Board History - some questions for our Rob!

[booger]

This might help......
http://www.my-island-jamaica.com/int...negrilcom.html

I am probably the only person on the planet who would be interested in this stuff, but seeing the 14th Annual Boardie Bash postings has me intrigued! I have some questions for our Rob! And I will gladly take them off line if it bores everyone. Maybe it's just a "me" thing. Anything that draws so many people, from so many walks of life, from so many different age groups and backgrounds fascinates me!

Why did you start the board?
How many boardies initially signed up?
How many are we now?
What prompted the first Boardie Bash?
How many people came?
How many were there this 14th year?
How many countries are represented on the board?
How many of the initial (within first year) boardies are still active?
How long has the longest member been a member? (I would love to know who, but I get the whole privacy thng)
Has anyone ever met and married from a board intro (OK. So I like reality TV! Get over it ....what a fun thing to know! ... again, I would love to know who, but ...)
What so far is the longest thread .. the one that had the most posts and responses.

And to my fellow boardies:
What do you like best about the board? Why do you "come" here?

Just curious. Any questions?

[Chet & Coleen]

We have been getting messages from the Negril Boardies Since 1996 group, so I would guess Rob has a way of tracking our visits.

I remember that Windows 95 had came out and I updated my home computer (maybe 20 GB of memory back then l.o.l.) and took my computer knowledge from work and ordered dial up and off we went. Of course my first searches were in the area of our passions which included Jamaica & Negril so Beingees was a find. We were not smart enough to develope cool board names so Chet & Coleen we have been and remain.

My first home scanner was purchased to post pictures, computer melt down in 2005 lost all of those scanned shots and I do not have the energy to re-scan these days, but a lot of memories and new to us adventures were found visiting this sight.

I still see Husker John floating around the web every now and then, I remember he had a Jamaica page that had connections to this and many other links that was a wealth of info.

We have met many and shared losses of some over the years through this connection. We lost Roy-Music Mon a while back, I do not remember meeting him through the board as much as sitting and talking in Negril which probabley happened because of live cast. Of course Joe who's wife I still see wandering through occasionally and sharing their life in the states was a daily staple for years. Jamaican Cowboy via Selina's what a spirit and a sad loss a few years back. I need help but I think her name was Carol that gave us morning updates and weather reports from yellow Bird for years. Cindy from Austin. Coin Mon who is now in Vegas and so many more that we have shared with and lurked on over the years.

Almost every NEWBIE talk starts with you need to visit negril.com a get a sense of the runnings.

Robs little "expierment" has given us a daily portal to share and escape through over the years, job well done.

[BreanaAshlee]

And to my fellow boardies:
What do you like best about the board? Why do you "come" here?

I found this website in january, perhaps if i had found it earlier trip 1 would have been better.

When i found the board i was planning my trip for spring break, i was going with someone who wanted to do tours and what not, and i came here to seek advice on what tours to do, and tour guides.
Then when that person backed out on me last minute, fellow boardies helped me to make the decision to go solo again, and i even got to meet Iriesistah and it turned out to be one of the best trips ever.

Now i visit this site daily just to read other peoples opinions and views, trip reports and get advice on future trips.

[garysteph1018]

This board is a definite addiction! I thank my lucky stars I found it! I don't think I've ever met such genuine people. I mean how many people would answer any question you have in a private msg with a bevy of information that you never dreamed you'd get... people you've never met, who talk to you like they've known you forever! How many people, who you've never met, would take their time to video & take pictures of the place you are staying so you will feel better about your choice.... I could seriously go on about how this computer screen, or my very small iPhone screen, makes me feel when I'm on Negril.com or Realnegril.com! I adore each and everyone one, and I can't wait to meet some of y'all! A part of me already feels I've been to Negril.... Anxiously awaiting my first reach...

[Rob]

M&G,


Great questions and thanks for asking! This has been a trip down memory lane!

Why did I start the board? Well, it can be answered no better than when it was introduced back on July 31st, 1997 - which coincidentally was the 2nd anniversary of when I moved to Jamaica!

http://www.realnegril.com/beingees/nn310797.htm

There was no "signing up" policy in 1997, so there was no way to track how many people "signed up" in 1997 - but since the number of postings crashed the original board within a week, it was obvious we were onto something... (grin)

http://www.realnegril.com/beingees/nn060897.htm

The first "Boardie Bash" as they are now called happened on February 4th, 1999. You can see the folks that attended in the picture on the Negril Today pages from back then!

http://www.realnegril.com/beingees/nn040299.htm

http://www.realnegril.com/beingees/nn050299.htm

http://www.realnegril.com/beingees/nn060299.htm

http://www.realnegril.com/beingees/nn080299.htm

It was called the "Meeting of the Board" back in those days. It was prompted as both a way for the viewers of the Negril Message Board to have an annual gathering in person in Negril, as well as a visible way for the businesses in Negril to see the impact that Negril.com was having. An interesting note, this gathering happened a month before TripAdvisor even became a website, we were already in our 4th year...

The 14th annual event was quite a gathering, while we dont really bother to keep an absolute count for personal privacy reasons - a safe guess for the number of folks we met this year was around 150. This year's event was by the far the most fun week we have ever had for Negril.com! There were many old friends along with some great new faces to add to the Boardie family! Thank you all for attending and look forward to seeing more of you next year! WooHoo!

Negril.com has nearly every country in the world viewing the Board - last time I checked it was 188, I think there are only 196 total... (grin)

I still see many of the very first attendees in Negril - Suz, Chris, Thomas and of course - Lloydie from 3-Dives! Not all attend the gatherings but some still post - most have changed their posting names for various reasons. The internet has changed quite a bit over the years. A few have passed on and we miss them daily...

There are several boardies from the first year still active and still post, but if they dont post in this thread - then who am I to out them. Everyone is allowed their own sense of privacy. You should have gotten here years ago to know who they are... (grin)

There have been many folks married through meeting on the board - but once again - that is their thing and they should be allowed their privacy. I would imagine a few might be divorced by now... (not so much of a grin)

As for the longest, most viewed, most responded, etc threads - we have absolutely no desire to maintain any such statistics. Each question is equally important - equally valuable - so no thread is "better" or means more than than any other thread. Each poster is equally valuable.

Thanks for asking!

[pretty40]

All I can say is this board keeps me sane. Thanks Rob for keeping me off xanax-- all I need is the board!! See you and Lisa next week!!

[garysteph1018]

As for the longest, most viewed, most responded, etc threads - we have absolutely no desire to maintain any such statistics. Each question is equally important - equally valuable - so no thread is "better" or means more than than any other thread. Each poster is equally valuable.

Thanks for asking!

Spoken like a true gentleman! Shows the stand up guy you are, and I hope I get to meet you & Lisa in July!!!

[tfw73]

Thanks for posting, Rob! I enjoyed all the links.

[poolguywindsor]

So shouldnt the boardie bash be in february then? Just askin, would be way more convenient! (for me) lol

[Aimbri]

Us too PGW... but it's all good.