An interesting frustration...
I've been fiddling around with the Thunderbirds page at FanHistory, trying to set up a timeline of when various sites came and went. I figured it'd be difficult in the case of Thunderbirds World, seeing as the place has been defunct for two years and more. But I was hoping to find some info from The Wayback Machine to help out. I've been able to access various spots in the site's snapshots that at least have some dates on them. Seems that there aren't as many of those pages left as I figured. At least I have dates for when the owner pulled the plug!
Then there's the issue of Tracy Island IR. It was started as a replacement for Tracy Island when that site was accidently deleted. But on questioning Phoenix Sparrow, I couldn't get the date when the first site was started - it might have been six months to the day before the new one was, but she doesn't remember.
And even my own site IR:TNP has some date issues. Since I've basically killed all the boards except the General one I can't find out what day we actually opened at the new site. The issues we had with the first forum script sort of killed all the evidence of when the first post was written there. I've got a letter in my files dated June 28, and something else dated July 6... but nothing that definitively gives that magical day when we moved over.
How detailed do we have to get here? I feel like I should have realized this problem a long while ago, and tried to save what evidence I could of the fandom's history - but who'd a thunk there'd be an actual place to put it all! Not only that, but there are over forty years to consider and I've only been in the fandom for five. How much of that lost - and it is lost - history should be dug up? Or is just the history of what's been going on here, on the internet, be considered?
A difficult question, and one I have no answers for.
One other fronts, the Hubby is home and digging fence posts. And the Girl and I will go in further search of a strapless bra for Saturday - then make brownies for the art show tomorrow evening.
Edited August, 2008: Slightly edited as the former owner of Thunderbirds World wanted this flocked, and I won't do that since it was quoted in
metafandom.