Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- offtopic:ah.com_-_a_chronology [2018/02/16 18:06] – [2017] sargon
+++ offtopic:ah.com_-_a_chronology [2022/05/21 13:28] (current) – [2022] max_sinister
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ======= AH.COM : A Chronology =======
-This page covers most of the events and happenings on AH.COM from its founding in September 2000, to the move to the Second Board in January 2004, and to the move to the Third Board in May 2016.
+This page covers most of the events and happenings on AH.COM from its founding in September 2000, to the move to the Second Board in January 2004, the move to the Third Board in May 2016, and beyond.
@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 ===== 2004 =====
-**1st of January** - The [[New Board]] officially opens. This is also [[http://soc.history.what-if.narkive.com/d8V395WF/fyi-shiny-new-ah-discussion-board-at-www-alternatehistory-net-discussion|announced]] at [[soc-history-what-if|soc.history.what-if]], the then major online AH community.
+**1st of January** - The [[New Board]] officially opens. This is also [[http://soc.history.what-if.narkive.com/d8V395WF/fyi-shiny-new-ah-discussion-board-at-www-alternatehistory-net-discussion|announced]] at [[offtopic:soc.history.what-if]], the then major online AH community.
 **17th of January** - The [[Old Board]] is officially closed and archived.
@@ Line 144: / Line 144: @@
 **23rd of September** - The [[resources:Universal Colour Scheme]] is finally finished, after much debate.
+**24th of October** - [[offtopic:Demosthenes]] posted the first yearly predictions thread in the [[Future History forum]], asking members to predict what they think will happen in 2008.
 **November to December** - The [[Noob Movement]] begins just around the time of the Great Troll Invasion.
@@ Line 173: / Line 175: @@
  **15th of May** - The [[Great Schism]] begins with the accession of Pope Awesome I (aka [[Flocculencio]]).  Within days, a horde of new board religions floods Non-Political Chat, including [[Berralutheranism]].
+**27th of May** - [[Adam]] awards [[d-done]] the [[alternate history:vlad tepes award|"Vlad Tepes Cruelty Award"]], the earliest known reference to the Vlad Tepes award in the site's history.
  **14th of July** - A thread is posted regarding Communion wafer desecration.  This sparks one of the board's most infamous religious flamewars.  Within a week, [[MrP]] and [[Archangel Michael]] have been kicked; many criticize this decision of [[IAN]].
@@ Line 224: / Line 228: @@
 **11th of February** - //**[[stories:AH.Com The Creepy Teen Years]]**// ends its first season after only eight episodes.
+**12th of February** - [[Georgepatton]] creates the modern [[alternate history:vlad tepes award|Count Vlad Tepes Award for Excellence]], awarding it to [[William Blake]].
 **25th of May** - [[Techathon]] started the original [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=156965|'ban' the person above you ]] game in NPC.
@@ Line 245: / Line 251: @@
 **29th of November** - [[Ian]] appointed four new moderators for the first time since the appointments of [[Glen]] and [[Max Sinister]] three years earlier:  [[the bald imposter|Burton K Wheeler]], [[Calbear]], [[Doctor What]], and [[maverick]].
+**1st of December** - Ian the Admin opens the [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/public-forum.174296/|Public Forum]] thread, for adressing various questions, suggestions, and complaints related to official forum business (in an on-topic manner, of course).
 ===== 2011 =====
@@ Line 253: / Line 260: @@
 **19th of February** - [[LSCatilina]] announced the debut of the [[alternate_history:AH.com Podcast]].
+**21st of February** - [[Ganesha]] posted the first Time Capsule thread in the [[Future History forum]], inviting members to make predictions for what things will be like in 2013.  The thread is subsequently locked, not to be reopened until 2013.
 **19th of March** - [[charl]] posted the first episode of the [[alternate_history:AH.com Podcast]].
@@ Line 260: / Line 269: @@
 **28th of April** - Ian quietly appointed [[TheDarkServant]] (later known as [[TheDarkServant|TheDarkMessiah]]) as the board's newest Mod, replacing the Fallen One.  How TDS convinced him to do so is a classified secret known only by Ian, TDS, and the girl in the cake TDS sent him for his birthday.
