Well, well, well! Are we now at the stage where we cart out our old bones, figuratively speaking, to tell these youngsters what it was really like back in the olden days? Somebody give Ken Burns a call!
Mith's expansive post -- and the sight of some old hands like Snowdog (howdy!) -- have left me feeling wistful. I can't help thinking about what a random stroke of fate it was that we all came together on this site at that time. It seems the internet was this utopian playground back then (popups and viruses notwithstanding), a place where all knowledge might eventually repose (along with Mr. T haikus), and where people with similar interests might form communities without borders, so to speak.
I share Mith's fascination with the dynamics of this site over the years. The Downs has always been, for me, the best of what the internet could be. Yet I too feel a pang when I think of the many friendships that have melted away across the years, like tears in the rain (to paraphrase another old favorite). But look at me getting sentimental, if not downright maudlin. That's life, I reckon. It's hard to hold on to the people and the times that we love for very long.
Annnnyway... I'll await Mith's sequel. I can find nothing to contradict in his account so far, though of course I have my own origin story. I joined after the old EZ-Board forums had been going for a few months and found my internet home immediately. No other online community has been as fulfilling or as enjoyable.
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Originally Posted by Inziladun
Hm. I remember the debate being mostly respectful. Then again, that was quite a while ago.
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I'll let Mithadan tell his version, but from my point of view it was more a question of whether our little community would simply be washed away by the deluge of Orli fans and frivolous discussion topics and posts. Our book-only "Barrow-downs" theme probably saved us from being totally capsized. The addition of... well, back up a second. Here I will reverse myself and find one thing to contradict in Mith's account -- I'm pretty sure the three categories at the time of the Great Making were, in fact, "Books", "Movies", and this very sub-forum, "The Barrow-Downs", a place to discuss burning community questions such as, "How did you find the Barrow-Downs?" The addition of "Novices and Newcomers" was a measure meant to stabilize things post movie release. If I recall correctly. Which I very well might not.
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Originally Posted by Ring Bearer
Btw, the colour scheme has remained unchanged for 21+ years!?
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Traditionnnnnn... Tradition! The colors!