Fandom
The community of Transformers fans is referred to as a fandom. While the term technically encompasses any group of kids coming together to talk about Transformers in a sandbox, it is commonly used to refer to the people from college-age and up who participate in the online fandom. The fandom has long played a role in the history of the franchise. Most notably, BotCon is their Mardi Gras, an official convention geared almost totally to adult fans.
Individually, or as a group, Transformers fans can be referred to as Transfans. This may raise eyebrows among the uninitiated, but it sure beats "Trannies."
History
Modern (online) Transformers fandom has its roots in alt.toys.transformers, a text-only Usenet newsgroup. Because Usenet is one of the oldest parts of the internet (dating from 1979, a.t.t. from 1993) it functioned as a central hub where all members of the then-small fandom interacted together> Indeed, it would not be unfair to say that for most of the 1990s, a.t.t. was the online fandom.
This situation continued largely unchanged until the early-to-mid-2000's, when the world wide web really began to explode and Transformers returned to the public eye, owing to both the launch of the high-profile Armada series and the onset of the "nostalgia boom," when numerous properties from the '80s were relaunched in various forms. This caused a growth spurt for the fandom, with new arrivals eschewing the outdated Usenet and instead using web-based message boards. Within the pre-existing fandom, meanwhile, the overwhelmingly negative response to the early episodes of the Armada cartoon left a.t.t. without any new subject matter that could be positively or deeply discussed for the first time since Beast Wars. Activity on the group dropped off, leading many of its members to venture beyond its confines and into the message board world. Given the large number of different boards, the preferences of the users, and the enmities that form between sites, it was no longer really possible to "know everyone," as it was in a.t.t.'s heyday.
The situation remains the same today, only more so, as the live-action movie has turned a perennially strong franchise into a runaway powerhouse, attracting countless fans young and old, new and nostalgic, across the globe.
References
Many references to the fandom have been made in official Transformers fiction.
Beast Wars
The story editors of the Beast Wars cartoon, Bob Forward and Larry DiTillio, interacted with the fandom via alt.toys.transformers, and worked numerous "shout-outs" into the series.
- In "Dark Designs", a loopy Waspinator declared that he was "Not wacko, Wonko! Wonko the Sane!" In addition to being the name of a character in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, "Wonko the Sane" was a screen name used by Ben Yee.
- In "Before the Storm", the Predacon computer informed Megatron of a "code A-T-T alert," and Megatron later initiated a "voice code A-T-T override," both references to alt.toys.transformers.
- Also in "Before the Storm", Megatron mused that "There is a storm coming. A storm of such power, such magnitude, it is beyond imagination!" This was a reference to the website of fan James Hooks, called "Beyond Imagination."
- In Nemesis, Part 2, Optimus Primal's line "encoding transmission M Sipher" refers to the screen name of Greg Sepelak.
- Also in "Nemesis, Part 2," Megatron instructs Dinobot 2 to fire on "targeting grid 3H," referring to 3H Enterprises.
- Numerous locations throughout the series were references to the names (both screen and real) of fans:
Adopted fan terminology
Several terms initially used only by fans have been adopted by writers of official Transformers materials, thus becoming a part of the canon.
- Darkside
- Gestalt
- Seeker (Technically, this one originated in a 1984 JC Penney catalog, but widespread usage within the fandom is what led to its recent official uses.)
Fans gone official
Many members of the online fandom have gone on to contribute to Transformers in an official capacity. They include:
- Aaron Black (aka "Delta Star")
- Mark Bristow (aka "Bodycount")
- Jordan Derber (aka "Buster Darkwings")
- Doug Dlin
- Don Figueroa
- Tim Finn
- Andrew Frankel (aka "Swiper" or "Sideswipe")
- Rob Gerbracht (aka "Tengu")
- Guido Guidi
- Dan Khanna
- Shaun Knowler (aka "White Rabbit")
- Matt Kuphaldt (aka "Jackpot")
- Joseph Kyde
- Chris McFeely
- Adam Patyk
- Daniel Ross (aka "Mouth04")
- Greg Sepelak (aka "M Sipher")
- Jim Sorenson
- Chris Tang (aka "Ravestrike")
- Brandie Tarvin
- Trent Troop
- Josh van Reyk (aka "Richter")
- Graham Weaver (aka "Liquid Velcro!")
- David Willis (aka "Walky")
- Benson Yee (aka "Wonko the Sane")
and others....
