The K/S Netfan-Printzine Fan Wars

While there were many conversations and discussions in many fandoms regarding the changes that online fandom added to print zine fandom, the focus of this page is on two specific communities at a specific period of time. 
The K/S Netfan-Printzine Fan Wars were a series of discussions and controversies that occurred among the K/S print zine fan community and fans of K/S (and other pairings and Trek shows) on the early internet, mainly Usenet lists alt.startrek.creative and later, alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated. 
The terms they used for themselves and each other were 'print zine fans," "print fans," and "zine fans," "netfans," "netizans," "webfans," "webizen," and others. 
== Examples of Other Fanwars==
 
* Alt.startrek.creative Slash Wars
* Church of Ford
* The Blake's 7 Wars
* The Beauty and the Beast Wars
==Some Context==
Print zine fans came from a long line of authors, readers, and artists who had, since Star Trek: TOS was on the air, forged the path in fan fiction. 
 
The K/S fans sprung from wider print zine fandom, and their culture was one of deflecting derision from fellow fans, fear of retaliation from Paramount and other TPTB, and creating their fanworks in protected ways and spaces with each other. This insular and wary fandom very much tended to lean towards keeping out of visible spaces.
Print zine fans also had a long tradition of robust commenting and discussion in their letterzines, publications that had the sole purpose of sharing opinions with other K/S fans about stories and art. These letterzines were also places for fan creators to see comments about how their fiction and art was received, and how to improve it. Three of these letterzines were The LOC Connection (1989-93), Come Together (1994-96), The K/S Press (1996-2013). Each of them required a yearly subscription fee. They were published monthly, which meant that when a fan made a comment, they had to wait a month to see resulting replies. These letterzines tended to have robust reviews and comments, so while it was slow-moving, fans were satisfied with the pace. Monthly was better than four times a year, which was a norm for many other letterzines!
Before the internet, these zines and communities in them were the only game in town for regular, organized discussion. This mean that K/S print zine fandom was in the power position in terms of scope, product, and power for K/S fans. 
A new breed of K/S fandom arrived in the form of those on Usenet. These fans included some fans who were print fans as well, but many of those on alt.startrek.creative and alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated were brand new fans, brought into their community in ways that were oblivious to print zine fandom, neutral towards its existence, or openly dismissive and hostile to these previous fans. 
Alt.startrek.creative was new venue, a boisterous space. It prided itself on its raucous, free-for-all nature. From a fan in 1999: 
Some print zine fans who were online enjoyed the imaginative pairings, and the ability to shuck off tradition and per-conceived expectations. Fans who'd never heard of print zines were also making their own space into what they wanted.
The internet was also open to anyone who had access to a computer and a modem. This was a topic that often came up: computer access wasn't free, nor available to many. Print fans would point their fingers at this "elitism" while online fans pointed their fingers at the "elitism" of having to pay a yearly fee for letterzines.
This online Trek space was also not just for K/S fans. Instead, it included all relationships and pairings from Star Trek: TOS, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. K/S and Star Trek: TOS fans in print fandom often complained their favorite pairing and show was diluted in this online space, and that it was hard to find something to read. 
Print zine fans began to feel at a disadvantage in terms of attracting new fans, who in turn created and consumed new K/S fanfiction. 
BNFs in both worlds felt the pressure to protect their statuses and best interests, as well as be a cheerleader to keep their own fandoms surviving, and thriving, into the future. The battles between the two factions were fierce, and were both about protecting one's way of life, and winning the hearts and minds of K/S going forward.
This DOES NOT mean that all fans were involved in these clashes, especially in online spaces; most were agnostic, unaware, or simply ignored the discussions. 
The resulting culture clash between the two communities was one propelled by outspoken BNFs. It included turf wars, blacklisting, and blanket statements by fans on both sides.
==Comparing Apples and Oranges==
To some degree, K/S fandom in print zines and K/S fandom in early online spaces were comparing two different things.
There were many discussions in The K/S Press about what constituted "K/S." Fans chimed in about their definitions of it. This included true love, happy endings, and for many, familiar tropes and plots. Often their reviews contained statements along the lines of "this is K/S to me" and "this story is K/S." 
For many fans, this was the essence of why they read and viewed art. It fed them in specific and familiar ways. 
Some fans, unsatisfied with the same-old, wanted other fans to be unsatisfied as well. They wanted to push the envelope, and felt other fans should do the same. One of those outspoken fans was Judith Gran.
Part of Gran's on-going and assertive campaign was to not only make other fans more discerning and adventurous, she wanted them to join online fandom. 
But for fans invested in their preferred pairing, and for Kirk and Spock to have satisfying adventures and love, alt.startrek.creative was not an appealing place. Not only were they walking into what felt like a noisy pub or high school cafeteria full of unfamiliar people, they had to navigate everyone else's pairing and shows. This would be not unlike a dedicated fan of a pairing being required to be happy in a large multi-pairing, or mult-fandom, archive.
==What Did They Think of Each Other?==
They felt that net fans were brash and sassy. Net fans hadn't paid their dues, and appeared to have no fannish mentors. Posting fiction was very casual, and done without the help of zineds, which may print fans felt produced lazy, unedited fiction that one could not take seriously. Net fans were also missing out a curated zine experience that included context with the other fanworks in the zine, including fan art.
To print zine fans, the net fans were feral and dismissive of the traditions and culture that came before them. Their fiction was sloppy, and they only wrote for the instant feedback, feedback that was equally short and sloppy. Print zine fans pointed out that computer access couldn't be an assumed privilege (one fan cited the statistic that only 20% of fans had computer access at home). Even with computer access, it wasn't free, and that to have both the money for hardware, modems, and other requirements meant that online fandom was elitist. Print fans were also afraid that all these public venues (Usenet and newly-hatched websites) increased the visibility of slash and K/S and bring down the wrath of lawyers and TPTB. 
 
