EdP

A little history for the rampant influx of n00bs.

How do you begin; JET's A4 page, then A4.org was not unlike a small sleepy hollow of a town, where things moved at a glacial pace, yet every post was written with purpose and thought. I don't mean this as an insult, but a post would remain unanswered for nearly a week, while people rudimented over a detailed answer to a question. Many posts quickly developed into what could be called a technical thesis as people learned more and more about the recently released A4. It became an overnight love affair for those that helped shape the beginning, a lovable and surprisingly fun platform to massage into a personal statement of power, mechanical ability, or stylistic statement. I fondly remember many moments of interesting threads that lead to FAQ's, posts that introduced me to the idea that a car isn't a thing to go from point A to point B, but was an extension of my wanton desires to express myself among developing friends and peers. The forum represented a unique group that couldn't be easily found elsewhere - like minded, intelligent with the ability to control themselves and respect each other's thoughts and ideological position. We stood proud as many people came together in good spirit, and slowly the forum (one really, the A4) turned into a multitude of forums to handle the member load and Audi platforms. Before AW, we didn't have AID #'s, we just were folks with names. We never had a TOU to speak of, we managed ourselves. We had ONE photo gallery that was basically a folder that we all shared, and up until I *ahem* had fun with Markbradford's sig pic, we had to be careful to not overwrite a file, or someone lost a picture, and it was replaced. Back then, the sigs were part of the post, so changing a sig didn't actively update posts as you opened them; they would keep the previous pic. One of the most memorable times was a week I initially replaced Markbradford's sig file with another one (I think it was where a rabbit was humping a rooster), and he didn't realize it. I don't remember laughing as hard as I did that week, as we all started goofing on each other, changing the sig files with random things - and it never was done in bad taste except for one, and that didn't last more than 3 minutes - we self moderated well. Then came the christening of my car, the Vomit Comet, where every kid of mine, as they were born, just HAD to puke all over the interior, one that got worse as the stage III kit was in. There was the beginning of the role reversal post, to counter some kill story, a funny genre we still see today. And who could forget the APR vs GIAC thread, that became one of the funniest threads to date in an effort to diffuse the battle at the time. Who here remembers the infamous race between Will's (wjm) chipped 1.8 and Mark's 2.8 (and video) - what a hilarious week THAT was.

Tuning was of course a developing art form, and we were all there; perhaps were the shapers of the chip wars as they exist now. There was pretty much just Garrett, and I remember AWE's old website, where when I called to inquire about chipping, I talked to Garrett himself. This was back when he was still in Med school at my wife's medical college - I probably ran into him and didn't know it. At some point people began choosing sides, and due to a small cadre of personalities, thus began the chip wars that did in fact get nasty, and lasted 2 years. Some may remember the Name MC, Clark, Turner, among a few aliases. Boy, there is a name from the past. It was the heart of the turbo debate, K04 vs GT25, K04 homebrew kit vs APR's stage III. I was stuck in the middle of THAT one, having been the first (and development mule) for the DBW A4's. In hindsight, I was pretty objective, but loved the kit, and it got to be a personal matter, where folks bashed each other in the name of tuner loyalties. A perusal of the S4 forum shows that hasn't changed for some of us. That little debacle led to all kinds of things, such as the east coast/west coast bashfest, where some of us east coasters (Chris/boostd), myslef and some others would routinely find ourselves up at 6am, having to get to work at 8am, fighting over what now I see as silly things. Those of us that were around can forget RKA's discovery that MC's cold air intake was not just a GB one off thing he was doing for the good of the group, but was a knock off of LLTek's part they had made for them by a local shop that turned out to be Evo, and one of a couple things that led to Mach V, the first of a number of on-line audi parts places. Oh the memories of the BPV's with ground off part numbers, and the endless posts - What part could it be - is it European - is it actually a saab part - is it legal to grind it off - what's the real price - endless. Then there was cmh, a personality that was abrasive, but someone I finally met, and learned that an internet personality is rarely like the person behind the keyboard - a very cool guy - opinionated, but who isn't. If you ever meet him, he's a good person.

