The Stress Doc takes time out to note the passing of an internet institution -- the popular newsletter, Humor From the Edge. He also pays tribute to a friend and mentor, the publisher, truly devoted both to his cyberbaby and to his members.
Humor From the Edge: In Memoriam
Humor From the Edge is no more. Due to a series of events, some beyond the publisher's control, some fairly Orwellian in nature, Rick has decided to let the popular newsletter go. One episode involved his employer, a major internet server, not allowing him to retrieve his 14,000 member mailing list. Also, Rick and his wife are expecting another child, so there is a touch of symmetry - the ebb and flow of death and new life.
In a phone conversation, Rick affirmed what I knew so well: nurturing and growing HFTE to its current size and position, the largest internet humor newsletter, was a true labor of love…and a cause for very long nights and some marital spats. The money he made from the newsletter was laughable. Actually, this is an area in which I hold Rick in truly high esteem. There were opportunities to commercialize the newsletter, but he resisted. Even when he negotiated a merger with another internet newsletter, there was always two overriding considerations: would he retain editorial control and would changes provide his readers with the best mix of jokes and stories, lists and laughs.
Both his integrity and willingness to experiment directly bear on my current internet involvement. For those that haven't heard my saga, here goes. While mentally meandering through an AOL writer's channel bulletin board in early '97, I came across a solicitation for humor material. I forwarded some of my humorous psychologically-minded stories to the editor of Humor From the Edge. Shawna (Sv Honey) quickly emailed her enthusiasm and would send them to the publisher. The initial stories were about 750-1,000 words. In size, content and style my material was a radical departure from HFTE's standard fare. Rick, always sensitive to his reader's preferences, had some ambivalence. He challenged me thusly: tell your humor stories in about 100 words. Shawna, later revealed that Rick doubted my ability to meet his proposition. My writer's ego was bruised. I, of course, deserved more words and space. Putting pride on hold...somehow, I met the challenge.
At first, there was a firestorm, especially among his more youthful readers. To them I was a Trojan voice, if not virtual virus, compromising the purity of their newsletter. Yet some positive responses also came down the cyberpike. And Rick stood fast behind me. Before long, he was even giving me a yellow, then a green light to expand the size of my essays. This led to sharing the columns with AOL's major mental health forum - Online Psych, along with other internet magazines and forums, such as Financial Services Journal Online and Mental Health Net/Perspectives Magazine. My association with Online Psych triggered the self-proclaimed title of "Online Psychohumorist" and eventually motivated me to publish my own newsletter, Notes From the Online Psychohumorist ™.
So Rick will always be a mentor, an inner voice in the ever-challenging struggle as a writer and publisher to capture that elusive balance between giving of yourself and to yourself.
But that's the past; what direction the future? I'm contemplating sending out The Stress Doc Newsletter on a weekly basis. Now it arrives twice/month. To do this, in the long run, I will likely need some contribution form readers - stories, lists, even some jokes with a seriously playful and insightful psychohumor perspective So with a little help from my friends and members, we will keep Rick's and Humor From the Edge's legacy alive. What better way to...Practice Safe Stress!
Mark Gorkin, "The Stress Doc," Licensed Clinical Social Worker, is a nationally recognized speaker, workshop leader and author on stress, reorganizational change, anger, team building, creativity and humor. He is also the internet's and the nation's leading "Psychohumorist." The Stress Doc is a columnist for the popular cyber-newsletter, Humor From The Edge -- HUMOR FROM THE EDGE HOME PAGE . Mark is also the "Online Psychohumorist" for the major AOL mental health resource network, Online Psych -- ONLINE PSYCH: THE STRESS DOC and Financial Services Journal Online. And he is an offline writer for two mental health/substance abuse publications -- Treatment Today and Paradigm Magazine. His motto: Have Stress? Will Travel: A Smart Mouth for Hire! Reach "The Doc" at (202) 232-8662, email: Stress Doc@aol.com, or check out his "Hot Site" website: http://www.stressdoc.com or click STRESS DOC HOMEPAGE. (The site was selected as a USA Today Online "Hot Site" and designated a four-star, top- rated site by Mental Health Net.)
** For his free newsletter, Notes from the Online Psychohumorist ™ or for info on the Stress Doc's Online Coaching program, email stressdoc@aol.com .