New "Alumni" Radio Shows Category Created
(source: starwarsfanworks.com, 03-07-10)

If you have been following discussion on the Fanworks message board, then you know that a lot of debate has been taking place as to what should happen to shows that might once have been categorized as "Star Wars" or even "Star Wars and More," but which have since moved into more "general sci-fi" or "general topics" podcasts. Before March 2010, this was handled through coverage of those shows (Requiem of the Outcast and RoneyZone Radio, for example) ending, then placing those shows into an "Ended" category on the Radio Shows page. This made sense, given that those shows were far, far from Star Wars these days, and the creators were very much in agreement with such a decision.

Earlier this year, however, questions were raised again (as they had been during 2009 as well) as to the status of an "anomalous" podcast, Anomaly, which had joined the Fanworks community as a "Star Wars and More" podcast but proven itself to be more of a "general sci-fi" show than something technically "Star Wars fan audio" (which is the only type of production that the mission of this site allows). Questions arose as to how to handle this particular podcast, given that its hosts were still involved in the community, still covering Star Wars once every great once in a while, and the team had garnered three Fanworks Fan Audio Awards in the last two years.

The decision that has been made on how to deal with Anomaly has now become a collective decision in dealing with other shows that have "moved beyond" the mission of Fanworks, but which have been part of the Fanworks-covered format in the past (i.e. ROTO and RZR, as noted above).

The decision is this:

A new "Alumni" category has been created on the Radio Shows page. There, you will find shows that used to be "Star Wars" or "Star Wars and More" shows, which were featured by Fanworks when fitting the site's mission. This avoids putting them into the "Ended" category, since they are still ongoing. However, such shows will not be listed in "Newest Releases" or have stats tracked for their shows. Instead, the image links on the Radio Shows page will leap directly to the show's own website, not a Fanworks page. (Links in the People section and elsewhere are slowly being transitioned into simple text, rather than links, so as not to point to now-absent pages.) These shows will also not be eligible for Star Wars Fanworks Fan Audio Awards each year, as they are not "Star Wars fan audio," by definition. Discussion of these programs will still be allowed, as it has been, on the Fanworks forum, and news about these programs, when submitted, will still be posted within the News section, as is always the case with tie-ins to fan audio community members.