Reminiscing Neowin

[Noir Angel]

Social networking is the single biggest reason that message boards are starting to die out.

[Hum]

^ Perhaps a general decline in IQ, as well. ;)

[jnelsoninjax]

^ Perhaps a general decline in IQ, as well. ;)

Fixed it for you! ;)

[Arceles]

^ Perhaps a general decline in IQ, as well. ;)

I didn't knew this site back in 1998 but I can tell you, I have watched every single site fall down because of this very reason, neowin is... more or less, but I'm impressed what difficult times is having the internet as a whole.

[Rappy Veteran]

Social networking is the single biggest reason that message boards are starting to die out.

got to agree there, where you used to be able to discuss news on a forum Twitter has killed that

[+Anarkii Subscriber²]

Woah long time ago... I remember those days from 2001 :D

[Growled Member]

I wasn't even born in 2001. :p

[spedanden]

Wow. Time machine indeed. First forum I ever signed up for.

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

I might be wrong, but it seems as though the level of activity is on the increase while the discussions are somewhat more civilised (see also: recent Windows 8 threads).

There's hope yet for the Neowin forums.

[Arceles]

I might be wrong, but it seems as though the level of activity is on the increase while the discussions are somewhat more civilised (see also: recent Windows 8 threads).

There's hope yet for the Neowin forums.

Am Afraid not, they just insult in a "proper way" nonetheless... they do insult.

[Singh400]

I was a long-time lurker before I eventually signed up. I read all the drama when I was a lurker...it was quite hilarious.

[Sir Topham Hatt]

I wonder if there is an easy way to find your very first post...

However as a whole I think many things are not popular on the internet anymore as they used to be..

I think you've hit the nail on the head here.

But then I also see that trend in Facebook these days. While many companies have now succumbed to the forces of social networking, there are others who use Twitter purely as an information service, not an interaction service.

[Denis W. Veteran]

I wonder if there is an easy way to find your very first post...

Kinda:

1) Go back to the forum index and open up search

2) Key in your name for Author

3) Set the start and end dates to be close to your join date - calendar only goes up to 2006 so correct the year after picking a random date

4) "Display result as posts," and change "Descending" at the bottom to "Ascending"

So in your case, it's this: https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/112846-msts-2-beta/page__view__findpost__p__1325227

I'm pretty sure this wasn't my first post but it's close enough. I vaguely recall the first post was an XP-related thread. It's a bit painful reading your old posts and see how relatively childish they were. :p

[Ethere]

As one of the older members who also used to be on staff for a while I've witnessed all of the ups and downs Neowin has gone through. Truthfully, there have been more ups than downs. What has changed?

• The front page news has improved a lot. The 'Where unprofessional journalism looks better' tag line doesn't really apply anymore.
  
• The forums, while still active, are relatively quiet compared to just a few years ago. The reasons why are an entirely different debate.
  
• The OS customisation scene has almost died out, which contributes to the point above. Back in the heyday of Windows XP I would check daily for new visual styles and whatnot, in what used to be among the most frequented sub-fora on here. Nowadays it's mostly dead.
  
• Many active users have come and gone. Sadly, the number of those leaving (voluntarily as well as involuntarily) outweighs the number of new active users.
  

Am I pining for the good old days? No, I enjoy Neowin as it is today, and am looking forward to how it will evolve over the next twelve years.

I couldn't agree more. I used to run Getskinned.org, which was pretty good contender to ThemeXP.org back in the day. But, as stated, I would still come to Neowin to check for that latest visual style by KoL. The customization scene has definitely died down.

[iMonkey]

Long time resident here -- I remember the days when Neowin disappeared offline a few times because of scr1pt k1ddi3z and there was a rush for members to rejoin (several times). I haven't posted much in the near decade (!!!!) that I've been a member, but I still visit regularly.

The forums have definitely changed. I remember the day Hum was given his own sub-forum, the creation of Area 51 and the original mods (Keldyn was my favorite, we had many a good discussion via PM). I also remember when Neowin became a company...good times. Sadly the community is far different, the 'rise of the n00bs' (I say that as that's what we called it years ago) decreased activity and saw an increase in the number of 'How do I' threads and less technical content. That said, the community is still alive and well, and a reason I keep coming back.

[+StevoFC MVC]

I couldn't agree more. I used to run Getskinned.org, which was pretty good contender to ThemeXP.org back in the day. But, as stated, I would still come to Neowin to check for that latest visual style by KoL. The customization scene has definitely died down.

Ah yeah, I made the getskinned.org visual style years ago. I totally forgot about that. lol

Wow that was so long ago.

