| |_||_ ( )
the simpsons ( )
folder, man! ( )
( ) ,__
suck, suck! }//{ ( ) / “
_///_ | | (_ _ _ ) | |
_///_ ,, ,,/_ (.)(.) (,, ,,) (.)(.)M
,>o(,,/_ (.)(.) /_ | C |) (.)(.)) C___ |)
(.)(.) /_ /C__, @_/ (___/| /C__, @ /___/|
/c @_/ ) |/ )__| ) | __)__/|__
C_, )/ oooo / \ oooo / / /
/ |/ / \ / \ /___\ / /

—————————————————————————————————————-
Fan Interview: John Fiedler

This document is done
—————————————————————————————————————-

Could you tell us something about yourself, where you live and how old are you?

Yes, sir! I live in a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and I am going on 21 years in September 2003. I am currently a sophomore in college majoring in Computer Science.

Favorite food?

My favorite food is probably chicken (which is a fairly cheap answer since there are so many different ways to make chicken). However I think all of my favorite foods involve chicken from chicken fingers to General Tso’s chicken.

You have website called The Simpsons Sourcebook at the net. Who/what inspired you to create it in first place?

Well, at the time when my brother and I created the website, it was a little over six years ago (my freshman year in high school – I remember the nerdiness vividly) and we had just started “getting into” the show. Like many younger people, I was never allowed to watch “The Simpsons” when I was younger, so obviously when I was finally allowed to watch it, I thought that it was the greatest invention ever. My brother and I wanted to create some sort of website for this new “Internet” which was actually just catching on in mainstream at this time as well. We had a few names and designs on our “Simpsons” website before finally naming the site in dedication of the fantastic “Simpsons Sourcebook” which had closed down and then disappeared off of the face of the planet.

You we’re the man behind Springfield Connection, a server that had many great simp-sites on same server sharing same space but everyone of them was unique and had own address. How did it this huge server was born?

Oh man, in my mind, the pinnacle of the “Simpsons” so-called “community” online, whatever that even means anyway (like the word ‘synergy’), was when the first group of us all came together on the same web server at Simplenet. I think the idea initially came out of one of our famous ICQ chats from back in the day. I’m still surprised to this day that Simplenet never came after us. Hosting more than one site on their servers was against their “Terms of Use,” however we never got busted. I loved Simplenet personally.. it’s a shame that they sold out and got mutilated by Yahoo!. Those were the days when us webmasters actually tried to genuinely support each other.

I remember you had contract with Fandom few years ago. What drew you to sign a deal with them?

Hey, obviously one of the big cards was the money. To get paid to do something you love is the goal of every single person in America. TSS also got free hosting, free legal support, free site design and access to hundreds of other resources for free. It was an amazing experience and I wish that I could do it all over again just to savor it some more. We had two absolutely amazing company meetings out in Santa Monica, CA and the company and the people behind it were some of the nicest and “coolest” people that I’ve ever met in my life. Fandom ruled. It was a shame to see it go. That is all.

The Simpsons Sourcebook counts only season 1-10. I assume it’s now more easier to update things since you don’t have tons of new episodes waiting to be reviewed. Am i right?

Well, you would certainly think so. The nice thing about setting a limit on which seasons you will cover is that, since the show is still going on, you don’t have to keep up with things and you can go at your own rate. It also gives us a nice “goal” to set. For example, if we get framegrabs for every episode from seasons 1 – 10, we never have to make another framegrab again. How’s that for a nice goal? Lately, however, people have been so busy that updates have been sparse, however hopefully that will change. Lately, the tide has shifted and things are starting to get done again.

What about other simp-sites. What do you think about today’s sites on the net?

Well, to be quite honest, I don’t really keep up with other “Simpsons” sites on the web anymore. It’s not that they’re not good, but for the most part, every website is concerned with reporting on which episode is on this week and making information and multimedia related to that episode whereas I don’t even keep up much with the newer episodes anymore. I check the two message boards out there for any big web news (which usually gets posted there) as well as the Simpsons Channel and maybe a random “classic” site (like yours) every once in awhile, but for the most part, I can safely say that I’m “out of the loop.”

Are there any Simpsons websites with an attractive design and layout in your opinion?

Well, lately I have seen some interesting stuff that I think qualifies as “attractive.” For instance, the new design at New Springfield is pretty interesting as well as the design here. The design at annoyedgrunt.com also is pretty nice; however the idea of launching a website without much content is an idea that never really appealed to me. I saw a design for the “next ET,” however I doubt that it will ever see the light of day – that was a nice one as well. Overall, however, I haven’t been to enough of the newer websites lately to give a full, detailed opinion, but I like the new “twist” in designing that has hit. At least people are starting to get creative.

What is the worst Simpsons site you have visited?

Well, we have all seen “Al’s Simpsons Dedication,” so I don’t even know if that should be counted as a “Simpsons site.” The worst “Simpsons” site that I have been to that actually TRIES to be a “Simpsons” site is the FOX site. As the “official” website for the show, they should have the responsibility to fill that page with information that people will actually find useful. I can’t count the number of times people have asked me, “So, how does an episode actually get made?” Doesn’t that sound like something that should be on the “official” website? It’s a big disgrace of a website if you ask me.

Are there any design styles you love and hate?

Things like Flash and Java and DHTML can be GREAT when used well and AWFUL when not. So, basically, I love great Flash sites, or websites that use great Java scripts to make my experience better, but typically, the ways in which they are used just annoy me (and my computer) to the point where I just want to leave the website.

What is your favorite episode on The Simpsons and why?

Yowzers. That’s the toughest question I could ever get asked. If I had to pick one, it would probably be in the Season 3 – 5 area, however there are just too many good episodes from that time period to pick a single one. There are so many classic episodes like “Homer the Heretic” that I just can’t choose.

How do you see future of The Simpsons?

Well, in my own opinion, I see the show continuing for quite a long time since it has such a worldwide appeal and it is one of Fox’s most popular shows. That can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on which side of the table you are standing.

What kind of computer system do you use?

I have a Gateway PIV, 1300 Mhz, 384 MB RAM, Flatscreen Monitor, Windows XP. People tell me that it’s my “life in a box”…which unfortunately is more or less true. 😉

Describe your desktop. What do you see around your computer?

Let’s see, I have lots of miscellaneous school papers and probably some homework that still needs to be done, some “Simpsons” memorabilia, my Hank Scorpio figure(s), pictures of my amazing girlfriend, some books, my TV, my HUGE speakers connected to an amplifier, connected to a mixer, connected to my computer, my DVDs and VHSs, geez.. and a whole lot of other crazy crap. I should probably clean up this mess now that I’m looking around.. pfft, thanks for making me look Jukka!

Any final comments?

I’m not sure what kind of mindframe you were in when you made the new site Jukka, but I like it more every time that I come. Well done. I hope you’re around for years to come.

—————————————————————————–0———————————