|
|
|
|
|
There are quite a few news groups associated with HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS and XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS. For a full or nearly full list see XENA ONLINE RESOURCES. However, a bit of history and explanation probably doesn't hurt.
Technically, the first news group for which discussion of Kevin Sorbo is always on topic would be alt.tv.hercules, since he is the star of the show. However, the oldest group where discussion was appropriate would be rec.arts.sf.tv, where all sorts of shows are discussed.
Sometime in the summer of 1995, someone who shall remain nameless decided to create a Hercules news group. Unfortunately, though this person understood how to format a control message to create the group, he didn't go through the appropriate discussion process that is strongly recommended for news groups in the alt.* hierarchy. Consequently, a system administrator sent out a control message the very next day to get rid of the group on as many servers as possible. One of the problems was that the name violated Usenet conventions, and this would have been pointed out if the well-meaning group creator had proposed and discussed alt.tv.hercules-legendary-journeys in the alt.config group.
Despite the rmgroup message's being issued the day after the Hercules group was created, it was propagated on many systems. And as most system administrators don't automatically honor rmgroup control messages, the Hercules group actually developed a regular readership. By late 1995 it was an active group even though many older systems couldn't carry it because of the poor name.
In November of 1995, as XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS was beginning to pick up momentum, several fans of the shows proposed alt.tv.xena in the config news group. No serious objections were raised and the group was created in late November. It hit my server early in December but it would the end of December or early January before I would be able to hold discussions with other people. It takes that long for propagation to spread around the world for alt.* groups.
So I read both groups quietly for a few weeks and really preferred the Xena group, though I don't know why. There wasn't much activity in it and it may be that I just didn't have the time for a lot of news reading. In any event, by the end of March people started dropping off the Hercules news group and by June it was virtually dead. The reason for this was that the rmgroup message sent out the year before had started to catch on at many systems. Many people started discussing Hercules in the Xena news groups, but others simply fled Usenet and found some other media.
One of the alternatives for Usenet was the TV Guide Magazine Hercules Chat Board on the Web. The Official MCA Hercules NetForum also remained a popular place for people to discuss Hercules.
However, by late 1996 Herc fans were frustrated with the apparent lack of support for the show on Usenet and in November alt.tv.hercules was proposed in the config group. Once again there was general interest in the group, but unfortunately the person who proposed the group didn't know how to create it. By chance, I stumbled across the thread a few weeks later and contacted him, asking what happened to the group. He asked for my help in creating the new Hercules group and I sent out the control message.
This happened in December. For the next six months I did all I could to boost the group, to advertise its existence, and to persuade system admins around the world to carry it. Some of the larger services were slow in picking it up but I think alt.tv.hercules is now propagated on almost as many systems as the Xena group.
By some strange chance I happen to have written the FAQs for both alt.tv.xena and alt.tv.hercules. The first person who was going to write a Xena FAQ disappeared from the group (I later was told she joined the Navy). It was not really my intention to become the Xena FAQ keeper and I eventually passed the FAQ onto someone else. However, in creating alt.tv.hercules I realized that I needed to provide the group with a FAQ and to ensure the FAQ was maintained. So I was the sole FAQ-keeper for Hercules on the Usenet. Julian Buczek is now the official Hercules FAQ keeper.
Although most people have long since stopped using the old Hercules group it still exists on many servers and probably always shall exist on some small percentage of them. Very little discussion occurs there now, and I only occasionally cross-post something to it out of sympathy for the people who haven't yet found alt.tv.hercules (for various reasons).
I don't know if Hercules will ever gain the popularity on Usenet that Xena has gained. Although many people watch both shows, most seem to feel more strongly about Xena than about Hercules. Of the dedicated Hercules fans, I've found that many confine their discussions to the Web boards, mailing lists such as Herc-Xena, Herkules, and Iolaus; or online services such as Compuserve and America Online.
However, I remain today dedicated to supporting Hercules on the Usenet and I intentionally give special attention to the Hercules group to help increase awareness and use of it. Besides, I really like the show. I enjoyed keeping the FAQ updated as best I could but when it became obvious I was overcommitted I turned to finding someone who could devote more time to the task.
Return to main page essay.