The History of the Mod squad....so far

[Diva]

Ok this thread is because I came along to the ORG and asylum way late in the game. The info I seek may have been told before.

However it bears repeating as I cannot be the only person wondering these things and wanting to get to know people more. Call it selfish but as DG is leaving soon for an extended period, I decided to start this now.

So Mod Squad, I encourage you to please for our benefit post here and tell us how you came to Love Marty & LH, how you discovered this site and board and then eventually how you became a Mod.

Enquiring minds wanna know. And you snarkier mods: I know you think everyone already knows this stuff but do it anyway ;D please

Modified because I am the typo queen!

[DG]

Gah.. ok.. cause you are part of the "G" family.. I'll try this..

Prehistory..
I was a very busy active person. I spent last summer working at Curves for women and running around 3 towns with my mom. I had only one addiction... RSINXS.. Then I broke my arm and my grandmother went into the hospital.. All I did was sit w/ her and watch tv.. When I went home.. all I had were episodes I had taped.

I was a Jordis fan. Early in the show I even commented that I wanted anyone but Marty to win. Then he got me.. and I fell hard... I even left a note on the tv for my sister that I had seen the light and mmm it was good.

Early history..
I craved knowledge of Marty like I had never craved knowledge before. Naturally this led me to mc.org.. The place for info. I would read the main page and find something new everyday. Then I clicked on the link that said "Message Board" and my life changed.

Pre Asylum
At first I lurked, but then I got sick and could not leave my house. I was in a lot of pain and needed something to distract me. Ahh the Fangirl Forum. I had been ignored in other places and never made any connections. One day I tried to go to work, but it was a disaster. I came home in tears.. lurked at the LH board and then here. I posted something about trying to figure out how to post the Nerdy Marty picture.

Penny and A immediately responded and we started playing a game. I would describe a picture then they would see who could post it fastest. Penny then pmed me how to post pictures. I pmed Penny "thanks for making me laugh" and our friendship began. No one will ever know what the friendships I have found here mean.

I kind of became the "mother" of a ragtag group of Fangirls who really didn't feel comfortable in other places.. somehow out of that group the Asylum was born. I used to post all the time about how I feared Amy and Cindy. I would say that one day they were going to bust me for posting so much.. Imagine my fear when I hit 2000 and immediately had a pm from Cindy.

Becoming a Mod
The pm was asking me to be the mod of the FGF. I asked the advice of the original asylum crew and they all were happy about it. I accepted and immediately got in trouble.

A fangirl dropped in and busted us for posting/stealing her pictures. That was our dear Doc. After pming her 100 apologies I realized she was just messing with me. The friendship that developed there has changed my life in more ways than I can count.

I'd love to talk about Nancy here and meeting her (my first memory is from the LHC where Natasha stole her cd) but that would take pages and pages. She is my heart.


Anyway, my days have been filled with lots of joy and fun.

Oh.. History of how I fell in love w/ Bobby
When I ordered L'Strange.. my Rock On note was from Bobby
I was really sick and the whole "Cribs" part of Live/Raw was endearing.
and umm look at him.. Then when Penny had him call me, I was forever hooked.

There are many other things.. How the Asylum began, the LHC, etc.. but that would take up 15 threads..

[Diva]

DG! Perfect, perfect, perfect--this is what I was looking for. I get all misty reading this and it makes me love ya more.

Cant wait to read everyones stories.

Thanks so much for sharing your with us!

[chk]

