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Ten years, but the same format for the anniversary message. Random discussion, personal message, future forthcoming fun. Don't skip ahead, please. This took me a while.

There are a lot of people out there who don't understand all the things that go into creating a website. Among those, there are even fewer who actually care, I'm sure. But for lack of a better topic, I'm going to give you a little taste of all the pieces and how they fit together. It's more relevant than you think, since the site is today celebrating a barely-precedented tenth birthday, and I think it's important for all of you to know just how we roll here. Plus it's good for my ego.

I've been a part of a lot of sites over the years, both epic and minute in scale. But the principles in play to make a good one are the same regardless of the size. You have to have someone in place to design the thing in a way that looks good and draws the user in. A good design is just designed enough to be fancy without making the site hard to use. Even more important than that is the content, of course, regardless of what some people might try to tell you. Trust me, those that say that presentation is better than content are those who have lousy content. To have meaningful content, you need to bring something to the table that's both relevant to your audience and is somehow different than what everyone else has. Kids, note that, it's why nobody reads your blogs.

Now, if you want to have a moderately successful site, you can stop there. Nobody would blame you - bringing those two things together alone is quite a feat. But you can keep going. You can market the site, to really give those users who show up something to tell their friends about and to keep them all coming back. You can make the site interactive, so it's not just people showing up to read; give them something to really wrap their hands around. You can begin to focus on refinement, not just creation. You'll learn terms like information architechture, the art of designing your content so it's neatly organized and webbed together in a way that makes it easy for your users to access everything. You'll figure out how to analyze metrics to make sure people are seeing what you want them to, and also that you're giving them the new things that they come to your site to find. And, you learn that from time to time you might have to just burn the whole thing down and build it back up from scratch.

This is relevant because, for the last ten years, we here at the Caves of Narshe have been trying like mad to do all these things in an effort to bring the best Final Fantasy content possible straight to you. Ten years ago, it was just me, sitting at a Pentium-60 with a thousand-page HTML book, and CoN was nothing more than something for me to learn a new hobby. Five years ago, it was a handful of us, most of whom are still here, rushing like crazy folk to get Caves of Narshe version 5.0, the look and feel that you'll now know as "Persona," online. And now, it's a thriving group of people dedicated not only to gaming and Final Fantasy, but also to bringing the love of the most classic Final Fantasy games to the masses. We haven't all been doing it for a decade (though, some days it feels like it, right, guys?), but we are still here because we do it better. All of it.

I think I thank you all pretty... much... every... year, but can you ever get enough of it? I have a lot to thank you for, really. You guys are the ones that come to the site and post at the forums, and come to chat, and generally appreciate the work that we all do for you here. That alone is a lot of the reason that we keep doing this. You guys are the ones that shop at AmaCoN, and every little thing that you guys buy helps pay the bills a little bit. Those of you who talk to me often know I'm cheap, so all those little purchases keep me motivated too! And some of you guys, well, you're the ones that tick me off and incur my wrath. And, in your own little irritating way, by God you all keep me around and active too. So this year I want to thank absolutely everyone. Not just our oldest members, not just our newest members, not just my staff, but everyone who reads this. That includes you, GoogleBot. It's really a lot more personal than I think it's easy to say, but I'm going to try. Ten years ago, I had no idea that a collection of webpages was going to become a career. I was just killing time one summer, the kind of time you have to kill when you live in the middle of nowhere. Since that day ten years ago, caves and mines and holes in the ground have followed me everywhere. The site went with me to University. The site was there when I got engaged, and later married. The site followed behind when I moved halfway across the country. The Caves got me my first web job, and that was a bare three years ago. I daresay the site will be with me forever—even if one day it does not exist on the web, the education it provided and the people it brought to me will.

The lessons I learned in creating and refining this site also got me my current job, and I don't think anyone who knows me or my line of work would doubt that I've come to benefit significantly from that little turn of events. Take that full circle: I have a fulfilling and happy life, old-man grousing notwithstanding, and a major reason why is because I've been here at CoN for ten years.

