Recently I've been thinking a lot about just what it means to be a fan. For a few years, I was fortunate enough to have close friends in my life that were also Star Wars fans. We discussed the movies, enjoyed the music, and watched the films. For a while, one of my roommates was even a collector. I well remember our voyages of the Sith as we went to the grocery store, always throwing in at least one detour to a toy store or book store to see if anything grabbed our fancy.

After he got engaged, I was fortunate enough to work with some huge Star Wars fans who also happened to be married to each other. We spent hours working outside discussing the saga, predicting what was going to happen, making up wild rumors that had no chance of being true, but were funny to think about it and even planning Halloween costumes. One co-worker was a seamstress so she happily made Jedi robes for both her husband and me. It is through her that I gained an appreciation for the costumes in the films. She even used my Defense of Naboo Qui-Gon figure as the 3-D model for the Jedi robes she made us.

We unveiled them for a Halloween party in 2001. We would later go in costume with another of my roommates who was a huge fan for the midnight toy release at Wal-Mart in 2002. It goes without saying that we were in costume for opening night and later again that weekend. A few months later my friends moved on to new jobs. I still saw them from time to time, but busy lives got in the way. Soon after, one of my Star Wars friends got married and another moved away. And then I moved. For the first time in a long time, I didn't have any Star Wars friends. It was in these days that I really discovered online fandom.

On the message boards, I could discuss the events of the saga and speculate about what Episode III held in store. People would rejoice with me when I was able to acquire some collectable I really wanted. I had all new Star Wars friends, though I don't know what many of them look like. Instead, I see a screen name and an avatar most of the time. But these wonderful people are my friends as well. I've been fortunate to meet some of them in person, and even though I've moved again, I continue to see them online. We share in our joys and frustrations of collecting, talk about whatever movie we've seen or book we're reading. The conversations aren't even always about Star Wars, but most of the time they are.

Sometimes the life of a fan can be lonely especially when it comes to Star Wars. We don't always have people around who share our hobby and care about why we delve deeper into the story. Yet, on this and other websites we have each other. We can discuss the films at length. We can find someone who understands what it feels like to get that package in the mail. We have someone who shares the frustrations and happiness of being a collector.

Because of this, we as fans need to be careful. Behind that avatar and screen name is a real person with real feelings. They've come to the message board or the blogs to share their fandom with others. And a cruel word can drive that person away. We're all here because we love Star Wars and that's what should unite us. Most of the world doesn't love it like we do, and that's why we need to stick together, whether or not you like Jedi or Sith. It doesn't matter how long you've been a fan. Mean behavior to a fellow fan may only drive that person out of the fan community, and we're all the worse for it. We miss out on their perspective and their enjoyment. What matters is that you're a fan. It doesn't matter how long you've been on these boards or blogging. It matters that you're here now sharing with us your love of the saga, be it a gray, red, blue, purple, or green screen name.