It was a dark and stormy night….
Actually it was a hot and sticky day, typical of Hong Kong summers. I had just returned from a summer holiday in balmy Egypt and rang my sister to catch up.
“Have you been watching Rock Star INXS?” she asked me.
“No, the idea is kind of icky,” I replied.
“You really have to!” she insisted.
I thought about it. I saw INXS On their first tour of the US when they opened for Adam Ant. I had seen them in Hong Kong years later. Did I really want to ruin my memories with a reality TV show?
Days pass. I am flipping through the television stations and a promo for RS:INXS comes on showing clips from last week. One singer is performing Mr Brightside –one of my current fave tunes. He is wearing black. He has guy liner. He looks damned good. Sounds amazing. I decide to tune in.
That week Marty Casey performs Hit Me Baby One More Time and makes it sound like the stalker’s theme song. I am a goner. They keep referring to his “mad conductor” moves but I haven’t seen them YET.
So I check out Marty on MSN’s site and read the hilarious chat room posts. Sometimes hilarious. What I love is that anyone who knows Marty personally says the NICEST things about him. And anyone who posts something nasty, is quickly yelled at by his big brother. The addiction is growing, but I do not post. But the serious google-ing begins.
So I end up here on mc.org and click the Board button. I lurk. I admit it. My name is chk and I was a lurker. I stopped lurking more than 5 months ago and have been public ever since. I swear.
Anyway, the boards are so funny – Tooks and Juliana’s stories and Penny, Ayesa’s and DG’s fangirly madness completely drew me in. Plus, I was becoming more than a little obsessed with MC. I feel that I can discuss that here, now. Back then, it was kind of a secret I didn’t keep very well.
Anyway, I end up posting and hanging out mostly with the Aussies – where most of the Asian, Aussie and Kiwi fans seem to congregate. It’s a place we like to call Marty’s Bar Down Under and it has been franchised –with locations in Newbies and Over 18s. We gather to nurse our addiction and to cry over the snowball’s chance in hell that MC will ever be here.
A few months into it I get a PM from DG about the possibility of being a Mod. I am flattered but really worried. Does this mean I spend way too much time on the board? Or just that I spend way too much time telling other people that they misspelled something or should behave themselves? Whatever the reason, I'm in.
I join the crew. I get my stars.
Just one more chapter in the exciting history of the ModSquad.

[Diva]

Chk, more and more love being felt here , cant wait to meet you in Chicago! Thanks for your story!

[chitowngirl]

Your stories are far more exciting than mine.

It all began as an addiction last summer. I initially swore off RS:INXS because how could a band like INXS stoop to reality TV? But we all know how slow the summer TV season can be. I was flipping through the channels and there HE was in all his glory. I do believe I caught the last part of Lithium. I watched all of week 3 and was completely hooked. I didn't miss day through September. In fact, I have them all tivo'ed. Hubby has sworn NEVER to delete.

So after becoming completely obsessed with Mr. Casey and being unable to believe he'd been here in Chicago all of this time without me knowing....... I found LH.com. I poked around there a little bit. I also went to the MSN message boards. I'm not sure if I ever signed up or just lurked. Once I found this place, I believe I lurked a little while. I signed up in October and was a huge lurker, but infrequent poster until December. On or around the time of the Aragon show I ventured into the Fangirl forum. Yes, I thought they were all crazy, but there were always people to chat with so I jumped it. Head first. ;D

I was there when the LH stills and animations (or whatever it was called) became the ASYLUM FOR MAD FANGIRLS. I was also there when dramagirl became DG and a mod. It was an exciting time for us all!

I guess the rest is history. After I became a fairly frequent poster, Cindy approached me about being a mod. I do believe someone had recommended me! How could I possibly say NO? At least I had a valid excuse to hang out here as much as I did.

I have a ton of friends and a huge family. I never in a million years imagined that I would become so attached to a message board. I love this place and the people I have met and have gotten to know. You are now my friends and I am thankful for all of you.

[Ayesa86]

The History of the Mod Squad Chapter 4: Plasma Screens Glowing Darkly.

The name's 86. Ayesa86. It was a dark day. The kind where the clouds are indistinguisable from the rest of the sky and when even the most anti-alcohol personage craves an icy cold scotch...on days like that, even my kind keep to themselves in dark rooms in front of glowing laptop screens.

Like most of my ilk, I kept to my office for the most part, emerging from my lair only to watch CSI's, Criminal Minds, Boston Legal, and up until recently, the reality show, Rockstar INXS. However, that latest gold among the filth that was modern television had recently ended, leaving your humble narrator quite cold and wishing she had invested in a TiVo.

One fateful night, as I was cruising the MiGCentral website, being careful as always to stay on my toes--much like a midgit at a urinal. Those Aussie dames were tricky, and it took a quick mind and an even quicker hand to keep up with them. Back to the story. As I was cruising the site, YHN came across the links portion, which I had never paid much attention to--once you've seen one or two Migger sites, you've seen 'em all. As I was scanning through the links, I was strangely attracted by a quirky little banner reading "MartyCasey.Org". Recognizing the mug of my other favourite contender, I clicked the link and tensed, unsure of what I would find.

Over the next few weeks, I spent more and more time over on this mysterious new board, but I rarely spoke--the girls here were just too diverse and too intimidating. I felt like an intruder and thus stayed in the shadows where my kind are apt to lurk. One night, in a fit of utter boredom, I saw a user by the name of "dramagirl" post a request for what she called "the cute nerdy Marty pic". Figuring what the hell, I posted the picture. Little did I know I would be drawn into a spiral into what can only be called affectionate madness.