I don't expect that you folks out there have had this sort of life-changing experience due to any website, let alone our humble little nook of the internets here. But hey, maybe you should stick around. Post at the forums. Chat with us about random things. Maybe you even want to help out at the site a little, who can say? Maybe in a few years you'll have the same depth of love for this site and what it means that I do. Or maybe you will go out on your own, and start checking out all that gibberish I wrote about a few paragraphs back. If you do, drop me a line ten years down the road. Let me know how it works out for you, and I'll be proud to know I played a small part, just as I hope you all are proud of the parts you have all played here over the years.

So, that's it. Ten years, complete and in the books. And the ledger says that on balance, a fine profit was had by all. But we're clearly not done yet. You'll notice today that our wizard Tiddles has just finished refreshing all the skins for the site and the forums, giving everything a fresh and time-consuming coat of paint. Of course, we've got the CoNtests running, and we plan to have more coming soon as well. The future, in fact the quite-near future, holds even more! We promise that even though it's now been ten years, we will keep you posted on the new stuff if you keep coming to check it out. At Caves of Narshe, we may no longer be just starting, but we're a long way from finishing.

This post has been edited by Rangers51 on 1st August 2007 00:44

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

Happy Birthday, CoN! (First to post, wow!)

I like the new and improved "Persona". It's nifty.

I love the site for all the work that has been put in it and for you people and for the laughs and moral support and art and stuff.

I love Climmy, the Sock-Monster and the Ninja-Pirates

I hope CoN will stay forever

Once again: Happy Birthday!

Edit

Will there be an update in the History section due to the anniversary?

This post has been edited by SilverMaduin on 31st July 2007 11:52

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"I fell off the mountain of words at around the 10,000ft mark. Tell my family...they owe me money." -Narratorway

"If you retort against this, so help me God I'll shove any part of your anatomy I can find into some other part. Figuratively, of course." - Josh

"We have more, can deliver tuesday." - Del S

Good old CoN

Happy Birthday, Caves of Narshe, and keep up the good work, for I'm going to stay here, who knows, maybe for the next ten years? ;)

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You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one...

Happy Birthday, CoN! Here's to another 10 years.

Dayum. Happy birthday, and keep up the good work everybody.

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"We're not tools of the government or anyone else. Fighting... fighting was the only thing I was ever good at, but at least I always fought for what I believed in." - Frank Yeager (a.k.a. Grey Fox)

10 years is indeed a long time for a website to stay around. I can't think of many that could say the same. Congratulations.

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I had an old signature. Now I've changed it.

Ten years, and we still haven't junked ourselves up with FFVIII.

Go, us!

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Veni, vidi, dormivi.

Happy birthday con. The new text kinda is annoying, and im going to miss some of the old avatars(like tiddles, i love yoshis) But change is good. Ten years and still running is good though. I also like the new rankings, do you have a new list of that?

Happy Birthday

This post has been edited by yomama on 31st July 2007 14:33

Happy 10th to CoN.

Very touching. I'm certainly glad CoN is around. This is the first forum I've ever joined and its the only one I've really had any interest in participating in. I'd very much like to see this place still be around 10 years from now.

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-- You're Gonna Carry That Weight --

Now how did we actually make it this far?

Damn, we're good.

Happy 10th.

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I find your lack of faith disturbing...

Happy 10th Birthday CoN! Come to think of it, this website is almost as old as me. But not quite. =D

Quote (yomama @ 31st July 2007 10:32)

I also like the new rankings, do you have a new list of that?

Sure, same place the old one was at: http://www.cavesofnarshe.com/forums/ipb/in...&CODE=01&HID=17

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

Happy `10th, CoN. If I've got something to brag about, I'm straight here. If some wench has cut my hair REALLY BADLY, like today, I'm straight here to moan about it. What I'm saying is, over the course of the three years I've been here, I've forgotten what I did without CoN. I have, however, gained some great friends. Thanks, Josh.

Tomorrow night, when I'm clubbing, I will be clubbing for CoN. If I kiss a girl, I will be kissing CoN. If I end up puking from drinking too much, I will be vomiting into CoN's porcelain bowl of love.

