{"id":78064,"date":"2013-09-02T20:53:34","date_gmt":"2013-09-03T01:53:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/?p=78064"},"modified":"2013-09-02T22:32:09","modified_gmt":"2013-09-03T03:32:09","slug":"meet-the-team-behind-theonering-net","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/2013\/09\/02\/78064-meet-the-team-behind-theonering-net\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the team behind TheOneRing.net"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TheOneRing.netEver wondered about the diverse group of individuals behind TheOneRing.net?<\/p>\n

Well, now you can meet the talented, and oft-times crazy, volunteers, who diligently delve away in the deepest darkest caverns of Erebor to bring you TheOneRing.net.<\/p>\n

*some of the creatures who work here are extremely shy and there is very limited information about them, beyond their names, if you’re extremely lucky you might just spot one as they scurry back into the shadows \ud83d\ude09 *<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you like what we do, and would like to see your Tolkien community keep growing and growing, consider making\u00a0a contribution to our Pledge Drive<\/a>. Every bit helps defray our costs!<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Four Founders\"foundersdaytornptbwearingringcorvar\"<\/h3>\n

Tehanu<\/strong> is one of the founders of TheOneRing.net, heavily involved in setting up the site and reporting on LOTR developments as they unfolded around her in New Zealand from 1999 onwards. She contributed a series of articles called Tehanu\u2019s Notes, some of which were published in The People\u2019s Guide to JRR Tolkien, which she also edited. Tehanu is an orchestral musician, publicist, broadcaster and writer in Wellington.<\/p>\n

Calisuri<\/strong> <\/a>is co-owner and one of the original founders of TheOneRing.net. Based out of Philadelphia, PA USA, he contributes most of his free time to handling the business affairs of the website. As a result, you won’t see him that often on the boards or chat, but he is always lurking in the corner.<\/p>\n

Corvar<\/strong> is the mysterious man behind the scenes. Our incredibly talented sys-admin is the one cog that’s all-important to a fully functional site — especially when the big news hits. He can sometimes be found idle in Barliman’s chat while trying to find a way to implement Calisuri’s latest crazy idea.<\/p>\n

Xoanon<\/strong> is one of our four founders. Though widely believed to be a creation of the other three founders to differentiate them from the three Elven lords by younger staff members, he has, in fact, been missing since he undertook a quest to the Halls of Thranduil to investigate the rumour that this most unconventional of elves had actually employed a female Guard Captain. All attempts by TORn staff to find out his fate have, to date, failed.<\/p>\n

TORn Senior Staff<\/h3>\n

\"greendragonImage\"greendragon<\/a><\/strong> joined TORn’s message boards back in early 2002; she became a staffer in 2007 and is now honoured to be one of TORn’s Senior Staff. \u00a0Her favourite thing about TORn is the many friends it has brought her all around the world, so she loves being involved with planning TORn’s many moots, parties, convention attendance, etc. \u00a0A Brit who is now based in the USA, greendragon’s ‘real life’ job is as a freelance stage director, performer and educator.<\/p>\n

Alyse<\/strong> is a senior staff member of TORn and a long time Tolkien geek. Having met Calisuri at the Los Angeles line party for The Fellowship of the Ring, she was recruited to help organize week long line parties for The Two Towers and Return of the King. Alyse is also the de facto art curator on staff, having organized and coordinated the art shows for 3 ORCs, 2 ELFs and last February’s An Unexpected Art Show. Alyse also has another passion – building art creations out of LEGO bricks when not working on developing websites professionally.<\/p>\n

\"MrCereImage\"MrCere<\/a><\/strong> came to TheOneRing by way of organizing Line Party events for the LOTR movies. His heart is with the message boards but since visiting the “Hobbit” set for five weeks he stays away so everybody can have fun. He attends conventions, road trips, writes and posts as much as he has time for. He is currently a film student and the Tolkien Track director for Dragon Con and a former journalist.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"DemosthenesImage\"Demosthenes<\/strong> has been an incredibly nerdy member of TheOneRing.net since 2001 when Calisuri asked him if he’d like to post some stuff on the frontpage. He now helps run the TORn newsdesk and organise feature stories and fan Q&As. He also keeps the TORn chatrooms in a constant state of chaos and enjoys discussing Tolkien and LOTR every weekend in Hall of Fire.<\/p>\n