There is so much more I could say, but too many people to leave out, and thus, your humble narrator must take her leave.

Good Night And Good Luck.

[chk]

"Humble narrator." That's how I always decribe you, A!

[penny74]

I found this site when I searched the web for videos of Marty's performances. The video page here was like nirvana for me - I swear I watched those videos so often I had the gestures down and everything so that I could just play the sound and picture the whole thing in my head (now he looks to the left as the camera pans out, camera cuts to Gary Garry getting teary, now a shot of JD looking like he is chewing on glass...)

When I realized that this site had a message board, I checked it out a bit. I was not much of a message board poster before this and honestly, I thought you were all a bit nuts. So I registered eventually and remember that my first few posts were all serious (thanks for the info on the band...blah blah blah.) Gradually, I came here more and more as everyone I knew in real life was ready to beat the daylights out of me if I mentioned Marty and/or Lovehammers one more time. YOU ALL UNDERSTOOD! It amazed me.

Then I needed tickets to the Metro. I didn't get them when they went on sale. I was devastated. Then I saw a post from some chick named jodieca saying she had extras and to email her. Frankly, I think I frightened her a little bit with my undying gratitude. Of course, back then, I referred to her as "crazy Jodie" because she was flying from LA to Chicago for a concert. Ahem. Yes, I know. I had to eat a lot of crow with my friends and family in January when I made the reverse trip for Viper.

So you all know how I got to know DG, Ayesa, Fly, and the other asylum loons. One of my favorite things about going to LH concerts is calling them and experiencing the shows with them. And then reading how they get everything that I said on the phone completely wrong. ;D I met Kelley thanks to Jodie, who kind of set us up as roomies for Viper, as we were both going alone. We laugh now how our first PMs to each other were all about how really we are responsible, sane women. Really. I have to say that I am stunned by, but very, very grateful for, the friendships I have made here. About modding, Cindy originally asked me to be a mod in the Newbies section and then we all grabbed other sections as our group got bigger.

And I thought I wasn't going to have anything to say. Sorry for rambling.

[Diva]

There is no rambling here. And the longer, the better. A, very profound and cool, and YOUR style always .

Penny, also your style, witty, slightly snarky which I love...cant believe you were ever serious and thought everybody else was crazy

These are a joy for me to read. I hope others enjoy also but its all an odyssey until hamerjam when we really all will know each other finally

[FlyIntoOblivion]

I started watching RS from the very beginning of the season. When MiG did "Smells Like Teen Spirit" I said I would like to see "the blonde guy" take on a Nirvana song. When Marty did Lithium, it was all over. I had found my favorite.

Then I moved into college in August, my freshman year. The television in the basement didn't have cable at first, so I was stuck surfing the web on my first roommate's computer for the videos when I stumbled upon the org. I signed up right away, but hardly posted, and in fact forgot my password. I was too busy adjusting to college life anyway, and my roommate didn't like my obsession, and I had to keep it as under wraps as I could.

Finals rolled around, and I've never been one to study, and armed with my password again, I cautiously made friends with DG, BG and Ayesa and finally Penny with one snarky little comment. I was sucked in forever. Others came later-Nancy, Shy, and Doc, and many others, too many to name.

One night, I said my goodnights and ran up to the store to buy a much needed shower cap to protect my dreadies from dewaxing, and came back on to read anything I had missed in the past hour. DG was waiting, and had PMed me ten minutes after I had left telling me I was being asked to become a mod.

And well, you know the rest.

[klly]

Well, I'm the newbie mod, but here goes....

I watched Rockstar the first week and to be completely honest, didn't even notice Marty. It was a difficult time for me as my dad had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. I think I missed a lot of the first month of the show. I remember turning it on after a long night at the hospital after I put my son to bed and Marty was about to sing Mr. Brightside. Something happened that night. I was mesmerized by him.

I started watching religiously. Marty was my favorite. I started voting. I cried when he cried after WYWH. I wanted him to win because I wanted him to have everything he wanted. At the same time, I didn't want him to win because I had discovered his band Lovehammers and had ordered Murder on My Mind, L'Strange and Live/Raw and loved their music. I got these personal notes in my cd's from some guy calling himself "El Cid" who I did not know at the time was Dino! I'm so glad I saved them!

