AfterDawn: News

AfterDawn.com's 7th birthday

Wow. Yet another year has passed and our website is now officially seven years old. In the world where thousands of websites get launched each week and thousands of sites fold as well, it seems like an eternity. But man, it has been fun seven years..

During the last seven years, pretty much everything that relates to our site's ancient history, the original idea behind the site, etc has been told, analyzed and discussed, so lets not get into that this time. Instead, looking back the year that has passed, I can say that it has been one of the most turbulent years during our site's existance.



Obviously, the fact that Finland adopted the EUCD legislation and the change forced us to remove huge amount of content from our site was the worst part of our sixth year. On good side of things, we have been extremely lucky finding good people to expand our excellent admin team -- Kata, Siggy, DaveDough, Lethal_B, Agent_007 and Juha have all made our team stronger and I'm sure that with team like that we can expect bright future for sites.

Despite the new legislation hitting our site badly (traffic slumped about 30 percent from December to February), our annual traffic has still managed to grow nicely, with the help of new content and new site sections. We have several improvements and new site areas coming up and we're confident that our site will be among top multimedia sites in the world also in the future.

I would like to thank all of my fellow admins, our excellent team of forum moderators and of course, all of our users, for making this site one of the top digital multimedia sites in the world.

Now, our Finnish team members will practice the habit that foreigners call "binge drinking" and we just call "having a good time"..

On behalf of AfterDawn Ltd,

-Petteri Pyyny, webmaster

Written by: Petteri Pyyny @ 9 Jun 2006 23:22

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• 64 comments

• kaosX

  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! damn... 7 years oold... only another 14 years and you can get drunk!
  
  well.. maybe another 9, but 14 legally.
  
  great site... seriously.. congrats.

  10.6.2006 00:11 #1

• rav009

  Unbelievable, seven whole years, an excelent achievement for any site, happy birthday AfterDawn & I hope that there's still plenty more happy years to go!!
  
  

  10.6.2006 00:40 #2

• Mik3h

  Great, Happy Birthday Afterdawn. Hope to stay with you in the years to come.
  
  -Mike

  10.6.2006 00:46 #3

• jimmymac

  Happy Birthday & Many more of them I Hope.
  
  I 'found' this site a couple of years ago when I was having trouble learning to make 'backups'. I've stayed with you all since then.
  
  And, find your site as useful as ever.
  
  Long may you continue - hopefully into a ripe old age.

  10.6.2006 01:41 #4

• Altercuno

  Well done Ad and thanks to everybody for all the help and for making this site the success it is. Congrats!

  10.6.2006 02:18 #5

• Rikoshay

  Congrats aD.

  10.6.2006 02:27 #6

• borhan9

  Happy Bday :D

  10.6.2006 02:45 #7

• Lethal_B

  Happy Birthday aD! :-)

  10.6.2006 02:47 #8

• damo_red

  WOW. haooy birthday, this site rules.

  10.6.2006 02:52 #9

• coleken3

  Happy B-Day AD. May another 7 years be as strong as the first. Keep it up. Site rocks

  10.6.2006 03:08 #10

• little155

  Happy Brithday AD. Hope to seeing you have many more. Congrads to all the new staff members.

  10.6.2006 03:28 #11

• HALTRON

  Happy Birthday !!!

  10.6.2006 04:55 #12

• SOCOMII

  Happy Birthday AfterDawn:)
  

  10.6.2006 05:08 #13

• Dela

  It sure has been an interesting year. In 2005/2006 we've seen it all really, good times, bad times, downright shitty times etc. The last few months have been the best for me though as I now have two guys working with me solely on the english site, lethal and dave :-) Both are very decent and intelligent guys and we've been discussing some interesting possibilities for what we'll do for the next year. Let me introduce everyone a little bit...
  
  Lethal I have known for a while and I even recommended him in some of the articles I had written before for people seeking help with iPods and other geeky devices ;-) Having him added to the team was fantastic. Dave I didn't know, but this guy just showed up and surprised me - how could a guy this cool be hanging out on the forum so long without me noticing him before? A real genuine gentleman :-)
  
  Also the other new additions to the team Siggy, Kata, Agent_007 and Juha have been great. Siggy also contributes to the english site, he writes most of the console and gaming news that you read as he adds them to blasteroids.com. Juha is an invaluable addition to help dRD out with the real nitty gritty afterdawn-backbone stuff ;-) Agent_007 has teamed up with my good friend Ankle to keep the Finnish section of the site up to date, also a very nice guy.
  
