MaxKaladin
First Post
I remember finding the site in the spring of 2000 looking for information about this new "3e" thing they were doing. I don't post much, but I've been lurking around for a long time -- usually in spurts.
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EN Milestones
- Thread starter EricNoah
- Start date
HellHound
ENnies winner and NOT Scrappy Doo
I remember the red-on-black site, back in the day.
I had no love for AD&D for many years - and although my homebrew Rules Cyclopedia campaign was still running during that time, it was a fairly rare game all things considered.
During one of our CyberPunk games, someone mentioned a new edition of D&D coming out, so I surfed around a bit and came across your site. I read a few of the rumours, shrugged my shoulders, and that was that.
It wasn't until December (when I received the three core rule books) that I decided D&D3e was pretty darn cool. Then I came looking for the site again, and mistook www.realmsofevil.net for your site (because of the common colours), and started posting both there and 'here'.
I had no love for AD&D for many years - and although my homebrew Rules Cyclopedia campaign was still running during that time, it was a fairly rare game all things considered.
During one of our CyberPunk games, someone mentioned a new edition of D&D coming out, so I surfed around a bit and came across your site. I read a few of the rumours, shrugged my shoulders, and that was that.
It wasn't until December (when I received the three core rule books) that I decided D&D3e was pretty darn cool. Then I came looking for the site again, and mistook www.realmsofevil.net for your site (because of the common colours), and started posting both there and 'here'.
EN Milestones...
I don't actually remember first coming across Eric's site. I remember browsing and lurking for a long, long time before I actually started posting. And I remember the Daemonforge crew, and how we set up the Daemonforge website, which became EN World. Eric gave us a set of hosted forums on his boards, and I remember messing with the admin panel and breaking his boards while trying to get the EN World sub-forums looking right. I sent him a long, apologetic email (I felt awful - he'd given me access to the admin panel and I immediately broke the place!), but I remember KDLadage coming to my rescue via ICQ, and we got it fixed. I then sent Eric a "never mind, it's all OK now!" email. I'm sure he woke the next day to find both emails and wondered what the hell I was going on about!
Does anyone remember those old gold-hued sub-forums here? And the forum for reviews, when EN World had the URL d20reviews.com?
Of course, I clearly remember when Eric decided to stop running his site. He sent out an email the day before to a whole bunch of people announcing his intentions. I think I tried to talk him out of it, but he was pretty adamant. Either he or I suggested that the resources on his site be hosted at EN World for posterity, and so the "Black Pages" were created at EN World (the rest of EN World was still gold coloured then).
You can see the "final days" here: http://www.enworld.org/article.php?a=76
There was an enormous thread on the boards, along the lines of "What will we do? Where will we go?" and somehow Eric and I came to the conclusion that it would be a good idea to just keep the boards intact and move them over to EN World. Again, I don't recall whose idea that was. It was around then that I decided that I'd try and continue the news updates that Eric had always done (EN World by that point was already doing d20-system specific news), and pretty much adopted his format. I was scared stiff at the time - I had no idea what I was doing!
So everyone came over to EN World. It went remarkably smoothly. EN World changed from gold to black to ease the transition, all the moderators came across, and things, somehow, went on as normal.
There was a lot of anger directed towards me from some quarters in those days, and I did wonder whether it was worth the effort. I think some people saw the whole thing as somehow territorial. However, that died down.
What other milestones have there been? The first fundraiser was an eye-opener! Traffic by then had increased massively. I was trying to get EN World to a place where it paid for itself, but at that time ads, etc., just weren't coming even close. Credit card debt was mounting up, and I owed Cyberstreet a bunch of money which I couldn't pay. At that point, I figured it was all over - a good try, but a failed one. I don't remember who suggested the fundraiser (Piratecat?), and I was resistant to the idea at first, but it went ahead, and EN World was saved. I was utterly astonished at the generosity of this community. I still am, not only in terms of money, but in terms of time and effort.
Launching Natural 20 Press (later to merge with Ambient Inc's d20 publishing arm to become EN Publishing). We released Wild Spellcraft at RPGNow in PDF format. The damn thing sold about 300 copies in the first day! If only we could still do that. It was the top seller at RPGNow for a long, long time.
Being offered ludicrous amounts of money by various publishers and organisations for the site. I won't share the figures or the identities of those who approached me, but, man, there was a lot being offered. I remember Eric being offered money for his site when he closed it, too, but he turned it down and chose to hand it over to me instead.
Oh! My first Gen Con. I headed over to the US with Inconsequenti-Al. I remember Eric meeting me at the airport - I'd never actually met the guy before! I felt I knew him so well by then, though, that everything seemed pretty natural. And of course all the other people we met. Staying at Piratecat and KidCthulhu's home in Boston and joining in their weekly D&D game was a blast. Still waiting for them to visit me, though!
Hmmm.... what else do I remember?