[iMonkey]

The days of Gmail invites and the absolutely MASSIVE threads asking for invites, the arrival of JohnsonBox on the scene and X-windows-X and his shoddy themes that were brilliant in their own way.

Here's a really old PM (2004)where I suggested a Gmail invite thread should be created...it was done shortly after:

[Gromvar]

Social networking is the single biggest reason that message boards are starting to die out.

For me the state of social networks is the reason I'm returning to forums. I'll admit I drifted away from forums for awhile. I'm one of those that I would delete my Facebook if I could still stay in touch with people, but some of my friends use nothing but that.

[Ethere]

Ah yeah, I made the getskinned.org visual style years ago. I totally forgot about that. lol

Wow that was so long ago.

Haha yes you did. Proof on your own site :)

http://www.stevofc.c...1/currentp2.htm

Ugh, makes me miss that site. I had a great time running it. Never should have sold it. And now GoDaddy wants 8800 bucks for the domain...lol

[+unabatedshagie Subscriber¹]

I've nearly been using this site for 10 years and there was a time I was on here for hours a day reading threads, answering questions on skinning, foobar etc but I maybe look at the forums once or twice a week these days.

I don't find the forums very inviting place these days. They seemed a lot more helpful and friendly back then, seem to be filled with kids these days who are more likely to answer a question with a snide comment than any actual helpful information.

I do think the release of vista and windows 7 had something to do with things dying down a bit as it's a lot harder to theme those systems than it was with XP.

[Nothing Here]

Wow. I wasn't a member then, I was just a lurker. Always popping in to see ppl's new XP themes and such. Then later, popping in to get the latest on Shift.

[the evn show]

I made an account in late 2001 but never posted. I suspect I probably lurked a few months prior to that. Forgot the password and had to make this one a few months later.

I sometimes wonder if the reason I no longer participate like I used to is because I got old and changed or if the community here shifted and I stayed the same. 10 years is quite a long time. Certainly my political views have grown more complex since I started here - I like to think that 8 years worth of college has made me more contemplative.

I'm not sure I could be happy participating in a typical conversation here any more. Time has a way of changing people. If there's one thing that I think you can give credit to the site for: the staff is fair. I've had disagreements with the staff - some are probably irreconcilable - but they, the administration, were never petty or childish. I was able to voice an opinion, make a case that things should change, and even they rejected my argument (even if I think they were/are wrong) I never felt ignored or unappreciated. I might disagree with what they do but they don't strike me as arbitrary or capricious.

I miss the days where I could have a fairly detailed technical discussion about a "controversial topic" (like windows v mac os security models) with people who know what they're talking about without ill-considered nonsense cluttering up the talk. It's like we, the community, have lost the ability to appreciate subtlety of opinion and that has made the forums pretty dull.

[Rappy Veteran]

I wonder if there is an easy way to find your very first post...

my first post was me asking whether microsoft come round the door and deliver your trial of XP :rofl:

[Vice]

I'd never met any Pedophiles before I signed up to Neowin. Really, any of you guys remember Larney? He was quite a prominent member years ago and then he was arrested for abusing two boys. Then another three Neowin members who I was introduced to through Larney including BOFH, Wetlegs and InfoByte (1 of them who was a very active poster) also turned out to be Pedophiles, all four members (which includes Larney) are banned now but I know one of them signed up again with a new username.

I even helped him pick out Hard Disks for his computer and helped him RAID them. No doubt he stored child pornography on them as the police investigation showed he and others did stuff like that.

Gotta say, that whole experience has definitely jaded me from talking to other members of the site offline. It still shocks me to think how many members on here I met that were involved in that kind of stuff, practically 50% of the people I met off the site are pedophiles.

[Singh400]

I'd never met any Pedophiles before I signed up to Neowin. Really, any of you guys remember Larney? He was quite a prominent member years ago and then he was arrested for abusing two boys. Then another three Neowin members who I was introduced to through Larney including BOFH, Wetlegs and InfoByte (1 of them who was a very active poster) also turned out to be Pedophiles, all four members (which includes Larney) are banned now but I know one of them signed up again with a new username.

I even helped him pick out Hard Disks for his computer and helped him RAID them. No doubt he stored child pornography on them as the police investigation showed he and others did stuff like that.

Gotta say, that whole experience has definitely jaded me from talking to other members of the site offline. It still shocks me to think how many members on here I met that were involved in that kind of stuff, practically 50% of the people I met off the site are pedophiles.

Yup I remember that clearly. I too used to talk to Larney outside of Neowin. I was completely and utterly stunned when he got busted for CP. Was that the same BOFH from ieX? I used to know a BOFH @ieX.

Didn't know about Wetlegs or InfoByte though.

Annnyywaay, moving on from that grim topic. Whatever happened to GCNaddict?