This post has been edited by Mimic on 31st July 2007 16:42

Happy 10th Birthday CoN!

The new moogle picture is really cute.

Happy birthday to CoN indeed, and I wish err it? you? a good one!

Oh, and is the "list option" new, or was I just too blind to see it?

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Kel'Thuzad: She is persistent. Reminds me of you, death knight.

Arthas:Shut up you damned ghost.

-Warcraft III Kel'thuzad comparing Arthas and Sylvanas Windrunner.

Happy 10th anniversary, CoN! I've only been here for 3 years, but I feel like I've known everyone here and have accustomed to talking to most them. Sure there are people here I don't like or just can't stand, but this is a very special day.

So I say thanks to everyone who contributed a bunch of information for various of the games this site covers to help me remember what to do in a game I haven't played for ages (like FFT or FF7). And a very special big thanks to Rangers51, Tiddles, and Nealio for all their hard work and effort put in, maintaining this as one of the best Final Fantasy database ever.

Who knows what will happen to the future? Maybe we'll finally see more Square games that don't necessarily need "Final Fantasy" in the title to belong in the Caves of Narshe. I'd die for Chrono Trigger coverage, because it's definitely an old school game worth adding to any RPG fansite.

I also like the new skin. I had the link to the "test" a few weeks ago, so I'm not as surprised as most of the members just realizing that here. But it does look pretty nice how it randomly shows a character art anytime you click on a link or thread in this message board.

Anyways, keep it up you guys. This is a really great place for FF and RPG fans to hang out.

Quote (NeoEx-Death @ 31st July 2007 13:23)

I had the link to the "test" a few weeks ago, so I'm not as surprised as most of the members just realizing that here.

Don't brag, you only got it because I screwed up.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

Your message got me all choked up, chief .

10 years, and you haven't flown off the handle and murdered Soup yet? Or at least Tom? Congratulations!

Edit

Eff you, Tom. Zh totally has the best Avatar.

This post has been edited by MogMaster on 6th August 2007 05:54

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If you've been mod-o-fied,
It's an illusion, and you're in-between.
Don't you be tarot-fied,
It's just alot of nothing, so what can it mean?
~Frank Zappa

Sins exist only for people who are on the Way or approaching the Way

Yays. Josh would not dare to murder me, btw.

Also, I picked the cooelst avatar in the staff forum.

This post has been edited by FraudulentTommah on 31st July 2007 19:46

I like how the boss man's celebrating with the disco flan . The other staff avatars are cool, too, though.

Happy 10th Birthday, CoN!

Edit

Disciplinary Committee Member? What's up with that one?

This post has been edited by Galsic on 31st July 2007 19:55

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Console RPG Cliches

The new skin is very easy on the eyes. All this nice new artwork...

Happy Tenth, CoN!

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OSonic Rave
/ \Last Arcanum
[ ]Strike Raid
XRagnarok

I've been around for 7 of the 10 years. Cripes, I feel old.

At any rate, an entire decade is certainly an achievement to be proud of. You rarely see amateur sites last that long. Hell, amateur sites are more likely to last 10 days before 10 years. But this place continues to grow and get better as the years go by. I love this place.

Huzzah's all around!

(It's going to take me awhile to get used to my first non-eponymous avatar. weeeeeird).

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"When I turn the page
The corner bends into the perfect dog ear
As if the words knew I'd need them again
But at the time, I didn't see it."

~"This Ain't a Surfin' Movie" - Minus the Bear

Yay! Nice speech, very nice. I'm glad that this site has been so beneficial to you, I never would have guessed you had gained quite that much from your endeavors here. I for one am proud to be a member of this forum, so I can only guess how your staff members feel at this point in time. I hope they have gained a lot of important experience as well.

For the record, the new look of the site is better than ever, so congratulations to everyone involved in that.

Quote

I love Climmy, the Sock-Monster and the Ninja-Pirates   

Yaaargh, I'm with ye there matey. I'm with ye there...
I hope the next ten years for Con are better than ever.

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'Let that be a lesson to all oppressive vegetable sellers.'

