ADMIN: The Cauldron's Twelfth Anniversary Today (13 Dec 09)

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[RandallS]

Today is the twelfth anniversary of the day The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum opened for posting!

Twelve years ago  -- after three frustrating days when only Elspeth, Ann (Empireone), and myself could post -- The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum opened its doors to the general public on the Delphi online service. This was before it was known as Delphiforums and back when user forums, then known as "Custom Forums" had a presence on both the paid Delphi Online Service (in wonderful a pure text/command line like environment) and on their new free Web forum version. The forum was an instant success with 60 or 70 messages posted that December and hitting 1000 messages within six months or so. That's 1000 messages total, not 1000 messages a month.

The Cauldron was started as a Yule gift from me to Elspeth -- you had to pay Delphi for forums back then (six months in advance). It was staffed by Elspeth, Ann, and myself with an able assist from our friends from the dying GEnie Online Service. We started a web site for the forum in the web space I got with my Delphi account in January of 1998, although we did not get domain name for a couple of years.

Our forum has done well in the years that followed, although TC has had to move around a lot. From Delphi to a mailing list. Then back to Delphiforums (Delphi's new name). When Delphi's poor service and pricing got to be too much to much in early 2004, Bob offered us server space and we moved to our own site. First with Beehive's Delphiforums-like software (two incarnations), then (very reluctantly) to SMF early in 2007 when it became apparent that Beehive software just could not meet the needs of this forum. Bob's server gave up the ghost in 2008 and we had to move to our own Linode VPS. The first time in our existence that have had to pay a monthly bill for the message board. Fortunately, our members seem to be stepping up and donating every month to make continuing this board possible.

It has been a very interesting 12 years. Sometimes it has been interesting in the "may you live in interesting times" sense of "interesting," but mostly it has been interesting in the good sense of the word. Lyricfox and I met through TC and married over four and a half years ago. We all made many new friends via TC. It's also been a lot of work. Work which has been shared with our staff members -- without them, this forum would not be here today. This is especially true this last 2 years as the hosts have been dealing with cancer and have not been nearly as active on the board as we had been in the past. However, the reason The Cauldron's message board is still here isn't the Hosts or the staff, it's our members: the wonderful people reading this message (and now funding the monthly server costs). Without you, this forum would be a ghostly place haunted by memories of discussions past.

It's been a great twelve years. In "Internet time" we are as ancient as the dinosaurs, but we are still here, still doing our thing, and still enjoying ourselves doing it. We will be changing The Cauldron's web site and modernizing things a bit (some features of our web site have not be upgraded in 10 years) over the next year as covered in another article in this newsletter. We have great plans for The Cauldron's 13th year and we hope you will join us and help make them happen.

[Kasmira]

Today is the twelfth anniversary of the day The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum opened for posting!

*hands out cake* I'll leave the singing to someone else. I'd scare everyone away .

It's funny to think that I've been around for almost half of that...

[Waldfrau]

Happy Birthday, TC!!!

[dragonfly_high]

*blows noisemaker*

YEAH!!! Happy Birthday!!

[Melamphoros]

It's funny to think that I've been around for almost half of that...

I cannot wait until TC's Fourteenth Anniversary so that I can say that I'be been a member (off and on) for half of the forum's run.

Happy Anniversery TC!

[Aisling]

Today is the twelfth anniversary of the day The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum opened for posting!

Happy 12th Annivesary!  May TC be around to celebrate many, many more!

[Lykos]

Today is the twelfth anniversary of the day The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum opened for posting!

Twelve years ago  -- after three frustrating days when only Elspeth, Ann (Empireone), and myself could post -- The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum opened its doors to the general public on the Delphi online service. This was before it was known as Delphiforums and back when user forums, then known as "Custom Forums" had a presence on both the paid Delphi Online Service (in wonderful a pure text/command line like environment) and on their new free Web forum version. The forum was an instant success with 60 or 70 messages posted that December and hitting 1000 messages within six months or so. That's 1000 messages total, not 1000 messages a month.