Anyhow, my dad deteriorated very fast. He died September 12, 2005. The night after his funeral when our house was filled with hundreds of people, my sister and I snuck into my dad's bedroom, climbed into his bed and watched Rockstar INXS just like little girls again. It was a bittersweet night and one I won't ever forget.

Wen I look back now, I see Marty struggling to keep his identity. I cheered when he defied INXS and did "I Alone" the way he did. I watch that performance now and I see Bobby cheering Marty on in the audience even though he knew that if his friend won, the Lovehammers would no longer be.

As the show came to a close, I was desperate for the month of episodes I had missed. I found the Rockstar INXS website and read every blog of every contestant, watched every performance and read their message board. I never posted. I remember sitting in my office and watching Lithium. I couldn't move. Then I saw "With Arms Wide Open". I never liked that song before, but watching Marty do the slow-motion mad conductor followed by that singing through gritted teeth, I was blown away. A friend of mine got a copy of the entire show on dvd and I watched it over and over and over.

I felt like something was missing from my life after the show ended. Other than the obvious personal loss, I felt like I needed something more. I found the Lovehammers website and spent most of my time reading the archived posts from the guys. I found mc.org shortly thereafter. I read every post of every person on this board. I knew you all. I laughed every night reading the pic flics and the eventual asylum of the mad fangirls. The asylum girls helped me though a very difficult time without even knowing I existed. The Lovehammers music woke up my love for rock-n-roll.

For my birthday last December, I decided that I was going to fly out to the Viper Room. I had NEVER done anything like that before and was petrified of going by myself. I made my first post here telling people I was going to Viper and to the Boca show hoping to make a friend. I started pm'ing with a few girls and then I met Jodieca who was so sweet and friendly and set me up to room with Penny. Jodie and I will always be friends.

I felt like I had known Penny all my life. As most of you probably know, she is my official concert buddy and one of my closest friends in the world.

I have made so many great friends here. Too many to name. I have never belonged to any message board before. It's amazing how many funny and smart and kind people there are here at mc.org. You guys have carried me through some really rough times.

As for the modship? Well that's all really new. A certain friend of mine recommended me for the position because I am the queen of Rockstar INXS trivia so she thought I would be good mod for that section and to help out the existing mods in the newbie section. I was honored to be asked.

I love you all.

[Diva]

Fly thanks for your story. And Klly, well yours made me cry as I had a feeling it would. I am truly loving reading all of your stories. Thanks so much for sharing with us. Its amazing to me although each person is so different and everybody has their own unique way they got here we also have so much in common and now are fans of each others as well. Brilliant.

[Amy]

For a few seasons I'd watched American Idol. I reluctantly watched it.....it was CHEESY. So, when I heard about RS:INXS I was so excited! I honestly didn't care about INXS, I wanted to hear rock music. Somehow I missed the first episode, but I eagerly began watching from the second episode. I was totally into Dave Navarro and quickly became a fan of MiG and Jordis. But something special happened during Week 3 of the competition - Marty sang "Lithium" by Nirvana. I'd not paid attention to Marty up to that point. When he came on stage I was thinking to myself "Uh-oh...this guy is going to SO screw up my beloved Nirvana song!!" and I sat on the couch with my knees up and my hands covering my face, already feeling embarrassed for this poor blonde man. But he started to sing....and grabbed me by the throat. I was hooked! I realized his talent & drive and was beyond impressed. To the end I rooted for Marty, MiG and Jordis, but Marty was a clear favorite.

I was a poster on a board that temporarily shut down and I felt lost! Cindy launched MC.org on September 5th and I joined the next day. We've been inseparable ever since, partners in crime! We waited until RS:INXS ended to launch the message board - we wanted people visiting the site, watching the show, and VOTING instead of spending time posting on a message board. So, as soon as the show ended we launched the board. What a wonderful journey it's been! We've made some great friends along the way, have fantastic Mods, and enjoy the hell out of it.

The site has become a springboard for "everything Marty," the forum is a joy with tons of members, and Marty is now on board with our vision.....and Cindy & I have managed to begin meshing Marty's vision with ours. It's all a work in progress and worth every minute spent. I've been asked "why" I do this.....and if I'm just swooning over Marty. Those people don't get it. Yes, I've included Marty Casey and Lovehammers in my life - there isn't a day to go by that I don't think about them, do something for them, or contribute to Marty's site. The why is simple - I believe in Marty. I believe in his talent and I trust his morals and methodology. Marty Casey is a kind, gracious, generous soul with limitless talent - he has enriched my life in so many ways, and so has participating in his site and message board.