To net fans, print zine fans were dull, too focused on their own importance and hierarchies, unwilling to take risks, afraid of change, and too incestuous in their pecking orders. They also criticized the very production of print zines, that of money changing hands so that print zines could be dispersed. Net fans felt that print zines were elitist, exclusionary, and because money changed hands, courted danger from TPTB. They also complained about the power that a handful of fans had over everyone else, both as reviewers and as zine editors. 
===Who Are These Netfans Fans? Some Sample Comments at The K/S Press===
Some general comments from The K/S Press, a central gathering place for print K/S fans. 
===Who Are These Print Fans? Some Sample Comments at the COCO CHANNEL Interviews===
Some general comments from COCO CHANNEL Interviews, with a focus on BNFs who posted to alt.startrek.creative.
 
==Some Touchpoints and Players==
===Killashandra's Stories===
Killashandra's long stories Turning Point (1995) and Full Circle (1997) were first posted to Usenet at alt.startrek.creative. These stories were very well-received and for some fans, were a bit of a bridge between the two worlds. Killashandra was also a moderating voice in discussions and fan conflicts, a spokesperson that tended to have listeners on both sides.
At least one fan felt that Killashandra's tolerances and alliances with printzine fans were flawed: 
===Courts of Honor=== 
In 1988, the K/S novel, Courts of Honor by Syn Ferguson was finally released to a larger audience. It had had a lengthy and difficult road to availability was a very complicated one. Fans were upset about pre-orders being lost and misplaced, extensive delays in receiving copies of the zine, and whether the author selling the zine for profit, or not. 
Although "Courts of Honor" was published (after four years) to generally positive acclaim, many fans were angry with the zine or felt it had garnered undue special attention in the fandom. (See Controversy).
The print zine, Courts of Honor, and its complicated journey to publication was mentioned by several netfans as an example of why print zines were bad news. In August 1999, Raku said: 
Other fans pointed out that the problems behind this highly-visible zine were a rarity, and that netfans were treating it like a straw-man to prove their point. Judith Gran said in August 1999: 
It didn't help later that the first story presented in May 1999 as part of The Foresmutter's Project was Freedom is Standing in the Light, another story by Courts of Honor's author, Syn Ferguson. Several outspoken BNFs already assigned Ferguson as the role of a crook.
A BNF, Jungle Kitty, added fuel to the fire by complaining about Ferguson's stipulations for having her fiction posted to alt.startrek.creative: 
===The COCO CHANNEL Interviews===
The COCO CHANNEL Interviews including COCO CHANNEL Interview with Killashandra (1999)
These interviews were conducted by Kharmen Ghia, a fan who did not like print zines and pulled no punches about this. 
Kharmen included this question in many of their interviews: 
See some comments at What Did the Netfans Think of the Print Fans? Some Sample Comments at the COCO CHANNEL Interviews.
===Judith Gran===
Judith Gran, a BNF who had fanworks in both print and on the net, was a major player in the wars. While Gran wrote many long reviews of fiction in print zines, she was also was very outspoken in her criticism of print fandom in later years. Gran often jumped into conversations with lengthy, academic treatises about fan behavior, motivation, and alliances. 
Gran considered Emily Adams (who published some netfan fiction as well as a conciliatory editorial in her final issue of KaleidoScope), Kathy Resch, and Dot Loang (who published some netfan fiction as well as a conciliatory editorial in her final issue of Amazing Grace) to be "enlightened" print zine editors, and therefore three of the "good guys."
See part of Adams's editorial here. 
See part of Loang's editorial here.
===Some Usenet BNFs===
Kharmen Ghia, Raku, and Jungle Kitty were three BNF netfans who were blunt in their dislike of printzine fandom. They had outsized fannish voices, and this helped propel netfans' animosity towards print zines. 
===Some Print Zine BNFs===
Shelley Butler, Jenna Sinclair, and Robin Hood, three BNFs who were outspoken and active in protecting printzine fandom.
===The Foresmutter's Project===
A project by Mary Ellen Curtin was The Foresmutters Project (May 1999-).
It was an attempt to preserve and educate K/S fans about some old classics in the print zine world. 
When the "Foresmutter's Project" was first proposed, there was a flurry of comments from fans. Some of those comments, included below, were made during a six-day time period in May 1999 to alt.startrek.creative The Foresmutters Project, comments at alt.startrek.creative] and Foresmutters: remaining concerns shortly after the first story Freedom is Standing in the Light by Syn Ferguson was posted to the newsgroup. This choice of story only flamed more complaints, as Ferguson was the author of Courts of Honor, another story in the netfan doghouse.
See many, many, MANY comments at alt.startrek.creative (the burden of history, access, control, status, and cocktail wienies...).
The first comment was by Jungle Kitty, which sets the tone: 
Another comment, this one by PB Wrapper: 
== Forays: First Contact==
From a print fan in 1997, alt.startrek.creative was an eye-opener: 
Sandy Herrold wrote in February 1997 about her experience at the 1996 Escapade convention: 
From a fan in February 1997: 
In March 1997, a print zine fan wrote: 
==Forays: Education Attempts==
===Amazing Grace: Special Edition===
In 1998, Dot Loang published a special edition of her print zine, Amazing Grace. From that zine's editorial: 
===KaleidoScope's Final Issue===
In July 1998, Emily Adams, the editor of the print zine, KaleidoScope, had an upbeat conciliatory message in the final issue of that zine. Adams passed away a few weeks after this zine issue was published. 
===An Essay: Topic was "Turning Point" and "Full Circle"===
In January 1999, Mary Ellen Curtin wrote an essay about Killashandra's fiction, and she received a lot of push back from it from the usual anti-print fans. This essay and the following comments are a strong example of the tensions between netfans and printfans defending their turf, teeth and nail, as well as the highly personal reality all fans bring to the table of concrit and review. One of the commenters (Karmen Ghia), had a history of being quite derisive of "older" K/S fiction See COCO CHANNEL Interview with Judith Gran (September 1999) , and states in their comments that they are "burnt out" on K/S fiction in general. Karmen Ghia also disliked the print zine community, and while "Turning Point" and "Full Circle" were posted online, they also appeared in the print zine, T'hy'la; this was something they were also pushing back against.
In essence, the comments below are about personalities, expectations, fannish power, BNFs, and turf wars. See On "Turning Point" and "Full Circle". From Karmen Ghia: 
===Shelley Butler's Outreach===
In May 1998, Kimbuk3 wrote the editors of The K/S Press and said: 
Butler addressed fans in that same issue of the print letterzine: 
Emboldened and encouraged, Shelley Butler posted a message to alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated, and listed Kimbuk3 as a resource who could help answer questions and bridge both K/S communities.
On June 2, 1998, Shelley Butler attempted some outreach to online fans: 
Aside from a "welcome to the internet" post by Greywolf the Wanderer from K & S, the Full Monty (June 4, 1998) , her post (at least in this public venue) was mostly ignored.
This was likely due to lack of support from the BNFs at alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated who felt that Butler was "the other" and likely bitter about Butler who they felt was a print fan BNF.
==Topics==
===If Print Zines Aren't Supported, They and Their Community Will Die===
 
