The original site this came from is long gone, so this has been rescued from the Wayback Machine.
The views here are those of the author, and are presented for archival purposes.
I have made layout changes, but otherwise left the grammar alone. ~Sphynx
Due to the latest incidents [1998] I feel obliged to make a semi-official statement
about the so-called and often quoted vampire community which is known as the
loose connection of like-minded sites occupied with the phenomenon of real vampirism.
The whole thing started when the first sites came into being. First sites that
I remember to deal with vampirism in a factual manner or attempting such were
Sanguinarius' Vampire Support page which is excellent, Inanna Arthen's Page,
which is also excellent and the VRI, which is rather a private project that
does not publicate much information but had a guestbook which functions as a
message base rather than as a guestbook ever since its coming into being in
March 1997.
Another institution was at that time the former Order of Darkness, a message
forum occupied with real vampirism which does not exist in this form anymore
but only as an IRC channel which is occupied by its founder, Allistar Dargon.
After the breakdown of the old OoD, many vampires had no resource of communication
anymore. As a result of this, the now existing Hall of Memories (HoM) was fonded
to establish a place for vampires again, and soon after its foundation, many
ex-members of the OoD found their way there via the VRI.
About the same time, in fall 1997, I and several other vampires erected further
webpages to spread real information to provide it for vampires in need of support,
information and help. The amount of websites constantly grew. Many vampires
founded new webrings in order to provide a possibility of linking up between
the single sites. But at the same time, the inter-site linking proceeded further,
due to our constant efforts. Up to now, the major sites (of which most are listed
on my linklist and many other linklist of other major vampire sites) are all
linked together, here and there new sites popping up and being welcomed as soon
as possible.
But back to the Vampire Community.
Somewhen back this year (1999? 2000? ~Sphynx),
a member of the VC, Amy Krieytaz, proposed a political movement that would bring
the vampires to the surface of public recognition and act up against marginalisation
in the way many other subcultures have done it before, such as the gays, the
Gothics, the transsexuals, the Pagans and the like. This idea was mostly rejected,
and some recent discussions show that this idea is still not all too popular
amongst the vampires, but you never know what actually might happen in the future.
The word "Vampire Community" has ever since become an "in"
expression. Up to now, it is unthinkable not to exist. Nevertheless, I must
admit that I do not see the signs that a real community ought to show in my
personal opinion to deserve this name. There is too much bickering, bashing
and personal quarrel around, and much too few consent about what a vampire actually
is. As it is horrible difficult to give a proper definition what a vampire actually
is or what it is not, this consent will have to be delayed for quite a while
still. (You might have noticed that nearly every page gives an at least slightly
varied explanation of vampirism as a phenomenon.)
As much as the vampires generally agree that society is not ready for a bunch
of vampires popping up out of the dark -- as it is not even ready to cope with
Pagans or gays what is de facto proven through the Satanic Panic of the 1980's
and the still occuring gay-bashing -- I would personally say that vampires are
not made for a community as well. In my experience, vampires are too much of
a bunch of individuals to get along with each other just for the fact of being
labeled as a community. Many vampires do get along with each other, others not,
and the peer groups are yet far too small to make a community alltogether.
Hence, I do not claim connection any to the alleged Vampire Community anymore,
although I put a horrible expense of work and faith in helping it being built.
I stand for my views and the friends that I have made (Yes, actually I have
made friends, it might sound unbelievable, but it is true!). I will keep contact
with everybody who desires such, but I will not stand for a project that has
totally lost its track and does not seem to be all too likely to get in shape
again all too soon. Making a community requires constant and hard work and self-discipline,
and I honor everyone who has proven to be able to offer this. However, it requires
these things from everyone, not only from some main people. I must admit to
my own shame that I have an outrageous temper that is not appreciated by everyone,
and it mostly shows when I fear that the integrity of the assumed community
is being attacked from undue individuals. But this fact -- as I see it -- is
not the very only and sole reason for the bad climate, as some individuals state
and claim. For anything that refers to communication needs more than one person.
And no one who does not make it better than me has the right to judge me for
my faults.
This actually all there is to it. Enough rambling, before someone will actually
send the promised assassin after me! *laughs viciously*
This article is presented as part of an ongoing
effort to present other views outside of, as well as within, the online
vampire community. As such, the views and attitudes contained in this
article are entirely those of the author(s), and may not necessarily
be shared by SphynxCatVP. The webmaster is not under obligation to update
or otherwise keep current the contents of this article. Most
importantly, only you can decide for yourself whether this article or
any of the author(s) other views are useful or applicable to you - use
your own reasoning and judgment.
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