Ten Years on the ToO
Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 2:01 pm
Today is my ToO Birthday. I've never celebrated one in the past, but this one is significant. Today I've been a member of this special community for ten years.
I still have the vivid memory of first finding this site that evening of July 6th 2006. Which is impressive, because I can't remember anything else from that long ago. But this place has been such a constantly important part of my life I guess the event is deeply imprinted on my memory. From the moment I first clicked in to this day a decade later this place has been incredibly special to me. Even during the period when I wasn't actively logging in it was in my mind.
I thought to commemorate this occasion I would give a brief rundown of what happened over my ten years here as far as stretches of activity. Mostly for my own benefit to review how things went, but possibly of interest to others as well if for example you're curious how I found the site and why I joined, or what exactly was this hiatus you've heard me mention now and then.
I actually found this website through the official AiO site, so I get a chuckle out of our disclaimer "The site is in no way affiliated with Focus on the Family" because that's how I got here. It all started when I was browsing whitsend.org one evening. I noticed a note on the homepage about an episode poll and decided to check it out. Incredibly, that exact page has been captured and archived to my surprise and delight: here it is. I clicked the link expecting to just be taken to another page, but was surprised to find myself on an entirely different website. As I looked around I quickly realized what I had discovered. I was fairly new to the internet but was familiar with message boards. I thought it was neat to see an AiO centered active community rather than just another static informational website. I promptly registered and began taking in my surroundings.
I was just in time to participate in the 5th ToO Election and witness the unfolding of the Regisville Story Arc which made a more significant impression on me than you may be able to understand. It was one of the absolute coolest things I had ever experienced. I was involved in the events through the epic conclusion, learning at once both how amazing the site theme can be when used for scripted events like this, and how great the community itself was and wanting to be part of it. The Story Arc was an incredible hook that got me to check the place out, but the people were what really made it special. This was clearly a place that was extraordinary at all times, not just during a special event. I was excited to find a place in such a unique community.
But then came the hiatus. It wasn't planned, wasn't intentional, and wasn't desired, it just happened. This wasn't a break like some people take, I didn't want to leave, I just had to. And I didn't know I was going to until I did. If it was a decision I had made I would have given some kind of notice that I would be away for a while, but instead I just vanished. On September 25th I was posting about the Story Arc as usual, then I completely disappeared.
What had happened was a combination of two things. Actually it was a good number of things, but they were in two categories. First there was a series of family situations that came up which required me to turn my focus to other matters for some time so I didn't have to opportunity to continue coming by. Then a series of various computer and internet issues unfolded so I didn't have the ability to. The latter situation of being physically unable to return dragged on for quite a while, becoming accepted as my current new reality. I realized I was going to be away for a while. But I never forgot this place.
Just over a year later I was able to briefly reconnect for a month. My first post upon return was, amusingly in hindsight, an inquiry into obtaining the Red Storm Rising book item as a memento of the Story Arc, showing that even then my obsession with our history was firmly in place. This check in was temporary though, and I soon drifted off for nearly another year. I then stopped by for roughly a month again until that opportunity too ended and I once more was pulled away, this time for ten months. Then things began to normalize technologically.
As soon as I was in a situation where I was able to return to the internet more regularly, the first thing I did was come back here. This was in July of 2009. I was delighted to refamiliarize myself with the site and the community, and picked up right where I had left off: The Regisville Story Arc. The last thing I had done before the hiatus was conduct an interview with Fenix about the Arc and then I had left without being able to share it. Happening to realize that the three year mark of that event was just a short time away, I began making plans to publish a grand release on the exact date as a mixture commemoration of the history and celebration of my return. I coordinated with Catspaw, prepared the post, gathered some additional Arc materials I thought may be of interest, and on September 18th I posted The Fenix Interview to a positive reception. That marked the official end of the hiatus for from that day to this I have been consistently posting on a regular basis.
Diving into the specifics of my past activity for this writing, two things stand out to me.
First, while my hiatus spanned over two years on the calendar and consisted of over 29 full months without a post, it was not continuous. I managed to check in at least once a year, even if just for a month. Because of this, despite extended stretches of inactivity, I have recorded posts in each of my ten years from 2006 to today. I was very pleased to see that.
And second, my preoccupation with ToO history is clearly not something that has come about only in modern times. It was there from the beginning. It's what moved me to join when I first found the site. It's what made my initial time here an extraordinary experience. It's what drove me to make sure I never forgot to return during long periods of forced separation. It's what publicly announced my return when it was finally made. And it's what I am known for today.
