The Genie Electronic Bulletin Board closed December 30, 1999.

Set up as a joint venture between GE and Ameritech in 1985 and named for General Electric Network for Information Exchange, Genie was sold first to Yovelle Renaissance Corp. and next to Interactive Discount Telecom(IDT) in 1996.

The first Science Fiction Round Table opened in 1986 and gradually became the home of a large science fiction community. The SFRT grew into four SFRTs for different interests, and was the online home for the Horror Writers Association and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. At its peak the SFRTs had 40,000 unique visitors per year.

Visitors to both Genie and the SFRTs dropped with the growth of other online services and fell dramatically following a sudden change in the fee structure in 1996.

At its peak, GEnie (as it then was called) claimed around 400,000 users. By the final year, insiders reported that there fewer than 10,000.

A December 27 closing of the bulletin board was announced on Genie on December 4th. Remaining users gathered in the chat area of the SFRTs to say goodbye and "watch the lights go out" at midnight on the 26th. But Genie did not close for four more days and a dwindling number watched at the close of each day. The Round Tables and all areas of Genie, except the Top, became unavailable slightly before midnight on the 30th. There were still several users in chat at the end.

Posted December-30-1999