For I suspect many of the oldest oldbies on this board, this year will mark the 20th anniversary of this hodge-podge community of hackers, fan game designers, and general Sonic fans. Probably the genesis for this entire scene was Area 51, which was started in 1997. I never would have guessed that several decades later we'd all still be talking online together. It's rather amazing, as I've been a part of several other long-time communities, but few have retained users like this. What's more amazing is how the community has been spread across so many sites over the years, from SSRG to Sonic Cult to Simon Wai's Beta page and so forth. Indeed, user names like IceKnight and LocalH and rattleman not only have remained signed up for boards as they've come and gone, but even remained active in the community. We, collectively, saw users actually get jobs with Sega (GeneHF), become professional artists (KojiChao), even produce official Sonic games (Tax, Stealth). I think the world of this community and have been really proud to be a member and around all you guys for so long. Please let's share this topic with good memories as we celebrate a big milestone in the community!
Man, when I registered, y'all Oldbies were here for 10 years. Now I've been here for 10 years. No recognition, I tells ya. :v:
Well I only just got here but impressed to see that this community is still going after 2 decades, that's impressive!
2001, so one of the later members on A51, but still on the board a good year. Crazy to think that board started nearly 20 years ago.
I forget when I first started lurking, definitely back in the CulT days. But many usernames and many sites later, this is the only Sonic one I still visit. Here's to hopefully many more years of posting too much :specialed:
And there's still no Sonic 1 beta ROM dump. Got a new old screenshot of it though. They're still out there~
My retro account may be nearly 11, but I've been in the community since 2003, on MobiusForum. I posted in a sonic related message board that I don't remember in 2001, but I don't count that.
I kinda wished I'd signed up for these kinds of boards sooner, but I was unfortunately preoccupied with the cringier fan-fiction side of Sonic in the early 2000s. Was a part of SoaHCity in the mid-2000s before its initial shutdown, though.
I'll have been here 7 years in April. At this point Retro is the only board I'm still an active member of. Some may complain about the elitism around here, but as far as I'm concerned, that quality assurance is one of the main reasons I stick around. Let's see another 20.
Wow still hard to believe it's been that long. I started with SFGHQ back in 2000, and joined Area51 around 01. Though if we want to get technical, there were old usenets for Sonic stuff, just nothing compared to what we have now
I was on those, too, and Compuserve Go Sega around the same time. But yeah, those were very different communities. Area 51 is when the community for finding and documenting hidden, lost, and eventually technical dealings surrounding Sonic really started.
I've been around since the Sonic 2 Beta forum days, and I'm still proud to be a member of such a fantistic community! Like TheKazeBlaze said, here's to another 20; I'm sure Sonic will still be around then, too We've also had our bad times (but not many of them!) - with Tweaker springing to mind; though this wasn't a fault of anyone's but his own.
I wished I was there around those time but didn't own a PC back then because those things were expensive (and they still are lol.) I first came here as a lurker 10 years ago. How time has passed...
Ah yes, Tweaker. Why'd he get banned again? Also I miss SonicQuoter from CulT. It was always happenin with him.
I joined the site during the SWS2B days as well. Can't believe its been almost 12 years since those days I first learned of ESE, SonED 2, etc. and began building levels with them. That means I joined this site when I was 11. I spent my entire teenage life here.
We probably shouldn't be discussing Tweaker in this topic. Besides, this is a happy topic, keep drama away. I'm 31. I was 11 when I started going to Area 51. That means I've spent the majority of my life having talked to people here.
Mostly a longtime lurker, but you all have provided many years of insightful and technical discussions of my favourite franchise. Cheers