Today, the PWH Forums turn four years old.
On January 31st 2003, a group of posters collaborated to open a wrestling board - a board that would always be run with the interests of its members at heart. The likes of Kraul, }{urri, Slippy and Scoop had nothing better to do with their lives than entertain each other on a small Internet forum, rambling about WWE at a time when John Cena was cool.
Yes, it was that long ago.
We've had a couple of name changes since then, but with everything under one roof PWH represents four straight years of this quirky forum community.
To mark the occasion, I've spent the last few weeks beavering away at software conversions and improvements which, at times, have had me grinding my teeth down to the gums (I'm British, it didn't take long). And I'm not finished yet. But while questioning my sanity, the job has put me in reflective mood, looking to reassure myself of why I've been doing this and indeed, why I've been putting these forums ahead of things that I really shouldn't for the last four years.
On that figure, anyone with observational skills sharper than a sponge might have noticed a discrepancy in the dates. For in fact, no member is recorded as having registered before
March 2003, when our oldest posts also begin to surface. This is because originally, WX (as the board was then known) called Lycos GeoCities its home. But as an overpopulated free hosting service, GeoCities proved unreliable even for our modest needs, so it took little over six weeks for us to up sticks and move to a different server, sadly unable to take the existing database with us. I remember almost missing my train home from uni for the Easter break, emailing Neil a list of everyone's new account details to pass on while I sprinted out the door...
It took two and a half years, but Neil finally came in useful again for relocating to WM, and again when the time came for the migration to PWH. He's a handy guy to have around. I heard he even pays the bills around here, but I take it with a grain of salt.
While we've had our share of traversing the Web, hopping between three sites over four years, I wouldn't change that. People like Sarah, Illy, BDP, Rancid Planet and more are as much a part of the family today as those who remain from the WX era, yet might never have found us without our move to WM at that time. And since morphing into PWH, the list of welcome additions has continued to grow with TheGopher, Ethan, semi-fly and others. Furthermore, brief connections with Neil's other website, RSP, brought Hazzy and Syckle into the fold. In short, this board is a melting pot, and all the better for it.
So why else am I proud of PWH? I'm proud that it's a place where diverse posters can coexist. Look at the wrestling threads and you'll see a mixture of carefully crafted arguments/reviews and blunt, to-the-point notes. Some forums turn their collective noses up at posters who don't capitalize their sentences or write mini-essays in every thread, but not everyone can express their thoughts so eloquently; it doesn't
necessarily make their contributions any less valid. I enjoy being part of a board where people can communicate their ideas as best they can (provided it's legible), and be encouraged by those with an example to set. Another case for the melting pot analogy.
And good examples do work. One of the biggest satisfactions of hanging around this place for the last four years has been watching bad posters turn good. It doesn't happen very often, but for all the "n00bs" that Lawman enjoys scaring away, once in a while somebody who's struggled to fit in takes people's criticism on board and becomes a valued member of the group. Blue Lightening may be the most recent example, the most pronounced being Adam. Both drew responses of irritation from other posters when they first joined, but took the time to evaluate what it was about their approach to posting that caused annoyance, and made the effort to adjust for the benefit of all. It's a shame that Adam's seemingly moved on from the board, but it's always a good story when it unfolds and I look forward to further sequels.
There'll be plenty of opportunity for them, too. These forums have faced peaks and valleys in terms of activity and new traffic, but once again we are at the cusp of an influx, with the main site reopened and Neil about to start linking visitors from other newsboards. And although wrestling's popularity has been in decline, PWH is the kind of all-round environment that provides interest whenever wrestling talk runs dry. This place already has an atmosphere unmatched by other boards, and upcoming features will make it unique in other new ways.
I won't lie - there have been times when I've felt disenchanted or disappointed with one aspect of the forums or another. But the big picture is as bright and crisp as ever. It's been worth my while; I'm proud to be a part of PWH, and I'm excited for the future. So here's to year number five...
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Topic: 4 Years (Read 855 times)