The GI Joe Group

They came from AOL and from web searches for "GI Joe", looking for a place to trade, to chat, to share, to play. In 1996, some of the first few that found their way to "alt.toys.gi-joe" decided to stay and start posting more often, replying to topics, becoming involved in discussions, eventually becoming known as "regulars". They were no longer anonymous names on a newsgroup, they were becoming a community of G.I. Joe fans. It was sometimes referred to as the "Joe NG" or "the GI Joe group" or any variation thereof, but no-one had come up with a nickname that really defined the group or gave it a personality.

It was around October 30, 1996, that a post about the banning of Action Man toys in certain store chains in the UK sparked a rather heated discussion about gun control. Among the scores of messages posted to the topic spanning several days were a few pleas for peace. On November 9, 1996, the following post appeared in the thread:

"Okay fellow Joe Heads...enough please!

All of you come out and do a virtual handshake and say you're sorry and get back in the sandbox so we can ALL have our GI Joe reenactment of the invasion [of] Britian. ;-) <--Look I'm smiling. 8-D

If ya'll (my Southern slang) agree...please post your name to this thread...Thanks

THOR"

According to the Google archives, this is the first occurrence of the term "sandbox" used in reference to the newsgroup.

Not much later, a post about someone asking for the dimensions of the Vietnam Memorial degraded into an argument over Clinton and blind obedience to political leaders. Once again, there were calls for a truce and calm. On Nov. 23, 1996, the following was posted:

"Now lets have fun in the sand box. I bet my Panzer Kaptain can take out your AT: Land Adventurer with his Tiger Tank. CHARGE!!!!

THOR"

By the way, of the legend of THOR, I'll write later.

There were additional references to a sandbox at various times throughout December of 1996.

"Now get in the sand box so we can kick your newbie a** and take your Joes away. ;-)
THOR"

"You bring your Joes and I'll bring mine and I'll stomp your little a** into the sandpile. 8-D OK Joe Heads let's have a sand box war.
THOR"

"I have said my piece can I get back in the sand box now?
Trip63"

"Besides if Brian can't stand the heat of a good Joe flame thrower, let him play in some other sandbox. Just kidding Brian, we don't want to loose a Joe fan.
Wolfman"

But when did it become "official"? More on that in the next article.

Creation of a Newsgroup

In the beginning was the Usenet, and it was empty and without form. And the users looked upon the face thereof and said let us go down and make a sandbox for there is space there. And even so it was done.

So, when did the Sandbox newsgroup actually come into being? In March of 1999, the question was asked and the digging for answers began. It wasn't long before it was uncovered that on Aug 27, 1995, a person by the name of Iggy Drogue from Stockholm, Sweden had proposed the charter for the newsgroup "alt.toys.gi-joe" otherwise known as "Yo Joe! The GI.Joe/Action Force action figures" (the "Sandbox" moniker was attached somewhat later.) It was therefore proposed that August 27 be considered the anniversary date of the newsgroup.

On the other hand, there were long-time members of the 'Box who were certain they had been posting to the newsgroup as early as May of 1994. So I went back into the pit, and dug some more. Down I went into the layers of the digital fossil record, back to the year 1993.

In 1993, the "alt.toys" newsgroup hierarchy had already branched out into more specific categories such as Legos and a new Transformers sub-hierarchy. There was also quite a bit of Joe talk on the rather eclectic "rec.collecting" group. Apparently, there were a few people from this and the fledgling Transformers lot who felt a need for a group focused on G.I Joes. A place where they could buy, sell, and trade their Joes, albeit the smaller 3-3/4" kind.

And so it was that on Sep 25, 1993, Corey D. Stinson posted the following proposal on the usenet:

"Subject: Proposed: alt.toys.gijoe

With the recent appearance of the newsgroup alt.toys.transformers I was inclined to consider proposing alt.toys.gijoe. Currently, most if not all talk concerning G.I. Joe (the toy, the comic, and collector info) is done in rec.collecting. I believe having our own group away from the broad 'rec.collecting' where such collection topics from stamps to bottlecaps are covered would be advantagous. This newsgroup's purpose would be to discuss the following:

-The original G.I. Joe figures
-Hasbro's current G.I. Joe line
(1982-present)
-The comic book series
-Collecting/announcements/forsale for
any of the above
-Anything else concerning G.I. Joe fans and collectors!

