Like
Joe,
I've
been
here
since
the
beginning.
It
was
actually
a
funny
start.
I
was
sitting
on
my
computer
and
got
an
ICQ
from
some
guy
named
Phoenix.
I'd
never
seen
him
before
and
it
was
amusing
to
get
a
random
ICQ.
The
first
thing
he
said
to
me
was,
"I
saw
your
name,
are
you
a
Wheel
of
Time
fan?"
To
which
my
answer
was,
"Duh.
What
do
you
think?
My
parents
got
me
the
first
three
books
for
christmas
a
couple
years
ago."
"Well,
I'm
starting
a
fan
website
for
the
series
and
need
to
find
some
org
leaders.
Would
you
be
interested?"
"Sure...
sounds
like
fun.
Where
are
you
hosting
it?"
"Right
now,
I'm
just
gonna
put
it
up
on
Angelfire.
I
don't
have
anyplace
else
right
now."
"Well,
I
do
web
hosting.
I
have
a
small
company
and
only
a
couple
clients.
I'll
host
you
for
free
if
you
give
us
credit
on
the
site."
"That
sounds
great!
I'll
get
back
to
you
when
I
have
some
more
people."
Thus
began
the
happy
association
of
Dragonmount
with
Neon
Knights.
Well,
Neon
Knights
ran
into
some
trouble...
it
happens
with
hosting
companies...
our
clients
sorta
went
out
of
business...
but
through
it
all,
we've
managed
to
keep
Dragonmount
running.
Of
course,
there
were
some
bumps
along
the
way
*cough*the
breaking*cough*
but
we've
managed.
Way
back
then,
Dragonmount
was
lucky
to
have
more
than
a
couple
dozen
members....
and
we
didn't
have
much.
We
custom
wrote
a
message
board
application
and
used
as
much
of
the
"easy
to
use
FrontPage
components"
as
we
could.
Of
course,
unix
machines
don't
really
like
FrontPage.
I
think
it
is
an
unspoken
boycot
against
Microsoft.
But
I
digress.
:)
My
reasons
for
being
here.
At
first...
it
was
because
I
was
curious...
then
my
business
sense
kicked
in
and
it
was
because
I
could
build
some
brand
recognition
for
Neon
Knights...
but
as
Neon
Knights
stagnated,
I
developed
a
love
Dragonmount.
I
grew
to
know
my
Asha'man
(all
25
of
them)
and
watched
them
grow.
Worked
with
them
to
build
the
foundation
for
the
Black
Tower,
which
at
it's
core
hasn't
changed
since
I
founded
it.
(Yes,
having
to
get
people
to
nominate
you
for
promotions
can
suck,
but
it
helped
force
you
to
not
only
be
active,
but
to
make
friends
along
the
way)
I
got
to
know
Jason
err...
Phoenix
and
the
others
who
dedicated
their
time
(right
mommy?).
Made
some
good
friends,
many
of
whom
either
either
still
at
Dragonmount
or
still
write
me.
A
few
who,
through
no
fault
of
their
own,
lost
their
lives.
One
to
sickness,
one
during
surgery
and
one
in
an
accident.
I
watched
a
community
of
friends
build...
especially
when
unfortunate
things
happened.
I
helped
to
enhance
that
community
by
bringing
new
ways
of
interacting...
the
different
iterations
of
chat
(web
based,
irc,
java),
the
message
boards,
the
Online
CCG.
I
laughed
as
people
begged
for
features
that
I
knew
I
couldn't
create
with
my
programming
knowledge
or
available
resources
(individual
message
notification...
updatable
personal
icons).
I
grew
unhappy
and
depressed
when
I
saw
dissention
and
distrust
amoung
the
people
I
called
friends...
when
I
realized
that
things
I
had
worked
hard
to
build
were
falling
apart.
I
became
frustrated
when
others
schemed
to
do
things
I
knew
were
wrong
or
tried
to
push
for
things
different
than
the
ideals
that
Dragonmount
was
created
on.
It
is
because
of
this
love
that
I
am
here...
that
caused
this
dedication...
that
prompted
me
to
make
sacrifices
in
my
personal
and
profesional
lives
to
ensure
Dragonmount
would
survive.
It
was
this
love
that
prompted
me
to
do
anything
and
everything
I
could
to
make
people
happy
and
let
them
enjoy
their
time.
It
is
also
this
love
that
caused
me
to
have
a
breakdown
at
the
thought
of
loosing
Dragonmount
because
of
harassment...
and
to
overreact
to
the
comments
made
by
a
few.
It
is
also
my
love
for
Dragonmount
that
is
pulling
me
away....
for
I
can
not
stay
at
Dragonmount
and
grow
to
hate
something
that
I've
dedicated
so
much
time
and
energy
to.
Hopefully
in
time,
I
will
be
able
to
set
aside
the
things
that
built
up
to
the
point
they
are
at.
I
pray
that
I
will
be
able
to
come
back
to
Dragonmount
and
still
be
welcome....
and
I
hope
that
those
who
dislike
me
for
things
I
have
done
or
said
will
forgive
me
because
the
things
I've
said
and
done
were
always
done
in
what
I
thought
were
the
best
intrests
of
Dragonmount.
-Robert
Colbert
aka
Mazrim
Taim M'Hael
of
the
Black
Tower Lead
Programmer
and
Admin
of
Dragonmount.com
|