Interview of Julian Egelstaff (cont')

RG: Concerning the dedication in Vampirium... did you have any idea?

JE: Not a clue.

RG: What was your reaction?

JE: I was stunned.

I first heard about it in a Kaiwisdom message. I forget who sent it, but they were one of the first to have a copy of 27 and they said what the dedication was and at first I just plain didn't believe it. But later someone else posted saying the same thing so I figured it must have been for real. I was totally honoured and amazed and stunned. It's probably the most stunned I've been since my fiancée asked me to marry her which I was also totally not expecting (duh!). I thought from the beginning that Joe might find my site (or later on, that he might find others) and he might want to get involved somehow, or acknowledge us. To be singled out by Joe was not what I was expecting but I was honoured that he'd acknowledge my contribution.

As I said at the time on Kaiwisdom though... the whole reason behind the whole dedication was presumably that this Lone Wolf Online community had arisen and my site was the originator of that. But it's the existence of the community that was the real achievement. So I think everyone who was a part of the community up to that point can share a part of that dedication. But it's still way cool that it's got my name on it! =)

*** RG laughs!

JE: I didn't get a free copy though! I got an autographed one through Senator publications, but I still had to pay for it.

RG: I know I was one of many at that time that no doubt sent you a praising email: one that congratulated you for pioneering the online movement.

JE: Yes, I recall that now. Thanks again! I think this line of discussion kind of relates back to that whole issue of timing that came up earlier, about how the time on the web was ripe for a site like this, that it hadn't been done and was no doubt going to be done. Timing was everything really, getting in on the ground floor is just so important in all things 'net. I mean, look at Yahoo, and Amazon, even Netscape (R.I.P.) had a HUGE advantage because of its status as an originator in this medium. Even though they blew it by trying to coast on their initial success and let Microsoft set the agenda (and they were killed by Microsoft's predatory and IMHO illegal pricing and sales strategies).

Even still, Netscape had a big advantage at one time; their stock took off like no other stock in history; even the vaunted 'net stocks of today pale in comparison. So timing really had a lot to do with most of this, including the dedication.

I should say, earlier, that Netscape originated this medium. Yes, Tim Berners-Lee invented the web but it was Netscape Navigator that single-handedly created the graphical browsing experience that brought URL's to just about everything you can print them on these days.

I can't help but put in a plug for www.jwz.org, the website of employee number 20 at Netscape (who just resigned last week). On his site, in the Output section, he's got a collection of essays, observations, rants, etc. One is called nscpdorm and documents the frenetic months leading up to the release of Navigator 1.0. I think it should be required reading for anyone looking to understand the "prehistory" of the web and this industry.

Anyway, on with the questions...

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