-**22nd of June** - The Board [[http://alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?p=4685847#post4685847|breaks]] [[IAN]].
+**22nd of June** - The Board [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/1/post-4685847|breaks]] [[IAN]].
 **26th of June** - The Shared Worlds forum no longer augments post count, significantly altering the pointless hierarchy based on such.  It is also hidden from anonymous users.
@@ Line 272: / Line 281: @@
 **29th of September** - [[Wanderlust]]'s [[Social Thread]] was closed and replaced by [[Othyrsyde]]'s [[Social Thread]].
-**14-18th October** - Unbeknownst to even himself at the time, [[Petike]] starts what will eventually become the Great Wiki Reform. Sometimes, [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=215446|beginnings]] can be so innocent. And then [[http://alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?p=5168512#post5168512|gradually]] [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=256772|snowball]] [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=242919|into]] [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=286488|something]] [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=269905|unprecedented]]...
+**14-18th October** - Unbeknownst to even himself at the time, [[Petike]] starts what will eventually become the Great Wiki Reform. Sometimes, [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=215446|beginnings]] can be so innocent. And then [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/1/post-5168512|gradually]] [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=256772|snowball]] [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=242919|into]] [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=286488|something]] [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=269905|unprecedented]]...
 **23rd of November** - The Q-BAM Improvement Project begins.
+**24th of November** - [[Blackadder mk2]] posted the first political megathread, [[http://https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/official-pmqs-and-other-british-politics-thread.221085/|Official PMQ's and Other British Politics Thread]], in Chat.  It becomes the primary venue for discussing British politics.
 ===== 2012 =====
-**22nd of January** - Climax of [[the Pony Wars]].  Casualties summarized [[http://alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=5550326&postcount=4053|here]].
+**22nd of January** - Climax of [[the Pony Wars]].  Casualties summarized [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/1/post-5550326|here]].
 **22nd of February** - Beloved member [[Wolf]] passed away.  The board mourned.
@@ Line 353: / Line 363: @@
 **16th of August** - After many months of waiting, [[Ian]] the Admin decides to test new forum software and creates the **Test Alternate History Discussion Board**, also known as **the Third Board**.
-**22nd of August** - After a series of member purges, [[Emperor Norton I]], [[vultan]], and [[Tank Cdr]] [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?p=8066443#post8066443|are banned for racism.]]  By the 27th of August, however, Ian had commuted all three punishments to only a kick for each.
+**22nd of August** - After a series of member purges, [[Emperor Norton I]], [[vultan]], and [[Tank Cdr]] [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/1/post-8066443|are banned for racism.]]  By the 27th of August, however, Ian had commuted all three punishments to only a kick for each.
 **25th of August** - The fourth and final incarnation of the Off-Topic Thread was locked by [[the bald imposter|Burton K. Wheeler]], who warned members not to create another one. Members flocked to othyrsyde's Social Thread as a result.
@@ Line 389: / Line 399: @@
 **24-25th of February** - A troll claiming to be the kicked [[offtopic:Vice President Mike]] spams the board with porn, starting the [[Porn Terrorism]] attacks. However, some doubt it was Mike. The Hall of Infamy is soon locked due to claims that its wealth of discussion of Vice President Mike was feeding the troll.
-**25th of Febuary** - Turquoise Blue's Social Thread is locked.  Soon, Turquoise Blue's Second Social Thread.™ and TB's Social Thread mk II are created by [[offtopic:Stolengood]] and [[offtopic:metastasis_d]], respectively. [[offtopic:The War of Social Thread Succession]] begins. It ends when Turquoise Blue's Second Social Thread.™ is locked and TB's Social Thread mk II is renamed Boudica's Social Thread.
+**25th of February** - Turquoise Blue's Social Thread is locked.  Soon, Turquoise Blue's Second Social Thread.™ and TB's Social Thread mk II are created by [[offtopic:Stolengood]] and [[offtopic:metastasis_d]], respectively. [[offtopic:The War of Social Thread Succession]] begins. It ends when Turquoise Blue's Second Social Thread.™ is locked and TB's Social Thread mk II is renamed Boudica's Social Thread.
