The DAWG Interview

PART ONE: AS AN X-FILES FAN

When did you start watching The X-Files?
Well, I watched the show on and off the first two seasons, and I liked it, but I always have a hard time "getting into shows." Also, I was in college at the time and had more important things to do like partying (you didn't read that Mom) on Friday nights than watching XF. However, over the summers I would always watch the reruns. I didn't become a diehard fan until 3rd season when I graduated and had nothing better to do on Friday nights. ;-)

Just off the top of your head, some classic episodes?
My favorites are JCFOS and CBFR. Other eps I like are Beyond the Sea, Small Potatoes, and Deep Throat.

How long have you realised you were a Noromo? What do you think about the whole Shippers vs. Noromos thing?
I think all of it is funny. Actually what I find interesting are the "cliques" that have popped up on the internet surrounding the show, and not just NOROMOs and shippers. I wonder if any other show has anything close to this? I'm just a casual Star Trek viewer, so I don't know. As for being a NOROMO, I guess I was one all along. I wasn't aware of the "other" point of view until I started poking around on the internet.

What was your opinion on the movie, and in particular, ~~that scene~~?
Well, I guess the movie was just summer fun. Honestly I didn't really expect THAT much out of it, so I didn't have that high of expectations. I thought the hallway scene was hilarious. I literally burst out laughing when it happened (as did the rest of the audience). I asked my parents what they thought of it because I wanted to get a non-fan's POV, and my mom said "Oh, they just put that scene in because they have to have sex to sell movies nowadays." Mom knows. ;-)

How do you feel about the characters now (eg, are you a OBSSEsor, a Mulderist, a Frohike Liberationist)?
Now as compared to what they used to be like? I'm not a fan of one specific character - I like all of them. However, I do feel that the characters are shadows of what they used to like in the first three seasons.

X-F links you love to death?
I don't surf XF sites like I used to. I did when it was a novelty. Really the only XF sites I regularly visit now are Chase's NOROMO page & my board. I also read X-Review when I have the time. There's also a website that presents stories as told by the XF action figures. I check that out about once a month.

What are your thoughts on fanfic? Do you read it regularly, write it? If so where is it archived, under what name?
No, I do not read fanfic. I might every once in a while if someone forwards it to me, or if a friend is writing it. I did at one time, but not even much at that. As for my thoughts on it, I don't see any harm in it. Whatever floats people's boats. I would assume it helps people fine tune their writing skills? I'm not a writer, so I don't know.

PART TWO: AS A WEBMASTER

How old is your site now?
I started DAWGToons in July of 1997.

What inspired you to create it in the first place?
I did the first cartoon "Attack of the Shippers" as a joke for some friends. I had it in my head for a couple of months, but after I got to know some of my "xf" friends, I had an audience for it. Then it just grew and took on a life of its own. :-)

Do you still enjoy updating it and looking after it?
I do not update DAWGToons any more. I finished the last cartoon for it ("Expo-sed") in June of 1998. I still have a couple of ideas rolling around in my head, but honestly with XF the way it is now, I don't have the motivation. However, I am glad that I did it, because recently I started a weekly comic strip called "Tikaboo Peak" that grew as an offshoot from some of the characters in DAWGToons.

Have you had much interesting feedback from it, made any new friends / enemies?
Yes, I received more feedback from it than I imagined. I would say the VAST majority of the feedback I received was from shippers who really enjoyed them. I think I only received two flames, which were pretty humorous. One flamed me for stereotyping shippers (if the shoe fits, BTW....), but then in the next sentence, he/she said "all you NOROMOs have hairy hands or palms!!!!" or something like that. I wish I had saved them.

What inspired you to make the DAWGToons? Did you open the message board for a bit of fun, or did you see a real need for one?
Well, I don't really consider the message board as part of DAWGToons. Chase of The NOROMO Love Page is a good friend of mine, so I told her I would set up and maintain a bulletin board for it. I set it up because I didn't really see the kind of indepth discussion of XF or 1013 that there once was on ATXF and the AOL XF boards.

PART THREE: AS A HUMAN BEING

Real name-
Amy

Alias' used, if any?
DAWG

Please list all the websites you run...
Tikaboo Peak - a weekly comic strip
DAWGToons - XF internet cartoons
The "Anti-Orange" Page - a University of Georgia spirit site
Tales From Band Camp - comic strips about marching band

Which mailing lists / message boards / newsgroups do you usually hang around?
Only the NOROMO board, every once in a while the AOL boards. I stopped reading ATXF a LOOOOOONG time ago.

E-mail addie:
GaDawg123@aol.com

What would be likely to find you reading / listening to / playing?
I listen to almost every type of music out there with the exception of new country and heavy metal. Unfortunately my fiancee listens to BOTH of those, so I am learning to tolerate it. ;-) I don't have a lot of time to read because I'm studying for some computer-related certifications, but every year I read To Kill A Mockingbird without fail.

What do you spend your time doing when your modem's turned off?
I usually like to be outside when the weather is nice. I usually go hiking up in the mountains of NC & SC and I also study karate. And of course I draw cartoons almost all the time. In the fall, I go to almost every UGA football game.

Any other comments that you think I might've missed....
Go read Tikaboo Peak!

Official NOROMO Discussion Board - http://www.dawgnation.com/gadawg95/board/index.htm