It's amazing this place is still around after all those years. I'm not entirely sure what it was, but Eric did something just right - he melded together the right combination of stuff. I was able to continue it, but I'm under no illusions that I could have started it.
Three cheers for Eric!
I don't actually remember first coming across Eric's site. I remember browsing and lurking for a long, long time before I actually started posting. And I remember the Daemonforge crew, and how we set up the Daemonforge website, which became EN World. Eric gave us a set of hosted forums on his boards, and I remember messing with the admin panel and breaking his boards while trying to get the EN World sub-forums looking right. I sent him a long, apologetic email (I felt awful - he'd given me access to the admin panel and I immediately broke the place!), but I remember KDLadage coming to my rescue via ICQ, and we got it fixed. I then sent Eric a "never mind, it's all OK now!" email. I'm sure he woke the next day to find both emails and wondered what the hell I was going on about!
Does anyone remember those old gold-hued sub-forums here? And the forum for reviews, when EN World had the URL d20reviews.com?
Of course, I clearly remember when Eric decided to stop running his site. He sent out an email the day before to a whole bunch of people announcing his intentions. I think I tried to talk him out of it, but he was pretty adamant. Either he or I suggested that the resources on his site be hosted at EN World for posterity, and so the "Black Pages" were created at EN World (the rest of EN World was still gold coloured then).
You can see the "final days" here: http://www.enworld.org/article.php?a=76
There was an enormous thread on the boards, along the lines of "What will we do? Where will we go?" and somehow Eric and I came to the conclusion that it would be a good idea to just keep the boards intact and move them over to EN World. Again, I don't recall whose idea that was. It was around then that I decided that I'd try and continue the news updates that Eric had always done (EN World by that point was already doing d20-system specific news), and pretty much adopted his format. I was scared stiff at the time - I had no idea what I was doing!
So everyone came over to EN World. It went remarkably smoothly. EN World changed from gold to black to ease the transition, all the moderators came across, and things, somehow, went on as normal.
There was a lot of anger directed towards me from some quarters in those days, and I did wonder whether it was worth the effort. I think some people saw the whole thing as somehow territorial. However, that died down.
What other milestones have there been? The first fundraiser was an eye-opener! Traffic by then had increased massively. I was trying to get EN World to a place where it paid for itself, but at that time ads, etc., just weren't coming even close. Credit card debt was mounting up, and I owed Cyberstreet a bunch of money which I couldn't pay. At that point, I figured it was all over - a good try, but a failed one. I don't remember who suggested the fundraiser (Piratecat?), and I was resistant to the idea at first, but it went ahead, and EN World was saved. I was utterly astonished at the generosity of this community. I still am, not only in terms of money, but in terms of time and effort.
Launching Natural 20 Press (later to merge with Ambient Inc's d20 publishing arm to become EN Publishing). We released Wild Spellcraft at RPGNow in PDF format. The damn thing sold about 300 copies in the first day! If only we could still do that. It was the top seller at RPGNow for a long, long time.
Being offered ludicrous amounts of money by various publishers and organisations for the site. I won't share the figures or the identities of those who approached me, but, man, there was a lot being offered. I remember Eric being offered money for his site when he closed it, too, but he turned it down and chose to hand it over to me instead.
Oh! My first Gen Con. I headed over to the US with Inconsequenti-Al. I remember Eric meeting me at the airport - I'd never actually met the guy before! I felt I knew him so well by then, though, that everything seemed pretty natural. And of course all the other people we met. Staying at Piratecat and KidCthulhu's home in Boston and joining in their weekly D&D game was a blast. Still waiting for them to visit me, though!
Hmmm.... what else do I remember?
- The minor "spat" between Eric and WotC concerning some Dragon articles... I honestly don't recall the details. As I recall, some members were getting pretty strident on his behalf, despite his pleas not to do so.
- The Pantheon. Wow, that seems like an age ago. The complaints that went with it!
- Bugaboo. Setting up the fake "DM's Friends Network" website and forums with details of the pyramid scheme, etc. One of the funniest times I've had online. Thanks for that, Brian!
- Nutkinland opening up during Eric's time.
- Dragoth the Destroyer!
It's amazing this place is still around after all those years. I'm not entirely sure what it was, but Eric did something just right - he melded together the right combination of stuff. I was able to continue it, but I'm under no illusions that I could have started it.
Three cheers for Eric!
Crothian
First Post
Ya, it does.
I found Eric's site when I heard rumors abbout the new eiditon and thought there might be info on the web. My search turned up his pages along with others, but after a few days his was obviously the best. I lurked round here for years just reading things and having fun with my games.
I found Eric's site when I heard rumors abbout the new eiditon and thought there might be info on the web. My search turned up his pages along with others, but after a few days his was obviously the best. I lurked round here for years just reading things and having fun with my games.
EricNoah
Adventurer
Morrus said:Three cheers for Eric!
