FATE

from Fancyclopedia 2

In the fannish sense is not the quasi-mystical prozine put out by Ray Palmer, but refers to the Fantasy Amateur Tape Exchange; an organization started by William McCory Danner in 1955. He donated the 1200-foot roll of tape which constituted FATE's stamping ground, recording about 15 minutes and sending it on thru a suggested chain of members which included, eventually, Lee&Larry Shaw, Harry Warner jr, Boyd Raeburn, DAG, Wrai Ballard, Leej, WR, Burbee, and of course Danner himself. Later, when Leej dropped out, J&dYoung were added, on the ground that they had descendants to carry on the next cycle of the tape. As this motive suggests, the reel moves but turgidly around the circuit, and may visit any member rarely oftener than twice a year if that. The same idea is used in various other chains such as KISMET and, before tape recorders became common, was used by wirecorder fans.