Saru Posted February 24, 2011 #1 Share Posted February 24, 2011 (edited) On March 2nd 2011 it will have been exactly 10 years since Unexplained-Mysteries.com was founded, that's an entire decade of news stories, forum discussions and content from a community of members that has grown from a handful of people to one of the largest forum communities on the internet with over 90,000 members and almost 4 million posts. To celebrate our 10th anniversary we'll be holding a couple of special forum events during the next week and will be posting up a special look back feature about the site and its history on the front page on the anniversary date itself to give long term visitors a chance to take a trip down memory lane and newcomers to see how things have changed over the years. So to start things off we're giving you the chance to pose to myself and the UM staff any questions at all you'd like to ask about the site and forums in an open Q & A ( though keep them clean and sensible please ) - we'll be keeping tabs on this thread over the next week and will be dropping in to answer your questions when we can. On March 2nd the questions and answers will be compiled in to an article and posted up on the front page. So without further ado i shall let someone chip in here with the first question. Thank you. Update: The compiled write-up of the Q & A is now available to view - here. Edited March 2, 2011 by Saru Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.United_Nations Posted February 24, 2011 #2 Share Posted February 24, 2011 to Saru, What was the reason for you to make an unexplained-Mysteries site? and did you have an idea if it was going to be successful before you created this site? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drayno Posted February 24, 2011 #3 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Congratulations and good job, Saru. I am glad you made this site. I have had many good discussions here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~TheBigK~ Posted February 24, 2011 #4 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Wow, that's awesome. Looking forward to seeing the finished article and trip down memory lane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Serenity Posted February 24, 2011 #5 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Thank you, Saru for this awsome site! (I wouldn't know where to hang out without it.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saru Posted February 24, 2011 Author #6 Share Posted February 24, 2011 What was the reason for you to make an unexplained-Mysteries site? I think the biggest influence and the thing that got me interested in the unexplained originally was a magazine that arrived in the house when i was quite young, it was the first issue of a series called The Unexplained: Mysteries of Mind, Space and Time and i couldn't put it down, it kick-started a life long interest for me in unexplained phenomena and the paranormal. The site started when i got Microsoft Frontpage Express ( a free website editor that was released around 1997 ) and decided to try making something with it, the result was a primitive site called The Encyclopedia of the Unexplained which would eventually change its name then grow and evolve over the years in to the site as it is today. did you have an idea if it was going to be successful before you created this site? None at all but then i don't think anyone can truly predict how a new site is going to turn out - you just have to wait and see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckys_Mom Posted February 24, 2011 #7 Share Posted February 24, 2011 (edited) So without further ado i shall let someone chip in here with the first question. Thank you. Another quick question - When you began the site...when was it eventually become more established? ( meaning gaining more of a response) Did you also have to advertise your site to gain more member at the start...? Sorry thats 2 questions Edited February 24, 2011 by Beckys_Mom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saru Posted February 24, 2011 Author #8 Share Posted February 24, 2011 When you began the site...when was it eventually become more established? ( meaning gaining more of a response) I would say the site really took off following a redesign in 2003, that was when some of the more familiar elements were introduced such as the blue/grey colour scheme, formatted front page news stories and editorial contributions. Did you also have to advertise your site to gain more member at the start...? I did some link exchanges with other paranormal sites that were around at the time, joined a couple of web rings and submitted the site to all the search engines ( at the time the big ones were Yahoo, Lycos, Alta Vista, Infoseek etc. ) A lot of things have changed with regard to promoting a site since then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckys_Mom Posted February 24, 2011 #9 Share Posted February 24, 2011 I would say the site really took off following a redesign in 2003, that was when some of the more familiar elements were introduced such as the blue/grey colour scheme, formatted front page news stories and editorial contributions. I did some link exchanges with other paranormal sites that were around at the time, joined a couple of web rings and submitted the site to all the search engines ( at the time the big ones were Yahoo, Lycos, Alta Vista, Infoseek etc. ) A lot of things have changed with regard to promoting a site since then. Thanks Another --> Did you expect it to get as big as it is now? and Did you think it would have went on for 10 years? ( for I am sure it is a great feeling knowing something you have created took off and lasted so long) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kismit Posted February 24, 2011 #10 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Did you expect it to get as big as it is now? Did you think it would have went on for 10 years? ( for I am sure it is a great feeling knowing something you have created took off and lasted so long) I don't know about the Boss, he may of had some devine plan to make U.M. the bastion of knowledge it is Today, but originally I thought it was just a fun place to hang out and be a bit goofy. It just got really, really big. And I know back 10 years ago websites came and went over night. I think we've been really lucky to have grown the way we have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saru Posted February 24, 2011 Author #11 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Did you expect it to get as big as it is now? Did you think it would have went on for 10 years? As i was saying to Erix i don't think anyone could have predicted that the site would end up this size or that it would still be here ten years on, back in the beginning i was pleased just to see the daily hit counter increase by a dozen or so a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DNO Posted February 24, 2011 #12 Share Posted February 24, 2011 10 years! wow. I have to say that this is one of my favourite websites of all time. I know I don't post a lot on the forums but I check this website daily for news and articles. I have a couple of questions - What is your most memorable moment during the 10 years? Are you a skeptic of any topics that appear on UM? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistydawn Posted February 24, 2011 #13 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Ten whole years Saru, so my question is, are we having a Parteee??!