PhD research: The Early Days of the Westeros Forum and the ASOIAF Fandom

[Ice Queen]

Hi OP,

First of all, good luck with your research.

Second, the "early days" were a long time ago indeed. I was on maternity leave way back in the summer of 1996 when I first saw A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1 in Barnes and Noble and bought it. I've been hooked ever since. Message boards didn't really exist then. It was usenet groups, but the series spread by word of mouth. I don't even know how old this forum is, but in the mid 90's not everyone had a computer and websites as we know them now were just getting off the ground. There weren't a lot of people to discuss the books with.

I've never been one for fandoms. I'd heard of this forum but it took years for me to join. I think it's because I'm more academic minded and really couldn't care less about some of the topics. I like to talk about thematic elements and historical and mythological influences so mostly I end up keeping my opinions to myself.

Oh, and I'm a book snob. LOL The show now diverges from the books to the point that it's a separate story. The show only fans drive me nuts.