The Sandra Muskan and Connie Drivin Controversy

The Sandra Muskan and Connie Drivin Controversy was an event that took place in the Star Trek apazine APA Enterprise in 1984.
==Some Context==
In 1984, the topics of age statements and censorship had became a heated topic of discussion in the apa. The apa's members debated whether or not they should add an amendment that would restrict members by age and require an age statement to join, and was an age statement itself an act of censorship.
Some possibilities suggested: 
1) Don't change anything regarding the apa, including adding an age statement. 
2) The apa should require fans to complete an age statement and membership would be limited to those 18+ -- this would "protect the children" and hopefully protect the apa from lawsuits, though this legal argument seemed to be much less an issue than the first one.
3) The central mailer should be a gatekeeper and edit tribs for offensive material.
4) Fans would not be allowed to discuss or include any material that could be considered offensive or explicit.
==Enter... "Sandra Muskan"==
In June 1984, the 19th issue of "APA Enterprise" included a story called "To Summon the Past." It had been submitted by "Sandra Muskan," a fan who'd very recently joined the apa. Muskan's story had been redacted/altered/edited by another fan before it had been sent out to the entire membership.
=== Muskan's Story, "To Summon the Past": Fan Comments===
===The "Sandra Muskan" Hoax===
Sandra Muskan was revealed to be a hoax perpetrated by the apazine's Central Mailer, Susan with the assistance of the First Officer, Mark Ernst. Both the existence of the fan, the editing of her story, "To Summon the Past," and Sandra Muskan's resignation letter were performance art/a trick and created in in response to the censorship issue. 
Many fans felt the hoax had a worthy cause, that of showing the dangers of censorship. However, they did not like the way it was presented, calling it a cruel trick.
===The "Sandra Muskan" Hoax: Fan Comments===
Two fans, who hadn't caught on that Sandra wasn't a real person, begged her to stay in the apa, something that likely later made them feel foolish:
On the whole, fans were generally not happy with the hoax and its results, and they stated their feelings of betrayal and unhappiness.
===Bobbie Hawkins' Resignation===
Before the reveal, one of Muskan's defenders had been a long-time and out-spoken member named Bobbie Hawkins. Like other fans, Hawkins felt humiliated by the hoax. Hawkins also cited her new lack of faith and trust regarding whether all fans in the apa were "real people." In October 1984 issue, Hawkins sent an angry, strongly worded trib, and she resigned from the apazine.
Hawkins had been a tribber of this apa since the early days, and addressed this controversy in her 13th, and last, trib to APA Enterprise:
===Bobbie Hawkins' Resignation: Fan Comments===
While at least two fans told Hawkins to "lighten up," most fans supported Hawkins and were unhappy about her departure:
==Reactions and Comments from the Hoax's Perpetrators==
Both Susan and Mark, the two leaders who'd perpetrated the prank, commented on the original hoax.
===Susan ===
===Mark===
Mark A. Ernst, the original founder of APA Enterprise, then resigned as First Officer from the apa in the same issue that Bobbie Hawkins left. He cited disinterest in the subject matters, frustration with fannish discussion, and lack of time. 
His co-captain, Susan, remained as Captain, and commented: 
==Enter... "Connie Drivin"==
 
The name "Concordia Drivin" with a Concord, New Hampshire addressed had appeared on the apa's waitlist in issue #18. That fan, who later went by the name Connie Driven, was admitted to the apa in issue #20. APA Enterprise had two tribs by Drivin titled "Farewell Andromeda," one in #19 and one in #21.
A fan wrote: 
=== "Connie Drivin's" Comments About "Sandra Muskan"===
 
 
===The "Connie Drivin" Hoax===
It was revealed that Connie Drivin was a pseud for Mark A. Ernst, the apa's founder who'd recently resigned as First Officer, something that Susan the Central Mailer knew and supported. 
===The "Connie Drivin" Hoax: Fan Comments===
Fans were again, not pleased: 
===Who Among Us is Fake?===
Connie Drivin and this second hoax released the kracken of distrust, and fans were now questioning everyone's identity:
The two hoaxes in a row eroded personal trust, but it also furthered fans' unhappiness and ennui in what they felt to be declining quality, as a well as a focus on the apa's original topic, Star Trek:
The central mailer, Susan, addressed fans' comments about the second hoax, as well as her previous statements some fans felt to be dishonest, or at the very least disingenuous:
==The APA's Death Blow==
These two hoaxes affected morale and trust and this, plus declining interest in the subject matter, caused the apa to fold. 
A fan in the August 1986 issue of Interstat asked:
==References==
Category:Star Trek TOS Events
Category:1984 Events
Category:1984 Meta