A Time to Remember and Celebrate!

[Matthias720]

Ten years. Let that sink in a moment. Ten. Years. On this day in 2011, this forum went live. So much has happened in the past 3,650 days. Friendships formed. Skills learned. Life milestones reached and passed. Ten years is a long time, and in that time the Redwall Abbey Community Forum has become something special. So please indulge me while I take us on a trip back in time to the forum's early days.

As my mind drifts back to 2011, I am immediately drawn to my own discovery of the forum. June 8th, 2011, a mere four months after the passing of Brian Jacques, I had the urge to check his website. I cannot say what drew me there, but I can tell you that it was one of the most momentous days of my life. The website, newly redesigned, had a shiny button that said "Forum" that grabbed my attention. I had about two and half years of experience on another forum under my belt, so the prospect of having an official Redwall forum stoked a passion within me that I have not been able to replicate since. I knew I had to join. The next day, I went out specifically to spend the day on this new forum. It was incredible! There is something magical about joining a forum so early. People are all joining for the first time with few preconceived notions of how things are supposed to operate. A truly blank slate that can be molded into whatever the community wishes it to be.

Back then, there was only one board to post on, what we now call Cavern Hole. Every topic that could be conceived of, from character discussions to forum games, introductions to general chat, all bumping elbows against each other. It's as though everyone there wanted nothing more than to simply hang out in this cool new space. Less than two weeks later, probably due to too many eager suggestions on my part, Redwall Abbey appointed me the position of Global Moderator. Within a few days, TaggerungOfRedwall and The Lady Shael were promoted as well. The three of us set out to lay the foundations of what you see as the forum today.

We started by making the Forum Games and Roleplay boards, both of which have been perpetual forum mainstays, followed by General Discussion, Suggestions and Concerns, the Birthday board, the Character and Lore boards, and Announcements. Less than two weeks after this, The Lady Shael was promoted to administrator, as Redwall Abbey had turned over the day-to-day operation of the forum to us. The first 2-4 weeks of the forum included multiple 6+ hours days for myself and my fellow staff. We brainstormed ideas, turned on various features like the calendar, and interacted with all the other members. Mostly, we talked about various changes or additions, trying to decide what worked and what didn't.

It was our intention (even if we didn't necessarily say so) to create a space that was a digital incarnation of Redwall itself. We stumbled on that goal any number of times over the years, but I think that we largely succeeded. I feel at home here. I want to be here. I know that there are lasting friendships that have been forged within these digital walls, and that makes me happy.

However, I believe my biggest contribution in those early days was the forum rules. I've probably mentioned this elsewhere, but for our newer members it bears repeating. I had been to several other forums back then. When we needed to establish rules here, I visited those other forums and made copies of their rules. I eliminated rules that were specific to those communities, merged rules that were similar or covered adjacent areas, and then added one or two things that felt like they were missing. For those of you who are interested, here are the original forum rules that the first staff agreed upon:

Spoiler

Official Redwall Abbey Forum Rules:

Rules Of Conduct:

1.  Respect everyone's opinion. Everyone has the right to have their opinion. If you don't agree with someone, then it's okay to say what your opinion is as long as you respect theirs.

2.  Do not post adult content or profanity, in any form. Redwall is enjoyed by many young readers, and we want to keep things clean for them. If you post something which we can't allow in this forum out of concern for our younger visitors, your post may be altered/removed without warning.

3.  Don't edit-out moderator edits. If a moderator has edited your post, do not change anything that the moderator has added/changed.

4.  Illegal activity or content is strictly prohibited.  This includes copyrighted works, piracy, adult content, and anything else of questionable legality.

5.  Destructive discussion is strictly prohibited.  This includes hacking information, wiki vandalism, and anything else of a destructive nature.

6.  "Flaming" or "trolling" a member is strictly prohibited.  If this happens to you, ignore the message and report it to a staff member.

7.  Do not register more then one account. This rule is subject to the discretion by staff members in a case-by-case manner.

8.  "SPAM" (stupid pointless annoying messages) is strongly discouraged. Do not follow links of spammers or spambots, and do not post in their topics. Just use the report button.

9.  Private Messages are to stay private.  The two exceptions to this rule are if all parties involved agree to release the information, or if the information violates any rule of conduct and requires reporting to a staff member.

10. Don't do back-seat moderating. If you see that someone has done something that you think is against the rules, please use the "Report to moderator"-button. Sometimes people can sound somewhat unfriendly when they tell others what not to do and sometimes they're wrong. A moderator will look into it and make a decision.

11. Administrators and Moderators always have the final word. When it comes to a conflict between 2 members, regardless their status, an admin or moderator always has the final word.

12. An Administrator can overrule a moderator. If a dispute becomes big, and a moderator says something, an admin can still overrule that if it is deemed necessary.


