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Yes, that's right. Movie Forums turns 7 today. That's something like 900 in Internet years. So, I thought it'd be nice to do a quick sum up of the site's history:
The Past
On July 14th, 2000, I registered at my own site (under the username "TWTCommish"), and opened it to the public. I was just 15, and had only a vague idea of what I was doing at the time. I could not have conceived that it'd still be going as I approached 23.
Between then and now, we've seen over 370,000 posts and literally millions of visitors. I haven't kept track of how much time I've put into it, but it must be at least several thousand hours by now.
Roughly a year into the site's existence, it relaunched with the layout you see now, a wonderful creation by a Scottish web designer named Jackie McGhee, who wanted to infuse the site with an Art Deco feel. I can honestly say that I've still not come across another movie site layout I admire more.
A couple of years ago, I had a rather serious offer to purchase the site. After at least one sleepless night and a great amount of thought, I decided to keep it, despite the fact that activity was clearing slowing down at the time. The incredible discussions we've seen here since make me confident that I made the right choice.
There have been times of incredible drama, weeks on end where we did nothing but argue about the issues of the day, and more than a few genuine friendships have formed. Features have come and gone, and come again. The same can be said for countless users, some with thousands of posts to their username.
The Present
MoFo as a whole has changed dramatically. 5 years ago, the site's primary challenge was how to properly channel off-topic banter. 3 years ago, it was how to make the place more inviting to new users.
These days, things have calmed down, but the core of the site feels the same to me as it ever did. Movie Forums has always kept the focus on the discussion and dissection of cinema, and the last year has seen an uptick in the average quality of posts that I can honestly say is completely unrivaled in the site's history.
The Future
Those of you who know me know that the site never stays still for long; I inevitably disrupt it with some kind of overhaul or addition. These last few months, you've all seen the relaunch of the reviews area, the cataloguing of User Reviews (over 400 at the time of this writing; big thanks to Sam for helping with this!), and the organization and cross-referencing of favorite movies.
In the coming year, you can expect more of the same. More focus on user opinions, favorites, and lists. More features aimed at quantifying what MoFos, as a whole, think about a given movie, thread, or post.
Thank you to each and everyone one of you for making this site a part of your day. I promise you all that I'll continue to improve the site, and will always do my best to remain open to new and unusual ideas. This next year looks to be a very important one in the site's history, but with the people we have analyzing and discussion film, I'm confident it will be a good one.
Thank you, everyone, for making this site what it is.
The Past
On July 14th, 2000, I registered at my own site (under the username "TWTCommish"), and opened it to the public. I was just 15, and had only a vague idea of what I was doing at the time. I could not have conceived that it'd still be going as I approached 23.
Between then and now, we've seen over 370,000 posts and literally millions of visitors. I haven't kept track of how much time I've put into it, but it must be at least several thousand hours by now.
Roughly a year into the site's existence, it relaunched with the layout you see now, a wonderful creation by a Scottish web designer named Jackie McGhee, who wanted to infuse the site with an Art Deco feel. I can honestly say that I've still not come across another movie site layout I admire more.
A couple of years ago, I had a rather serious offer to purchase the site. After at least one sleepless night and a great amount of thought, I decided to keep it, despite the fact that activity was clearing slowing down at the time. The incredible discussions we've seen here since make me confident that I made the right choice.
There have been times of incredible drama, weeks on end where we did nothing but argue about the issues of the day, and more than a few genuine friendships have formed. Features have come and gone, and come again. The same can be said for countless users, some with thousands of posts to their username.
The Present
MoFo as a whole has changed dramatically. 5 years ago, the site's primary challenge was how to properly channel off-topic banter. 3 years ago, it was how to make the place more inviting to new users.
These days, things have calmed down, but the core of the site feels the same to me as it ever did. Movie Forums has always kept the focus on the discussion and dissection of cinema, and the last year has seen an uptick in the average quality of posts that I can honestly say is completely unrivaled in the site's history.
The Future
Those of you who know me know that the site never stays still for long; I inevitably disrupt it with some kind of overhaul or addition. These last few months, you've all seen the relaunch of the reviews area, the cataloguing of User Reviews (over 400 at the time of this writing; big thanks to Sam for helping with this!), and the organization and cross-referencing of favorite movies.
In the coming year, you can expect more of the same. More focus on user opinions, favorites, and lists. More features aimed at quantifying what MoFos, as a whole, think about a given movie, thread, or post.
Thank you to each and everyone one of you for making this site a part of your day. I promise you all that I'll continue to improve the site, and will always do my best to remain open to new and unusual ideas. This next year looks to be a very important one in the site's history, but with the people we have analyzing and discussion film, I'm confident it will be a good one.
Thank you, everyone, for making this site what it is.
Last edited by Yoda; 07-20-07 at 11:52 AM.
