Exler (Alexey Borisovich, self-styled Alex Exler), sometimes mistakenly called Uchduk (born 28.1.1966) — the most popular internet writer in Russia and, at the same time, the most independent person on the Internet.
Nature of the phenomenon
Exler did much to set the direction of stand-alone blogging in Russia. The topics he raises in his posts span an enormous range of subjects, yet are always devoted to public enlightenment, the advancement of computer literacy, and applied hedonism.
Biography
Born on January 28, 1966, in Moscow, into the family of a music school principal and a chief engineering designer for cable television.
In 1983 he enrolled at the Moscow Aviation Institute, in the faculty of Aircraft Armaments.
He was passionate about rock music.
During his student years he tried his hand at a great variety of occupations — guitar teacher, lathe operator, astrologer, and press photographer.
At present, by his own account, he holds 7 different jobs simultaneously, combining all the professions he has mastered over the years.
The story of cat Bublik
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Bublik is a cat who lived at a private guesthouse in Sochi where my wife was the manager for a time and where we used to spend about six months a year, — Exler recounts how the cat became his film-watching companion. — One winter I came to the guesthouse alone — to get some work done and to take walks outside. While I was there I launched the film-review section on Exler.ru, which meant watching a movie every evening. Cat Bublik would come to me and sleep on the bed right beside me for the entire screening. I mentioned him in a couple of reviews — readers liked it. Since then Bublik has been an almost indispensable presence in the film reviews, if only in the epigraphs. | 
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What Exler keeps silent about
The one thing Exler does not like to talk about is his family: "That subject is closed to the internet — our family already has enough of my public exposure; my loved ones shouldn't have to suffer from it."
Useful activities
Alex Exler is known as the author of the guides "The Most Complete and Comprehensible Self-Study Internet Course, or Taming the Internet" and "The Computer Is Simple," the novellas "Galloping Across Europe" and "Notes of Cat Shashlyk," the film-review collections "Hollywood in the Crosshairs of Alex Exler and Cat Bublik" and "50 Cult Films You Must See," and a great deal of other popular literature.
List of Exler's works
Comic novellas
- "Prince Igor's Aria, or Our People in Turkey"
- "Galloping Across Europe"
- "Two Short Novellas About Lelik"
- "Vasya Pupkin's Diary"
- "Notes of Cat Shashlyk"
- "Notes of a Programmer's Fiancée"
- "Tales of a Museum Guard"
- "Lelik's Honeymoon"
- "Dinner in a Circassian Aul"
Collections of film reviews
- "50 Cult Films You Must See"
- "The Mafia Manager: A Guide to Gangster Films I–2004"
- "Hollywood in the Crosshairs of Alex Exler and Cat Bublik"
- "Hello, Definition"
Software products
- Arc-Manager — a shell for working with archives of any format
- Make-Demo — an advanced package for creating demonstrations of software operation or for building instructional systems
- Floppy-Base — an advanced floppy-disk cataloguer that works with all types of archives and has its own built-in cataloguing system
- Exler-Commander — a file shell combining the features of XTREE and Norton Commander
- BackOn — a program for backing up hard-disk contents to floppy disks (distinguished from competing products by a new data-recording algorithm and compatibility with all non-standard floppy disk formats)
- Maket-Maker — a program for automatically generating a layout from text files into PageMaker and Ventura Publisher formats, etc.
Textbooks and self-study guides
- "Microsoft Office 2003: Word, Excel, Outlook"
- "The Bat! Encyclopedia"
- "WebMoney: A Guide to Payments on the Internet"
- "Windows XP: Installation, Configuration, Software"
- "Everything About Email"
- "What a Computer Is Made Of"
- "The Internet: How to Connect and Get Started Quickly"
- "The Computer Is Simple"
- "Communicating on the Internet"
- "Useful Programs for Windows XP"
- "The Modern Personal Computer User's Bible 2006"
- "Taming the Computer, or The Most Complete and Comprehensible PC Self-Study Guide"
- "The Most Complete and Comprehensible Self-Study Internet Course, or Taming the Internet"
- "The Modern Personal Computer User's Bible 2007"
- "Writing Textbooks in a Light and Engaging Style"
"Alex Exler's Private Club"
The most visited section of Exler's personal website is the forum. The forum is formally known as "Alex Exler's Private Club," which accounts for its rather authoritarian policy (the forum rules state, for instance, that "these forums have never had, do not have, and never will have any democracy… Bear in mind that no one dragged you to these forums and no one is keeping you here. New members are always welcome, but they should not walk into someone else's monastery with their own rulebook," and also that "Exler may break his own rules").
The forum rules provide for strict moderation of rudeness (except rudeness from Exler himself), profanity, and the expression of ideas offensive to any group (i.e., antisemitism, racism, use of slurs, etc.), as well as illiteracy or stylistic choices that render a post unreadable, and so on. Arguing with moderators or responding to their warnings is prohibited. Exler is the final authority for appealing their decisions. This may be why Alex Exler's Private Club is one of the most popular forums in the Russian-language segment of the Internet.
Interesting facts
- Exler's first job was as a shepherd. It paid 15 rubles a day, which was quite good by Soviet standards. Alexey took up this job at the age of 14.
- A Fidonet participant since 1993.
- The audience of Exler's personal website numbers around 45,000 visitors per day. In addition to film reviews and write-ups of new electronic gadgets, the author publishes photographs from his travels, wine reviews, reviews of holiday destinations, and also so-called "bannizms" — amusing banner combinations and silly photographs submitted by readers.