Rules Of Posting:

1.  Double posting (posting two times in a row in the same topic) is strongly discouraged in most cases.  If you wish to add information, edit your original post.  The exceptions to this rule are: if the topic starter wishes to add information which would go unnoticed with an edit, or if a topic had been unused for a long time, and you wish to revive it, then you may double post.

2.  Bumping topics is allowed in most sections, as long as you have something worthwhile to contribute to the discussion.

3.  Conversations in topics must maintain a natural flow.  Going off, even way off the original subject is allowed, as long as discussion of the original subject led you to that point.  "Way off" is defined as a conversation not loosely related to the original subject.

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As you can see, outside of some additions here and there, and a few minor tweaks, the rules have largely remained the same for the past decade. I believe that these rules are a part of what makes this forum special. They have endured for 10 years, across two websites, and yet they remain. They are a symbol (at least to me) that represents the spirit of Redwall; respect, privacy, and community. While I do not believe they are perfect, they have served us well for 10 years, and I hope they do so for another 10.

The first month or two of the forum also established a lot of the forum culture early on; death-defying beavers and HeadInAnotherGalaxy's highland lizard accent quickly come to mind. (Yes, HIAG originally spoke "normally", if you can believe it.) Some of our most popular forum games and Cellars topics had their beginnings way back then. Those initial seeds have grown into what makes our forum what it is today. Y'all can be crazy weird sometimes, but I don't think it would be the same forum without it. Keep it up!

As the months flew by, more staff members were added, lost, and added. The Lady Shael stepped down as admin and I was promoted in her place. The forum gained more specialized boards, like the Front Lawns for everyday conversation, and RP boards for events and tournaments. All of this growth and activity seemed like it would never end. Then, after four and a half years, in December 2015, the forum went down. We had experienced outages before, but this was unprecedented. Days turned into weeks with no sign of improving. James Gryphon  took it upon himself to prop up the community and established the Loamhedge Abbey Forum. Many forum members stumbled across Loamhedge and reunited with their friends. Sadly though, many members were lost and have never returned.

We spent just over two years at Loamhedge, waiting for something that might allow us to return home. The push we needed came in the form of the member now known as Luftwaffles. He has had a number of names over the years, but I will always remember him as ATaleOfSierra (or just Sierra for short). After several weeks of chatting on Discord, Sierra persuaded James and I to reestablish contact with the webmaster of RedwallAbbey.com and recover much of the lost forum. We spent hours working through plans and brainstorming ideas for how to make this all work. In the end, we were fortunate enough to recover the original forum, having only lost a few weeks worth of content (and at that point I doubt anyone remembered what was missing). With a few hiccups here and there, we returned home back in February 2017. Two months later, thanks to the incredibly hard work of James and Sierra, The Redwall Abbey Forum and Loamhedge Abbey Forum were merged into one, uniting into the Redwall Abbey Community Forum we now have.

Since then, members have come and gone, as life has a tendency to force upon us. James, Sierra, and I all retired as active staff. Believe it or not, administrating and moderating a forum is a lot of hard work! I can say though that the time I have spent here on the forum, both as a staff member and as a member, have been some of the most important years of my life. Whether it's the fun of the Cellars, the friendships of the Front Lawns, or the feeling of warmth of being wished Happy Birthday, every one of you is a valuable member of this community, and you are important to me. I may sometimes be a cranky ex-admin, but these digital walls have brought me some of the best moments of my 31 years on this planet. I would not be even remotely the same person I am now without this place, and for that I am truly grateful.

To all past. present, and future staff: This is a special place, so cherish it always. It is not perfect, but it I doubt you can find anywhere that is. Instead, strive for making this place better, one step at a time. Build it into that digital incarnation of the Abbey that the first staff strove for.

To all past members: You are greatly missed! Please come back through our gates and tell us of the journeys you have had and the places you have been. The gates here are always open!

To all current members: Please remember that this place is special. The world is hard enough as it is without us turning on ourselves. Strive for peace and prosperity within the community. We can only grow through your support and engagement!

To all future members: Welcome! This forum is near and dear to my heart, and I hope that it will be near and dear to you as well! Please, explore these halls and discover all sorts of buried secrets and adventures tucked away in hidden corners. The dust may be thick in some places, but uncovering the treasure underneath is always worth it. We want to get to know you, and we look forward to whatever you can add to the community (even if that's just your presence). Enjoy your stay!

And finally, from the bottom of my heart, I am grateful to each and every one of our members, both old and new, for their contributions in making the forum what it is today! I may have helped build these walls, but it is all of you have made it a home! Thank you! I look forward to the next 10 years and where they will take us to.

And with that, it is my honer and privilege to celebrate this, the Redwall Abbey Community Forum's 40th season and our ruby jubilee, and I Name this the Summer of Crimson Remembrances! May this season be a time for reflection on the past and a happy look towards the future!

REDWALL! REDWALL! REDWAAAAAALLLLLL!