Outside of TORn, he enjoys long walks in the forest, keeping small mutant spacegoats and live music photography. Octopuses, in his opinion, may be the most amazing living creatures ever.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"AltairaImage\"Altaira<\/strong> discovered TheOneRing.net in 2001 and immediately fell in love with the discussion forums. She became a moderator and eventually received the honor of being asked to become a member of the site\u2019s Sr. Staff. While moderating TORn\u2019s sister site, KongisKing.net, she met her future husband who lived half-way around the world in Middle-earth (a.k.a, New Zealand). Together they forged new discussion forums on an updated platform which went live in 2007. As the head of the discussion boards, she currently works with an amazing team of fellow \u2018Rangers,\u2019 protecting the boundaries of the forums from trolls and wargs. In her spare time, she works as financial consultant for mid- to large-sized companies and enjoys watching movies (in IMAX 30D whenever possible) with her Kiwi better half.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Jincey<\/strong>, usually mingling in Barlis chatroom as one of our eagle eyed Moderators, Jincey is currently on sabbatical.<\/p>\n

\"maegwenImage\"maegwen<\/strong> – though normally found hanging out with TORn’s chatters in Barlis Bar, recent rumours suggest that this shy, yet mischievous creature has now migrated to the Twitterverse.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Staff<\/h3>\n

\"Magpie-TORn-bio\"Magpie<\/strong> has been a dedicated reader of the TORn since 2002 and a member of the message boards since 2004. She started writing stories for the Home Page in 2008 and became a staff member in 2011. She contributes here and there as needed but her primary role is as TORn’s de facto historian.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thorongil<\/strong> is from Long Island, NY. Married, 2 kids, one boy and one girl. \u00a0He\u2019s been a TORN staff member since the early days in late 1999 or early 2000. Started as an Op in Barlimans chat room and moved onto reporting local LOTR events in NY. Interviewed some of cast and crew at various conventions, book signings or other promotional LOTR movie events. Went to New Zealand in April 2000 and ran around with Tehanu( one of the four TORN founders) and saw some filming and visited \u00a0some of the places and sets they shot at. Highlight was doing the NYC press junket for TTT for TORN. Nowadays mostly involved with helping out at conventions, Oscar parties and other special projects.<\/p>\n

\"Thompson-Kristin\"Kristin<\/a><\/strong> is a film scholar who published The Frodo Franchise: The Lord of the Rings and Modern Hollywood in 2007. It was based on numerous interviews with the crew of the film and others connected to the franchise. She joined the staff of TORn two years ago and contributes an occasional series, \u201cResearching THE FRODO FRANCHISE,\u201d as well as participating on the message boards. She is currently at work on a book closely analyzing Tolkien\u2019s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"ElessarImage\"Elessar<\/strong> writes the Collecting The Precious column and joined TORn in March 2011. When he isn’t writing about the next amazing collectible we should add to our collections, Elessar teaches by day and watches movies\/plays video games by night. Elessar lives just south of Kansas City where he enjoys the crazy weather that is the Mid-West.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"AinuLaireImage\"Ainu Laire<\/strong> joined TORn in the summer of 2004 and has been an on-site volunteer staff member for several of TORn’s southern California events for several years. She is currently set to graduate university at the end of the year with a degree in art emphasizing on digital design. \u00a0She’ll also be assisting on one of TORn’s new featurettes concerning art work inspired by Tolkien.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"grammaboodawgImage\"grammaboodawg<\/strong> joined TORn in January, 2002. \u00a0She is the steward of the Geeky Observation Lists for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies and her daily TIME (Today in Middle-earth) and BS (Book Spoiler) posts on the Main Discussion Board. She’s very much like Bilbo as she’s the happiest when puttering around her home, garden and country roads in Michigan USA. \u00a0She’s also very cluttered with collections of Tolkien-related books, toys, posters, statues and anything else she can lay her hands on. \u00a0Her dream is to travel back to Wellington, NZ once more. \u00a0During the day, she works at an academic library as a quality-control, trouble-shooter for the university library online catalog information.<\/p>\n