If this proposal is in some way too informal, I would be happy to prepare a more formal one. I would like to responses, esp. via email, on the need and/or desire for this newsgroup. Thank your for your time."

You'll notice that Corey's proposal above was for a "gijoe" sub-hierarchy, not the hyphenated "gi-joe" that exists today.

A second proposal followed on Feb 18, 1994, posted by "Psycho" Shawn Petren:

"Subject: Proposal: alt.toys.gi-joe

Subject line says it all. The traffic on alt.toys.transformers has
(thanks to me) come to include discussions of various GI Joe figures, vehicles,
and the comics.

I think a newsgroup for it would be worthwhile, as it would allow people the chance to discuss something that we all pretty much grew up with.

What do you think, sirs?"

It's not clear when exactly the "alt.toys.gi-joe" sub-hierarchy appeared on news servers, whether soon after Corey's proposal in '93 or after Shawn's in '94. Unfortunately, we may never know the exact date. The Google archives for the Sandbox show that the earliest posts occurred in October of 1995 and none earlier. This is not to say that there were no posts prior to 1995, but simply that if there were any, they are no longer retrievable.

What I find even more interesting though, is that a newsgroup focused primarily on the 12" G.I. Joe figures and the 1/6 hobby in general was in all likelihood created due to a proposal submitted by a collector who was mainly concerned with 3-3/4" figures! Both Shawn's and Corey's main focus were the little Joes. In fact, here is a link to Corey Stinson's website: http://smalljoes.com/

In any case, a hearty thanks goes out to both Corey and Shawn (wherever he is) for taking part in the creation of a great newsgroup and community. And to Iggy, as well, for whatever contribution he made to propagating the newsgroup.

Next up, I'll discuss the story behind how "alt.toys.gi-joe" came to be known as "The Sandbox".

A Long Time Ago, Before the Sandbox

We were kids in the 60s and 70s playing with America's movable fighting man, Hasbro's G.I. Joe. There were others such as Ideal Toy's Captain Action and Marx's Johnny West, but only G.I. Joe was G.I. Joe. He was the first toy to be known as an "action figure". In other parts of the world he was known as Action Man, Geyperman, or Hombre de Accion. He had Five-Star jeeps, Mercury Space Capsules, Adventure Team Headquarters, and any number of other cool playsets and accessories.

Our backyards became the jungles of Nam or the hiding place of mysterious hidden idols. Living rooms were turned into battlefields. Swimming pools were perilous oceans. Our action figures braved dirt clod wars, firecrackers, parachute accidents, firing squads, and a host of other dangerous missions. Limbs were lost, painted hair or tufts of flocked hair rubbed away, Kung Fu gripping fingers fell off, uniforms once bright and crisp became dull and torn. But we kept Joe going.

Then we grew up. We moved on to other interests like girls, cars, sports, and Bruce Lee movies. Our toys were given away to younger cousins or neighbors, sold off at garage sales, or stuffed into boxes and stored away in attics, garages, and basements. In some cases, they were just plain thrown away. Around 1980, Hasbro stopped making our 11.5" hero.

We went off to college, to the armed services, moved out, moved on with our lives. But for some of us adults, there remained inside a bit of childhood. We remembered the wonderful adventures and fun we had with our toys. As we waxed nostalgic, there was a desire to recapture those long ago memories. So we set about searching those attics, basements, and garages. We went to garage sales, flea markets, and antique shops. We found long lost friends. Then, holding that plastic figure in our hands, the years rolled back and we were kids again.

And we started wondering, did anyone else collect these old G.I. Joes? Where are they? How do I get in touch with them? What kind of stuff do they have? What is all of this worth? How can I complete sets with missing or broken parts? What if we could start trading?

Please Stand by...

I'm still working on the layout/template and getting used to working with this thing, so bear with me. The real blogging will begin shortly. Thank you for your patience.