First, I was never in line for this job. Allen had other people in mind, but they couldn't be contacted when the time came. I received permission from Allen's mother to take over the site, and I began saving it (see the next point as to why we couldn't do a data transfer). That was on July 31st, the day before the site was scheduled to be taken down.

As luck would have it, I had something else to do that night too: My husband, who on July 31st was a Ph.D. student anxiously getting his dissertation ready, needed me to proofread it before he submitted it to his university...on August 1st. Somehow his deadline had managed to escape my brain...So I was in a frantic hurry, both because Allen's site was going down at July 31st on midnight - so his mother had been told, and so she told me (in reality it went down on August 1st, during the day) - and because after that I had 160 pages of proofreading to do (I used to be a professional proofreader). This led me to do something that would ultimately be very stupid because it created a lot of headaches for me later, although at the time it was almost a godsend: I saved most of the site through AOL using "Save as Complete Web Page." (Yes, I knew about Site Grabber - no, I didn't download it. I didn't think I had the time to mess with a new program that very night.) I didn't really have access to Allen's files because his backup system and mine were incompatible, and I was NOT taking 30 floppy disks over to his mother's house. She was computer illiterate and couldn't e-mail me the files, so I had no choice. (The consequences of spending over an hour saving Allen's site and then spending another six proofreading my husband's dissertation, after an eight-hour day at work, are an even longer story that I will spare you. If you're really curious, e-mail me.)

Web Site Snag #1: Getting a web host. This part took me over a month because the first people I lined up to do it suddenly refused to contact me when I was ready to give them money. This was right around September 11th, and I found myself thinking, "Coincidence?" I never did tip the FBI, but I guess they know who they're after by now. So after that fell through, I spent another few days soliciting another company, and finally found one. This led to:

Web Site Snag #2: What to use for a domain name? As you can tell, Who's Doctor Who ended up with something a little less than intuitive. This was because I took the time and trouble to write the BBC asking for permission to use my first choice and, on getting an answer that I had a little trouble interpreting (although they were courteous in responding promptly and I do appreciate that), deciding on a suitable substitute.

Real Life Intrusion: Consequences (okay, you'll get the short version). August 1st I was not well enough to go into work (to my complete non-surprise, having had only an hour's sleep, if that). I have fibromyalgia so it was not a simple case of fatigue, but my employer wasn't convinced, so I spent a lot of time fretting and looking for another job. I haven't been fired, and later in August I suddenly got better (again, details available by request).

A big part of the delay was me coming to terms with Allen's passing. I had to fully accept that he was gone and that it was okay to change his pages, if only to change links and add what needed to be added (like this page, for example). That took some time.

At some point I realized exactly what I had done in saving through AOL: Now most of the images were ART files. Internet Explorer and Netscape users with the current versions would be fine, but what about everyone else? So I had to convert all the images, and in doing so I realized the logos were coming out bad, so they are still ART files. I'm sorry, but I will probably have to do a reformat of the site anyway and at that point all the logos will be redone. (As I learn about HTML, I realize the problems tables create for the visually handicapped, who depend on devices to read the pages to them. These devices usually have trouble with tables. Allen used tables throughout the site as an easy way to organize material, and I'm sure he had no idea he was limiting accessibility to the site. I don't know how many visually impaired Doctor Who fans are out there, but I don't feel I should be assuming there aren't any. I will happily solicit input on this topic: Is there a market for handicapped-accessible Doctor Who sites? Do you know of anyone who has tried to access this site and been frustrated? Are you one of the ones who have had trouble? Please let me know.)

Another delay was the HTML class I took at Barnes and Noble University, without which I would not have bought the book which told me the above, nor would I have made it this far into editing the site. I'd been wanting to learn HTML anyway, so this gave me the excuse I needed.