Whedonesque.com (also referred to as Whedonesque) was a collaborative weblog devoted to the works of Joss Whedon. Submissions of new content ended on August 21, 2017, following the publication of an open letter by Whedon's ex-wife Kai Cole. The site was taken offline in 2021. At its inception in 2002, Whedonesque covered Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, but expanded to follow Whedon's professional output, as well as the careers of cast and crew associated with Whedon projects. Since 2004, the site has been recognized in other media outlets by awards and citations of Whedon's writings originally posted to Whedonesque. Beyond simply being an informational site, Whedonesque has been referenced in books and cited in academic papers. It was used by marketers to drum up interest in Buffy products and by comic book editors to gauge reader reactions. Whedon has occasionally posted his personal political views to the site, such as during the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. This led some to mistakenly believe that Whedonesque was Whedon's personal or official site and prompted some fans to take up the writers' cause. History Origin: 2002 through 2003 Whedonesque was started in mid-2002 by Caroline van Oosten de Boer, who remains the site owner as of February 2009, and Milo Vermeulen. Whedonesque started with a set of rules designed to mandate linking to external sites, encourage civil conduct, discourage copyright violations, and minimize discussion of perpetually contentious issues. The first print media mention of Whedonesque was a one sentence blurb in USA Today a month after its launch. In 2003, it was cited as one of two top Buffy Internet sites in an article commemorating the show's end. Growth: 2004 through 2006 The site's popularity grew even further once Whedon himself started posting. Whedon first acknowledged reading Whedonesque in late 2004, and the account 'joss' was created for his use on August 15, 2004. Whedon's first post directly to the site was on April 27, 2005, announcing preview screenings of Serenity. He later extended his involvement, using the site as a means of communication with fans on topics including his own fandom of Veronica Mars, the canonicity of Buffy Season 8 comic books, and status updates on his projects. Through the use of tagging, Whedonesque maintains a list of threads Whedon has started or in which he has posted. In 2006, Angel: After the Fall comic book author Brian Lynch