Today marks the ten year anniversary of Sufficient Velocity.
The original launch of SV did not go entirely as intended. Before we had proper name or even a proper URL the existence of a new forum leaked and our first users started signing up. This forced our hand somewhat, and we put our initial plans aside in favour of going with the unexpected. And here we are, ten years later.
While it doesn't feel right to say we came from humble origins. After all, SV is itself a splinter forum of Spacebattles.com, who we congratulate on having reached their 25th anniversary. Still, SV has still come a long way in the past decade. We've grown to more than 56,000 users and should reach 20 million posts around the end of the year. On an internet where forums have fallen out of favour we're proud that SV has done as well as it has. We're also proud of everything that has been achieved over the years, whether that's our unique system of forum management, our events, or our modifications to the software that underpins the forum.
SV wouldn't be here without the help of many people. We would like to thank our staff, both past and present, for their contributions to forum management. Times have been tumultuous and that has been reflected in discussions on the website, and without all the many people who have volunteered their time and energy over the years our system wouldn't be able to work as it does, nor would we have been able to hold as many special events.
Some members of the staff have been with SV since the very beginning, and it's not possible to name everyone in this post. However, to each and every one of you, thank you. We could not have done it without you. We also thank the advocates, who play an important role in our system and have assisted so many users in tackling the appeals system.
Of course, there is no forum without users, so to all of you who have used and continue to use SV, thank you. Every story, every supportive comment, every post, even every silly argument, that's all part of what makes a forum a forum. Your participation, whether that's going up for election for the community council or posting jokes in the chat lounge, is the very life and soul of Sufficient Velocity. Thank you for everything. Even the complaints.
Among the many users on SV we must extend special thanks to two in particular:
First is @Shockz. In the earliest days of SV Shockz graciously granted us the use of the domain name that we have used over the past ten years. If not for him SV might have ended up with a different name entirely.
Second is @Simulium Novitius who, then going by the name Tsjoat, fatefully leaked the existence of SV before it was ready to launch. If not for him then we would be holding our anniversary on a different date. That things didn't go exactly to plan is an important part of our history.
Both these users no longer post on SV and have not done so for some years. Regardless, we would like to acknowledge them specifically on this important day.
To best celebrate ten years of SV we have set aside ten days for the events. We want to look back on and celebrate the things that have happened and invite you all to do the same. Our Content Promotion team, with assistance, have put together a scavenger hunt that starts now. There will also be a new contest and chances to look back on some of the best threads of the past ten years. We encourage everyone to take advantage of the special events forum to share their favourite moments of the past decade.
We will also be rolling out a new update for the creative sections of the forum: StoryUI. This is, no exaggeration, something we've talked about for nearly as long as SV has existed and now, on the forum's tenth anniversary, it's ready. StoryUI changes how creative threads are displayed, bringing those forums closer to specialist fiction hosts. Combined with the tagging and filtering improvements we've made, we hope that it will improve discoverability for those stories and quests that call SV home. This is just the next step in our long term plan to make SV a top tier choice for creators, and StoryUI itself will undoubtedly see improvements over time (if nothing else, making it available to thousands of people is great for stress testing). If you don't like there is an option available to switch it off, but we hope you try it out. This has been the dream of nearly ten years and we're proud to be able to bring it to you.
With all that said, please enjoy the celebrations and once again thank you all. And, of course ...
Happy birthday, Sufficient Velocity!
The original launch of SV did not go entirely as intended. Before we had proper name or even a proper URL the existence of a new forum leaked and our first users started signing up. This forced our hand somewhat, and we put our initial plans aside in favour of going with the unexpected. And here we are, ten years later.
While it doesn't feel right to say we came from humble origins. After all, SV is itself a splinter forum of Spacebattles.com, who we congratulate on having reached their 25th anniversary. Still, SV has still come a long way in the past decade. We've grown to more than 56,000 users and should reach 20 million posts around the end of the year. On an internet where forums have fallen out of favour we're proud that SV has done as well as it has. We're also proud of everything that has been achieved over the years, whether that's our unique system of forum management, our events, or our modifications to the software that underpins the forum.
SV wouldn't be here without the help of many people. We would like to thank our staff, both past and present, for their contributions to forum management. Times have been tumultuous and that has been reflected in discussions on the website, and without all the many people who have volunteered their time and energy over the years our system wouldn't be able to work as it does, nor would we have been able to hold as many special events.
Some members of the staff have been with SV since the very beginning, and it's not possible to name everyone in this post. However, to each and every one of you, thank you. We could not have done it without you. We also thank the advocates, who play an important role in our system and have assisted so many users in tackling the appeals system.
Of course, there is no forum without users, so to all of you who have used and continue to use SV, thank you. Every story, every supportive comment, every post, even every silly argument, that's all part of what makes a forum a forum. Your participation, whether that's going up for election for the community council or posting jokes in the chat lounge, is the very life and soul of Sufficient Velocity. Thank you for everything. Even the complaints.
Among the many users on SV we must extend special thanks to two in particular:
First is @Shockz. In the earliest days of SV Shockz graciously granted us the use of the domain name that we have used over the past ten years. If not for him SV might have ended up with a different name entirely.
Second is @Simulium Novitius who, then going by the name Tsjoat, fatefully leaked the existence of SV before it was ready to launch. If not for him then we would be holding our anniversary on a different date. That things didn't go exactly to plan is an important part of our history.
Both these users no longer post on SV and have not done so for some years. Regardless, we would like to acknowledge them specifically on this important day.
To best celebrate ten years of SV we have set aside ten days for the events. We want to look back on and celebrate the things that have happened and invite you all to do the same. Our Content Promotion team, with assistance, have put together a scavenger hunt that starts now. There will also be a new contest and chances to look back on some of the best threads of the past ten years. We encourage everyone to take advantage of the special events forum to share their favourite moments of the past decade.
We will also be rolling out a new update for the creative sections of the forum: StoryUI. This is, no exaggeration, something we've talked about for nearly as long as SV has existed and now, on the forum's tenth anniversary, it's ready. StoryUI changes how creative threads are displayed, bringing those forums closer to specialist fiction hosts. Combined with the tagging and filtering improvements we've made, we hope that it will improve discoverability for those stories and quests that call SV home. This is just the next step in our long term plan to make SV a top tier choice for creators, and StoryUI itself will undoubtedly see improvements over time (if nothing else, making it available to thousands of people is great for stress testing). If you don't like there is an option available to switch it off, but we hope you try it out. This has been the dream of nearly ten years and we're proud to be able to bring it to you.
With all that said, please enjoy the celebrations and once again thank you all. And, of course ...
Happy birthday, Sufficient Velocity!
' then going to bed and the site immediately getting leaked lol
