Q1) How did you originally find Ten Forward (OTF)?:
In Biology class one day, an acquaintance of mine told me that the Internet was for chatting and I was really missing out by not doing using it for that. So I went home and started looking for chat rooms. I tried to find an X-men chat but my chosen name of "Kitty" (as in Pryde) led to some pretty bad experiences.

So I looked for a Star Trek chat on a multiple search engine page called metacrawler. Ten Forward was the first result.

Q2) What did you like about the place back then?:
The first people I met were Demon Slayer, and Q. Something was going on about wine.... After having read all the PDs and the rules and everything (I registered before I ever logged in), I was frankly kind of terrified. Calling senior officers "sir" was a rule then that everyone was already mostly ignoring, but I didn't know it. The first thing I posted was "Please don't shoot me!"

What I liked was the feeling of community I got from the place, and the generous spirit I felt from the people I met there. The fact that there was a list of rules and a Star Trek theme became very much a secondary aspect to my favorite place.

Q3) Do you still remember any of the people you met in the chat, or events held during that first year?:
Of course I do!

The first thing I can remember is that Robert Fox and Honey Bear were getting cyber married within the week that I registered. It was a huge hilarious joke of an event, with cats running around grabbing things and.. maybe even a food fight.

Food fights were a very very common occurrence. Guinan would deliver a truckload of messy stuff, and away we would toss!

I remember every person I met that year. Some more than others. A few who I remember fondly even though they are no longer around are Yala, Tigris, Ivonna, Tommy, ZEN, Smile, Jayne, and that old Rascal. There are more but it could take me all day to list all the friends I made that first year.

Q4) Do you still keep in contact with any of them?:
Yes! All the people I listed previously (save Tigris) I still communicate with on a semi-regular basis. Some I've met and had real-life adventures with, some are still on the "not yet" list.

I also married one of the people I met that first year. It's been an excellent ride.

Outpost 10F (née Ten Forward) is the place where I made more lifelong friends than I could have ever in my life dreamed to have. My life (as it is) literally would not be possible if not for the community that I've found here, as ever-changing as it may be, and I am endlessly grateful for that.