ASVS

[Tyralak]

Some of you may be familiar with the legendary Usenet group alt.statrek.vs.starwars, or ASVS for short. Those of you who aren't, this was the first major Sci-Fi versus discussion group on the net. I sent the Usenet request to form this group in 1997. This group came into being because those of us who were interested in versus debates wore out our welcome in the respective Star Trek and Star Wars groups such as alt.startrek and rec.arts.sf.starwars.misc (RASSM) Some members later left to start their own web based message boards. Most notably Mike Wong left ASVS to form stardestroyer.net, and Graham Kennedy left to form ditl.org. Spacebattles.com came online due to our influence. (We used to refer to them as "The kiddie pool") As Usenet declined, so did ASVS. Last year, I decided it was time to revive the group I loved so much, so I brought the group back in web form. ASVS can now be found at http://www.asvs.us or http://www.asvs.org both domains go to the same place.

As often happened when were were still at Usenet, the discussions frequently go off topic, so the site is varied in content. There is of course the versus section. There are groups for discussing other sci-fi franchises and non sci-fi TV shows/movies along with real life science and technology and current events. It is necessary to note, that there is very little moderation. The language can often be rough, trolling, flaming and sock puppetry are allowed. You might say I'm the polar opposite of my college Wong. I detest heavy handed, biased moderation. I also don't have much use for censorship, however things that can get me in trouble are not allowed. The list is located in the rules page. I don't allow outright pornography to be posted anywhere on the site, however there is a forum called the Speakeasy which is NSFW and geared toward more adult discussions. Any risque images must be labeled and spoiler tagged. We also have a reputation system with a "store" attached to it where you can use your points to play pranks on other members like changing their avatar, title or signature. It's a very unique community and a place where you can let your hair down and say what you feel. You can come there to discuss and debate serious topics, or just come by to screw around. It's up to you. Oh, and there's also an arcade. The site is running Invision Power Board 3.1 and has a number of skins to choose from. Stop by and tell us what you think.  :)

[Tyralak]

BTW, Don't mind Jason. He's harmless and doesn't bite. (as far as I know)