===Visibility: Leave Your Clothes Behind=== 
In May 1998, a BNF print zine fan wrote about getting her head around this new thing called Usenet: 
=== Who's the Underdog Now?=== 
===Money Changing Hands?=== 
See more about this complex topic at Fandom and Profit.
===Originality and Derisiveness: Who Are the Bold Ones?===
===Lack of Interest in History===
Net fans expressed a spectrum of interest in fan history and zines. 
Some didn't think about it at all, others thought the topic was too much work, and others were outright hostile. It was rare for net fans to have curiosity or appreciation for the topic.
===Who Speaks for Who?===
===Who Validates Who?===
Print zine fans felt they were fighting for their very existence and desired validation and attention from online fans. Online fans, however, did not have the same fears or need for recognition from print zine fans; they had numbers on their side, and even then, online was seen as the future of everything, not just fandom. 
===Fiction That Straddled Both===
From Susan Legge in 1996: 
From Killa in February 1997 regarding Turning Point: 
===Some Online Fiction Pulled for Print Zines===
Fans at alt.startrek.creative and related platforms were familiar with the availability of fiction on [[Usenet]. Access could be erratic due to byzantine organization, parts of stories disappearing, different newsreaders skipping content, and more.
Killashandra was one fan who temporarily pulled her some of her fiction in order to publish it in a print zine. This was something that irked online fans, and added fuel to the fire of discontent.
===No Need for Editors===
A comment from a fan who considered edited stories and zines to be too much gatekeeping: 
==Meta==
* Discouraging criticism has become a problem in K/S fan fiction. But I don't think the answer is to hold fan authors to lower standards. by Judith Gran (1997)
* I am frustrated by my own ability to understand why categorizing a story as K/S or not-K/S is important to some fans. by Judith Gran (January 1998)
* I feel the need to say again how important K/S print zines are. by Shelley Butler (1998)
* I sometimes wonder if my reluctance to fully embrace K/S on the net may just be a sign that I’m turning into an old fogy. by Shelley Butler (1998)
* Please don't interpret the rest of this as a dismissal of zines, because it isn't intended that way. by Jungle Kitty (1998)
==References==