 **28th of February** - The Hall of Infamy is unlocked.
@@ Line 402: / Line 412: @@
 **29th of April** - The [[offtopic:Wampanoag Incident]] begins. [[offtopic:d32123]], [[offtopic:Prime Minister]], [[offtopic:Tsao]], and [[offtopic:VulcanTrekkie45|VT45]] leave the board in the following days.  [[offtopic:Prime Minister]] returned on the 21st of October.
+**8th of May** - [[Calbear]] announces that from this point forward all Evolution/Geologic-based timelines will be moved to the [[ASB forum]].
 **22nd of June** - [[offtopic:Abhakhazia]] cares about Football (Soccer) for 8 seconds after the USA scores against Portugal. Brazil quits playing soon thereafter since no one could top that.
@@ Line 439: / Line 451: @@
 **15th of March** -  The Great Nation Games Exodus begins.  Over the next few weeks the bulk of the [[shared worlds:Nation Games]] community, citing lack of software and administrative support from the AH.COM administration, decamped to a new forum on Sufficient Velocity.  By mid April the subforum became a ghost town with only one or two active games and no more than a dozen players left.
 **10th of April** - A member named Candyman sent child porn to various members. Whether or not this is another attack by VPM is unknown.
@@ Line 446: / Line 457: @@
 **20th of May** - The [[offtopic:Great Soverihn Revolt]] occurs.
+**13th of June** - [[Calbear]] announces that [[alternate history:double blind what if|Future Blind What If]] threads will no longer be considered What-Ifs and instead as either RPGs or Stories.  They are all moved from the [[Future History forum]] to either [[shared worlds:Shared Worlds]] or the [[Writer's forum]].
+**25th of July** - [[Meadow]] announces the founding of [[Sea Lion Press]].  The first books published include titles by [[EdT]], [[Lord Roem]], and [[Thande]].
 **9th of August** - Sabot Cat's Social Thread is locked, being succeeded by Upvoteanthology's Social Thread.
@@ Line 461: / Line 476: @@
 **26th of October** - Beloved member [[Torqumada]] passed away. The board mourned.
-**14th of November** - In the aftermath of the Paris Terrorist Attacks on November 13, several members are either banned or kicked during the [[offtopic:November Riot]] for various reasons. They included [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=11592976&postcount=1604|revenge fantasies]], [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=11593077&postcount=1635|bigotry]], and [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=11592706&postcount=37|advocating mass genocide.]] By November 11th, 2015, it overtook [[offtopic:black_october|Black October]] in terms of the number of actions taken.
+**14th of November** - In the aftermath of the Paris Terrorist Attacks on November 13, several members are either banned or kicked during the [[offtopic:November Riot]] for various reasons. They included [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/1/post-11592976|revenge fantasies]], [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/1/post-11593077|bigotry]], and [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/1/post-11592706|advocating mass genocide.]] By November 11th, 2015, it overtook [[offtopic:black_october|Black October]] in terms of the number of actions taken.
 **26th of November** - Since this day, all the subpages of the form *address*.alternatehistory.com redirect to www.alternatehistory.com/discussion; this had the effect of making the (already long since disused) landing page formerly on alternatehistory.com unavailable entirely.
@@ Line 491: / Line 506: @@
 **15th of May** - After years of anticipation, the Third Board, based on XenForo software, comes online a day before schedule.
-**19th of May** - The Wiki is rendered operational once again. Users are now required [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/logging-in-to-the-wiki.388794/|to register]] with Ian in order to edit.
+**18th of May** - Someone began to tag many threads across the site with "We Must Build A Canal", an ASOIF meme.  Once noticed by other members, it took on a life of its own and spread like wildfire.
+**19th of May** - The Wiki is rendered operational once again. Users are now required [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/logging-in-to-the-wiki.388794/|to register]] with Ian in order to edit.
+**20th of May** - Due to the rapid proliferation of the "We Must Build A Canal" meme in thread tags, Ian disabled the ability to tag threads members didn't create, noting "Despite the board's age limits, some posters are apparently twelve years old."
