While visiting my page recently in preparation for the latest wave of updates, I stopped a moment tocheck out the number of hits, which had just crept over the 17,000 mark. And at some point during this visit, I asked myself "Am I elite?"

Now considering what the term means, the question could well be considered to be somewhat self-serving. I could swell with pride, like I do often after finishing a fanfic. "Of course I am an elite," I could say. "Just look at what I have done with the Luna Foundation." And it's true. A lot has happened since the summer of 1998 when the nucleus of what would become this page was created as an anime picture gallery of my first website. The Luna Foundation got its own home in July of 1998 and through 1999 and 2000, the site was unintentionally often front and center in the various fights I had as I became a member of the community. The page itself came under direct attack at one point, but I persevered, and made my comeback.

However, the term "elite" does not mean you've survived the slings and arrows of accociation with a given group of people. Everyone has flamers, everyone has detractors. Every community, be it online or otherwise, has its malcontents.

What I propose in this editorial is the following... I and other people who have been through a similar set of events, those webmasters out there who have felt the glow of fandom turn onto a creative urge to proclaim it to the world, and have since done so and become a familiar sight at various watering holes throughout the community...those people have "established themselves" in the community.

Well, the next question becomes "Now what?" And actually, it is a good question, because you've reached a plateau. It took hard work to create a site that symbolized your own unique view of whatever your site is about...Sailor Moon...rock collecting...whatever. You created the site, advertised like mad, got good comments, got your first flame, introduced yourself to the community.

Now what?

Well, now you've reached the dreaded PLATEAU, where perhaps the creative fire begins to die out a bit. You'd rather go do something outside than update your webpage. Your online friends greet you with the line: "Long time no see."

Actually, I think I am making a bit more of it than it really is. Right now, I think my site is on the plateau, as most pages are. I plan to update, but not as often as I have recently. When I do, it will be for BIG things. I plan to renovate the graphics library and perhaps touch up some of the work I did there. I plan to finish the series review, which might reignite the creative fires a bit, and I plan to do other things to keep me in touch with the SMC.

Most importantly, I want to keep learning about the workings of the Net. The Net, like everything else computer-related is a continually growing and changing thing, and if a person plans to do anything in this area of the computer field, one has to continue to look for what is new and improved.

Perhaps you in the months after establishing yourself as a presence on the Net have gone through the same things I have. However, when I asked myself the question, "Am I elite?" I was quickly able to answer "no".

The reason is this. To be an elite means two things. It means that you've reached the top of the heap. You are the best HTML coder in the business. Your page loads perfectly even when Net conditions are not perfect. Your contect is attractive, in-depth, insightful, and accurate. Your graphics are catching, but not smothering, and your layout easily demonstrates your knowledge of the ins and outs of the code behind the page.

If this is you, then welcome to the ranks of the elite.

While thinking about this article, I believe I have come up with the reason that no one in the Sailor Moon online community likes to have the term "wlite" attached to them. See, there is a down side to being an elite. First off, everyone's gunning for you. Second, you yourself stop growing. Why should you continue to expand your horizons now that you stand above the rest of the pack?

Remember, there were elites in history. The Roman legions were elites, and they forged an empire. However, once they were the elites, they did nothing to maintain their status, and over time, their knowledge and abilities diminished.

The reason people don't like the term "elite" is because they believe that they have not learned all there is to know about running and maintaining a webpage. This is a good attitude to have. It means that the person will continue to strive to improve the quality of their work. They will continue to look for newer and better ways of doing things, and they may never be satisfied with things the way they are right now.

This is a good attitude to have, as I have said before....but it bears repeating. It's my attitude, and I hope that it doesn't go away anytime soon for me or anyone else.

The ranks of the elite can wait a while.

Artemis

(comments welcome - please email me at lunahq7@yahoo.com and I will post your comments here as well.)