This month I have been mostly writing about Star Trek fan clubs. To be more precise, Yahoo Star Trek groups. Now this may seem like a large area to do; it is. So, what I am going to do is a brief overview of the different kinds of groups there are. If I miss out any types of groups, I apologise. First off, there are the PBeM RPGs (Play By e-Mail RolePlaying Games, for those who don't know). Basically, in these you create a character, and portray them in your emails to the group. Each group is unique in their way about doing things, and have their own unique things to do, if you get what I mean. The place and time each group is set in is different than the others. For example, some groups will be set in the future (ie after Voyager) and will be on a type of ship/starbase designed by the group, for the group. Others may be set on a starbase during the Dominion War. The group I'm in is set in time unknown, but on a Marorda-class starship, with our ship being the prototype.
Then there are the fan fiction groups. There are some pretty mundane groups in this category, but there are also some "different" ones. One group in particular that stuck in my mind, is the Malcom Hoshi Explosion. This group does fan fiction written specifically around Malcom and Hoshi from Enterprise, with fan fiction about other characters not being tolerated. Finally, there's the groups I cannot define. This category contains those that just talk about Star Trek, or is just too unique.
Chances are, a lot of the groups that require membership to get the full benefits thereof will accept you if you request membership. One requirement to be a member of one or more Yahoo Groups is a Yahoo email account, that costs *nothing*, and the groups also have a membership cost of *nothing*. Unless, of course, Yahoo becomes evil and starts charging people. If you're like me, and sign up for a yahoo account to join groups, there is an option to have the goups email directed to your primary account.
If you have any questions or suggestion, please feel free to email me. My address is in my dossier.
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