Well, with the end of the semester and the approach of Christmas things start getting hectic, and FSFnet is no exception. We are rapidly approaching the deadline for submissions in the FSFnet cyberpunk short story contest (as outlined in Vol09N1), and hopefully we’ll have one or two entries by the end of the month. I am still negotiating to purchase the prizes, which will (hopefully) be a book of Geiger artwork, and a poster print of Geiger artwork. Those of you unfamiliar with the name might recall that he did the preliminary artwork for the movie “Alien”, among other works.
Due to the shutdown of the WISCVM gateway and the opening of a local gateway at MIT, the YALEVM-CUNYVM link has been absolutely saturated of late. This is the reason why some of you may have received two copies of the last issue. It was originally sent on 11/23/87, but due to the large file queue it was purged and most readers did not get their issues until I re-sent the issue last weekend. Apologies to all for the confusion.
And speaking of confusion, what happens when you have a machine which allows people to subscribe to FSFnet, but never sends out issues? I recently discovered a list of people who had subscribed to an FSFnet list on a LISTSERV which hadn’t received an issue in nearly two years! I hastened to request that the list be shut down, and invited those users on the list to be added to the main distribution list, which many have since done.
And that brings us to another topic, and that is this issue’s distribution. As you can see, we have broken the 500-reader barrier with over 460 BITNET readers and over 50 internet subscribers! And, of course, this doesn’t include people who get issues from local lists or newsgroups, servers, or other second-hand methods. I must thank everyone who is spreading the word about FSFnet. And, as always, a warm welcome to all our new readers. This issue is a particular treat, and I hope you all enjoy it. We have a Dargon story by Jim Owens, and several excellent short stories and poems from BITNET authors. I’m sure that you will find it a pleasant change from the standard fare.
And, finally, one last comment. For some time, I have found myself in the most remarkable position of not having to ask for submissions. However, with the distribution of this issue, I find that we are again in need of material. If you are an amateur writer, please feel free to send in original stories, articles or poetry. If you are interested in writing stories for the Dargon Project, please so notify me. And, of course, all readers are encouraged to write a story for the cyberpunk SF short story contest. As mentioned in the very first issue of FSFnet, it cannot function without the support of its readership in the form of letting other people know about FSFnet and making contributions. Please get in touch with me if you would like to submit an article to FSFnet.
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