Nostalgia Hits At GBN Archive

[Fritz]

I dunno what brought it on...but yesterday and today I found myself prowling around the message boards of the "old" GBN. That was the first message board I ever joined, and in the brief time I was posting there (Feb-July 2003, when it closed and was replaced by GBCentral) I managed to make a lot of new friends (some of which now post on this board, 3 1/2 years later) and had more than one interesting discussion.

The main page:
archive.ghostbusters.net

The board:
archive.ghostbusters.net/boards
(Don't click on the Message Board links in the Archive itself--it takes you to GBCentral)

I'd found the site just as the "It's Coming!" stuff started to hit in late 2002 (I didn't register until Feb 3, 2003) Chad deleted the "It's Coming!" thread in May 2003, after Sebastien (Red Ketchup) blew a promise for major a big announcement. Huh. Certainly not the last time he'd have trouble keeping his promises, was it?

Anyway, here's the Comic Book forum, which was the sight of much optimism at the time GBN closed (July 5, 2003--almost a year before the comic finally made it out)
archive.ghostbusters.net/topic/ghn/14/

And a few threads of personal note:

The original thread about the Timeline
archive.ghostbusters.net/disscussion/ghn/1/146288/

The "RGB Canon With The Movies?" thread (in which I start talking about the Timeline)
archive.ghostbusters.net/disscussion/ghn/1/130288/

The "Legends of Ghostbusters" thread, which was the birthplace of the Ghostbusters West Coast. I don't even come onto it until page 19:
archive.ghostbusters.net/disscussion/ghn/13/120100/

The "Movie Star Name" thread, which is sort of the origin of the name "Chelsea Aberdeen"...
archive.ghostbusters.net/disscussion/ghn/9/144118/

Threads involved in the first big fight I ever saw in the GB Community, the Prop/Fan Fic Franchise War that led to GBI being split into two seperate parts for a few months:
archive.ghostbusters.net/disscussion/ghn/13/124540/
archive.ghostbusters.net/disscussion/ghn/13/126557/

>sigh<...the very beginning of a certain Reign of Terror on the GBN/GBCentral boards... (5th post of thread)
archive.ghostbusters.net/disscussion/ghn/1/157937/

Lots of people I remember, some of which have pretty much disappeared. GBWC teammates Ludicris, Proton User, Chadderbox, Peter Kong, Ray Parker Jr, and Otter. Heh. Ones who changed their names (ieAgent D--Dan Evans; Scoleri Guy--Chris Spade; VenkmanGB1A--Bondo Bandit). And I remember this lady, who pretty much vanished after GBN was shut down, "E Graves"
archive.ghostbusters.net/profile/10436/
She was a snarky Egon/Janine supporter from England, and helped stomp down EB a time or two. I wonder what ever happened to her?

Anyway, I hope nobody minds the indulgence. Maybe it'll even stir somebody else's memory or two.

[Miss Janine]

Ah, yes. Those were good times. Even though I was upset at the way things ended up, I really don't regret being there. Hey, that's where "Miss Janine" was born, anyway. And where I "met" Fritz. ;D

[Fritz]

missjanine said:

Ah, yes. Those were good times. Even though I was upset at the way things ended up, I really don't regret being there. Hey, that's where "Miss Janine" was born, anyway. And where I "met" Fritz. ;D

I don't know if you remembered this, but the very first post I made there was to answer a question about Egon's Mom. You were the only other person to reply to that thread.

archive.ghostbusters.net/disscussion/ghm/1/110365/

[ECTO-1]

I was I LOVE ECTO 1 in them days (which's why people seem to think I joined certain boards AFTER the shut down). Fortunately when every board restarted I was able to snag my current (and much better) nome de plur. I was a lurker way back in Bill's day, didn't even know there was a forum. I just surfed his site for location info (which I'd come to improve upon) and the other little tidbits (that'd soon be outclassed by Spook Central).

Didn't really make friends till after the site fell. Enemies either for that matter. When I started out I was pretty oblivious to all the problems that plagued the community at that point, and I didn't pay much attention to all the Red Ketchup stuff. Heh I'd probably be more liked if I kept to my ignorance. Ah wells.

[EGBFan]

missjanine said:

...And where I "met" Fritz. ;D

Same here. My memory of this is hazy (hey, I was 17 - all I really remember about being 17 is that it was a lot of fun), but I think I was aware of Fritz on the boards for a time; but we only really started communicating when he left a nice review for one of my stories and encouraged me to keep writing in spite of there being a lot of anti-EGB feeling on the site. Though GBN gave EGB very fair representation, I picked up that a lot of people didn't like it (how could I not? : - I seem to remember I signed on only to defend it on the boards (the fanfiction came a week or so later).

...Ok, I just trawled through the boards and got bored before I found my first post, so no link. I seem to remember I also got into a couple of heated debates with someone who hated Eduardo and thought Kylie and Egon would make a good couple (I can't agree, even though I had a crush on a teacher last year - he and I could never make it work, and neither could they) - but I'm not even going to look for that. I liked being 17, but I seem to remember I could be childish at such times as those.

