History The Trek BBS, founded in early 1999, is the largest and most active section of TrekNation, with over 20,000 registered users. Sparborth, the site's founder, was the first head administrator. In June 1999, TrekBBS became part of TrekNation, and was updated with a new layout, known to many posters as "Big Blue". The site also became affiliated with UGO at this time. In December 2002, Sparborth decided to step down as head administrator, and turned the job over to the administrator Lisa, who had been the
de facto head for several months. In September 2004, Lisa resigned as well, and Bonnie Malmat, known on the BBS as T'Bonz, replaced her as head administrator, a position she still holds. In 2005, Malmat was interviewed by the
Los Angeles Times on her views of fandom in light of and about TrekBBS's stand on the contentious issues surrounding TrekUnited's "Save Enterprise" campaign. In 2007, the
Los Angeles Times again interviewed Malmat for her opinion of fan reaction toward plans for a new
Star Trek film by
J. J. Abrams and
Damon Lindelof.
Forums The board includes dedicated forums for all aspects of the
Star Trek franchise, including each television series, the movies, novels, games, and fan creations such as
fan fiction. Additionally, there are a number of forums for discussion of topics other than
Star Trek. These include forums for other science fiction shows such as
Doctor Who, as well as forums on less specific topics, including general media, politics, and miscellaneous discussion. The board also has an active social community, which has led to the creation of several spin-off boards.
Notable Members Several
Star Trek professionals frequent TrekBBS. They include actress
Chase Masterson, frequent illustrator
Rick Sternbach, graphic designers
Michael Okuda and
Andrew Probert and
Enterprise producers and writers
David Goodman and
Mike Sussman. Additionally, many professionals affiliated with
Pocket Books post about
Star Trek novels, including former editors Margaret Clark, Marco Palmieri and
John Ordover. Authors such as Christopher L. Bennett,
Margaret Wander Bonanno,
Greg Cox,
Keith R.A. DeCandido, David R. George III,
David Mack,
Andy Mangels, Michael A. Martin, Terri Osborne (who was once a moderator on the board),
Geoffrey Thorne,
David A. McIntee and
Dayton Ward also make regular posts at TrekBBS. Because of these visits, several authors have included TrekBBS in their acknowledgements, particularly in
Articles of the Federation and
The Art of the Impossible, both by Keith R.A. DeCandido, and
Ex Machina by Christopher L. Bennett. Additionally, Margaret Wander Bonanno credits TrekBBS and several of its posters (including two former moderators) for reviving her
Star Trek writing career on the dedication page of
Catalyst of Sorrows. == TrekToday ==