\"MithrilImage\"Although a lurker and a friend of TORn since its beginnings, Mithril<\/strong> became a staff member in 2013 when she created 20-foot-tall banners for The One Expected Oscar Party. She is a moderator of The Great Hall of Poets and has been known to pen poetry herself. You can oft times find her escaping to Middle-earth by slipping into one of its characters through cosplay. In the real world, she is an art director and designer, and her work appears in the film “Ringers: Lord of the Fans”.<\/p>\n

Saystine<\/strong> is another new member of the TORn staff, but has been around the Tolkien Fandom for over a decade. \u00a0Some might know her as Sarumanella, one of her more well known costumes. Though most will know her as the founder of The Tolkien Forever Fellowship, the Los Angeles local fan club group and Tolkien Society smial. When not planning events, and collecting all sorts of Tolkien swag, Saystine can be found attending various conventions and faires. \u00a0Long Live Costuming!!<\/p>\n

\"KelvarhinImage\"Kelvarhin<\/strong> was a long time lurker of TORn since the earliest days. \u00a0She finally stumbled out of Lurkwood into the message Boards in 2008 and became a staff member in 2011. \u00a0When she\u2019s not hanging out on the message boards, she\u2019s posting the odd feature to the frontpage and helping out with other special projects. \u00a0She spends her time away from TORn with her husband and three autistic children in the beautiful south west of Australia.<\/p>\n

\"GarfeimaoImage\"Garfeimao<\/a><\/strong> discovered TheOneRing.net in late 2000 and quickly realized she had to re-read all the books in order to fully participate in message board discussions. She joined the staff right after FOTR was released in order to help plan the first Oscar party, and has continued to help plan many of the special events TORn has hosted since then. Her love of movies has led to a Senior Programming position with a Film Festival, but it is life as a Travel Agent that pays that bills. She has conveniently been able to meld work and fandom together by planning the Cruise to Middle-earth and a Premiere Tour to New Zealand, truly the best of both world.<\/p>\n

\"deejImage\"deej<\/strong> has been a staff member since 2008, helping to ensure that TOR.n apperances at events like San Diego Comic Con and DragonCon run smoothly. \u00a0 In her spare time deej is a distribution specialist by day and occasional DJ by night.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ImladrisRose<\/strong> has unofficially been involved with TORn for over a decade and has recently become a staffer. Initial involvement included the making of several LOTR film parodies followed by the more recent red carpet coverage of TH:AUJ premiere. TORn and several of its staffers have been like a second family to ImladrisRose throughout her life and professional journey. ImladrisRose is an independent filmmaker who resides in New York, and is also a freelance professional photographer and film editor.<\/p>\n

Sarumann<\/strong> has been with TORn since 2002, working primarily as an event planner and coordinator in the Los Angeles area. He has been a fan of Tolkien since first reading ‘The Lord of the Rings’ in high school, and it is still his greatest and most beloved fandom and community. When not planning fun parties for Ringers, he works in Blu-ray\/DVD production, bringing his other great love, Star Trek, to the world of hi-definition.<\/p>\n

\"RasputinTheEvilBalrog\"Rasputin the Evil Balrog<\/a><\/strong> has been causing mischief in the TORn community since the turn of the century. She weaseled her way onto the staff in 2013 after making a spectacle of herself at the Oscar Party. An award-winning cosplayer, she pays for her Middle Earth pursuits with a day job as a fundraiser for a nonprofit. Originally from Texas, she journeyed Into the West in 2004 and has lived in Los Angeles ever since.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Momosanla<\/strong> is a recent addition to the TORn staff after being a long-time fan of the site. When she’s not planning spectacular line parties (and they are spectacular, or so she says) Mo helps out the LA Staff to the best of her abilities as well as contributes the odd article now and then. (Odd referring to in the infrequency, not the content. Though that’s debatable too.)<\/p>\n

