    1,712
    Thanks
    4,741
    Thanked 4,642 Times in 1,129 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: Researching the history of internet FP forums

    Quote Originally Posted by welch View Post
    Vacumania looks alive.
    It's back up but hasn't been updated for a while. September 2018?

  24. The Following User Says Thank You to catbert For This Useful Post:

    carlos.q (May 30th, 2020)

  25. #16
    Senior Member carlos.q's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    On a hill in Puerto Rico
    Posts
    1,697
    Thanks
    2,214
    Thanked 1,813 Times in 794 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: Researching the history of internet FP forums

    Quote Originally Posted by welch View Post
    Vacumania looks alive.
    That is correct. And fpnuts.com (fountainpenboard.com) also came back to life. It must have been a temporary glitch.

  26. #17
    Senior Member Deb's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Highlands of Scotland
    Posts
    1,747
    Thanks
    2,349
    Thanked 1,927 Times in 842 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: Researching the history of internet FP forums

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

  27. The Following User Says Thank You to Deb For This Useful Post:

    carlos.q (May 30th, 2020)

  28. #18
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    640
    Thanks
    237
    Thanked 312 Times in 163 Posts
    Rep Power
    11

    Default Re: Researching the history of internet FP forums

    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.
    Last edited by top pen; May 31st, 2020 at 04:44 AM.

  29. #19
    Senior Member jar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Deep South Texas
    Posts
    4,045
    Thanks
    479
    Thanked 3,711 Times in 1,610 Posts
    Rep Power
    18

    Default Re: Researching the history of internet FP forums

    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 ...

  30. The Following User Says Thank You to jar For This Useful Post:

    Deb (May 31st, 2020)

  31. #20
    Senior Member carlos.q's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    On a hill in Puerto Rico
    Posts
    1,697
    Thanks
    2,214
    Thanked 1,813 Times in 794 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: Researching the history of internet FP forums

    Quote Originally Posted by top pen View Post
    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.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •