Hornfans 2.0 — 5th Anniversary

Discussion in 'On The Field' started by Dionysus, Feb 17, 2020.

  1. Dionysus

    Dionysus Idoit Admin

    A little milestone worth noting today.

    On February 17, 2015 the new Hornfans site was launched.

    For those of you who have joined us since then and may not be aware of the history, Hornfans was started in 1999 by Robert and Katy Agnor. It was the early days of web forums, and HF was the Longhorns board for several years. There were a few others around, but nothing like Hornfans. It was hugely popular and successful, which brought its own challenges as well as benefits. Over time a few other forums came along and grew in popularity. Some folks stayed at Hornfans, others went elsewhere.

    In October of 2014 Robert posted here that they were going to shut down the site in a few days. He and Katy had become very busy in their careers and after 15 years just didn’t have much time to devote to it any more. But there was still a core group here who wanted to keep the site going. I had been a member since 2001 and others here had been around as long, or longer. We started talking about what to do if HF shut down. I reached out to Robert to see if they would consider letting someone else work on Hornfans and keep it alive. He said maybe, let’s talk about it.

    So my wife and I went to Austin in early November and had dinner with Robert and Katy at their home (Robert is a really good cook). We talked about a lot of stuff, and one thing they wanted was for Hornfans to remain a place for civil conversation. I wanted that too, as did many of the members here. I told them my thoughts on what needed to be done with the site. The existing forum software was old and no longer supported, so upgrades to it were non-existent, making it very hard to maintain from a technical perspective — it needed to be completely rebuilt, new software, new database, new server, everything. By the end of the night they said OK, do it.

    In late 2014 I started work on a test site while the old Hornfans kept chugging along. Several members helped me with testing it before it launched — @LonghornCatholic, @BevoBeef, @jayakris, @NBHorn7 — these guys logged into the test site, made posts and replies, did some private messages, uploaded images, etc, and gave me valuable feedback on how things looked and worked. Quite a few generous folks also donated financially to help cover the costs of the transition. Without them it never would have happened.

    Anyway, it’s just a day of reflection for me.

    Happy birthday @Texanne.

    :hookem:
     
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  2. Joe Fan

    Joe Fan 10,000+ Posts

    Well done young man
    And Happy Anniversary!
     
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  3. LonghornCatholic

    LonghornCatholic Deo Gratias

    Give me Hornfans, or give me death! :hookem:
     
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  4. X Misn Tx

    X Misn Tx 2,500+ Posts

    Thanks for keeping it alive! I've been here since the 90s (first year) as I was still in DC. I hoped to get back to Texas one day and made my user name X Misn Tx.

    I moved back to Texas (Dallas) in 2000, but decided to keep the moniker.

    In the early days, guys who would build a spreadsheet of the proposed depth chart noting incoming recruits and whether they were redshirts wasn't on other websites. I really appreciated the guys who did that effort to give us a good picture.

    Also, it seemed like you had AAS's Fab 55 and Tom Lemming as the only guys ranking recruits.

    I learned the word, "crunk," from Tommie Harris' visit to UT on this website, so... a tip of the cap to HF.
     
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  5. 1sahorn

    1sahorn 1,000+ Posts

    A day without Hornfans 2.0 is like a day without orange juice.
     
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  6. BurntOrangeLH

    BurntOrangeLH 2,500+ Posts

    Appreciate the civil nature of HornFans as most of the other boards are closed to membership or populated by adrenaline keyboard junkies who threaten anyone who does not agree with them, kind of like the twiitering fool in chief.

    I will have to contribute funds this year.
     
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  7. WorsterMan

    WorsterMan SEC here we come!!

    Thank you Dionysus for taking initiative and stepping up to save a forum many of us zealots enjoy.

    Happy Birthday HF 2.0... and the legendary Texanne!!
     
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    Last edited: Feb 18, 2020
  8. Texanne

    Texanne 5,000+ Posts

    Thank you, both for keeping HF alive and for the birthday wishes!
     
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  9. Sangre Naranjada

    Sangre Naranjada 10,000+ Posts

    When learning that Robert and Katy were going to shut this site down, I explored the other sites. There are some pretty good ones, and there are some hideous ones. None of them felt...right. This one always has and does. Thanks for saving my online home, Dion.
     
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  10. Joe Fan

    Joe Fan 10,000+ Posts

    I was in DC too, pre-internet, and while you could occasionally find an AAS at one or two newsstands, they were usually 4-5 days old or worse. I remember calling the Joe Scarbrough hotline. These were the days of 1-900 numbers. I lived in a large house on the cusp of Adams Morgan and when the phone bill came in, there was a charge for "1-900-TRU-ORNG" (or something like that). Most of those 1-900s were for phone sex, so my housemates were convinced I had a thing for old ladies talking dirty while wearing orange wigs (or whatever). I never corrected them because I could not decide which was worse for me, their assumption or the truth. The charge was usually pretty high too because Jerry spoke with an extremely slow cadence which was littered with all manner of what passed for Texas witticisms.
     
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    Last edited: Feb 17, 2020
  11. Dionysus

    Dionysus Idoit Admin

    Don’t let anybody treat you like chips and salsa baby, you’re fresh guacamole
     
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  12. Horn6721

    Horn6721 10,000+ Posts

    It is amazing and wonderful the sense of community that exists here. And that this is a place of refuge for us all when times get strange.
    The level of information on here is unparalleled.

    What would we do without it?:idk:
    Thank you Dion and all who make HF's possible

    upload_2020-2-17_9-25-14.jpeg
     
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  13. LonghornCatholic

    LonghornCatholic Deo Gratias

    How are OGs Robert and Katy doing?
     
  14. FWHORN

    FWHORN 10,000+ Posts

    Been on Hornfans since back in days of Katy, Robert and Wheeler. Thanks for keeping this place going and giving me a place to go to touch base with my fellow Longhorn fanatics.
     
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  15. Dionysus

    Dionysus Idoit Admin

    I last saw Robert at the spring game last April, he came by after the baseball game. Katy wasn’t there. He said they were doing well. Maybe he will pop in here again sometime.
     
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  16. LousianaHorn

    LousianaHorn Kabong

    Hook em' Dion, happy anniversary and a job well done!
     
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  17. ViperHorn

    ViperHorn 10,000+ Posts

    Dion, thank you. Some may not realize what you do and how many hours a day you are responsive to issues.

    Also, Happy birthday @Texanne. Not many people much less women drive from Temple to Austin just to watch a college baseball game. Also, thanks for riding herd over TxDoT to finally getting 35 finished through Temple.
     
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  18. El Sapo

    El Sapo Bevo's BFF

    What a ride it has been....

    I remember being on the Austin360 / GoBig12 boards when I first heard about Hornfans and have been here ever since. There have been a lot of ups and downs, schisms, long time posters leaving but I have to say that after 20 years this site is the best it has ever been. Hornfans was pretty rough in the early 2000's and there was a lot of oppressive group-think. Posters everywhere were more rude back in those days, I guess sniping from behind a keyboard was still pretty novel. I would sometimes go a year or more without posting because it seemed like somebody would always find a way to attack you.

    Now, there's a respectful equilibrium and a great core of many long-time posters here. We don't always agree but civility and respecting differing opinions largely rules the day. It makes it a pleasure to be here. @Dionysus & everyone else involved, thanks for all the hard work in keeping the best Longhorn BBS running :hookem:
     
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  19. Texanne

    Texanne 5,000+ Posts

    Thanks! College baseball is one of the joys of my life.
     
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  20. Detective Shilala

    Detective Shilala 2,500+ Posts

    Grateful to Dion for keeping this site going. I would not have messed with any other message boards and I would have missed this place. How else would I waste time when I am supposed to be working???

    I also agree with Sapo, this site has never been better.
    This place has always been the best, so that is saying something.
    I think I logged in in 1999 for the first time to talk about Victor Ike or Roy Williams. There was usually a good debate raging, some very funny episodes that became legend, but Sapo is right that there was a tendency for people to shout a lot and some group think.
    That said there has been some turnover and some really good posters have disappeared, but somehow Dion has cultivated an even better forum. I don't think that's a mistake or a coincidence. I think its been hard work and careful decisions made by Dion to make it that way. There are trolls and idiots everywhere on the internet bit not here.

    Now if you can just run off ouBubba... this place would be perfect. he is like a damn skunk under the porch
     
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  21. AC

    AC 2,500+ Posts

    I really appreciate what you did for Horn Fans Dion! Longhorn Catholic, Sangre and many more I may not even know about from that transition. I started reading posts in 1999 but did not join and post until right after the transition. Not sure why I took so long. Guess I'm slow. Actually I accidently lied, from 2006 until 2016 I was working 16-18 hours a day and only had time to read posts. Now I can post some. That stress and what I've been through since early 2017 has been tempered by Hornfans. So thanks. It means a lot to many of us.
     
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  22. SabreHorn

    SabreHorn 10,000+ Posts

    Happy Anniversary, Dion, et al, and thank you for all the hard work and long hours to help so many enjoy a quality forum. I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge your kindness in providing an interpreter for unique languages like my East Texas Hayseed.

    HOOK EM, MY FRIEND :hookem2: :texasflag: :bevo:
     
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  23. Dionysus

    Dionysus Idoit Admin

    I just recently found out that @mchammer was fluent
     
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  24. Joe Fan

    Joe Fan 10,000+ Posts

    I rmbr the 360 board too. Sort of the wild wild west. That was about when I first connected to dial up internet. I recall there was this one poster on 360 who kept challenging people to fistfights, in parking lots and such. I dont want to say the name wrong. Does anyone else recall that?
     
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  25. LonghornCatholic

    LonghornCatholic Deo Gratias

    I was young. Please forgive me. :smokin:
     
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  26. horninchicago

    horninchicago 10,000+ Posts

    Giving Catholics a bad name...
     
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  27. LonghornCatholic

    LonghornCatholic Deo Gratias

    I once thought of doing an annual Hornfans award thread - Poster of the Year, Most Valuable Poster, Rookie of the Year, Most likely to Annoy, etc. I just couldn’t figure out the logistics. It might be fun though.
     
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  28. Dionysus

    Dionysus Idoit Admin

    Great idea
    Throw a Coke on ’em
     
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  29. Joe Fan

    Joe Fan 10,000+ Posts

    We already have an Interpretation Champion
     
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  30. dukesteer

    dukesteer 5,000+ Posts

    HF is basically my lifeline, which pretty much confirms that I have no life. If my wife only knew that “I’m working honey” really means that I’m reading HF, she’d think even less of me than she already does. But, I digress...
     
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