\"KiliImage\"Kili<\/a><\/strong> produces and hosts the Tolkien webseries \u201cHappy Hobbit\u201d along with her sister, Fili. Growing up playing in the mountains and riding horses drew her to Middle-earth \u2013 a love that not only lead to her study of Old English and translation of Beowulf, but building her own worlds. After having graduated with her Master of Fine Arts, she is a national award-winning writer whose stories always incorporate her and Tolkien\u2019s shared love of whimsy and the natural world. Her debut novel, Darkling, is available now on Amazon under K.M. Rice<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"FiliImage\"Fili<\/a><\/strong> produces and hosts the Tolkien webseries \u201cHappy Hobbit\u201d along with her sister, Kili. At a young age she fell in love with the Shire and its inhabitants, and quickly the rest of Middle-earth followed suit. The hobbit appetites, horses and mountain adventuring mirrored what she loves about her own life and is what drew her into the world. The movies and story have inspired her to study film, and she is currently doing so at a university. In her spare time she enjoys playing and watching soccer, writing, and pursuing her other passion of photography.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Anwyn<\/strong> feels blessed to be a part of the TORn family after all this time. She came aboard shortly after TheOneRing.net got started, when the founders began looking for a group to write about all things related to Tolkien’s books. As a founding member of the resulting Green Books section of the site, she has posted fan fiction, answered reader questions, and written the column “Anwyn’s Counterpoint.” She contributed to the site’s two books, The People’s Guide to J.R.R. Tolkien and More People’s Guide to J.R.R. Tolkien. Anwyn lives in Indiana.<\/p>\n

\"CeledorImage\"Celedor<\/strong> was raised in the area where Dungeons & Dragons was invented and became fascinated by fantasy before he had a grip on reality. After discovering Tolkien’s book as a boy in the 1980s, he became obsessed with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and even wrote a book about the Peter Jackson adaptations called The Lord of the Films. He lives in Southeastern Wisconsin with his wife and “child”, a big black lab named Madison.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Quickbeam<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Arandir \u00a0Ostadan \u00a0<\/strong>linuxelf \u00a0<\/strong>Justin \u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

TORn Message Board Admins<\/h3>\n

\"AtaahuaImage\"Ataahua<\/strong> is a moderator on the discussion boards and joined TORN in mid-2001 – just a few months before The Fellowship of the Ring was released. When she isn’t on the look-out for trolls, wargs and other creatures of mischief, Ataahua works in communications and likes to get out and enjoy the natural landscape of her home in New Zealand.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"entmaidenImage\"Entmaiden<\/strong> is a moderator on the discussion boards and joined TORn in early 2002 – right after seeing the most amazing movie, and needing to find SOMEONE who wanted to talk about it! \u00a0When not patrolling the message boards (and joining in the fun and anticipation), Entmaiden is a corporate consultant, living in Chicago.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"RosieWithTheRibbons\"Rosie-with-the-ribbons<\/strong> joined TORn at the end of 2007, when the first news about The Hobbit being filmed started to trickle in. And this time she wanted to be at the best place with the best news. Besides looking out after the boards as an admin, she also participates in the S.H.I.R.E. project and the Mathom-house project. In her life outside of TORn, she works as a secretary, goes to school to study Communications or is working on a Hobbit cross stitch.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"KimiImage\"Kimi<\/strong> is one of the Admins, beating the bounds of TORn’s message boards. she first found TORn way back in 1999, when the site was new and the LOTR movies were still well in the future. \u00a0She was born in New Zealand, and apart from two years in England has lived there all her life. She\u2019s married to her childhood sweetheart. They have a few acres in the countryside, where they have an orchard and a large vegetable garden, and a small flock of fat sheep to keep the grass down. She writes historical novels set in New Zealand; which these days is her full-time job.<\/p>\n

