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OCAU News |
Almost exactly 4 years ago today, I spent my lunch-hour wandering around the city trying to register a business name and an internet domain. As I recall it was an incredibly frustrating experience, with the offices I needed to get to having moved twice and ultimately leading me around in a big circle back almost to where I started from. However, I managed to register the domain and within a few days the website was online. That site became, over the last 4 years, the website you are reading now. I remember almost deciding that it wasn't to be, that there were too many obstacles being thrown between me and registering the domain on that day. If you had told me then, as I grumpily power-walked around the city, that in almost no time at all the website would host a major online community and in only a year or so I would be working full-time managing the site, I would have laughed (probably a bit breathlessly.) And maybe given you some loose change and tried to make you go away. But yet, here we are.
Yes, today is OCAU's fourth birthday. On July 17th 1999, overclockers.com.au was registered for the first time. Since then we've moved from my personal webspace at an ISP to a dedicated server and then to a more powerful dedicated server which even now is feeling the strain. We've gone from me whooping in disbelief at serving 2000 pages in a day, to me wondering what's wrong when we only serve 150,000.
This birthday will pass without too much fanfare, having snuck up on me a bit. We've already started bouncing ideas around for the next one, which as the 5th birthday will be a bit more prestigious. If you've got any ideas, feel free add them as a comment to this post. I do have a "History of OCAU" article on the way, which many of you have requested, going over some of the milestones and ups and downs of the past 4 years. I'm waiting until the end of this month when we have a proper month's worth of web statistics for comparison to complete that article.
Finally, a quick word of thanks to the various people who have made it possible over the years. Computer Alliance have been a Major Sponsor of OCAU for more than half its life, for which we're deeply grateful. Plus Corporation and Altech Computers have both been Major Sponsors for over a year now and their support has been vital to us. Many thanks also to the other current and historical sponsors and advertisers who have been a part of the site over the years. Big thanks of course to AusGamers and Comindico who provide the internet infrastructure that keeps OCAU alive.
Huge thanks to the Admins who keep things flowing smoothly, the newsmonkeys (past and present) who have kept us all entertained and the many people who have submitted articles or reviews sharing their experiences. There's no way that I alone could have even approached the level of organisation and contribution they provide.
Most importantly, because without whom there would be no point the site existing, my sincere thanks go to the many regulars and occasional visitors that grace OCAU with their presence. By that, I mean you! Nobody comes to OCAU and stays simply because I run it, or because we have a good server, or because our design is nice - they come here because of the size, and more importantly the quality, of the community. I have watched in quiet amazement as OCAU has become what it is today and it's thanks to all of you that we have our own little place on the net. Here's to many more years together. :)
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All original content copyright James Rolfe.
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