Starmen.Net

Starmen.Net is an EarthBound fan site focused on the video game series. Staff members and users are actively involved in campaigns and petitions, which have been promoted and covered by video game websites and magazines.

History
Starmen.Net began as the personal website of Reid Young ("reidman"). His site was started in 1998, three years after the United States release of EarthBound. The site began to grow when Clyde Mandelin ("Tomato") contacted Reid, then 16, about expanding his site. With the help of Edward A. Vazquez ("Buzz Buzz"), the site became EarthBound.Net.

Petitions and campaigns
Starmen.Net is known for holding petitions and campaigns surrounding the Mother series. Users and staff members held an EarthBound 64 petition in 2000. The petition aimed to "spread word across the internet (and the US) of the petition", "accept signatures until the flow slows down", "reach ~10,000 unique signatures", "send copies of the printed petition to Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Japan", and to "get Earthbound 64 released in the States". The petition was promoted by websites such as FOX-owned IGN and magazines such as Tips & Tricks. The group's efforts were acknowledged by EarthBound creator Shigesato Itoi. Staff members and users held a petition in 2002 for Mother 3 to be created. This was promoted on the front page of IGN's GameCube section. When Mother 3 was announced, the group later changed their petition asking for an English translation of the game. Users circulated flyers and sent phone calls (which is now its own, always going event) and fan art to Nintendo in support of the petition; this act was covered by websites such as Kotaku and Siliconera.

Reception and criticism
The staff members and users have been called "EarthBound maniacs" by Electronic Gaming Monthly, which has repeatedly referenced the website for further information of the series. WebBound, a quarterly publication that lists what they consider to be the "best websites", listed Starmen.Net in their video game fan site section. Luke Plunkett of Kotaku praised their "good-old-fashioned activism", but said that he "can't see it having any effect". Starmen.Net has also "occasionally organizes something called NP Siege, which consists of soliciting a boatload of Mother fan art, then sending it all to the magazine".

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See Also

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