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It's a Small World

How I became a fan club byte throb

By Wally David

I WAS JUST telling a co-worker that I have my own fan club on the on the World Wide Web. Relating how this came to be lead me to recount a series of incidents that, viewed collectively, really illustrate how the Internet has brought us all a lot closer together.

Over the past few years I've come into contact with a number of people over the Internet I'd otherwise have never met. I guess it started when I mounted my own Web page (www.mags.net/wallydavid). There I told people about my father, Gunter, who was a big-time newspaper reporter for the Newark News, Philadelphia Bulletin, and Philadelphia Daily News. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, I talked about how hard it is to be the brother of the well-known science fiction and comic book writer Peter David. And I also mentioned my Philly roots and my fondness for the sports teams of that town. Little did I expect that these three subjects would lead all sorts of people to my page.

After my page hit the Net, I started getting e-mail from fans of my brother. When people did searches on his name, Star Trek, and comic books, my page came up in the search engine results. Some people just dropped me notes to say "hello" and ask how they could get in contact with my brother. A few have become regular e-mail pen pals. One woman has three things in common with me: She is a fan of my brother; a fan of Philly sports teams, and her mother used to work with my dad in the newspaper business. Another woman, a displaced Philadelphian living in Florida, loved my sports recollections and continues to e-mail me every now and then to say hello, especially around the holidays. One guy from Texas is a huge fan of Space Cases, my brother's now defunct kids' science fiction show on Nickelodeon. He asked me to create a link to his home page, which is devoted to the show.

Now I ask you this: Would I ever have come into contact with any of these people had it not been for the Internet? The answer, of course, is a resounding "no." But then you don't have to have a Web page to get connected with people.

Newsgroups are another place where I've met a lot of people, and it is not just because my brother is an author. I subscribe to rec.auto.simulations, a newsgroup devoted to computerized racing simulations. One day I was reading the latest batch of posts and came across the last name of someone with whom I used to work. Since the name was unique, I sent him an e-mail message asking if he knew the person I used to work with. It turns out they are distant cousins.

I'm not the only person to meet someone on the Internet and become friends. My mother posted a message to my brother's newsgroup, alt.fan.peter-david, and got a response from someone asking if, based on her first name, she was from Israel. Since my mother had been born there, she responded. The woman who had sent the message (a fan of my brother) had been born in the United States but now lives in the one of those tiny Israeli settlements that has been the center of controversy for years. She caries a 357 Magnum and loves science fiction! She and my mother became such good e-mail pals that last year, on a visit back to the States, she visited my mother. Would this have happened before the Internet? No.

Now I know you are all dying to find out about my fan club and how that started. So here goes. The guy who has a Web site devoted to Space Cases runs a weekly chat on Tuesday evenings. So every Tuesday a bunch of people who are fans of the show—or just fans of my brother—meet to shoot the breeze. Since my brother is not as computer savvy as I am and doesn't have much spare time, he hasn't visited the chat room yet. But I have had the pleasure of visiting it on two occasions. And people there treat me like a pseudocelebrity because I'm Peter David's brother! It's mind-boggling to me to find legions of people out there that spend time discussing my brother's work.

On my second visit to the chat room, people asked me if I was a big sci-fi fan (which I'm not) and what do I do for a living. Since being a systems support specialist is not as interesting as being a writer—at least not to them—we started to get a little silly, with me feigning a severe lack of self-worth because I'm not famous. One thing led to another, and the idea of a Wally David fan club was born. Within minutes (actually about half an hour) the woman from Philly whose mom used to work with my dad had created and posted a Web page guest book devoted to the Wally David Fan Club. The address, in case you are interested is http://members.aol.com/scfanfic/wallyfan.htm. Drop by and post a note on the message board for all my "fans" to see!

There are lots of other ways to use the Internet to contact people—those you've never met before or those you haven't heard from in years. The Internet is out there waiting for you to use it (and maybe become a celebrity), so take advantage of this rich resource and have fun.

