The CompuServe Anime and Manga Forum

The roughly mid-90's and earlier (generally pre-Toonami, pre-anime boom) era of anime & manga fandom: early cons, clubs, tape trading, Nth Generation VHS fansubs, old magazines & fanzines, fandubs, ancient merchandise, rec.arts.anime, and more!
George W
Posts: 69
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2021 6:06 pm
Anime Fan Since: 1985
Location: Rochelle, IL

Re: The CompuServe Anime and Manga Forum

Post by George W »

I can assure you, my wife's attention was focused on that phone bill. It was an eye opener. Keep in mind, it was before any income came in from the forum (first was SF Forum) as well, so it's kind of a big "investment" in an unknown product. After a few months, the forum grew and my percentage of the hourly cost paid that off. I think I got 5% of the cost.

When Star Trek - TNG was coming, the forum interest hit ludicrous speed, and so did the cash flow. I think one month, I made $5000. Think about that - it was 5% of the total billable.

Illinois Bell tried several times to cancel my remote line, but I managed to keep it.
George W
Posts: 69
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2021 6:06 pm
Anime Fan Since: 1985
Location: Rochelle, IL

Re: The CompuServe Anime and Manga Forum

Post by George W »

It was similar to that, but with an international reach. As long as you could log into a local "node" you could reach CI$.

What I could do:
I could "Free" flag accounts (normally, the assistants) so they had free access.
I could change the various forum categories / message headers.
I could "Lock" people out if they were disruptive / insulting.
That was pretty much it. I spent a lot of time commenting, moderating and just keeping the peace. Between 2 forums, it was pretty busy, plus my full time job and hobbies.

I don't have any records of the pay, but I think it was typically around $300 to $500 a month, unless there was a major SF "event" happening (like the release of ST-TNG) where my revenue jumped into 4 figures for a few months.
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Drew_Sutton
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Joined: Tue May 07, 2013 6:19 pm
Anime Fan Since: 1994
Location: Atlanta, GA US/Hackistan, Internet

Re: The CompuServe Anime and Manga Forum

Post by Drew_Sutton »

I can only imagine what my partner would do to me if I racked up a thousand dollar phone bill :lol:

I see that the the forum described itself as a place to have more detailed conversations about anime and manga, less flame wars, etc. How successful would you say the forum was in that mission? Do you think that CompuServe being a paid service helped mitigate some of the standard moderation problems that a free service faces?
Akihabara Renditions: Japanese Animation of the Bubble Economy
Excuse me, I need to evict some juvenile delinquents from my yard.
George W
Posts: 69
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2021 6:06 pm
Anime Fan Since: 1985
Location: Rochelle, IL

Re: The CompuServe Anime and Manga Forum

Post by George W »

Think about it. Pre-broadband.

How would your wife react seeing the phone bill going from $50 to $1100?

I know how mine reacted. It wasn't pleasant.
George W
Posts: 69
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2021 6:06 pm
Anime Fan Since: 1985
Location: Rochelle, IL

Re: The CompuServe Anime and Manga Forum

Post by George W »

One more thing: CI$ wanted to change SIGs (Special Interest Groups) to Forums.

Thus, they wanted to change the System Operator or SysOp handle to Forum Adminstrator.

That just rolls off the tongue, right? So we responded "ForAd?"

They dropped that one for the most part.

I did visit CI$ headquarters during a convention back in the day. It was opulent - a very nice big building. My tech people had a desk with 4 systems running and the desk space was at least 100 square feet. There were hundreds of vacant square feet on the floor, and coffee messes every 40 feet or so as you walked through the office areas.

I can see why people wanted to work there.
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