Before there were internet trolls, there was Starlog. It was a pop-culture magazine that specialized in sci-fi movies and TV shows, back when it was rare to have more than one available at a time. So, it spent time hashing over the minutiae of the Buck Rogers show, or Salvage One, or whatever it could. And along the way it exposed the world to a very early iteration of the “sci-fi geek” that we all know and love.
Starlog had a letters to the editor section, and it was chock full of extremely minor corrections being demanded of articles, heated and impassioned arguments for or against Star Trek, and the sort of overly emotional, yet critically reasoned missives we often find today on blogs just like this one.
Starlog had trolls before trolls were trolls, in other words.
If you’re curious about how people got their geek cred before the internet, check out The Internet Archive, where a whole bunch of issues have been scanned and stored. Sure, you won’t remember half the TV shows or movies they’re talking about, but you’ll recognize the tone of the comments.