There's no need for me to say I don't regret signing on. Of course I don't. How could I? I'd be a writer now with or without GBN - was a writer before it, come to that - but the encouragement I've got from people I met there (here Fritz deserves another mention, I feel) has just been so helpful to me over these last... gosh - four years! It hardly seems like that long.

[ECTO-1]

I just did some surfing and here's my first post (or at least the oldest I can see): archive.ghostbusters.net/disscussion/ghm/1/125109/

Ironically, my intro to the boards was touting NYC info.

And the rest of the posts I made, all 800 of them:
archive.ghostbusters.net/profile/9740/3/750/

[Fritz]

egbfan said:

...Ok, I just trawled through the boards and got bored before I found my first post, so no link.

archive.ghostbusters.net/disscussion/ghm/1/86399/

I seem to remember I also got into a couple of heated debates with someone who hated Eduardo and thought Kylie and Egon would make a good couple

Jackalman99, I think. He (or maybe it was a she, I seem to remember getting that impression a time or two) liked EGB, but had some odd ideas. Probably the oddest was Eduardo having the hots for Janine (WTF? )
---------------------------------------
And I swear I didn't start this thread just to fish for compliments, I promise.

[Miss Janine]

One day soon I'm going to go through there. Some of the best times were the discussions EB would be involved in. Believe me, I bit my tongue many times, but, hey, it was a blast. Especially when this "Veedramon" guy got involved. ;D

[SuperStantzio]

I agree with that. I need to find my post when I first joined GBN it's been almost 4 years I have been here.

[EGBFan]

Ah, first post - I was very polite.

admin said:

Jackalman99, I think. He (or maybe it was a she, I seem to remember getting that impression a time or two) liked EGB, but had some odd ideas. Probably the oddest was Eduardo having the hots for Janine (WTF? )

That's the one. I seem to remember someone (possibly Fritz, but equally possibly not) demanding evidence for the Eduardo/Janine thing. None was forthcoming. There just isn't any. Oh, and I'm 80% sure she's a woman.

[Miss Janine]

Besides, we all know it was Eduardo and Kylie.

*waits for Eduardo's inevitable post*

[SuperStantzio]

I agree with Miss Janine said, too.

[Fritz]

Here's another all time favorite, the Fact List thread:
archive.ghostbusters.net/disscussion/ghn/5/121827/

Ah Jackalman...I remember at one point being so annoyed with her (?) that I started calling her (?) "Donkeyman99" in my mind.

Some Donk.--er, Jackalman in high form threats.
archive.ghostbusters.net/disscussion/ghn/1/145914/
archive.ghostbusters.net/disscussion/ghn/1/163920/

Peter and Janine is about as freaky as the folks who want to pair Eduardo and Kylie up with one another. Eduardo and Peter are annoying men, who screw-up every thing they touch. They aren't meant to get anywhere with Janine, Kylie or any other woman on the planet.

Though a couple posts down Iain lets everyone have it

Stop making wild accusations that upset the community!

Egon is NOT gay.
Peter does NOT love Janine.
Janine does NOT love Peter.

Oh and before you start,

Ray is NOT a transvestite.

Winston is NOT white.

Lenny is NOT a woman.

Slimer is NOT alive.

And finnally

Walter Peck does NOT have a dick.

Sorry I couldn't resist that last one

Ungh...and some REALLY horrible stuff. Like this thread:
archive.ghostbusters.net/disscussion/ghn/1/164028/
Where someone mentions Fearsome Flush (and no, it wasn't Back ) and someone, I know you'll never guess who, talked about having it try to eat her Janine figure. (Go back and read enough of That Person's posts, and you'll know why people treated her like she was crazy)

[EGBFan]

Well, in my experience, such comments are extremely annoying for quite a few weeks. Then all of a sudden it becomes funny. And then one day, you just stop caring either way.

But I remember it did used to pee me off quite considerably when I got a bad review from Jackalman99 (and this happened more than once) just because what I had written was pro-E/K. I happen to think it's bad form to review a story on one's own (in this case, generally unpopular) ideas without paying any attention to plot, characterisation, written English and so forth. But honestly, if you were anti-E/K, and you had come to see the pattern in my stories, wouldn't you just stop reading them? Similarly I wonder why Sarah reads Fritz's stories - it seems rather massochistic to me.

But anyway, I think we're in danger of killing the feelings of nostalgia here...

I'm so sure Jackalman99 is a woman, so let's assume I'm right as usual. ;D Unorthodox ideas or no, it can get very annoying when people are unsure of your gender and just assume you're a man (unless, presumably, you are a man). One of my first reviews at GBN said "give this guy an Oscar" (which was a very nice thing to say, in spite of the small faux pas).

[BlackMaria]

I visited the old site; it's interesting to see how things have changed & how things/people have stayed exactly the same. I must give credit for consistency though Emerson said: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds..." We don't use the word hobgoblin enough nowadays. ;^)