Does anyone remember laughter?
In the 1990s, I was that nerdiest of nerds: a Usenet sci-fi television geek. I argued over the merits of various shows. I wrote fan fiction. I hung around chat boards and chat rooms. Some Usenetters became online buddies; others started out as adversaries and became buddies; one or two stayed adversaries. Those people in the first and second categories were and are cool folks; as for the few in the third, well, screw them. They don't know what they missed. Originally, I was one of those posters who became a little, uh, too emotionally involved in Usenet. It happens to everyone, and looking back, I suspect I did get too vehement or strident or even, on occasion, misguided. Eventually, I just outgrew that and tried to remind myself to have some perspective. (Of course, I ventured onto a couple of political Usenet groups as well...and THAT, in retrospect, was asking for trouble. Ah well. I was a newbie then.) Over in SF fandom, there was a handful of unpleasant, annoying, s