Hi: Okay, going out on a limb here; I am not here to piss anyone off; not here to rock any boats, but this thread being here and all; brought back some recollections,...some not so good...some very nice...I will attempt to concentrate on the "nice"...because all those others really are inconsequencial...really...;-) It is obvious there are loads of folks that don't know the past herabouts, perhaps tis a good thing, it leaves room for as much "mystery" as it does for "contraversy", and both these elements make any setting a more "exciting" escapade..and in this case..an ever thriving community ;-) I joined tis place then called PoserForum probably around 1998...(or was it 1999),...not really certain now...I know it was June...I can still recall only because I remember posting my first "bad"...poorly done images on around a June 24...amazing how far we come along with these programs, but all there was back then, (when we talk about Poser), was Poser 3...hehe..and hey, it pretty well started up all this fascination...I think Poser 3 happened to nourish very much "growth" in digital interest...really...I can still remember the euphoria hereabouts at the initial onset of Poser 4...the excitement was much as it is now with the knowledge of Poser 5 not all that "hopefully" far around the timely bend... I didn't know much about this place back then...but something happened....something I would eventually find out much more about at a later time when I too would become a part of this "thriving" community at a much later time...but an internal part...where one can not only see...but "feel" the pulsating of sheer augmentation of this membership base... When I first joined...this place was very interesting...very compelling but still quite small...a silent war broke out that escalated...I knew not much about it then...but "most" people did manage to split away...someone above mentions that Renderosity/PoserForum really began to grow after this split...not at all..I beg to differ...if anything, Renderosity/PoserForum may well have been in its' death throws...the place seemed very placid...quiet...one could almost hear the internet wind breeze through the forum corridors upon browsing here...many fine people were very much confused back then because they were indeed torn between two forums...one seemed to have personality...the other seemed to have user friendliness and familiarity...I can still recall some extremely loooooong threads here that were rather contraversal which I will not go into now..."inconsequencial"...history best left as silent history...time passed...something happened...new faces appeared...and I think most members, especially the older ones like me, do know what happened... Jack and Ed and company...as much as they're riegn here, (if one actually would use that term because it really is NOT correct),....as much as there is contraversy far too many times regarding this forum era...both negative and positive...I will tell you something that is TRUE...and positive...this forum...this place called Renderosity...although it was always a "forum"...it was NEVER a "community" until this particular "legacy" traversed... Many people relate Jack and Ed and company with much...like the onset of commercialism...the C&D shinanegans...Renderotica...countless other twas tis and that's....so??...as much as there may have been many of these..."THESE" were as much as what MADE this place not just "thrive"...but "THRIVE"...grow...they were able to plant a seed that was pure magic...like a giant beanstalk it flourished...hey..I know..I was a part of that, and hey...I happen to be PROUD...so...sue me ;-) This beanstalk may well have also found a great giant at the top that needed to be pacified...call him part of that "growing pains" that goes with all things that flourish uncontrollably...but...hey...you know what??...it also found the goose that layed a golden egg...and it keeps on laying...and laying and laying...it also found something else...the meaning of "community family"...which has not only floursished here but spawned others also, like 3D Commune...etc...the mere inklings of "just forums"...which there are still many, many of on the big naked net...became much...much MORE...they became a "substance and value" we all enjoy being a part of...or we would not be a part of these "communities"...or not nearly so MUCH a part... Not so bad....when you put it all in a nutshell...;-) I think this is where I will stop...hey...told ya it wasn't gonna be bad...I am not here to rock no boat...just a gentle reminder....a "touch base" kinda deal... Cheers all! Peter