RETROtales.com

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Sat, 2007-06-09 18:58
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Anonymous
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RETROtales.com

Stumbled across a site that seeks to archive the web, so banged in A to tha B to tha C to tha tizzles and got this:

http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.abctales.com

Most of the pages are unformatted, and only have the homepage, but it's still cool. Look at this one from before an event a few years back when there were only(!) 18,230 pieces on the site:

http://web.archive.org/web/20020526103159/http://abctales.com/

And remember "A winter's tale?" comp?

http://web.archive.org/web/20050430175310/www.abctales.com/magazine/wint...

That was around the time I joined, I think. Milkstone won it, and then got writer of the month.

And speaking of comps, here's when I won that Haiku comp that got more than a million entries, all from internationally renowned professional poets:

http://web.archive.org/web/20051125140254/http://www.abctales.com/

Cardino, eh? What was I thinking?

You know, I won that comp and never even got the poem cherried. I haven't forgotten, tcook!

Um, I'm bitter or anything.

http://www.abctales.com/story/enzo/van-goghs-starry-night

Finally, here's the first page archived from way back in 2001 when tie dye was cool and girls wore flowers in their hair and everyone was always stoned on nice weed, not the rat-poison shit they have now:

http://web.archive.org/web/20010123234500/http://www.abctales.com/

Note: It had a picture of a horse for some reason.

What are your favourite old times from ABCtales?

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  • 13182 reads
tom_saunders
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I made writer of the week! http://web.archive.org/web/20020125091333/http://www.abctales.com/
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Enzo v2.0
Anonymous's picture
Ooh congrats! Seriously now, what was the deal with that horse?
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Enzo v2.0
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http://web.archive.org/web/20020601123711/www.abctales.com/abcplex/viewf... The people that I can see that are still around are Tom, Mark, Jude, David, Ralph, Liana, Chant, Fish and Andrew P. Interesting that they still represent a high proportion of the site's best writers.
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poetjude
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oooh look I was story of the day... http://web.archive.org/web/20020125091333/http://www.abctales.com/ when it was story of the day and not just once a week and children respected their elders! jude "Cacoethes scribendi" http://www.judesworld.net

 

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poetjude
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http://web.archive.org/web/20020601123711/www.abctales.com/abcplex/viewf... all the writers of the week. God knows how I made it since I spewed reams of angst ridden shite all over the site back then! thegirlwhowantedtobegod was Emily Hamblin who at 17 yrs old was an enormous talent...I wonder where she is now. jude "Cacoethes scribendi" http://www.judesworld.net

 

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tcook
tcook's picture
I do miss some of the old timers. We have had some fantastic writers over the years and we still have a huge reservoir of talent. Now if all of that skill came together here at one time, what a wonderful world that would be.
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Enzo v2.0
Anonymous's picture
Ha - thanks for the cherry, Foster!
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Foster
Anonymous's picture
i mean, if it won a contest and all... plus i'm partial to vvg.
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ivoryfishbone
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nice little trip down memory lane there ... i miss hovis ... and i recall how agog i always was when sooz put up a diary piece ... they were the most amazing compelling car crash pieces ever ... i would read with my mouth open ... i'd love to know what sooz is doing now ...
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poetjude
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yeah, Hovis was cool. It was nice to have another jude around and she was a gooner! Top girl! jude "Cacoethes scribendi" http://www.judesworld.net

 

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ivoryfishbone
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mind you there were some i am glad to see the back of .... mentioning no names ...
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2Lou
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Is Andrew P still around? ~ www.fabulousmother.com

~
www.fabulousmother.co.uk

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ivoryfishbone
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i think there's wind of him occasionally ...
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ggggareth
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Did the horse have a name?
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poetjude
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EQUUS Prince begat Prance. And Prance begat Prankus. And Prankus begat Flankus. And Flankus begat Spankus. And Spankus begat Spunkus the Great, who lived threescore years. And Leckwus begat Neckwus. And Neckwus begat Fleckwus, the King of Spit. And Fleckwus spoke out of his chinkle-chankle. And he said, ''Behold, I give you Equus, my only begotten son.'' jude "Cacoethes scribendi" http://www.judesworld.net

 

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ggggareth
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Gary's a strange name for a horse. I think he looks more like an Andrew.
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tom_saunders
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Andrew's his evil twin. Gary now prefers to spell his name Gari since his holiday in Ibiza.
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poetjude
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Seriously... there used to be a different piccy on the front page every week. And members could submit their pics for consideration. I'd love to see this brought back. Here is my first offering! http://www.judesworld.net/sunset.html jude "Cacoethes scribendi" http://www.judesworld.net

 

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ivoryfishbone
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*rubs eyes ... blinks* look ... it's hovis ... in the who's online ... see you only have to ask and the universe provides ... *does a little dance of joy*
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Enzo v2.0
Anonymous's picture
That's a cool sunset Jude. It would be nice if there were user pics on the homepage again. Not very interesting, just an observation, but this from ages ago: http://web.archive.org/web/20041224224938/www.abctales.com/magazine/info is way better than this from right now, which opens with something about my paypal not being accepted: http://www.abctales.com/about
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ggggareth
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Could the Inspiration Point be improved if it included pictures too?
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markbrown
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Inspiration Point would be better if it was a bit more... Inspirational. I'm into setting tasks for inspiration. Pictures do work, if they're the right pictures for the right person... Was pleasantly surprised to see this: http://web.archive.org/web/20040722085435/http://www.abctales.com/ 'With Goth On Our Side'. He he he. Cheers, Mark