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kismit Posted February 24, 2011 #14 Share Posted February 24, 2011 (edited) 10 years! wow. I have to say that this is one of my favourite websites of all time. I know I don't post a lot on the forums but I check this website daily for news and articles. I have a couple of questions - What is your most memorable moment during the 10 years? Are you a skeptic of any topics that appear on UM? Most memorable? Lots of them. Back in the begining when one of our members speculated dinosaur tasted like chicken, Erik beckjord and his craziness, and many many more. Also are we skeptical towards some topics. There are lots of Moderators all with different views, we are skeptical to some but Saru is very good at making sure we keep it proffessional. (Allthough I'm not really sure teenagers can shoot lightening bolts from their eyes) Edited February 24, 2011 by Kismit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drayno Posted February 24, 2011 #15 Share Posted February 24, 2011 (Allthough I'm not really sure teenagers can shoot lightening bolts from their eyes) You would be surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonathanVonErich Posted February 24, 2011 #16 Share Posted February 24, 2011 To anybody ( Saru, Mods ): What is the craziest Thread you have seen in the 10 years of U.M. ?? Are you aware if the Forum ever had any "Famous" members ?? ( Investigators, authors, Stanton Friedman ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saru Posted February 24, 2011 Author #17 Share Posted February 24, 2011 What is your most memorable moment during the 10 years? The time the site was used in a scene for the Lindsey Lohan movie "I know who killed me", in the scene she's on her computer looking for information about stigmata and she visits UM to find it. Ironically the film was panned by critics and was widely considered one of the worst films ever - not the greatest foray in to the world of cinema one could hope for. Another thing that sticks in my mind is when Google changed their home page doodle to a UFO that linked to a search page placing us as the top result. Over the space of a weekend we received so much traffic that the site was practically down the whole time, we thought it was a denial of service attack until we realised where it was all coming from. Are you a skeptic of any topics that appear on UM? Personally i'm skeptical about quite a lot of the topics on the forums but i think given the sheer range of subjects here i can't really cover them in one all encompassing response - i'm certainly convinced that there is a lot we don't yet know about the world. are we having a Parteee ? We can if someone fetches the drinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Commander Travis Posted February 24, 2011 #18 Share Posted February 24, 2011 To anybody ( Saru, Mods ): What is the craziest Thread you have seen in the 10 years of U.M. ?? Are you aware if the Forum ever had any "Famous" members ?? ( Investigators, authors, Stanton Friedman ) I know there's one or two well-known people in ufological circles who pop in from time to time. And having someone who actually worked on the Apollo program is rather somethign as well, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saru Posted February 24, 2011 Author #19 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Are you aware if the Forum ever had any "Famous" members ?? ( Investigators, authors, Stanton Friedman ) That's a difficult one, we've had a few well known UFO experiencers/abductees and people like that at various times. The late Jon-Erik Beckjord was a vocal member here a few years back now, Loren Coleman has also been here as a visitor however i don't believe he ever registered an account. We've had a lot of TV show producers looking for people to take part in shows about their paranormal experiences, representatives of Destination Truth and TAPS radio have also been here as we've had mentions on both shows. There are probably more i'm forgetting, someone else might be able to fill in the gaps on that one. What is the craziest Thread you have seen in the 10 years of U.M. ?? That's a really difficult question to answer, I think i'm going to have to come back to that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cloudshill Posted February 24, 2011 #20 Share Posted February 24, 2011 The time the site was used in a scene for the Lindsey Lohan movie "I know who killed me", in the scene she's on her computer looking for information about stigmata and she visits UM to find it. Ironically the film was panned by critics and was widely considered one of the worst films ever - not the greatest foray in to the world of cinema one could hope for. Another thing that sticks in my mind is when Google changed their home page doodle to a UFO that linked to a search page placing us as the top result. Over the space of a weekend we received so much traffic that the site was practically down the whole time, we thought it was a denial of service attack until we realised where it was all coming from. Personally i'm skeptical about quite a lot of the topics on the forums but i think given the sheer range of subjects here i can't really cover them in one all encompassing response - i'm certainly convinced that there is a lot we don't yet know about the world. We can if someone fetches the drinks. The Jam Jar Pub should reopen.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracket Posted February 24, 2011 #21 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Are you aware if the Forum ever had any "Famous" members ?? ( Investigators, authors, Stanton Friedman ) Well, i'm not a mod but i know that multiple Bram Stoker Award winner and Marvel Comics writer Jonathan Mabury made ONE post on this site, and i know that because it was in my zombie thread to "correct" me on a comment i made on one of the comics he wrote. I also know about all those awards and stuff because it said that in his signature. Question: Saru, what would you say is the BIGGEST change you've done to this site in 10 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Still Waters Posted February 24, 2011 #22 Share Posted February 24, 2011 The Jam Jar Pub should reopen.............. Hmmm....if we did that everyone would be in there and nobody would post anything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pandora7321 Posted February 24, 2011 #23 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Congratulations on 10 years! Thanks for making it! Question: What's the craziest reason you've ever had to ban someone or remove them from the site? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silver Thong Posted February 24, 2011 #24 Share Posted February 24, 2011 (edited) Oh the Jam Jar thread now that brings back some interesting memories lol mostly good Wouldn't be the same though. Hey Saru this might be a bit to private a question but does running a site like this make good money/so so money or stinkin rich money that will allow you to hatch a master plan to rule the world lol Edited February 24, 2011 by The Silver Thong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckys_Mom Posted February 24, 2011 #25 Share Posted February 24, 2011 (edited) Are you aware if the Forum ever had any "Famous" members ?? ( Investigators, authors, Stanton Friedman ) I know of an author ( of many books) that posts on UM on and off... he goess off on location and later returns. He uses UM for inspiration...I have spoken with him a number of times and read one of his manuscripts I also believe there are a few famous producers that use this site Edited February 24, 2011 by Beckys_Mom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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