Late in 1993 when
Derek Catt and
Charlie Woods dreamed up the idea of having an Electronic ST Owners Club, we were attempting to work around the then leading edge of electronic communications, UNIX servers and PINE/ELM mail programs. There were no WEB browsers like Netscape or Mosaic, there were no email programs like Free Agent or WinVN.
Our mail list was just that, a simple email with everyones email address appended to the recipient header. Derek mailed out the STUFF newsletter electronically. Most of the newsletters were excerpts from the months collection of emails Derek received concerning products members of the list had bought or tried that were used or related to the ST1100.
At that time, most of the people on the email list were DoD members (Dennizens of Doom). The DoD is mostly related to the Usenet news group REC.MOTORCYCLES. And so, in true DoD fashion, the STOC was formed, although there is no connection between the DoD and the STOC, or the ST Newsletter published in Houston, Texas.
The application for a STOC number was a simple, funny idea to poke fun at the sport bike side of the ST yet, providing our members their own way of recognizing others that had the same interest in ST1100's by including their STOC number at the bottom of each email they sent.
After Derek's untimely death,
Jim Alexander took over the task of compiling the monthly STUFF newsletters and continued until his transfer to another job outside the USA. Derek's father,
George Catt then took up the task of publishing the STUFF. All the while, the STOC list of members was growing.
~~~
Here are the first original STuff Newsletters,
written by Derek Catt, STOC #001 and Jim Alexander, STOC #009
and first distributed on March 22, 1994.
( All the STuff Newsletters have been uploaded to the stocrallies server for preservation. )
Part #1 of 2