h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Did you sign up on 9.9.1999?

On that day, h2g2.com had a great influx of new users. According to a chart (A1157997) created by SEF (U211824), Over 35,000 researchers logged on for the first time on h2g2.com. On most days that year, only around 100 new users would arrive each day. But on 9.9.1999 something happened to bring in more researchers to h2g2 than any other day that year, or possibly any that followed (not counting when the BBC combined all the forums under DNA).

If your Unumber is between U55980 and U91228, you are one of those folks.

I came here because of a mysterious email (dear BoB I wish I still had a copy of it but alas, that was several computers ago). I had signed up to get updates on Douglas Adams' eagerly awaited video game Starship Titanic. An email arrived in my inbox inviting me to something called "h2g2.com" (the game was still several deadlines away from being completed) and I've been here (nearly) ever since.

I've heard that besides the email campaign, h2g2 was featured on at least one television programme (Tomorrow's World, possibly).

Anyway, this coming Wednesday is my 10th HooTooversary.
Is there anyone else still here from that long ago to share it with me?

Also, share what brought you here. And if there are ANY of the old TDV folks around who might have a copy of that email or some insight into the early promotion of the site, please...

Share and Enjoy.

I remember this being discussed before. There was some sort of ad or new feature going around that prompted this iirc.

I joined on 16-9-199 and was told of the place by a friend so it may have been him that saw the same ad.

Glad you reminded me, I usually forget my anniversary.

Nearly 10 years!

I don't know why there was such a peak in new users on that day. The site was launched on 28 April 1999 - read an account of it here: A587892

I haven't found anything like a press release to suggest why thousands would flock here on that day, so I suspect more mundane technical reasons - a volume test in the live environment, maybe?

The launch report I link to above mentions something called 'The Big Jump' scheduled for September, so maybe this might explain it. Does anyone know what 'The Big Jump' was, and is there a Post article on it?

That 35,000 figure is just a single day's spike, too. With some sort of publicity event, I'd expect a peak which tails off gradually over a period of days or weeks.

The 10th anniversary of the creation of My (personal) Space was 26th July, although I may have joined before then and not done anything on my space. Guess what! I missed my 10th anniversary!! I use alabaster, so there's nothing to tell me when I joined/created my space.

Looks like you first logged on here on Wednesday 28 April, 1999 by looking at SEFs chart. That was a busy week as well.

I'm going through user numbers one by one and so far I've only found 1 active account. Of course I've only gone through a few hundred researchers.

Yes, the site was featured on Tomorrow's World (probably around that time). I also recall an article in The Daily Telegraph around the same time. For some reason, I didn't sign up.

I'm really hoping I can find someone that remembers that email... I remember it being rather odd but I can't remember the details.

In a simple phrase H2G2 was slashdotted.
That is it was featured on the website slashdot. This caused a lot of people to come to the site and register. I do think I was one of those who did.
The phrase a website was slashdotted comes from being featured on that site and then having such a huge influx of visitors that it crashes the website everyone is trying to look at.

Phil. Happy Tenth. You might have snuck in a few days before me.

Though searching the slashdot archives give 2 mentions in 1999, once in April (28th) and once again in September (22nd) so perhaps I am wrong in my assumption.

April 28th had quite a few new users that day as well. That week saw over 18,000 new users.

Does Slashdot still have their original article archived?

Well, I've searched over 1000 Unumbers, from U55980 thru U57000, and here's my general impression: Around 95% of those new users never posted a single thing. Those that did gave a fair impression of nighthoover, posted once or twice and hoovered off. 0.1% stuck around.

Of course this is from a sampling of only 1/35th of those that logged on that day.

My number is in the range, so I guess I'm one of the crowd.

Yes. You're ARE that 0.1% I mentioned in the post above.

http://slashdot.org/story/99/04/28/1821246/Web-Based-Hitchhikers-Guide-to-the-Galaxy?art_pos=25

Is the earliest entry when I search h2g2 on /.

Cool, thanks.

I joined 11th May 1999 (U38014) after hearing an interview with Douglas on ABC Radio some days earlier. I was already a fan and couldn't resist. I had a break some years ago due to computer problems but once I returned that was it - I've been here ever since

If I remember rightly he announced the launch of the site on Tomorrows World - so he may have appeared on the show more than once.

I missed my 10th too

Couldn't tell you what happened, but glad it did as I assume it made h2g2 easier to find when I searched a couple of weeks later! My 10th anniversary is this month too.