Amy

[Diva]

Amy, thank you, that was beautifully said!

[Cindy]

My story...

I discovered Marty Casey on Rock Star. It started out by accident as I have always been a naysayer of reality TV. But when I was flipping channels one night and landed on a great performance-- that hooked me in. That was Marty Casey doing "Take Me Out" From then on, I never missed another episode and tried to be fair and vote for the ones I thought did best, always making sure to not vote for the three I thought did the worst. Before long I discovered that I was voting regularly for Marty (and Jordis).... every time and many times. After the week that Marty ended up in the bottom three, I was upset and told myself this was NEVER happening again as long as I could do anything about it. So what could I do about it.... Easy. I am in the web site business and for fun, I do fansites.... this was to be the fourth one I had done. I started the site, had it ready enough to launch within 8 or 9 days and made it live. To get the site ready, I went online and did research and learned about Lovehammers. I quickly located all their CD's available at the time and started "boning up." I discovered they already had an active and long time fan base. I was delighted to discover that!

Anyway, the day I made the site live, I announced the launch a couple of places and asked for volunteers to help with the site. Amy was the first person who responded, and I immediately suckered her into helping out. Little did she know what she was really getting into!

I am pretty sure that it is Amy that is responsible for the site having a message board. She wanted one more than I did. I had had message boards in the past, and thought they were a lot of work and usually a lot of stress. I felt that I had my hands full with the site itself and all the email. But Amy thought it was important to keep fans coming back, and I went along with it and set this up.... with the stipulation that it had to be launched immediately AFTER Rock Star: INXS and not during. She's already told you about this. So moving right along....

We started slowly adding a few mods to help out on a trial basis so we wouldn't have to hang around the board 24/7. Robin, teakay and Trees were the first three we added. Robin and teakay because they were early volunteers for specific tasks associated with the site and board. Trees.....because I despearately wanted a mod for the 18 and over section, and I knew she posted there and had made a lot of friends among the ones posting primarily in that section. So along came Trees, and that was a blessing.

As thing got really busy on the board back when the CD and tour were about to start, we needed even more help so we started scouting the boards for fans that were active, friendly, peacemakers, and well-received by the others. We added one or two more and then I asked these mods to recommend other fans that they thought would be interested in serving and who might be good for the board. That is how we came up with all of our current mods---by recommendation of the other mods. I don't spend enough time on the board personally to know what is going on and who is who. But the mods sure know! We count on the mods to be our eyes and ears on the board and to keep things running smoothly. So far they have done a phenomonal job.

The different threads on the board each seem to have personalities of their own. Some are fun and funny; some are sweet and sensitive; some are serious and purposeful; and others are outrageous. It is amazing to me that we now have over 200,000 posts, close to 2,000 board members and get over half a million page views a month. Holy cow!! Our mods do a super job. There is no way this board would be anywhere near as popular or as cool or organized as it is without their hardwork.

So this is my story. And I'm sticking to it.

[needy]

I just noticed this thread today and I just want to tell all of you that I was so touched by your posts. You all add so much to this board and make it such a wonderful place.

I just want to say a huge "THANK YOU" to you all!

[Stiletto]

This is one of the most well run boards (and site) I've ever had the pleasure to be a part of (besides my own....lol).

Despite what everyone sees......being a mod can be difficult...and stressful..........and time consuming...........and thankless at times.

But the selection of Mods both individually and as a group is second to none..........

The Marty casey.Org "Mod Squad" (to coin a phrase...lol) does a standup job at maintaining all aspects of this board and keeping things up to date, user friendly, and fresh (no not that kind of fresh Doc!).

Well done Ladies!!!!!!!!!!

[dlh]

I have to agree with all of the posts. MC.org is such a great place to "hang" with so many wonderful people. The mods have become good friends to all of us that post on the various threads. We are very lucky. It always amazes me when I think about all of the friendships that we have all made here in less than a year. I can not wait for Hammerjam to meet so many of the great mods. Wish they could all be there....I'm still working on Trees. I think that she should just tell her family that she has to go pick up some Chicago Style Pizza for the family Potlatch. She doesn't have to tell them where she is getting the pizza and that it might take a few days to bring it back....right?


Den

[keysunset]

Thank you to the mods for taking the time to write up their stories. mc.org has been a wonderful, wonderful place to come to for information, for photos, to chat. I recommend this site to people. But it wouldn't be the place it is without the vision and hard work of the mods!

three cheers for the mc.org mods! hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray, hip hip HOORAY!!!!!