Beyond the Mysterious Beyond > The Fridge

Happy 15th Anniversary - GOF Forum!

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Petrie:

15 years.  Wow!  A picture says 1,000 words.  The picture above is truly my own reaction to the reality that the Gang of Five forum has been online for 15 years now.  Granted we’ve had our shares of road hazards, and have had to move the forum on four different hosting platforms (hence why the founding date does not say October 12, 2003), but we’ve come through it all!  At this stage, we are in the most stable situation we possibly could find ourselves in as the GOF pays for its own hosting and domain name, no longer at the whim of any free web host, plus we are ad-free too!

I won’t make a big speech like I did for year 10.  My role is quite different now, consulting for the forum, and basically running the GOF Discord Server.  To keep things about the forum, its memories, its good times, and even its bad times, I would like everyone—no matter how long you’ve been here—15 years or 15 days—to share a memory of this place!

Thank you all! :D :D :D  :cheers

Adam (Petrie/Chipper Blu-wolf)

Petrie:
The only memory I never forget is one I never took part in because I had a class that night (the April Fool’s day where the admins got into an “argument” and started banning each other) so I really can’t share much about it.

What I’ve decided to share instead is a bit of how thankful I am of individuals that helped get the GOF off the ground, even before its official founding date.  Some of here on the forum have known each for longer than some members have been alive.  Malte and Jason (Littlefoot1616) have been good friends of mine for 17 years now.  We got to know each other through Network54’s Land Before Time board.  Eventually, I was able to convince Malte to help me run and set up what was going to be the largest (and accurate) Land Before Time site online (in 2002 mind you).  Out of those talks came treestars.net and for its day, it was a good site.  You have to remember the web was very different then and there was no reliable Land Before Time information site out there.  Malte also was very kind to provide the first fan art for the site, and Jason offered some as well.  We also put reviews and screen pictures (from VHS tapes, remember those) up on the site, which was unheard of at the time and not very common.

The forum’s creation was simply a feedback forum for those who wanted to comment on the art we posted.  It was not intended to be a discussion forum.  I already had another dinosaur themed message board online and didn’t feel I needed to have a second one.  Nick22 came along and joined us on this feedback board and eventually Nick and myself decided to run a separate site called “Welcome to the Great Valley” with a really bright neon green and salmon coloring for text.  I don’t know what we were thinking. :P  This message board, perhaps is about as close to the Gang of Five’s predecessor as they come.  I cannot remember the founding date, save that it was 2002.  As time went on, us four really kept these sites all updated and working.  Eventually though it made no sense for me to run three message boards essentially overlapping thematically.  The question became what to do, and Malte, Jason and I decided to keep putting our energy into the feedback board, which had grown by now to include discussion areas to keep people around.  We also gave it a new name, The Gang of Five on October 12, 2003.  Nick agreed to keep WTTGV online alongside it for historical purposes, and keep it going as long as it had activity.  Eventually we moved off our original host onto invisionfree, and that is where the majority of our time has been spent of the 15 years we have been around.

If I didn’t have these three with me—Malte, Jason and Nick—there’s a good chance I wouldn’t have kept at it and decided to hang around to see the Gang of Five succeed.  Together we managed to keep people interested and coming, offering them reviews and discussions of the LBT movies as they still were coming out at this time.  Together we were able to build the concrete foundations of the board you all know and love today.  While it is true that three of us have moved on to other things and are no longer active administrators of the forum, our friendship shows what great things can happen when we work together for the larger community. :)

Thank you Malte!
Thank you Jason!
Thank you Nick!


-Adam (Petrie/Chipper Blu-wolf)

Mumbling:
I was asked to write a little bit about my time here on the GoF. Instead of focussing on certain events that took place (haha, that April Fools with the admin fight was great, Adam!), I'd rather tell about the impact this board has had on me.

Over 10 years ago, a young teenage girl joined this very forum. She was insecure about life and her ability to communicate in English. Not long after she joined, the kind people of this forum asked her to join in on the activities. Draw, write, play in role plays, sing along with others, do all these things you never dared of doing before. These lovely people drew her out of her shell and let her explore her abilities. They also helped her get rid of an abusive relationship, and managed to create everlasting friendships instead.

My first few years on this forum were a turmoil. My personal life was a mess and everyone here was nice enough to listen to my stories and help me get to a better life. I truly believe that if it weren’t for the Gang of Five, I would not be the person I am today. I might not even have been here anymore! My depression was really quite severe and I am not sure what would’ve happened without the people here supporting me and helping me find my way.

Thanks to this forum I have:

-   Been in a really wonderful relationship
-   Traveled more of the world than I would ever think I would do
-   Gained friendships more true than any other in my life
-   Developed into a healthy adult with a lot of confidence

There have been good times and bad. People I used to get along with, but no longer wish to see. People who I would wish to see, but no longer visit the Gang of Five or other social media. Decisions that had to be made that no one was really happy about. Decisions that had to be made right away. Tears of sadness, tears of joy and tears of laughter too. You have given me wonderful memories that I will always keep close to my heart.

I’ve been away from the Gang of Five for a few years after a bad break-up in real life while also starting my professional career and just not having much time on my hands, but I believe rejoining the forum and its very active Discord server has reopened my eyes as to what an amazing place this forum is. Even though I am not as interested in LBT as I used to be, this forum welcomed me back with open arms and many new friendly faces. This community is very unique and very special, and I wish the whole world could learn from it. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for a very special time here. Now that we have our own host, I hope this place will live on for years to come. Happy birthday, Gang of Five!

Sneak:
I can't describe how much I love to see this forum well and alive, love to see it has a deep history already, love to see people who keeps its rising and shining. I love to be part of this community.
Thank you to group of people who brought this community to live, who made this beautiful place.

Happy Starday, Gang of Five!!!!

Ducky123:
Cheers.

Don't feel like writing a lot so I'll just second what mumbling said for it's a very similar story for me. Wouldn't be who I am today. Period :)

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