SUBSIM: 20 years on the web & still no gold watch!

[Onkel Neal]

On Jan. 26, 1997, Subsim debuted on the world wide web. That was twenty years ago.

• Clinton was president.
• Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule from UK rule.
• Princess Diana called for an immediate international ban on land mines.
• Tony Blair became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield's ear (ouch!)
• Steve Jobs returned to run Apple Computers
• Internet Explorer version 4 released
• The first book in the award winning Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling was published.
• Titanic, Jurassic Park, & Men in Black were the big films.
• South Park and Buffy the Vampire Slayer began

Our first webpage (at least there weren't any animated gifs)


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In 20 years over 122,000 people have signed onto our forums, over 32,300 logged in during 2016.

2.25 million posts.

2,163,412 mod downloads

The Story of the Web's #1 Sub & Naval Resource

Here's where I thank the people who made this happen:

Thanks to the moderators who help keep the forums sane.
Thanks to the game modders who work tirelessly to make the games even more fun.
Thanks to the donors, supporters, and contributors, you make the whole thing possible.
Thanks to the members who regularly take part in discussions, help other members, welcome new members, and make this place a home.
Thanks to the game developers who created the submarine and naval sims: we would be adrift without you.
Thanks to everyone who drops in, even for a single post. You count.

Looking forward to another 20 years!

Onkel Neal
SUBSIM

Be sure to take part in our 20th Anniversary Contest! It's easy, just read the 3rd post here.

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[Onkel Neal]

[Onkel Neal]

SUBSIM 20th Anniversary Contest

This will be the easiest contest ever!

Simply make a post and tell what was happening in your life in 1997. Were you recently married? Did you just join the navy or start a band? Did something cool or memorable happen to you in 1997? What was your life like in 1997?

That's all, just make a post and you can also include any comments or thoughts about Subsim in the same post.

If you were not born in time, just make a comment about some interesting time in your life. And don't brag about being young!

Winners will be chosen in a random drawing.

First prize will be an XBox1 or Playstation 4, your choice. And a Subsim shirt.



Second prize will be a copy of UBOOT and a Subsim shirt.



Third through fifth prize will be a Subsim shirt.



Rules

Any members found using multiple forum accounts or starting a new forum account to play will be removed from the contest. So, just post under a single name. You are allowed to post both in the Subsim forum and in Subsim Facebook, if you wish.

[nikimcbee]

Holy Jeebus!

Way back in 1997....
Still married to a Russian girl.
Niki McBee was just a puppy.
Skipped a lot of class to play Aces of the Deep.
Still lived in Minnesota.
U-505 was still outside.
One year away from finding subsim.


Jim probably had hair....

[fireftr18]

I was still heading toward the middle of my career on the fire department, still a paramedic. I was still freshly married, not yet a dad. And just started school for sports medicine. I was well into Silent Service 2, and US Navy Fighters.

[Herman]

Opened a new restaurant.

[Aktungbby]

It was the year of '97; I was doing the weekend night-watch of the Old Federal Bldg on UN PLaza at 9th and Market in San Francisco.(Formerly ADM Nimitz's HQ) B.A.R.T Access; street dwellers; and a large Farmer's market on Wed. and Sat. In short: a busy head-on-a-swivel beat: I had pulled an 18 hour shift as the government contractor was new and no relief had been arranged. I had called a supervisor to complain and he promised I would B off at 03:00 ...Whilst on exterior solo patrol around 02:00, I was approached by two young sailors who mistook me 4 what seemed to them to be the 'constituted authority'..ME in full gear in mid plaza. They explained they were day-touring/shore-leave and didn't know how to get back to their ship across at Alameda Naval base ( '97 the last year it closed)...They were 20ish; literally from Oklahoma; and "had met 2 girls....only one of them wasn't a girl" (In 'Frisco?in the Tenderloin? What a $hock!) Having a baby brother serving as helmsman on the USS Oklahoma City, USS San Bernadino, and USS Little Rock; and doing strange things in strange ports from Bangkok to Scapa Flow...these kids have mothers who worry; so I took matters in hand to prevent further 'damage to government 'property'; I informed them that, as a former naval person (NPQ"d out in '73), I would drive them back to their ship. Meanwhile they were to go to the all-night Carl's Jr also on the plaza and not move till I arrived within the hour which they obediently did. Upon relief, I strode to the restaurant and they were dutifully waiting. I drove them across the Bay Bridge to the base cramped in my Tercel; The Marine gate guard saw I was on a mission of mercy-child rescue and let me pass- fully armed; I pulled up at the gangplank of their fleet oiler and Officer of the Deck appeared relieved to collect his 'kids'; thanked me profusely; and offered me a tour of the ship! I was too beat after 24 hours and still had 50 miles to drive home so I declined...I wish I'd done that tour! I made it home by 05:00 and was so wired I couldn't sleep so I got a in game of Aces of the Deep B 4 crashing.