I learned a lot about egos - and there are a LOT of them out there. The one thing I can walk away with is being more able to manage myself around varying personalities, and work with the spectrum of types there are. There were the "innovators" and the "drivers". The EF's and the draggers. Learn to respect that everyone is different, and you'll walk away with a life lesson that will allow you to move thru a conflict rather than let it be a barrier. Boy, the names that evoke memories; Just Dave, Mark bradford aka Mooseboy, boostd, cmh, RKA, Shorkie, Ryan (hope the hole in the block is patched :P), s4essica, Smellsogood,

Then came the S4. That entire fiasco, where I had my first run in with AoA will forever be the pivotal point where I realized that there is a dark side to people on the forums, and AoA is not the benevolent manufacturer I thought. I did learn that evil lurks in the hearts of people that can't separate the internet from screwing with people in the real world, as someone tried to have my warranty revoked to "get back" for being humiliated and exposed on the forums. Luckily, I had friends on AW before it turned impersonal, and managed to find out who it was, and was dealt with in a satisfying manner.

My involvement did take me on an odd turn in life, a road less travelled, but one I took to see where it may lead. I went from architecture on a odd trip down automotive lane as I decided to work for APR, to get more plugged into what was a pleasurable distraction. From that I learned quite a bit, for good or bad, about myself, the tuner market, and about what *really* drives people. I learned there are few that practice altruism, and spiraled down and away from things that felt familiar. I even ended up at a dealer selling Audi's, an experience that I feel was a very important one learning that no matter what your job is, getting ahead in life is about selling, be it yourself or what you do to make yourself indespensible. Now back in architecture, I take those skills to heart, and am a better person for it.

In the end, 50,000 posts later (more actually, since posts prior to AW isn't tracked), I stand on a plateau where I can look around and see an unfamiliar community that grew from the roots and soil many of us had sown. AW is a unique universe, and when confronted with the ever present "it's just an internet forum", don't believe it - it's much much more, and the friendships I've made from it are in many ways deeper than many I have made in person, many are much truer, not being based in what I see, but what lies in the hearts of people. Having to write a thought runs deeper than the spoken word, trust me.

I know I will anger some calling you all n00bs, but few of you will ever understand what it was like to have been part of the beginning of what you have now. I feel like this post fails to convey the deep connection that many of the folks here have, and at this juncture, it's sad to think it's not the same anymore. I miss the old day, if not for the sense of knowing everyone, but the sense that this was a place of refuge from the pains and frustrations of reality - you could escape to humor, information, and supportive friendships that got you thru the day. There is no way to put that emotion into words. I am now on a forum that is mostly comprised of the old timers, the vets, the folks that used to call AW home much in the manner I did, but it's still not quite the same.

The Hall of Fame taps into some of those experiences, but of course it's not the same, and doesn't cover things prior to AW in it's current form. Enjoy the read folks, it's pure comedy. The braintrust is alive and well.

I hope the new crew on board here can experience for themselves among the current crowd some of that, because if you can read between the lines, there are souls in here, real souls.

Enjoy everyone.

Ed.

G0D

Who could forget sending the 16year old kid to the APR BBQ and then having him ask us to pay for his cell phone bill!??

docjan_uk

I ate my worm.

Digit@lex

JET pages had just converted...

BTW, does your daughter play with your cell phone? I've received quite a few anonymous calls from you last week. ;-)

EdP

my bad, probably from putting the phone in my pocket - see what you do to me? :P

PabloX

A little history for the rampant influx of n00bs.

How do you begin; JET's A4 page, then A4.org was not unlike a small sleepy blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

bostonasphalt2

saaaaaave me!

Kris Hansen

I remember almost all of the things you wrote about.. I came to the forums late in my A4 ownership, we had our '96 for a few (4) years before I got into the whole internet thing...

CraigB

...like the corners of my mind

nice post Ed 8^)

EDness

Hey Ed! nice post!