  Kata is a godsend, she's building all the bridges in the background to help the entire team function at optimal performance, she's going to make life a whole lot easier for the rest of us and she's a real sweetheart too :-)
  
  So that brings me back to the original oldies of the site that you all know. dRD, the most known man at AfterDawn, the beast of a man who's known to lure in the dark shadows at night and just jump out and grab a target, jump back into the shadows and thaty man will never be seen on the streets of AfterDawn again - and also the man who can write one post and change the opinions of thousands of people (come on, you've all read a rant from dRD that gave you a whole different perspective on things lol) in a few short words. I like to think of dRD as the "Godfather" of AfterDawn, even if you don't see him around much, he's basically behind everything here ;-)
  
  Then there's Mr. Ketola, possibly the man with the most patience of any man in the world, sometimes I think of this guy as a monk.... he just always seems to be calm about things going on but there is that breaking point and when its crossed, you better get off the path ;-) Nahhhhhh, he's a real nice guy too and very easy to work with :-) As for Teemu, well teemu has a gift, you see the rest of us can write the content, the code or take care of the tech issues, but teemu makes it all look goooooooood :-) Such a cool guy and probably the only finn i know who likes football.
  
  Two more guys that make this place work are waiski and krimu, both software guys. Waiski is fun to joke around with and it seems that no matter what time i try to contact him I can always get ahold of him (do you ever sleep?). Krimu is an easy going guy that makes this place feel a little sweeter :P I also enjoyed working with Ljpp of bitburners.com (formerly cd-rw.org) and Jake.
  
  Now on to the folk that have the hardest job at afterdawn imagineable, the moderators. You all know them. The voluntary work they do here helps to keep the place under control, but there is a lot of pressure that goes along with the moderating task and as the site grows i can't imagine how bad it must have gotten. Some of the regular members around when I first joined are still part of the mod team now, like Darthnip, Loaded, Kligy (seriously the most entertaining man I've met here, it's great to see his comments on our news ;-) and then some guys I met later on like Neph, the guy who seems to be able to take on the entire forum single handedly at times. The guy has cleaned up so much shit on AfterDawn to date I still can't believe it :-)
  
  And then there's the AfterDawn backbone, the users - without you, the rest of us would have nothing to do ;-) Thanks for sticking around and making this site what is and I hope you are enjoying it :-) Also I can not forget about our IRC channel, irc.stormchat.org #ad_buddies - running for a few years now, you'll find a lot of familiar aD nicks there.
  
  Happy Birthday AfterDawn..... now lets all get drunk ;-)

  10.6.2006 05:45 #14

• gurnard

  hi :)
  can't help it, gotta shout
  
  HAPPY BIRTHDAY AFTERDAWN

  10.6.2006 05:59 #15

• gogochar

  As Frosty the Snowman would say, "Happy Birthday" Afterdawn.

  10.6.2006 06:12 #16

• nitrous3

  Happy Birthday Afterdawn!

  10.6.2006 06:16 #17

• NINVIN21

  I like the cake with the 7 candles, I seen it last nite but this thread was not here, so now thats its here I can say Happy B-day again,
  So Happy B-day! I still have 5 more days till my B-day.
  
  well I dont no what else to say this is the best site on the web I cant stop learning.
  Thank you afterdawn, and every one that makes afterdawn what it is.

  10.6.2006 06:23 #18

• theend757

  Happy Birthday Afterdawn yahoo!

  10.6.2006 06:28 #19

• Kevinhhh

  Happy Birthday!!!!! Boo-Yah!

  10.6.2006 07:06 #20

• KillMan

  Hey guys, happy B-day, just wanted to say hey, and I appreciate the service you provide for us! Keep up the great work!

  10.6.2006 07:27 #21

• DVDBack23

  happy birthday ;)

  10.6.2006 07:31 #22

• iruzer

  Happy birthday

  10.6.2006 07:36 #23

• paul1085

  Happy Birthday and all the good luck for next year, even though I'v only known about this site for around 5 months it feels like an eternity.
  
  Keep up the good work!!

  10.6.2006 07:48 #24

• coolGray

  This site is tottaly awsome and has given me much knowledge. Haooy Birthday afterdawn.
  
  CG

  10.6.2006 07:52 #25

• caffeine_

  yyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaa!

  10.6.2006 08:53 #26

• limelight

  Happy birthday AD!!
  
