10 Years of Sylum
10 years ago today, on June 14th, 2005 I started this tiny thing called Sylum Yahoo Group.
The rest was history.
Sylum was already in the making, I was working on ‘Going Home’ when I made the Yahoo Group. At the time, I had been posting to several different Yahoo Groups. One was specific for CSI: Miami, another for NCIS, and the last was Makebelieve (I think anyone who’s been in fandom for a while, knows Makebelieve).
It was on CSI: Miami Yahoo Group that I met Tony … yes it is Tony’s fault. And where I pissed off members of the community by asking the question – what characters would be interesting as Vampires. Oh I labeled it OT etc… but a couple of people started talking about it, going back and forth on ideas (I wasn’t even involved) and someone got bitchy and in a huff left the group because refused to talk this Vampire crap.
Well honey – 10 years later we’re still talking this Vampire crap.
But it was that moment that had me thinking the idea of a Yahoo Group for Sylum. I talked it over with Tony – who was like go for it … see it is always Tony’s fault. I built it, freaked out, and then launched it on June 14, 2005.
I left for lunch.
Came back to see 100 people had already joined.
I fainted.
Quickly had to learn how to run a Yahoo Group. Set up rules and enforce said rules. And realized how much of my life was now going to be dedicated to a simple idea – ‘that you can’t kill someone if they are already dead’.
For those who have been with us from the beginning, I’m sure you can remember some epic moments from the list. The Yahoo Group was a blessing and my worst f’in nightmare. OMG the drama that we kept off the list … *rubs head* I still get headaches.
Over the past 10 years. The list grew. The Universe grew. Lives were changed. I’m pretty sure there are a number of stories out there about long lasting friendships and relationships that developed from the list.
With the continued problems with Yahoo, and with their decision to change everything. That’s when we decided to move to the Blog. Though it’s not quite like the list, it’s been doing well over the past years.
Still can’t believe it’s been 10 years! Ten! A lot has happened in my personal life over those ten years, good and bad. Sylum has grown into an amazing universe that astounds me every time I sit down to work on it. The vast number of characters, locations, story threads… keep it on track, making sure continuity stays in place … dear Marvel – never complain to me about ‘too many storylines/movies/characters to keep up with’ cause dude – seriously? you have no f’in clue. No really you don’t.
Over the past ten years many have come and gone, a few have stuck with me from the beginning. And I thank you for that. It truly does humble me how far we’ve come and the fans that have followed us along this great adventure.
Now for a few special thank yous and notes!
Janet who took over the beta for an epic storyline, especially after the nightmare that came before, and the continued beta of this massive universe. I know it’s a lot of work, and I thank you.
Sparrow who keeps track of all the continuity. I may have all of Sylum in my head but even I get lost on where everyone is at! Pointing out the fact characters have disappeared half way through a story is always helpful!
Gil and Shep the work you’ve done on Border and major storylines has built the Universe past the fab six, making it all encompassing. Though I’m pretty sure you still want to kill me for handing that over.
Taibhrigh you came in just as the blog was beginning. Your re-work and design of the new website was amazing and I can’t thank you enough for that. Your art has been an inspiration to not just the readers but also us writers.
Note: We’ve recently updated the website to reflect the 10th Anniversary – go and take a look!
Timothy. Well I could write a post just on how much I have to thank you for. Yes I’m going to get sappy deal with it. You came into my life as a friend and stayed as my spouse. Sylum would not be where it is now if it wasn’t for you. You are and will always be my inspiration and creative consultant. Even if you do tease me about the how many times I described the road leading in and out of town *smirks*. Working this past year on the 10th Anniversary of Clan War has inspired so many stories and bunnies – that I’m now looking forward to the 20th Anniversary. Though I’m not redoing the wiki… hell no once is enough.
Bob. I hate you, you son of a bitch. You and your clones. Though if it wasn’t for you … my life would be normal but boring as hell.
So here we are Ten Years!
