Ok, I do not know the actual origin date of the forum... but 1998 sounds about right. When I found the forum, it was actually set up as a listserv on a FREE server located in Taiwan... at that time I think there were about 30 members...
It was before what we now know as FORUM software had been developed, and the biggest drawback was that once comments scrolled off the screen they were lost forever! So the only way to make sure that you didn`t miss anything was to stay logged in and check on what had been said at least every hour... Happily, once John Dunkle took the forum under his generous wing, things got better and better. It has been a pleasure to have watched as the forum grew from those 2digit member numbers to now over 12000 registrants...
And Eric is right... while I carried the torch for many years, I have been surpassed by the contribution of time by Ed Tinker... He is our everyday Chief Operating Officer... John Dunkle is definitely the owner and Chairman of the BOARD ... and I am sort of the retired board member now... pun intended...
and help out when I can. Thanks to all the other moderators as well, who keep things on an even keel... You all deserve a raise in pay... in fact I recommend they double your salary... wait, 2 time zero is still zero! So thanks from my heart.
P.S. For those who may have noticed my recent absence of more than 3 weeks... I am back now after a much deserved and expensive vacation to Alaska... where WIFI and cell service are as scarce as hens teeth... When I checked in today there had been 186 posts for me to catch up on! A good way to spend a quiet afternoon!
