I got here from Jammer's reviews of DS9. I got to Jammer from Tim Lynch's reviews. Back then I had no clue what a message board was. Back then I wanted to "be somebody" on the board, be part of the crowd, etc. Now I'm just happy to chime in once in a while from the sidelines. Plus, there are no fun controversies to play with anymore. No creepy duals to out. No stalker nutjobs to mock/avoid. The trolls have decided we're too boring to pester anymore.
^ God, I miss those times! Haha! I think I would hate it nowadays though! At the time, I thought it was funny as hell!
Loved Jammer's reviews, but got them from this website not vice versa. I'd like to say I remember how I found this website, but I really don't. I surfed through a lot of Star Trek websites since the late 1990s (you know, geocities, a melange of personalized individual fan websites, midi downloads and lists of how Wesley could die and why Kirk is better than Picard) and I assume one of those must have eventually led me here. Nope, I got a Wixiban avatar when I first came back. When I left there weren't any avatars yet. Do not miss that at all. Maybe a bit of nostalgia for the intensity of the Star Trek arguments (I had no idea people disliked Voyager that much before I came here, and well... remember "Endgame" and how J/C and D/7 fans felt about C/7?), but I can do without that.
{{{{{{{Auri}}}}}}} Long time no see! And I recall Sakrysta from TerranBBS. It's nice to see so many old names again Sorry, Bonzie, I really didn't mean to cause hard feelings. She just vanished so very suddenly. There never was an official statement or explanation, whenever someone asked, they would get an evasive reply and so the rumours flowered. I was simply curious about the truth (or at least the official version). After more than a decade as both a tech and general admin on several other boards I wholeheartedly agree that admining a big board is not an easy task. Sometimes, when provoked, one has to fight one's darkest instincts in order to stay fair at all times and not to abuse the powers one is given. It takes a strong personality and an ingrained sense of honour and justice. I would even recommend a minimum age of 40 since in my experience young admins lack the experience in life that gives you the moral and emotional strength required for the job. And a certain amount of gallows humour makes the work easier, too In both respects you have an advantage over your predecessor.
My profile says I've been here since July 2001 but I'm almost certain I registered in 2000 and lurked for a few months before that.
I had been aware of this place as far back as 2001, when I frequented TrekToday. I started lurking a bit after that. I don't know what my username would have been if I had signed on upon finding this place as my dog was not even born yet... That means I lurked for about five years before finally registering.
I'm mostly a lurker now, but I'm still around. Spammers never die! We just fade away. Also, I'll always miss KTR.
I've been here long enough to know a few names that don't appear here anymore, but haven't been here long enough to talk about the old days as if they were good.
Mixed. Very mixed. I don't think the board changed much from 1999 to 2006. What we really had was the illusion of change. The names changed, the staff changed, some forums were added, moderation varied in response to what was going on, but the basic themes were the same. Before MA, everything was in QS&F, before TNZ there were controversial topics in Misc., before ENT there was VOY, etc. etc. etc. The board got larger but it only intensified whatever was already going on to begin with. There are divisions within those first seven years but, looking back on it now, it really was the same thing with different details.
...just like it is now. Really, what I miss more are the people. Shatna, Angry Angel, Spiff, mrcoaster, Bears, even crazy people like MajorBarcalow and Enterpriser... there was an air of unpredictability every time you logged in. Plus, I think, it was easier to think of it all as new and refreshing and fun because we all hadn't described every last detail of televised and filmed Trek under the sun ad nauseam yet, so the "old-timers" who were here for those early days don't see much reason to come back with the advent of sites like Facebook and Twitter.