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The Lightsabre Interview Stephen G Harrogate-Bramley
Welcome to
Lightsabre. Our latest guest is a
fellow webmaster of some years, starting his site the same year as
Lightsabre, back on February 6th 1999.
He’s still here, bringing Galactic Empire Network to the masses on a
daily basis. Please welcome to
Lightsabre Stephen G Q - Stephen, welcome
to Lightsabre. A - Thank You, It's a pleasure to be here. Q – You’re a huge
Star Wars fan, a fact evident by the care and attention lavished on your
site. What started you on your Star
Wars journey? A –
Q – Tell us something
about the website. What was the
deciding factor in starting GEN and what led you to where the site is today? A - GEN came about originally as a companion to a newsgroup called alt.fan.starwars in friendly rivalry between the `rebels` and the `imps` in some half-hearted role-play which eventually became a resource and homepage for the newsgroup. After 2 years or so I moved on from AFS and took the site with me. The newsgroup is still active today but despite the best efforts of regulars its mostly troll-city now. Thankfully, a lot of the regulars of AFS are now active on GEN. Q – What is it like
to be a part of the Star Wars phenomenon? A- Well, I'm very much involved only in a small way but the fact that I can share my love of Star Wars with fellow fans is great. Q – GEN has been a hugely consistent site since it began, and it appears you knew where you wanted to take the site from day one. What’s the site’s ‘mission statement’, if any? A – GEN has had quite a topsy-turvy history, up one minute, down the next, frustrations of awkward hosting, bandwidth issues but I've kept going, throughout...apart from a brief hiatus for six months where I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue on as I didn't think GEN offered anything that any other site out there didn't offer already. The reason for the return
of the site, in the end, was simple. It didn't matter that I wasn't offering
anything unique (well, apart from the fantastic Interactive Map by Mark
Adams), GEN was a place where I could spend time with my friends and if it
was that group of friends that were the only visitors TO the site then so be
it, I would keep on with it as if there were thousands. Q – Celebration
Europe was an amazing weekend for all of us European and UK webmasters,
giving us the chance to mix and mingle not only with fellow sites and groups
but with the stars of the films and the guys at LFL. What are your best memories of the weekend? A – 9. Meeting Anthony Daniels 10. Meeting Warwick Davis
Q – What were your
feelings on Revenge of the Sith? Did
it satisfy your fan appetite, or simply whet it for more adventures to come? A – Well, as my black wristband states, The circle is now complete... Sith tied it all up nicely and was a fitting end/middle to the Star Wars saga. Anything else we get from now on will be a bonus. Q – Looking back at
Star Wars fandom in the years since you began GEN, what has been the most
significant moment? A – Celebration Europe. Q – Which of the
myriad Star Wars characters do you feel the most affinity for? A – Hmmm. Despite the name of the site, GEN, the character I feel the most affinity for is Threepio. I just love that character. Q – Tell us something of your other interests outside of Star
Wars? A –
Q – What’s made you stick it out as a webmaster for so
long? Back in ’99 there were thousands
of sites like ours, now there are less, but by the
mid 2000’s we were down to the bare bones.
What made you tough it out and why do you think there has been such a
magnificent resurgence in Star Wars fandom? A – I honestly don't know why I stuck with it. It couldn't be for the numbers of visitors as I think I have a core base of people who visit regularly and the rest are just curious but in the end, it was the fact that I like those core base of people and all the work for them, is worthwhile. I think LFL's 30 Years Celebration advertising blitz has allowed all of the geeks to come out of the closet and embrace their inner child. Q - What lies ahead
for you in the future? A – Just to keep on going and be happy.
Q – A quick question
about our site, Lightsabre. Any
comments? A – It has been a constant throughout my online time and is a testament to the creativity of fans...and has some great people involved in the running of it. Q - It's been a great
interview, and thanks for being our guest on Lightsabre. Just one final question. Grand Moff Tarkin, Admiral Motti and
General Veers all have lunch appointments with Emperor Palpatine? Sideous orders them to wear something
unusual for the meal, something they wouldn’t usually wear. What do the three guys turn up in (and furry slippers for Tarkin is not
allowed). A – Tarkin - A french maids
outfit. Motti - Stocking, Basque and Suspenders. Veers - A top
hat and tails and tap shoes. They all like Rocky Horror!
Cheers mate, appreciate it. No probs Mark. |