*raises glass*
To Sylum. Thank you for this grand adventure. We’ve had ten amazing years and look forward to the next ten.
Sincerely,
Bj Jones
PS: Please reply to this post with your memories of Sylum, either how you discovered it, memory from the yahoo group, friends you’ve made, gatherings you attended, how it’s affected your life. Let’s make this day unforgettable!
I stumbled across the stories when looking for stories about Horatio/Speed. And that was history. I have read & reread everything. I even got my brother hooked on it!
Yes! Reel in those family members 🙂
Happy anniversary from the German side of Sylum 😀 Best wishes for the next ten years. I’m looking forward to the 20th too!
I discovered Sylum while searching for Tibbs-stories and as I love biiig stories I read all of them and I discovered that I love it.
I’m not sure when I joined you by asking for the entry code of the manor but it has been quite a bunch of years.
I especially enjoyed reading demons and angels, BTW!
Many thanks to everybody writing stories in this wonderful world for bringing me so much entertainment and distraction.
Think I fell into the Sylum Universe thru WWMB. Once I found Speed, Tony and Nick and all the others I just kept coming back for more. Thank you for a wonderful storyline and hours of entertainment. Think I will now go back and re-read the whole story. Please pass on congratulations and hugs to all the writers and artists involved. Thank you. You Rock!
I forgot about Makebelieve!!!! I have been away from Sylum and was wondering if there was any suggestions for getting back into it. I know about the main story line, but is there an organized list where I can read the stories about how some of the characters got turned?
Welcome back!! The Sylum Archive is one of the best places to start. Story wise a few to list which supplements the main arcs: Demons & Angels by Timothy Quinn, Roads Untraveled by Bj Jones, The Fast/Furious series by Gil & Shep. All the stories are up on the Archive.
Years ago I heard a reference to Sylum and how it was a fix-it for Speedle’s death. I find the yahoo group, and as soon as I started reading, I was hooked. I’m so glad this has continued for so long and expanded to include so many more of my favourite fandoms. The world is so developed – I love it a bit more evey time I re-read it!
My oldest Sylum email is from late-2007. I’m still trying to figure out how I got here. I mean, I didn’t read NCIS or CSI fic so something I googled found this universe and the rest is history… 🙂
So you lurked for a while!! I remember talking to you just about the time we were thinking Blog … *Sneaky* We can’t even say Iron Man or the Losers pulled you to Sylum – those were just starting to develop!
I did lurk for a while; getting the feel for things. I responded to your call for someone who knew something about MediaWiki. 🙂
See, that’s what happens! You lurk, you answer a couple of questions and then boom! You’re sucked into the middle of it, lol! 😀
Happy anniversary! I stumbled upon Sylum Clan when I started looking for stories about Horatio and Speed. I found the yahoo group and became a member. I started reading and was hooked. I am really glad that Sylum Clan has continued.
Aww, thanks General!
It does seem hard to believe it’s been this long! I stumbled upon it while looking for CSI fic in general. I started watching CSI: NY, read fic which then moved to Miami then to Vegas. While searching for good, long Miami fix I kept coming across this fix that was Speed/Horatio and vampires and kept going, really? That’s ridiculous!
One night I was bored and finally gave in…I think maybe the first two stories had been completed at that point and I was sucked in. Then came all the other various fandoms, including my dear Stargate: Atlantis and various others.
I continued to read, got involved in the group and ended up getting sucked in even further and starting to write side stories for characters. Then in DC Gil and I were like, hey, this would be cool for Border/f&f guys! Biggest mistake ever 😛
Many years of headdesking over stories and characters and bios and the great canon/not canon redo…
The best part is that I’ve met life long friends who I wouldn’t trade for anything, and who I can count on because they’ve been there for me through lots of smiles and tears 🙂
Also, here’s a blast from the past, I think I originally stumbled across this fic originally on fanfiction.net…
OMG yes I forgot I posted stuff there. The irony a few years ago I tried to delete the account. They won’t let you delete accounts. So deleted stories, changed account info, faked the email and walla – deleted the account 🙂
Still remember the D’Artagnan! across a few rooms!