[viper1]

1997... wow... I was just starting High School my freshman year. Knew I wanted to join the military and could not wait. Parents moved away and left me to live with my grandpa while I finished school. '97 was really the best year of my childhood!

[gutted]

I turned twenty years old in march '97. Started college in the fall that year for computer science.

My PC at the time was likely a 133mhz pentium. Can't remember the exact year i got that one, but seems like the time frame. Game wise i was still playing alot of Doom & Air Combat sims (which i had been a total junkie for since the original Falcon).

Beer, Friends, Heavy Metal, and PC games were pretty much my life at that point.

[Catfish]

20.. years..

Congratulations to you, Neal! And to us, that we found Subsim


If i remember right in 1996 i had just moved to another home in the city of Goettingen, after finishing university, and was still working here and there without getting a proper job. Doing some geological excursions in southern Germany and abroad trying to explain how this stuff worked to tourist groups, which was fun. Went to some archeological sites in Greece with friends and was interested in the Minoans. Learned sailing and was beginning to get all those permits you need in Germany, for everything..

Using Windows and OS/2, the latter already dying out at the time.
Had already played "Silent Service II" for PC earlier (two (?) 5 1/4 " disks if i remember right), and "Wolfpack" (already on 3 1/5 "), then Silent Hunter (1) and Aces of the Deep.
With the upcoming internet we had gone past the Offline BBS stuff, and then i found Subsim, i think via Netscape..
Heard of "Fast Attack" and one day a package arrived in the mail, from the US. Neal had sent me the sim, and i was hooked for years..

1997? Young and madly in love with a foxy redhead. We were riding hard every day... her horse. [insertdisappointedsmiley]

Then she broke my heart - as girls tend to do.
Ah, the memories!

[Akula4745]

I turned 40 in 1997. I was single and chasing anything that even appeared feminine. Was in my second year of college after wrapping up my first career as a licensed captain. I was into golf sims back then. LOL

Thanks for all you do... and have done, Neal!

[keltos01]

You're talking about yesterday Neal !
1997.. let me see..

I was living in Neuchâtel (Switzerland) not far from the lake, which on a good day really looks like the sea (it's +-6 miles wide) and was taking my first diving classes in a nice murky lake water !

I was inbetween computers and at the time didn't play subs ( I had played both SIlent Service 1 n 2 and 688 attck sub before)

I was (not knowingly) looking forward to my time here at Subsim !

Kind regards


Keltos

[propbeanie]

~dude~... like, uh... 1997? like, wow man... I don't even remember what I had for breakfast... oh wait, I haven't ~had~ breakfast yet... like, uh, I'm hungry, ya know?...

This time in 1997, I was a 4-and-a-half year newlywed, and probably still playing Up Periscope on my 486 DX2-66 with 8 megabytes of ram (!!! ~wow~ !!!) while trying to get used to being sunk all the time in Silent Hunter... - such graphics - and game play! Ah yesh, good time, good times... Windows95 was the king, so we had floppy boots to play the good stuff... I might have had a 28k modem, but probably still had the 14.4... and a bbs was the closest thing to the internet at my house back then. We had to come into town to do the internet thing at the in-laws, since the fone line was so bad at out place... Now, I get angry when it takes over 10 seconds for a graphics-intense page to load...

[ericlea]

SUBSIM !


1997 ..... I was addicted of "settlers 2" lol ! .... Now i am addicted of SH3 !

Congratulations to this forum. Subsim is great ! Thanks !