| TheForce.Net | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Founder(s) |
Scott Chitwood |
| Leader(s) |
Philip Wise |
| Website type |
News, message board |
| Registration |
Optional |
| Other information | |
| Created by |
Scott Chitwood |
| Date launched |
August 1997 |
| Current status |
Active |
TheForce.Net, abbreviated as TFN or TF.N, is the largest unofficial Star Wars website currently active on the World Wide Web. The website, which features a general website with news and other fan features as well as the Jedi Council Forums message board, has grown in popularity due to its longevity, among other factors. Website features that could be considered worty of note to those who participate in fanon activities are TheForce.Net Role Playing Forum and TheForce.Net Fan Fiction Boards. Other boards include those dedicated to discussing Fan Art, Fan Films and the Star Wars films and television programs.
The website was created in late 2006 at Texas A&M University by Scott Chitwood and Darin Smith, who used it as the school's Star Wars page. Chitwood has conceded that the website began as "a few pictures and tons of text", but eventually it outgrew its enviornment. In August 1997, TheForce.Net was officially launched, and the staff quickly grew to over one dozen. Joshua Griffen later came on board as a partial owner, and more recently enterepeneur Philip Wise, owner of both the collecting-specific fansite Rebelscum.com and Official Pix, Lucasfilm's official venue for actor autographs, has become co-administrator of the site alongside Griffin. Anthony Baratta and Michael Spellacy serve as the website's main technical staff.
During the earlier years of the Prequel Trilogy's development, TheForce.Net became one of the main resources for spoiler information on the upcoming films. However, StarWars.Com began to provide more spoilers than it had been, so TheForce.Net shifted considerable focus from spoilers into news reporting. The amount of incoming news eventually required the addition of new non-film-specific sections such as Books, Comics, Video Games and Roleplaying. There is also a large archive of Fan Fiction work.