And to you as well Russ! In particular, you were just the right person to take the site forward because you had the guts to do several things I never would have done for no other reason than simple fear of failure:
*You waded into the arena of d20 publishing; as a result, you have an authoritative place from which to speak on the PDF publishing scene.
*You took on reviews -- something I didn't have the technical know-how to accomplish -- and something that I didn't see (until too late) as being all that important to the community. Who knew, early on, that we'd have a bazillion products to choose from and that we could afford to be choosy and read product reviews? Apparently you did!
*You asked for and received help from others. I was never comfortable doing that -- asking for volunteers, for experts, for funds. I see now that this community can't thrive without lots of help.
*The ENnies -- I couldn't do it, as "me." But EN World, as an entity, sure could, and did. (And a special side-thank-you to Dextra, Michael Morris, and other folks who are making the ENnies happen today!)
I know what a struggle it has been for you at times making this whole thing work. The people who demanded things from you that were simply not fair, or acting like your best friend one day and your direst enemy the next. Paying for the site basically out of your pocket for years. Juggling volunteers who have come and gone. But I hope you are able to look back down that mountainside and see how high you've climbed. And we're right here with you. Well done!
EricNoah
Adventurer
Morrus said:
Something like this? http://web.archive.org/web/20010527...=Daemonforge&number=11&DaysPrune=5&LastLogin=
William Ronald
Explorer
Morrus said:
EricNoah said:
Yes, I remember the forums and the move here. I recall being worried by Eric's announcement and joining the migration over here. Indeed, for the first few days, the most active thread was the welcome thread. (I was over here fairly quickly, and I think that SHARK! was the first person I greeted.)
I found this site after attending the "Big Announcement" at Gen Con, and began posting under wronal1. I was impressed with how Eric was able to get so much news, and I was able to use the site as a resource to convince some a skeptical DM and skeptical plays that 3rd Edition might be worth looking at. Although the rules books made the final sale, I think Eric's site helped me lay the ground work.
II have meet many friends and fellow gamers on this site. I remember one year at Gen Con, a very impromptu EN World meet up where everyone sat around and chatted for hours. At another Gen Con, I remember helping organize a meetup at the Ennies one year, and desperately trying to find people's nametags. It was great to meet people from the boards and gain a sense of community.
Community. It is a very important word, and I think the reason why EN World has endured and grown. We rapidly became a community at Eric's site, remained one when we moved over here, and weathered many changes. We have shared laughter and tears as we have talked about our games, our lives, and the larger world. We have rejoiced at births and other good news, and mourned the loss of our own and those close to us.
What maintains a community? Common interests, shared values, mutual respect, and mutual interests are a part of it. I believe that a community is more than just the sum of its parts, but has a life of its own. So, I would like to express my gratitude to Eric for starting this community, Morrus for continuing it, and all the moderators and members for maintaining it. We have grown as a community in many ways -- in size, in understanding, and in influence. Let's look forward to the next six years in the spirit of friendship and community.
Nightcloak
First Post
After reading a Dragon article about 3E (Countdown to 3E actually), I did a web search of D&D Third Edition. Eric's site was the first choice!
A checked in daily as the site reinvigerated my interest in the game I loved. By the time 3E came out I was running a d20 "boot camp" for my players.
That continued to be my home on the net to lurk and enjoy the hobby with those who felt as I did.
Then the day came when Eric annouced the site was closing. I was pretty down about it and started to check around for other sites. Drifted for a while, always lurking. Then I finally came back to EN World and realized that the same site was here but growing. It had the same *spark* and I new it was home.
The first fundraiser came and I missed it. I remember being disappointed that I missed the chance to help the site. When the call for the second fundraiser came I stoped lurking and immediatley jumped in with a donation and an account! Never looked back
Three cheers for Eric, Morrus, and all of ENWorld!
A checked in daily as the site reinvigerated my interest in the game I loved. By the time 3E came out I was running a d20 "boot camp" for my players.
That continued to be my home on the net to lurk and enjoy the hobby with those who felt as I did.
Then the day came when Eric annouced the site was closing. I was pretty down about it and started to check around for other sites. Drifted for a while, always lurking. Then I finally came back to EN World and realized that the same site was here but growing. It had the same *spark* and I new it was home.
The first fundraiser came and I missed it. I remember being disappointed that I missed the chance to help the site. When the call for the second fundraiser came I stoped lurking and immediatley jumped in with a donation and an account! Never looked back
Three cheers for Eric, Morrus, and all of ENWorld!
Melkor
Explorer
Thanks Eric.
I remember stumbling upon your 3rd Edition News sight while I was on a business trip in Dallas, TX.
I had nothing else to do in the hotel room after the work day was over, so I read everything I could about the "new edition". Man, that was a long time (and several jobs) ago.
I remember stumbling upon your 3rd Edition News sight while I was on a business trip in Dallas, TX.
I had nothing else to do in the hotel room after the work day was over, so I read everything I could about the "new edition". Man, that was a long time (and several jobs) ago.