  Id be really, really lost if it werent for you!!
  
  btw, i like the birthday cake at the top, it makes me hungry. :)

  10.6.2006 09:49 #27

• audiofile

  I have been a member for a long time and I always tell people (of course people I trust) about this site. It is always nice to read comments and reviews and see what updates there are. CONGRATS AD YOU DO DESERVE A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! (Now don't do a 7 year itch on US and leave us like some relationships do ... )
  
  
  
  2 Cakes for AD (since there are only 4 candles on each cake (1 for next year) THANKS FOR EVERYONE AND ALL THE HARD WORK

  10.6.2006 10:23 #28

• bombayboy

  Wht did you get me!?
  
  lol.
  
  Happy birthday Afterdawn.
  The sex isn't very good, but your looks make up for it.
  lol

  10.6.2006 10:36 #29

• DVD7227

  Im baking a cake right now for Afterdawn
  Happy B-day

  10.6.2006 11:23 #30

• vgaddict8

  7 years? Are you guys sure? I didn't see afterdawn in 1999? Someone didn't miscount right? What could you guys possible be talking about in 1999? There wasn't backup for psx games then? Something is fishy here.........

  10.6.2006 11:57 #31

• halfhere

  well done, very satisfied with your work. Good job in keeping the site up.

  10.6.2006 12:36 #32

• Sudds

  Excellent, Excellent site! Happy Birthday AD!

  10.6.2006 12:48 #33

• CrowDUDE

  Happy Birthday AD, may there be many more to come!!!

  10.6.2006 12:51 #34

• ripdox

  ...

  10.6.2006 12:53 #35

• kinza

  happppppppppppppppyyyyyyyyyyyyy birthhhhhhhhdddddddaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy affffffffffftttttttteeeeeeeerrrrrrrrdddddddddaaaaaaawwwwwwwwnnnnnnnn.....ccccccccooooooommmm!!!!!!!!1
  
  woooot wooot!!

  10.6.2006 13:10 #36

• NINVIN21

  vgaddict8 makes a good point I would love to see pics of the site over the years but thats probally not possible,
  
  
  So go to the (About Us) link at the top of the page that will give you an idea of the history.
  
  Happy birthday again,
  

  10.6.2006 14:44 #37

• sick_unit

  Congrats AD!!!
  

  
  
  
  

  10.6.2006 18:07 #38

• coolGray

  @NINVIN21
  check this out for the old-skool afterdawn.
  http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.afterdawn.com
  
  @vgaddict8
  I think your right....internet archive dosent even show AD coming until
  Jan 26, 2000! Your right! they are lieing. Unless they were under a different domain then.
  
  CG
  

  http://www.gray-zone.net -Site, Blog, and Stuff....cool.
  _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
  
  
  
  http://www.myspace.com/GLrox ~!~
  http://ipodwizard.co.nr ~!~
  
  

  10.6.2006 18:19 #39

• _FuRiOuS_

  sweet man, happy birthday afterdawn !!!

  10.6.2006 19:00 #40

• Cinnjerm

  Haven't been a member but a few months, but i appreciate the hard work everyone puts into keeping me up to date with information. Thanx Afterdawn and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

  10.6.2006 19:17 #41

• vgaddict8

  I knew it.... Someone at afterdawn was having too much of grandpa's old caugh medicine when he was counting. I love those old afterdawn links.......everyone sure does have humble beginnings.

  10.6.2006 19:20 #42

• audiofile

  How funny you all have been. When I clicked on one of those dates coolGray gave http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.afterdawn.com, it doesn't show anything, (except it does say: The page you requested could not be found) BUT when do you click on a link on that page it does seem they do work. (Look at what I circled at the right) http://i6.tinypic.com/140m2p2.jpg (Look at the Nero 5.5) So, YES it does seem they have been around for some time.
  
  

  There's a basic rule which runs through all kinds of music, kind of an unwritten rule. I don't know what it is. But I've got it. - Ron Wood - Rolling Stones - Faces

  10.6.2006 19:21 #43

• vgaddict8

  Looks like afterdawn.com's increase in budget and this websites interface design wasn't availabe till December 22, 2003-That's probably when afterdawn's popularity increased.

  10.6.2006 19:29 #44

• vgaddict8

  Also looks like videogame backup forums didn't become available till like december 2003-Jan 2004-ish.

  10.6.2006 19:31 #45

• vgaddict8

  coolGray, where did you find that site? You are a complete genius? That site rocks.... I can put the missing parts in my life back together... LOL!!!! CoolGray.... the web.archieve.org site link you gave is a life changing moment for me. THANK YOU MASTER!!!!!!!!!!