The Cauldron was started as a Yule gift from me to Elspeth -- you had to pay Delphi for forums back then (six months in advance). It was staffed by Elspeth, Ann, and myself with an able assist from our friends from the dying GEnie Online Service. We started a web site for the forum in the web space I got with my Delphi account in January of 1998, although we did not get domain name for a couple of years.

Our forum has done well in the years that followed, although TC has had to move around a lot. From Delphi to a mailing list. Then back to Delphiforums (Delphi's new name). When Delphi's poor service and pricing got to be too much to much in early 2004, Bob offered us server space and we moved to our own site. First with Beehive's Delphiforums-like software (two incarnations), then (very reluctantly) to SMF early in 2007 when it became apparent that Beehive software just could not meet the needs of this forum. Bob's server gave up the ghost in 2008 and we had to move to our own Linode VPS. The first time in our existence that have had to pay a monthly bill for the message board. Fortunately, our members seem to be stepping up and donating every month to make continuing this board possible.

It has been a very interesting 12 years. Sometimes it has been interesting in the "may you live in interesting times" sense of "interesting," but mostly it has been interesting in the good sense of the word. Lyricfox and I met through TC and married over four and a half years ago. We all made many new friends via TC. It's also been a lot of work. Work which has been shared with our staff members -- without them, this forum would not be here today. This is especially true this last 2 years as the hosts have been dealing with cancer and have not been nearly as active on the board as we had been in the past. However, the reason The Cauldron's message board is still here isn't the Hosts or the staff, it's our members: the wonderful people reading this message (and now funding the monthly server costs). Without you, this forum would be a ghostly place haunted by memories of discussions past.

It's been a great twelve years. In "Internet time" we are as ancient as the dinosaurs, but we are still here, still doing our thing, and still enjoying ourselves doing it. We will be changing The Cauldron's web site and modernizing things a bit (some features of our web site have not be upgraded in 10 years) over the next year as covered in another article in this newsletter. We have great plans for The Cauldron's 13th year and we hope you will join us and help make them happen.

Happy anniversary Cauldron!

I am glad to have played what small part I have in the history of the Cauldron.

[Finn]

Today is the twelfth anniversary of the day The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum opened for posting!

May it be around for twelve more and even longer! 

[Dragondaughter]

Today is the twelfth anniversary of the day The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum opened for posting!

Thank you Randall for the gift of this great place! *raises coffee cup* May TC continue for many many more years!!

[Juni]

Today is the twelfth anniversary of the day The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum opened for posting!

We have great plans for The Cauldron's 13th year and we hope you will join us and help make them happen.

Happy 12th Anniversary, TC! And thank you Randall, Lyric Fox, and all the amazing staff! I don't know what I'd do without TC, and I'm excited for another year.

[Inca]

Today is the twelfth anniversary of the day The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum opened for posting!

Happy Birthday and thanks for the great place you have provided thusfar!

[SunflowerP]

Today is the twelfth anniversary of the day The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum opened for posting!

Happy birthday, TC!

Kasmira and Mel make me feel like a newbie - I've "only" been here for four and a half years (exactly - the date stamp on my very first post is 13 Jun).

Sunflower

[Juni]

Kasmira and Mel make me feel like a newbie - I've "only" been here for four and a half years (exactly - the date stamp on my very first post is 13 Jun).

Me too- my first post was 22 July 05.

[RandallS]

Kasmira and Mel make me feel like a newbie - I've "only" been here for four and a half years (exactly - the date stamp on my very first post is 13 Jun).

Lyric and Koi have been here for about ten years.  (Koi still visits every once in a while although she doesn't have time to post except rarely.)  I think Sperran is the oldest non-founding member still active here. She's been here from pretty near the beginning as I recall.

[Melamphoros]

Kasmira and Mel make me feel like a newbie - I've "only" been here for four and a half years (exactly - the date stamp on my very first post is 13 Jun).

I just checked, my intro post was made on August 17, 2004.  So I've been here for almost 5 1/4 years

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