And the still re-working, edits etc that still going on 🙂
Or yelled in public in front of everyone at Disneyland?
Then there was the time Shep and Lorne broke Space Mountain…twice…
Of course there was the random hollering for Dad going on too 😀
Or Sparrow flailing through the rain in New Orleans…
Too many fun moments to even recount.
I was totally bored in work… the only thing working was in Internet and decided to look up stories about CSI, and came across a story review about how Tim was a vampire and didn’t die. And since then I have been hooked. 🙂 Sometimes it’s difficult to follow the difference between make believe and the TV Shows because SYLUM is real! Thank you for giving me different endings to shows that I love!
Congratulations to everyone involved in this awesome universe and thank you for years of both reading and art enjoyment!
I had actually just started to read CSI & NCIS fanfiction and noticed that I was enjoying A LOT of fics written by BJ Jones. When I searched for more of her work I came across Sylum and immediately loved it because all my favorite fandoms were in one place for me to enjoy!
When I found the work of Bj Jones I was drawn to an author who didn’t make fan fiction just a poor excuse for two vague characters to have sex. Bj broke the mold in so many ways, and created depth, reality, emotional context. It quickly became addictive and fascinating.
I just never imagined where that fascination would lead.
It’s been a long road, getting from there to here… (as the song says) but we have made it a fun and challenging one. Both of us have grown in our appreciation for creative endeavor, and our writing reflects that fact.
Bj, I am so glad I came to Sylum, and gladder still that idiot writers killed Speed in the first place, or we would never have met.
Someone in a comment said ‘SYLUM IS REAL!’ and I look forward to our lives together continuing to make it very much that.
Real!
I am proud and honored to be your partner in every way.
I owe you my life, my heart, my pen, and Bob2.
I am ever yours.
And Bob2’s apparently…
~Tim
We’re becoming a bunch of saps in our old age …
Still not redoing the wiki!
WOW! Ten years!? I remember roughly twelve years ago finally deciding to investigate this thing called fanfiction. I was a few years into a new (boring) job and needed a distraction. Well, I used up all the faded, yellowed legal-size paper the office had stored in dusty boxes under the printer table!!!! I made a list of all the slash pairings I wanted to read about and started literally inhaling fanfic about my fav TV shows and movies starting with Starsky and Hutch(TV show), then something called KS Archives (Original Star Trek), Hercules, SG1 and rapidly moved down that list.
In 2005 I was in a CSI-Miami and CSI-Vegas and NCIS phase. I found and thoroughly enjoyed a long gen CSI-LV fanfic with Nick Stokes as the main character by a BjJones. I looked for other fanfic by you and came across Kiss of Death. It was CSI-Miami and had resurrected Speed. I read it and was HOOKED!!!! It was funny, hawt[!],fluffy, serious, angst, plotty , twisty and hawt! And the way you weaved in history and historical characters was so wildly entertaining! I hadn’t read anything that pulled all that together in one fic coherently. I became more hooked with each new story. I joined the yahoo group when you set it up and have been following you ever since. I even role-played Calleigh Duquesne for a short while! I’m a fangirl but more than that I’m Sylum. I love this universe you created, the fanfic and forum where people can connect and have an opportunity to build friendships with each other. The fanvids and artwork is just wonderful. I’ve got a love/hate thing going on for those ‘book covers’ let me tell you! One of the finest things I’ve seen is how the fandom offers comfort and understanding to members in real-life issues. That alone seals the deal for me. I thank you for all the effort, talent, love and passion you and your team put forth for us. The level of story-telling, realism and interaction between characters and fandoms and just plain making it all work [and work well, dammit!] is not to be surpassed. How many fics do you sit down to read with a sharpened pencil so you can make notes in the margins or on a note pad?! One of my treasures is the genealogy tree that someone produced in Excel. I didn’t have an 11×17 color printer so I got a friend to print it out for me. Even she was amazed by it. I know things have changed around and you got the wiki now but I will always keep it. It’s rolled up and stashed with the rest of my fan treasures. I love that thing. I referred to it many times when reading a story in the early days. Again for a ‘hobby’ there was a lot of work involved. I totally understand and appreciate that. *Beams* Hats off to you and your team!!!
