The SWSF originated on America Online during the 1990s as a place for fans to role play within the Star Wars Universe. On its myriad message boards, a style of role playing known as simming took hold, which focused on the operation of games based on rules and statistics that took the place of dice used in traditional role playing games. Despite its popularity, America Online eventually chose to close the SWSF as it struggled to reform in the face of sweeping changes to the online world. For a time, the SWSF simply did not exist beyond the fond memories of simmers who had been forced to leave the game too soon.
In October 2004, two members of the old SWSF joined together to create a new place for the AOL-brand of Star Wars simming on the web. Dravin and Walker, the handles they were known by, recreated the forums that many had known well and reconnected with old friends and fellow writers. Over the next five years, the SWSF lived through alternating periods of activity and inactivity, always with a core group of players who were dedicated to keeping the forum alive. Fresh faces discovered the forum and were welcomed with open arms.
The Star Wars Sim Forum will continue to serve as a place for fans of the Star Wars Universe to connect with each other through writing and simming with the characters, ships, and settings they love. It is the mission of the SWSF to keep its style of simming alive, and it will do so for years to come. The SWSF seeks to welcome any and all fans of Star Wars to join and get involved in the community, whether they're interested in role playing, simming, or just bantering about the Star Wars Universe.