I'm thankful to Shadowpaw for creating such an amazing site and everyone who was been part of making it such an amazing community.
I still have the vivid memory of first finding this site that evening of July 6th 2006. Which is impressive, because I can't remember anything else from that long ago. But this place has been such a constantly important part of my life I guess the event is deeply imprinted on my memory. From the moment I first clicked in to this day a decade later this place has been incredibly special to me. Even during the period when I wasn't actively logging in it was in my mind.
I thought to commemorate this occasion I would give a brief rundown of what happened over my ten years here as far as stretches of activity. Mostly for my own benefit to review how things went, but possibly of interest to others as well if for example you're curious how I found the site and why I joined, or what exactly was this hiatus you've heard me mention now and then.
I actually found this website through the official AiO site, so I get a chuckle out of our disclaimer "The site is in no way affiliated with Focus on the Family" because that's how I got here. It all started when I was browsing whitsend.org one evening. I noticed a note on the homepage about an episode poll and decided to check it out. Incredibly, that exact page has been captured and archived to my surprise and delight: here it is. I clicked the link expecting to just be taken to another page, but was surprised to find myself on an entirely different website. As I looked around I quickly realized what I had discovered. I was fairly new to the internet but was familiar with message boards. I thought it was neat to see an AiO centered active community rather than just another static informational website. I promptly registered and began taking in my surroundings.
I was just in time to participate in the 5th ToO Election and witness the unfolding of the Regisville Story Arc which made a more significant impression on me than you may be able to understand. It was one of the absolute coolest things I had ever experienced. I was involved in the events through the epic conclusion, learning at once both how amazing the site theme can be when used for scripted events like this, and how great the community itself was and wanting to be part of it. The Story Arc was an incredible hook that got me to check the place out, but the people were what really made it special. This was clearly a place that was extraordinary at all times, not just during a special event. I was excited to find a place in such a unique community.
But then came the hiatus. It wasn't planned, wasn't intentional, and wasn't desired, it just happened. This wasn't a break like some people take, I didn't want to leave, I just had to. And I didn't know I was going to until I did. If it was a decision I had made I would have given some kind of notice that I would be away for a while, but instead I just vanished. On September 25th I was posting about the Story Arc as usual, then I completely disappeared.
What had happened was a combination of two things. Actually it was a good number of things, but they were in two categories. First there was a series of family situations that came up which required me to turn my focus to other matters for some time so I didn't have to opportunity to continue coming by. Then a series of various computer and internet issues unfolded so I didn't have the ability to. The latter situation of being physically unable to return dragged on for quite a while, becoming accepted as my current new reality. I realized I was going to be away for a while. But I never forgot this place.
Just over a year later I was able to briefly reconnect for a month. My first post upon return was, amusingly in hindsight, an inquiry into obtaining the Red Storm Rising book item as a memento of the Story Arc, showing that even then my obsession with our history was firmly in place. This check in was temporary though, and I soon drifted off for nearly another year. I then stopped by for roughly a month again until that opportunity too ended and I once more was pulled away, this time for ten months. Then things began to normalize technologically.
As soon as I was in a situation where I was able to return to the internet more regularly, the first thing I did was come back here. This was in July of 2009. I was delighted to refamiliarize myself with the site and the community, and picked up right where I had left off: The Regisville Story Arc. The last thing I had done before the hiatus was conduct an interview with Fenix about the Arc and then I had left without being able to share it. Happening to realize that the three year mark of that event was just a short time away, I began making plans to publish a grand release on the exact date as a mixture commemoration of the history and celebration of my return. I coordinated with Catspaw, prepared the post, gathered some additional Arc materials I thought may be of interest, and on September 18th I posted The Fenix Interview to a positive reception. That marked the official end of the hiatus for from that day to this I have been consistently posting on a regular basis.
Diving into the specifics of my past activity for this writing, two things stand out to me.
First, while my hiatus spanned over two years on the calendar and consisted of over 29 full months without a post, it was not continuous. I managed to check in at least once a year, even if just for a month. Because of this, despite extended stretches of inactivity, I have recorded posts in each of my ten years from 2006 to today. I was very pleased to see that.
And second, my preoccupation with ToO history is clearly not something that has come about only in modern times. It was there from the beginning. It's what moved me to join when I first found the site. It's what made my initial time here an extraordinary experience. It's what drove me to make sure I never forgot to return during long periods of forced separation. It's what publicly announced my return when it was finally made. And it's what I am known for today.
I'm thankful to Shadowpaw for creating such an amazing site and everyone who was been part of making it such an amazing community.