I must say that Sylum has ruined me for all other vampire tales/fandoms though. My headcanon is that Sylum is the only place where they get it right!!!
*Raises glass* Here’s to the past ten years! And to the next ten years! Brava!!!
BayyeBelle
-Deb-
*Waves* HI!! It’s so good to hear from you again!! I admit I’ve lost some connection with some – when transferred to blog mainly cause I knew them via their ‘character’ name 🙂
Thank you so much for the comments!! Hearing this helps those long days of pulling together story threads that either won’t work, or make us change other things to make it work!
I remember those geneology maps – the person worked so hard on those – I think I have it somewhere … if not I may come by and see if you still have the main file.
AND OMG someone that still knows that very first fic *blushes* … *hides* well it’s what got me started all those years ago!
HI! *WAVES BACK* I literally did a happy dance when I saw this! You remembered me! No need to hide; that was a very good fic! I pulled out the hard copies but I’m still looking for the electronic file. Why are things never where you left them when you’re looking for them? I’ve a call into my friend to see if she still has the file. Keep your fingers crossed! I can’t wait for the future goodies to be posted!
Cheers,
Bayyebelle
I found Sylum from following BJ on Live Journal. I think that is how I found it. I tend to follow links to places and I am never sure exactly how I got there. I found this wonderful place and started to read. I was hooked. My only question was would Dean & Sam make it onto Sylum? Yes, I was told and I read from the first Arc and all the stories in between. I still go back and read from what is available to the end of what is on the site. I check often and end up reading one of the side stories. I find watching CSI or CSI NY strange since the vampire couples are not together.
I love this fandom. So many avenues for the stories to follow or detour around.
I am amazed at the organization of all of it.
All I can say is that I am so glad that I found BJ and then the world of Sylum. I have enjoyed the ride and look forward to 10 more years and more!!!
Thank you all for this wonderful world I get to visit whenever i wish.
Greetings from Sweden! I stumbled upon one of the side stories on ff.net, first reaction was ‘weird why is there a ferret called Draco?’ then I searched some found the main fic and was hooked. That was in high school and I am still waiting for new stories as excited as then.
Thanks to all who helped make this happen!
I discovered Sylum while looking for Nick/Warrick stories. Since then, I’ve been hooked. I loved the thought of them being vampires and Mates. Then there were Tony/Gibbs and H/Speed stories and that made it even better. The writers of Sylum are some of the best I’ve read and I eagerly look forward to new stories, while rereading the old ones. I’ve discovered new fandoms and places and even though I’ve missed the Gatherings, I look forward to one year meeting this group of characters that keep this thing going. Thanks for the memories and here’s to many more!
Actually, I found an off Sylum story on ff.net and thought it was really good. I had lost it for a while, then went looking for it again. I started looking elsewhere and found the link to BJ Jones’ webpage (before she changed it to accent the Sylum verse. I enjoyed the stories so much that other than joining the security group, I decided to join the Sylum group to see what else was going to happen. I think that was about five years ago and I’ve been following this universe ever since.
The story that lead me onto this story “Harry Potter and The Lost Son”.
My first emails are from 2008, I was looking for Horatio/Speed and stumbled upon Sylum. The rest is history, wonderful history. Being from Spain, at that time I hadn’t seen NCIS, only the CSIs series. you hooked me on Tony/Gibbs, and you and Keira Marcos hooked me on Sheppard/McKay and Harry/Draco, so thank you for leting me enjoy your wonderful world.
*slight bow*
Still hard to believe it’s been 12 years now…
*where does the time go*