The 4042.com Discussion Group: A Little History

Welcome to the third generation of the 4042.com Discussion Group. If you are new to this forum, here's how we got to this point:

1. 4042.com opened it's home page on April 11th, 2000. At that time it did not have any type of discussion forum. Why? Well, actually we thought that feature wouldn't be used that much. (We stand corrected!)

2. In the first few months of operation, we received a constant flow of e-mail from 4042.com visitors. There was a lot happening locally (as there is now) and it became obvious that an online forum would provide a good outlet for local discussion and sharing of information.

3. The original software used to handle the 4042.com Discussion Group was the tried and true WWWboard. Not many features, but it was fast and easy to post a message. And, there was no requirement to register before posting a message. This led to a quick adoption of the forum by visitors.

4. The Discussion Group has been a gathering point ever since, and if it's happening locally, you'll likely find it being talked about here! Rarely did a day go by without new postings. During especially busy times, over 100 messages have been posted in a single day!

5. We've had many requests for changes to the Discussion Group as it has grown over the years. After spending some time reviewing the possible alternatives for a "new and improved" Discussion Group, we finally decided on the phpBB.

6. With the new system, we now can offer many requested features, as well as opening a new "registered only" section.

7. phpBB served us well for a couple years, but was becoming a security problem. Again after reviewing many possibilities, on 12/29/06 phpBB was upgraded and we are now using vBulletin to power the 4042.com Discussion Forums. The new software adds a great deal more security and many, many new features.

Our thanks to all those who have visited 4042.com and participated in the online discussions. When we made the switch, the original Discussion Group had logged over 30,000 messages - we look forward to what you have to say next!