\"DernwynImage\"dernwyn<\/strong> has been a Tolkien fan since her older brother had her read The Hobbit back around 1966\/67, followed by LotR. A couple years later in high school she found herself in a small group of like-minded Tolkien geeks. They would pass notes written with Tengwar, and it’s then that she acquired the nick “dernwyn”, due to her shy nature. So hers might be the “oldest” nick on the message boards! \u00a0She says \u201cI will never forget my deep grief at learning of Tolkien’s passing…it felt as if Middle-earth were now closed to us! Learning that the Silmarillion would be published was eucatastrophic. \u00a0I first found TORn soon after FotR was released, but didn’t discover its online community until two years later! I’m now a Forum Admin\/Moderator on the TORn Message Boards. That means that I do a lot of “beating the bounds”: editing posts (either per request or due to content), moving posts as needed, answering questions that need answering, and generally trying to be helpful (and occasionally “stern and motherly” \ud83d\ude00 )!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"EarlImage\"Eorl the Young<\/strong> hails from a land far beyond the edges of the maps of Middle-earth where some say the stars are strange. He has been a Tolkien fan since the heady days of his early tweens when, scouring the internet for like-minded fans, he stumbled upon TORn over his dial-up connection. He has since had the privilege of joining the troop of TORn staffers and being an admin on TORn’s message boards. His delights are music, memories, and Middle-earth. He did not find adventure… it found him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Draupne \u00a0<\/strong>Silverlode \u00a0<\/strong>Eledhwen \u00a0<\/strong>Hengist<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Barlimans Chatroom Moderators<\/h3>\n

Barliman<\/strong>. Our official bartender Barliman is the mainstay of our chat, always happy to serve you a pint of 1420, or a plate of crispy-fried Balrog Wings. Or jump in the bunnysled for a quick ride around Bree. Just ask him about his full menu! He can be as angry as Beorn when roused, though, so troublemakers and those with potty mouths had best be on their very best behaviour lest they feel his Tulkas-like wrath!<\/p>\n

\"MirielImage\"Miriel<\/strong> is a moderator in Barliman\u00b4s chat, and has frequented TORN since 2011. When she is not studying or nerding, she enjoys long walks in the Finnish forests. Miriel is also known as the chocolate monster (the_CM for short) and can be just as devastating to a pile of chocolate or a pile of trolls in the room.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rich<\/strong> is a Barliman’s chat moderator, and has been on and off the server since late 2001 after a friend suggested he stop by. A photographer by day (and night) Rich splits his time between Bristol and London in England’s green and pleasant land. When not clicking on a keyboard or a camera, Rich can be found at the gym or in an obscure coffee shop.<\/p>\n

Nessy<\/strong> is a moderator in Barliman’s and first stumbled into the chat room in 2002. Being from Northern England, Nessy is often teased by her fellow chatters for her use of northern phrases such as “it’ll be reet”. She is a keen baker, and likes to share photos of the cakes she has made in order to make everyone in the chat room drool. Her favourite quote from The Lord of the Rings is “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us”.<\/p>\n

EllaHalfling<\/strong> is a moderator for Barliman’s chat room. She joined TORn in mid-2001 after seeing a trailer for FOTR and promptly devouring the books. In her spare time, she’s a graduate student in ecology and an avid rock climber in the Pacific Northwest, where she lives with her boyfriend. She likes mountains and beards, which makes The Hobbit very exciting for her.<\/p>\n

Sunshower<\/strong> found the TORn site in 2008, after picking up a little DVD titled “Ringers: Lord of the Fans”. \u00a0She thinks of this event as bit of a C.S. Lewis moment, as the thought “…”What! You too? I thought I was the only one.\u201d seemed fitting. She freely admits to first getting to know Tolkien’s work in 2001 by way of PJ’s adaptation. \u00a0Sunshower may, at times, be spotted browsing bookstores in Texas since she thinks finding Tolkien books with various covers to be a completely valid use of free time.<\/p>\n

Samgamgee<\/strong> \u2013 on sabbatical<\/p>\n

tmb \u00a0<\/strong>Goldwine \u00a0<\/strong>Gondhir \u00a0<\/strong>Nico \u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>Wiley \u00a0<\/strong>Xanaseb<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ever wondered about the diverse group of individuals behind TheOneRing.net? Well, now you can meet the talented, and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":82,"featured_media":77888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[117,197,22,70,150,148,149,156,159,1548,1394],"tags":[113,2068,2069,2135],"class_list":["post-78064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-barlimans","category-fans","category-headlines","category-fans-meetups","category-tornarchive","category-hobbit","category-lotr","category-torn-announcements","category-torn-community","category-torn-tuesdays-live","category-torn-tv","tag-theoneringnet","tag-theonering-net-announcements","tag-theonering-net-community","tag-theonering-net-staff"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/TORn-logo.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1tLoH-kj6","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/82"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78064"}],"version-history":[{"count":43,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78064\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78322,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78064\/revisions\/78322"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}