+**2nd of October** - Beloved member [[Beauhooligan]] passed away. The board was informed on the 19th of February 2018 and mourned.
 **25th of October** - The [[shared worlds:shared worlds|Shared Worlds forum]] undergoes its biggest reorganisation in years. The three subforums (Map Games, Nation Games, Moderated Games) are cancelled and merged with the rest of the main forum. Newly introduced genre-based tags for the titles of Shared Worlds threads are used as a substitute, allowing to sort games by genre or type without a need to add new subforums.
+**29th of November** - [[Sea Lion Press]] publishes their first paperback titles.
 **1st of December** - After nearly eight years, [[offtopic:Glen]] announces he will be stepping down as managing editor for the [[alternate history:Turtledove Awards]].
@@ Line 508: / Line 531: @@
 **21st-22nd, 23rd-24th of March** - The April 2017 Big Weekend Crash. Something went awry with the web server, resulting in two different board crashes from Friday to Saturday and Sunday to Monday. Luckily, Ian fixed the issues by the start of the new week.
+**29th of April** - [[Sea Lion Press]] launches its Patreon.
 **19th of August** - Beloved member [[ppaul16]] passed away. The board mourned.
-----
+===== 2018 =====
+**24th of January** - We received unexpected sad news about the untimely passing of Just Leo, one of the board members that were most knowledgeable about aviation.
+**28th of April** - Criminal kingpin [[Ephraim Ben Raphael]] [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/guns-drugs-and-money.442508/|sends his sister a care package]].  Tony Montana is reportedly pleased.
+**23rd of March** - Having grown tremendously since its founding, [[Sea Lion Press]] launches its own message board, [[http://forum.sealionpress.co.uk/index.php|Sea Lion Press Forums]].  Many AH.com members, particularly British members, join the new community.
+**23rd of May** - [[the bald imposter|Burton K Wheeler]] locked the final [[the ban thread|Ban Thread]], citing that the threads had reached a "critical mass of drama".  Many of the members who frequented the Ban threads shifted over to the [[shared worlds:ATL Meetup]] threads in [[shared worlds:Shared Worlds]].
+**19th of July** - [[chankljp]] received a mysterious package from Germany containing a military-themed first day cover from the DDR during the 1970s’, and an authentic Hitler postage stamp from the Nazi-era during WW2 plus a small, handwritten note in English that addressed him by name.  AH.commers quickly conclude this is the work of time traveling pranksters.
+**16th of August** - [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/wiki/doku.php?id=offtopic:hendryk#a_tale_of_three_bannings|The Fake MrP Incident]] rocks the board.
+**19th of August** - Information had surfaced that [[Beauhooligan]], who hadn't visited in a long while, died already in October 2016. Though the possibility had been speculated about before, it was only more than a year later that we found out about this. Coupled with Just Leo's recent passing, the loss of a member who frequented the site for many years hurt.
+**7th of September** - With site crashes happening frequently, [[Ian]] mentions that he hopes to move the site to a new server without increasing any costs.  Thanks to the generosity of members during the 2017 donation drive, the site is funded through at least mid-2019.
+**26th of September** - After a five year absence, longtime member [[LordMoogi]] returns to the board.
+===== 2019 =====
+**26th of January** - [[SargentHawk]] opens nominations for the [[alternate history:Turtledove Awards|2019 Turtledove Awards]], announcing new categories for Best Pop Culture Timeline and Best Chat Timeline.
+**26th of February** - [[mattep74]] is struck by a car while cycling.  Thankfully he survives, although he loses part of a finger in the process.
+**18th of April** - [[Thande]] [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/catching-up-to-your-framing-device-12-years-of-look-to-the-west.466082/|marks the occasion]] as real life catches up, this day being the far future date referenced in the very first line of [[timelines:Look to the West]].