  10.6.2006 19:51 #46

• ofolion

  Happy Birthday!!!
  
  Keep it up :-)

  10.6.2006 23:50 #47

• Pop_Smith

  Congrats dRD, your site is the coolest I have seen in the history of the web. I hope your site continues to grow and develop forever.
  
  Congrats to all the new admin(s)/mod(s)/staff member(s). Although the only name I really recognize is Lethal_B, I am sure all of the members know their fair share of useful info to help the site become even better.
  
  HAPPY BIRTHDAY aD, I hope this comes with MANY MANY more birthdays throughout the years. :)
  
  Peace,
  
  Pop Smith

  11.6.2006 00:09 #48

• krimu

  Just for a clarification, Afterdawn was founded in 1999. One might want to read this: http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/5307.cfm

  11.6.2006 01:36 #49

• NINVIN21

  coolGray Thank you thats unreal!!!!
  
  also thank you krimu I didnt get to read the link yet but I will.
  
  time traveling is great.
  
  
  

  11.6.2006 07:27 #50

• Dogman5

  I have only been a member for a very short time but I
  want to thank all that have posted replys on things I
  have asked of AD. Even though I have worked on computers for several years and consider myself fairly smart on computer items I have learned alot on here from some of the great people here and wish to say thanks to all and Happy Birthday AD wish you all the best. keep up the great work...

  11.6.2006 07:56 #51

• vgaddict8

  "founded"? So I guess it was founded in 1999 but the website didn't start till 2000. Ah...............

  11.6.2006 11:53 #52

• jziman

  Dident know it has been around that long. But any way Long live AD!!!

  11.6.2006 13:37 #53

• hughjars

  Happy birthday and thank you so much.

  12.6.2006 03:47 #54

• waiski

  Even wayback machine doesn't remember this far ;)
  
  http://my.afterdawn.com/waiski/show_image.cfm/5646/full/adv1
  http://i.afterdawn.com/v3/5yrs/afterdawn_screenshot_1.jpg
  
  edit: added second screenshot
  

  Janne Nissinen
  Admin

  12.6.2006 08:20 #55

• hermes_vb

  Congratulations AD!!!! Best wishes from Puerto Rico and keep the good work.

  12.6.2006 09:11 #56

• rav0

  Quote:internet archive dosent even show AD coming until Jan 26, 2000! Your right! they are lieing. Unless they were under a different domain then.The Internet Archive not having a copy of afterdawn doesn't prove that it didn't exist.

  12.6.2006 22:49 #57

• rav009

  @waiski, Bloody heck, it's crazy to think that a site that the one you posted a screen of could trun into this, a half a million plus community...excelent work all the aD team :)
  
  Lol @ the "Your computer desktop is boring click here to donload FREE photos" add's :D
  

  Another peice of art from our friend DVDBack23
  
  He's the guy for sig's nowadays ;)

  13.6.2006 08:18 #58

• waiski

  rav009: it was a humble start :)

  14.6.2006 04:34 #59

• dsstrlght

  This is so cool to see! Happy Birthday Afterdawn and thanks to those who posted the looks at the past.

  15.6.2006 17:24 #60

• retepa

  Let me be the last to wish AFTER DAWN
  HAPPPPYYYY BIRTHDAY !!!
  and mannnny more.
  
  Thank You Very Much for telling it like it is.

  15.6.2006 17:51 #61

• Ghostdog

  Wow, the years are going by so fast. It really doesn´t seem that long since the 6th birthday.

  16.6.2006 01:57 #62

• Troten

  Congratz Afterdawn! I've been a member for a little while and now I don't know what I would do without this awesome site! Let's keep it going strong!

  17.6.2006 14:07 #63

• brainstrm

  Happy Birthday !!!
  ( and congrats Lethal B! )
  
  Project : Brainstorm downloads are way up ! Almost 6000 to date !!!
  Thanks again for the new weblog page feature ! http://my.afterdawn.com/ I have very much enjoyed having a Afterdawn page with pictures and links to accompany my MP3lizard.com page ! Looking forward to the new features at MP3lizard.com also !
  The people at Afterdawn.com put in a lot of time and effort on their sites and it shows ! Good luck and keep up the good work !
  m/. .m/
  Thanks Afterdawn.com / MP3lizard.com !!!
  
  http://my.afterdawn.com/project_brainstorm/
  18.6.2006 19:44 #64