It's a Small World

How I became a fan club byte throb

*By Wally David*
I WAS JUST telling a co-worker that I have my own fan club on the on the World Wide Web. Relating how this came to be lead me to recount a series of incidents that, viewed collectively, really illustrate how the Internet has brought us all a lot closer together. Over the past few years I've come into contact with a number of people over the Internet I'd otherwise have never met. I guess it started when I mounted my own Web page (www.mags.net/wallydavid). There I told people about my father, Gunter, who was a big-time newspaper reporter for the Newark News, Philadelphia Bulletin, and Philadelphia Daily News. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, I talked about how hard it is to be the brother of the well-known science fiction and comic book writer Peter David. And I also mentioned my Philly roots and my fondness for the sports teams of that town. Little did I expect that these three subjects would lead all sorts of people to my page. After my page hit the Net, I started getting e-mail from fans of my brother. When people did searches on his name, Star Trek, and comic books, my page came up in the search engine results. Some people just dropped me notes to say "hello" and ask how they could get in contact with my brother. A few have become regular e-mail pen pals. One woman has three things in common with me: She is a fan of my brother; a fan of Philly sports teams, and her mother used to work with my dad in the newspaper business. Another woman, a displaced Philadelphian living in Florida, loved my sports recollections and continues to e-mail me every now and then to say hello, especially around the holidays. One guy from Texas is a huge fan of Space Cases, my brother's now defunct kids' science fiction show on Nickelodeon. He asked me to create a link to his home page, which is devoted to the show. Now I ask you this: Would I ever have come into contact with any of these people had it not been for the Internet? The answer, of course, is a resounding "no." But then you don't have to have a Web page to get connected with people. Newsgroups are another place where I've met a lot of people, and it is not just because my brother is an author. I subscribe to rec.auto.simulations, a newsgroup devoted to computerized racing simulations. One day I was reading the latest batch of posts and came across the last name of someone with whom I used to work. Since the name was unique, I sent him an e-mail message asking if he knew the person I used to work with. It turns out they are distant cousins. I'm not the only person to meet someone on the Internet and become friends. My mother posted a message to my brother's newsgroup, alt.fan.peter-david, and got a response from someone asking if, based on her first name, she was from Israel. Since my mother had been born there, she responded. The woman who had sent the message (a fan of my brother) had been born in the United States but now lives in the one of those tiny Israeli settlements that has been the center of controversy for years. She caries a 357 Magnum and loves science fiction! She and my mother became such good e-mail pals that last year, on a visit back to the States, she visited my mother. Would this have happened before the Internet? No. Now I know you are all dying to find out about my fan club and how that started. So here goes. The guy who has a Web site devoted to Space Cases runs a weekly chat on Tuesday evenings. So every Tuesday a bunch of people who are fans of the show—or just fans of my brother—meet to shoot the breeze. Since my brother is not as computer savvy as I am and doesn't have much spare time, he hasn't visited the chat room yet. But I have had the pleasure of visiting it on two occasions. And people there treat me like a pseudocelebrity because I'm Peter David's brother! It's mind-boggling to me to find legions of people out there that spend time discussing my brother's work. On my second visit to the chat room, people asked me if I was a big sci-fi fan (which I'm not) and what do I do for a living. Since being a systems support specialist is not as interesting as being a writer—at least not to them—we started to get a little silly, with me feigning a severe lack of self-worth because I'm not famous. One thing led to another, and the idea of a Wally David fan club was born. Within minutes (actually about half an hour) the woman from Philly whose mom used to work with my dad had created and posted a Web page guest book devoted to the Wally David Fan Club. The address, in case you are interested is http://members.aol.com/scfanfic/wallyfan.htm. Drop by and post a note on the message board for all my "fans" to see! There are lots of other ways to use the Internet to contact people—those you've never met before or those you haven't heard from in years. The Internet is out there waiting for you to use it (and maybe become a celebrity), so take advantage of this rich resource and have fun.

WALLY DAVID is chairman of the board of DACS and also a member of the newsletter editorial committee. He is a Systems Support Specialist for Labatt USA at their U.S. headquarters in Norwalk. Contact Wally via e-mail at wallydavid@myself.com.