+**9th of July** - In a major shakeup, the Administration forums are moved from the top of the forum list to near the bottom in between Wiki and Off Topic sections.  The Help and Rules forum is divided into separate forums, both of which are no longer public.  In probably the biggest change of all, Ian shuts down the Hall of Infamy, moving kick and ban reports to the new Rules forum and dramatically reforming the way bans/kicks are discussed in an effort to cut down on chatter and bickering.
+**9th of October** - [[offtopic:saint polype]] discovers a bizarre eldritch creature on the shores of Normandy, clearly establishing him as the protagonist in a Lovecraftian horror tale.
+**3rd of November** - [[Mr. BoJangles]] returns to the board after an extended absence.
+**8th of November** - [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/i-think-we%E2%80%99ve-been-found-out.478087/|Our cover is blown.]]  Members move rapidly to hide and dispose of the evidence.
+**18th of November** - [[offtopic:Miranda Brawner]] announces the first in what is planned to be a series of biweekly writing contests, posting the main thread in the [[Before 1900 Forum]].
+**30th of November** - After twelve years in the [[Future History forum]], the yearly predictions thread for 2020 is moved to Chat.  The Time Capsule thread follows shortly after in December.
+**19th of December** - SergeantHeretic's Social Thread, the longest to date, finally reaches its 501st page and is replaced with Social Thread 2020-.
+**30th of December** - [[Ian]] [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/open-test-of-new-board-software.481004/|announces]] that the site will be upgrading to Xenforo 2 in January 2020, moving the site to its fourth incarnation.  He opens a Test Board in preparation for the move, adding that the actual move will come with an outage that may last two to three days.
+===== 2020 =====
+**3rd of January** - The site is taken down for maintenance as [[Ian]] begins the update to Xenforo 2.  Chaos ensues worldwide as AH.commers, unable to get their alternate history fix, wreak havoc.
+**4th of January** - The site returns in shiny new form.  [[Ian]] begins the process of tweaking and bug fixing leading to several very short outages over the next few weeks.
+**10th of January** - As part of the ongoing tweaks in the wake of the upgrade, [[Ian]] announced several changes to the Likes system.  Most controversially, Likes were from this point forward disabled in Political Chat.
+**Early February** - A user points out to [[e of pi]] that links are broken on the **[[timelines:eyes turned skyward chapters|Eyes Turned Skyward Chapter Page]]**. Investigating, [[e of pi]] finds that the links on all wiki pages were broken at one point in board updates. He creates a script to automatically fix every link on a page, and begins a multi-week project to correct all posts on the wiki. This page was fixed 2/5/2020, and in the process [[e of pi]] inserted this record. Also noted was that attachment links are broken as well, but fixing will be a second project, fortunately effecting fewer total pages.
+**3rd of June to 8th of June** - [[Ian]] announces that he was the victim of doxing, and that he was denied access to a private discord maintained by some members to investigate. These members informed him that he was “pre-banned”. Fighting and infighting ensue, and by the time the dust clears, twenty-six people (many of which were long-time, established members of the site) were banned.
+**30th of August** - Alternatehistory.com turns 20 years old!
+===== 2021 =====
+**April 10** -
+Ian announces that threads in Chat and Non-Political Chat that have been inactive for six months will be entirely deleted from the forums. This was done for a variety of reasons. First, it would speed up the board, as it would free up memory space. Second, and most important, it would protect member privacy, as many have previously posted political opinions they have long since move on from, several have discussed gender-transitions, and some mused on old relationships. This was met with a mix of approval and concern, with some pushing back on Ian’s announcement. Ian conceded to only deleting threads that haven’t been active for a year, but remained adamant that this was the right course of action for the board.
+**April 18** -
+Ian begins the process that is, from here forward, called the Great Deletion. Thousands of threads are moved to specially created subforums and out of Non-Political Chat and Chat, scheduled to be deleted the next month. The Great Deletion would be on track to remove nearly 8 million posts, some dating back to 2004. A few notable threads would avoid the Great Deletion and be placed in a special Archive subforum.
+===== 2022 =====
+----
 ==== See Also ====
@@ Line 520: / Line 612: @@
 **[[AH.com Structure]]**
 ----
 ==== Navigation ====
 **[[offtopic:off topic|Offtopic Section Main Directory]]**