I gotta say, I'm impressed the site has come this far. I never expected when I signed up in '01 that this site would become such an active part of my daily routine, that I'd stick around this long, or hell, that I'd actually make friends here. Especially the way I am, yikes. All in all, I don't know what I'd do with most of my free time if it wasn't for the Caves of Narshe.

I say it every year when these posts come up, but thanks again, Josh and Staff.

Happy 10th Birthday, CoN.

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Okay, but there was a goat!

Woooooooooooooooow! I've no idea... i didn't buy anything. What a shame... anyway:
Happy 10 years... i wish to be here the next 7295 days for the 20th anyversary!!!!!


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I'm the shadow in the night, I'm the wind that blows in your back, I'm the darkness... More dark than the night, more blak than the darkness, more red tha the blood that flows in the river of chaos and time... I'm the fabulous As15

Ahhh...I came here just now and my first thought was: "Oh no! There's something wrong with the site!" Then I looked more closely, the images finished loading, and I realized it looks much better.

I hope this place stays around for another 10, 20, or even 30 years. Then we can start a thread celebrating the 50th anniversary of Final Fantasy.

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Status:
FF6 -- Finished! Yeah!
FF7 -- Finished (easily, and without KOtR)
FF8 -- End of Disc 3
Secret of Evermore--Leveling up for Salabog

"Go sit over there. Put your seatbelt on."--Squall

Aw yeah. Go CoN!

I love the new stylesheet; the new font seems much cleaner (though a bit big; doesn't seem to be resizable...) and the new look the site has been given feels even better than the old one did; that's saying something right there. The mod avatars are teh sexeh, too.

What lies in store for CoN in the future? The ability for us regular members to use custom avatars? Coverage for non-FF games? A CoN MMORPG? CoN has come quite a long way; let's hope it has an even longer way to go before the giant penguin army takes over the internet and shuts everything down!

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"Judge not a man by his thoughts and words, but by
the quality and quantity of liquor in his possession
and the likelyhood of him sharing."

Quote (FraudulentTommah @ 31st July 2007 14:46)

Also, I picked the cooelst avatar in the staff forum.

Yeah you did.

Happy Xth, CoN!.

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"You know that feeling you get when you're on a merry go 'round, and you want to jump off to make the spinning stop, but you know it'll suck when you land? I feel like that all the time"- Keno

"I stab my girl until I fall down"
-Yukari
Do you like Horny Bunnies?

Quote (FraudulentTommah @ 31st July 2007 15:46)

Also, I picked the cooelst avatar in the staff forum.

Ahem. My gigantic metal face begs to differ. I'll bring the pain all over Lunar Dragon any time, any day.

That being said, Happy 10th Birthday, CoN! And thanks for R51 for keeping this place running as smoothly as ever; that's not easy, boss.

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Is PJ

Quote

Ten years, and we still haven't junked ourselves up with FFVIII.

Hear hear!

Seeing as i've only been around two and a bit years, I did miss a lot of the important changes in CoN. Reading the History makes that clear enough. Getting to ten years is a major achievement, especially after what it's been through. Still, it's expanded tenfold since it's birth (hehe), and I would like to congratulate the staff for maintaining such an awesome site.

Oh, and the new layout/stylesheet?/whatever is pretty damn sweet. Yet I'm glad we're still given the option to revert to the "Classic" CoN5. I may be missing the Terra at the top of the screen, despite the (running out of adjectives here) awesomeness of the art. It'll take some while to get used to it, but everything is <insert adjective here>!!!

...What? I'm tired, leave me alone. Fine, I'll edit when I can think of more.

Quote

i wish to be here the next 7295 days for the 20th anyversary!!!!!

FYI 10 years - 3652-3653 days. I just halved the time you needed to wait to celebrate CoN! (Though I'm sure we don't need a reason. )

Quote (Caesar)

Quote (FraudulentTommah @ 31st July 2007 15:46)

Also, I picked the cooelst avatar in the staff forum.

Ahem. My gigantic metal face begs to differ. I'll bring the pain all over Lunar Dragon any time, any day.

*Sigh* I sense a poll.

Happy 10th, CoN!