If you've been at Pan Historia for any length of time, you know who Wyatt Earp
is. Not the gunslinger from the Wild West, but the hardworking Publisher who
makes this site possible. Although the majority of his work goes unnoticed,
members are presented with constant evidence of his creativity and dedication.
From new
site features, to decorations, to innovations like the pan badges, we can see
his imagination everywhere.
But many only get to talk to him when they're
faced with some problem, like messed up code that causes a profile
page to self destruct, or other issues that they
may be having. And while he's always willing to make sure that members get
the help that they need, very few catch a glimpse of person behind the red
star.
Therefore, we're pleased to let him speak for
himself, and tell us all a little about himself, about Pan, and how
he sees this community.
Q: We all know the legend of Wyatt Earp. What
about his life appeals to you the most?
Wyatt: *chuckle* Ok, you knew
I couldn't resist this question, right? First of all, he's not a legend,
he's a real person. But the fact that we think of him as a legend or
even in mythic terms is something I find very interesting. How did
this guy who was a fine law officer but briefly, ended up pretty poor,
and never did achieve his ambitions become so famous that people from
all over the world have heard of him? (He's particularly popular in
Germany.) I think that's because what he did and how he did it represent
archetypes to us. Whether you love him or hate him (and believe me
some people hate him), he's colossal in our concepts of heroism, stoicism,
family, and law.
Q: What inspired you to create Pan Historia?
Wyatt: Like the majority of people that write on Pan I came to it via Ancient Sites. However I think the idea for Pan came into my mind almost the very first day I signed on when my sister urged me to try this 'neat online community that dealt with history'. I loved the community aspect and while I enjoy history what really intrigued me was the way that the site was organic and reflected human culture in a really creative way. I loved the role play aspect right from the start. I got more involved with AS and became one of their demigods but always what I found on any of the Vines sites were restrictions. They always seemed to be trying to control the organic development of their sites and to restrict the role play. Right from the start I wanted to create something that was for the role players and creative writers - that had a lot of freedom inherent in it so that the community would be what the membership wanted, needed, created. Pan was actually well into development way before AS went down but we (me and the other publishers of that period) rushed when we got wind AS was going down so we could offer people a home.
Q: What do you find the most challenging aspect of
being one of Pan's Publishers?
What is your favorite aspect?
Wyatt: I love the creativity that
I enjoy - being able to design and create new aspects of the site,
of the community. While I'm no programming guru, I have enjoyed my
greater and greater proficiency in that area even though I had to be
dragged kicking and screaming to programming. Thank god it hadn't been
up to me to do the initial work. I have always been a big picture kind
of guy, an ideas person, so programming is definitely the most challenging
part of the work. It was great in the beginning because I would like
have an idea and ask the programmer for it. Now I have the idea and
have to figure out how to do and that's a struggle, but it's a total
buzz when I actually do what I set out to do. I also do enjoy working
with the community and interacting with the members and it's really
nice when someone comes to me to tell me how much fun their having
or what Pan means to them.
Q: What do you find the most inspirational aspect
of Pan? (Or put another way, is there anything in particular that you find
really gets your creative juices
flowing?)
Wyatt: I love writing on my novels,
no doubt about it. But for me if I look at Pan as a whole it's really
about the big sprawling fun creation with all these people everywhere
doing their thing and getting a kick out of it. I love the way it reflects
the world at large and how it also brings people from all over together
in one place, playing together. I actually love knowing there are places
in Pan that I know little about but are very important to people and
that they exist because Pan exists.
Q: Have you ever done any other writing outside of
cybercommunities, such as poetry, journals, or anything for professional
publication or personal enjoyment?
Wyatt: Yes, I used to write a
ton of crap when I was young. I started at least 5 novels in my life,
all junk, and wrote poetry, kept several boring journals, and yes,
I have had a couple things published but they were book and restaurant
reviews, nothing exciting. I don't think my writing became anything
worth reading until I really started applying myself at Pan. I write
as often as I can and I pay a lot of attention to quality. I tried
to master grammar and spelling (this is very important) and have worked
on style. I think I can say with confidence now that I'm a much better
writer than previously. I have plans to work on a novel again one day
and this one I hope I will do right.
Q: What are your greatest accomplishments, either
in RL on here at PH?
Wyatt: You know just creating
and then maintaining Pan Historia is probably a significant accomplishment.
I think I have done a lot of things in my life that are interesting
and necessary to personal growth, but Pan is the one thing that touches
the most people that I have done. And I want to thank all the people
that helped in that creation and that continue to help in maintaining
it - as well as all the people that support it. It's really something
special in my book.
And last but not least ~
Q: If you could be any famous
person in the world (past or present, fictional or real), who would
you be and why?
Wyatt: I definitely wouldn't want
to be Wyatt Earp. *chuckle* My Wyatt is always like 33 and at his peak
with dreams in front of him. The real Wyatt died at 80 but I think
he died with regrets and a lot of disappointments, unaware that he
would be the most famous lawman of all time. I also think that if he
knew that he would have questioned it because I don't think that's
how he saw himself and he certainly would have admitted that his older
brother Virgil was more the lawman, since Virgil did make a career
of it and was in charge in Tombstone.
So who the heck would I have been?
Maybe Raphael - he was a great
artist of the Renaissance, beloved by family and friends. Ok, his life
was short, but it was rich. I want my own life to be full of achievement
and if I live to be 80, I want to look back with pride.
I think that we can all associate with that. And
I think I speak for many when I say that you have much to be proud of with
Pan.
Thank you Wyatt, for this interview, as well as for your time here at Pan and your unflagging dedication to this site which we all call home. |
