The Gharlane of Eddore RIP File

    The man known on-line as Gharlane of Eddore has died. According to my sources, he suffered a fatal heart attack, and was found dead in his residence by Jan Yarnot, a longtime close friend. He had been one of the biggest presences on the Internet for a long time, primarily as a critic of various kinds of speculative fiction. In his eyes the genre was no exception to Sturgeon's Rule ("90% of everything is crap."), but he greatly prized the meritorious works that could at times be found.

    Gharlane of Eddore was, in real life, David Potter. Regarding his real-life work and experiences, I know little, and care even less. He took pains to keep his real name under wraps, primarily to avoid real-life harrassment (and worse) from certain people who strongly disagreed with him.

2. What was he like?

    In personal contact, he was as polite as the attitude of the person with whom he was dealing would allow; with reasonable people his behavior was impeccable. He did not suffer fools gladly.
    His politics were libertarian, and the issue with which he was most concerned was the right to keep and bear arms. He had nothing but scorn for gun control, and nothing but contempt for those who advocate it. He was an atheist, but unlike other atheists he seemed to be aware that intelligent people can and do believe in God, and was not given to anti-Christian rantings. It was, however, in the realm of science fiction, and related genres, that he made the mark he will leave on the world.
    If there was anyone with a more thorough knowledge of science fiction than Gharlane, the evidence supporting this conclusion has been hidden from us. He had an informed opinion on the work of every major author, actor, or producer in the field, and of most of the minor players (of which he was one) as well. The archives at Google are replete with his writings on these subjects, most of which were posted to the rec.arts.sf.* newsgroups on Usenet.
    He was also acquainted with the late SF writer E. E. Smith, author of the Skylark and Lensman series. The name Gharlane of Eddore comes from the name of a character in the latter series; Gharlane took the trouble to obtain Doctor Smith's permission to use the name. He also maintained a set of web pages devoted to the Lensman series.
    On-line he styled himself as being nothing more than a brain suspended in a hydrogen-helium nutrient slurry. Through e-mail he corresponded with a large number of people.

3. Who were his enemies?

    A small group of small-minded people.

4. Who were his friends?

    A large group of people, as varied as any that can be found on the Internet. Email me if you are one of them and have something nice to say in his memory; I'll post it here, when I get around to it (beware, the address given here is spambot-protected; remove the capital letters before sending).

5. Where is the old version of this page?

    Right here.