Star Trek Fan's Guide to the World Wide Web

Star Trek fans get no respect! Maybe it has to do with wearing costumes to conventions and movie premieres. Maybe it's the endless hours spent reading Star Trek fan fiction or playing in Star Trek role-playing games. Maybe it's the fact that Star Trek fans have an episodic quote for every real-life situation they encounter. Maybe it's that the memory of the evil twin of Captain Kirk (you know, the one created in that transporter incident) who appeared on Saturday Night Live to mock Star Trek enthusiasts like you and me (err...not us, of course, I mean like those other Trek fans we find annoying).

Well, if you want to find some like-minded soul or souls to appreciate Star Trek with you, here are some websites you need to check out....

The International Federation of Trekkers
http://www.iftcommand.com/

This is one of the most comprehensive websites for Trek fans on the Internet. It is also the online home for the largest non-profit Star Trek fan club in the world, with chapters all over the U.S. and around the globe. According to the site, IFT members and chapters "raise funds for charities, perform public services, attend Star Trek conventions and events, write Star Trek fan fiction, and otherwise, have a lot of fun!"

If you want to know what's happening in the Trekkie world, this is the place to begin.

Star Trek: New Voyages
http://www.startreknewvoyages.com/

Getting bored with classic Trek reruns? Try the Internet. After all, the original Enterprise crew was on a five-year mission. That's what Captain Kirk kept telling us at the beginning of each episode of the classic Star Trek series anyway. Well, since the original Trek series ran only three years, what happened to the other two? The mystery is over. The missing two years are being provided to us by able, enthusiastic enthusiasts who (some would say) have too much time and spare cash on their hands.

These enthusiasts have started one of the most popular fan film franchises on the Internet. They have produced several episodes of the classic Star Trek TV series with amateur actors portraying Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, and the rest of the Enterprise crew. Costs are paid out of pocket by the producers and crew. According to rules laid down by Paramount, fan film makers are not allowed to make money from their efforts. Accordingly, it does get expensive. But it's a labor of love for these guys. Visit their site and check out their work.

Star Trek: Exeter
http://homepage.mac.com/starshipexeter/Website/frame2/collage.html

Not sure you can handle amateur actors playing Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock? No problem. Here are some fans who created a classic TV style Star Trek series using all-new characters. Now, you don't have to feel like you're committing sacrilege by watching an Elvis impersonator play Kirk!

Star Trek: Exeter follows the adventures of Captain Garrovick and the USS Exeter on their own respective five-year mission to "guard" the Federation, "patrol uncharted space," and "brave the darkness of the last, vast unknown."

The production qualities are pretty good for Internet-based, low-budget productions.

Star Trek: Freedom
http://www.startrekfreedom.com/index.php

Care to live the life of a Starfleet officer? If you have a vivid imagination that can express itself on paper (or, in this case, in email), then this might be for you. Star Trek: Freedom is an email game community that takes Trek into the "final frontier" of cyberspace. You pick a department to play in, such as those featured in the movies or on the TV shows, and work your way up. According to the website, there are presently seven duty stations to choose from. You start, of course, as an Academy cadet. Your Academy training consists of teaching you the ins-and-outs of playing the game as well as the important features of the Star Trek universe within which you will be immersed. When you finish the Academy, you become an ensign, take your place in Starfleet, and participate in the stories. Say the game designers, you don't have to remain an ensign. You can rise all the way to captain and command your own ship.

Text-based, interactive games require a lot of imagination and patience, but Star Trek: Freedom utilizes the Internet to compensate for much of the frustration normally encountered in the genre. Give it a try, and see if they've succeeded.

Star Trek Jokes
http://members.tripod.com/~spacefreak/stjokes/

Looking for a few laughs at the expense of the Star Trek universe you know and love. Look no further. There's quite a few jokes, anecdotes, and humor lists here to choose from.

Well, the above sites should get you started. There's plenty more of course, but these represent some of the best. In the meantime...

Live long and prosper.