 

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ggggareth
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That's a good one, Mark - very inspirational. Let's revive the ABC Subcultural Challenge!
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ggggareth
ggggareth's picture
BBF - I can't get that song out of my head now! I suppose it's symptomatic of a web site run by volunteers - there's a lot of work involved in running one of these things; I know because I've done it. And nobody thanks you for it.
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Enzo v2.0
Anonymous's picture
Thanks 4G!
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ggggareth
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Aw shucks! It was nothing!
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Enzo v2.0
Anonymous's picture
Fact: If I had to pedal to stay online, I'd never be online.
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tom_saunders
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I petrol tugs to stay online.
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rokkitnite
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I piddle in jugs to stay online.
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bobblehat2023
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"I have to say that, having explored much of what the web has to offer in terms of 'writing' sites this has always been the best...I may be biased. You do have to ride the rough with the smooth, and some folks don't. Being a regular part of an online forum is a unique and mixed experience...but a good one overall." Well, I think the biggest achievement of ABCtales.com has been the creation of an interesting space for people to come to.

 

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rokkitnite
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'Well, I think the biggest achievement of ABCtales.com has been the creation of an interesting space for people to come to.' Yup, yup - I'd second that. And, for all the supposed acrimony, at least there's very little of that wanky self-mythologising that goes on in most artistic 'scenes'. It's just a bunch of people who write, and almost every day I find something new and interesting to read. Not too shabby.
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pepsoid
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I love ABC Tales! :))) pe ps oid ... What is "The Art of Tea"? ... (www.pepsoid.wordpress.com)

The All New Pepsoid the Second!

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flash
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Foooooooking yaaaaaaaaaay :-o)
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ggggareth
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I *think* that Flash does, too.
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pepsoid
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Nahh, he just stepped on a giant earwig. pe ps oid ... What is "The Art of Tea"? ... (www.pepsoid.wordpress.com)

The All New Pepsoid the Second!

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drew_gummerson
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Yep, I agree with Emma (and others). There was a time when I was reading and posting stories a lot on abc. I don't anymore (for various reasons - right now I'm writing a book and not short stories, the year before I didn't have a computer) but I still check out the forums every day, read a story, and I like the sense of community - seeing on the faces (is that the right word) that I recognise. Now, on with the book......... Drew.

 

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rachelcoates
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*stumbles about rubbing eyes like small child woken from afternoon nap* HELLO! I have nothing constructive to say as brain turned to sudocreme and spagetti hoops a while ago but I'm very happy to see you all!
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ivoryfishbone
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rachey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how are things????? xxxxxxxxxxx
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maddan
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Wow - everyone's coming out of the woodwork. I *think* On being Tender was Sheepshank. Google seems to have no memory of it.

 

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tcook
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rach - how wonderful to have you back amongst if only for a fleeting instant. How are things? How is you lovely little girl? and Daisy? And everything?
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2Lou
2Lou's picture
Hello Rachel! How's it going? The free tub of sudocrem I got in my Bounty Bag lasted for two whole kids... it's a bugger to get out of carpets though ('how to get sudocrem out of carpet' is the most frequent search string pointing people to my site - poor things, I have no idea how to get sudocrem out of a carpet). Isn't this nice though, everybody turning up... *waits hopefully for Ely Whitley* What was Ely's real name, btw - I want to look out for it on rolling credits. ~ www.fabulousmother.com

~
www.fabulousmother.co.uk

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flash
flash's picture
*Remembers Rachel's frontage fondly ...sighs dreamily* :-o)
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poetjude
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He was quite elusive about his real identity but did let it slip once or twice. His name is Ian Watson. http://www.fenlandcitizen.co.uk/ViewArticle.aspx?SectionID=1457&articlei... jude "Cacoethes scribendi" http://www.judesworld.net

 

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ivoryfishbone
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hahahah emma! i'd forgotten the bum clearance story ... when i read it i laughed until i nearly did a little wee ...
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ivoryfishbone
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wow .. long and sleeked! send us a pic emma ... ely didn't look how i imagined either ... and yes i've been sleeked alright ... the invention of the hair 'straights' as we call them is a brilliant thing ... tho can still be wildly woolly if caught in the rain ...
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rachelcoates
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Very glad that emma has her kinkiness finally under control. Is so nice to pop in once in a while but with a mental 2 (YES 2 on Friday) year old about the feet it's a bit hectic. Congrats grandpa cook! Fishy has always been long and sleek to me! Think often and fondly about colonic irrigation threat (although friend who gave herself an enema while waterskiing in a bikini has yet to see the funny side).
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ivoryfishbone
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two ... lawks ... time to pop out another one soon then ...
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tcook
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It is very good to have you all back here once more - now come on down to Brighton this Saturday for a great evening of fun and frolicing - oh, and some fine reads as well.
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donignacio
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I remember this site was a big part in changing my major from chemical engineering to print journalism. I graduated now, and I can't find a job!!! (OK, just kidding. I'm going to graduate school now to be a science teacher!)

 

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