Ask Uncle Ian

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Ask Uncle Ian
Screenshot of fansite
Url: http://www.backstagecafe.com/forum/ (inactive)
Maintainer(s): Ian Copeland
Country: United States
Fansite language: Primarily English
Funding: Backstage Cafe

Summary

The Ask Uncle Ian Fan Club Forum (otherwise known as Ask Uncle Ian or AUI) was a messageboard community associated primarily with The Police fandom. It existed as part of the website for Backstage Cafe, a bar/restaurant in Beverly Hills, California established by Ian Copeland, brother of Stewart Copeland and formerly of Frontier Booking International (FBI). The bar was similar to a homespun Hard Rock Cafe, and Ian was regularly seen there as well as on the forum of the website.

Particularly through the early 2000's, the messageboard was a small but very active community where discussions ranged considerably from Ian's experiences with The Police and other bands, to the day-to-day running of Backstage Cafe, to world politics and presidential elections. After Ian's passing in 2006, the board continued on for several years before being shut down in 2009, after Backstage Cafe itself had been sold and converted into a vegetarian restaurant.

Moderators

The board was originally loosely moderated by Ian Copeland, in as much as he would be looked up to and his requests respected if discussions turned inflammatory. After Ian's death the board has existed without any structured moderation although Ian's daughters have occasionally stepped in to answer questions regarding the future of the site, Backstage Cafe itself, and other related matters.

Site history

  • On 1997-11-05, the webdomain www.backstagecafe.com was registered.[1]
  • It is unclear exactly when the forum went active, as the community archives currently only go back to 2003-05-07 and it is clear that discussions had been going on there for some time before then.[2]
  • On 2003-07-15, Ian Copeland extended an open invitation to all members of Ask Uncle Ian (AUI) to attend a birthday party for his brother Stewart the next day at Backstage Cafe.[3] Members of a Police tribute band were performing. Although it was uncertain whether Stewart would attend himself, he did, eventually joining the band on-stage to perform several Police songs with them.[4]
  • Ian Copeland lost his battle with melanoma on 2006-05-23. For many months afterwards, the forum was the site of many tributes and messages to Ian and his family from friends, fans, and former associates in the music industry.
  • On 2006-07-06, discussion began regarding the matter of keeping the board active in Ian's absence. The resolve to keep the board going followed a response from Ian's daughter Barbara that she wished for the community to continue.[9]
  • On 2008-02-07, the question of the continued purpose of the board was again raised in light of Ian's absence and kerfluffles of increasing tension between board members due to the lack of active moderation.[10],[11]
  • In early 2009, the messageboard and website disappeared suddenly and without notice.

See also

External links

This section needs more information.

References

This section needs more information.