Happy Ten Years Today, SWG!

[dawn_felagund]

Today, the SWG officially turned ten years old! It was ten years ago today that ford_of_bruinen and I started encouraging our friends to join our nascent Silmarillion group. Ever since then, we have grown in ways that I would not have imagined possible on this day ten years ago, when I recall reaching ten members on our Yahoo! group and feeling such a giddy sense of accomplishment.

I recorded a video in honor of our birthday. It's pretty short, and you can see my dusty study and hear my Baltimore accent! What's not to love! :)

This last decade has been simply incredible to me. I never imagined the group taking off like it has. So many people have made the SWG what it is. You are to credit with what the group has become. Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for all that you have given to this community over the past ten years. Here's to many more!

(Also, a gentle reminder that the birthday cards will be closing soon. On August 1, I will take down the form and begin sending out the albums to recipients. If you want to send birthday cards and have not, our birthday card page can be found here.)

Comments

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

Thank you, Dawn. Great job. You know I always tell everyone that the SWG is my fandom home. It represents my heart. What can I say except that I don't know what I would do without it. I appreciate everything that you do and the efforts of everyone else who has worked so hard to make it what it is. Further, I do not regret a minute of the time I have put into it myself (and it's been a few hours--cough, cough). I've received so much more back that what I spent. Very proud of it too--the quality of the fiction, the dedication to the source material and resulting resources, and just the whole set up of it (dare I add the lack of drama--knock on wood!). It makes everyone connected to it look good--a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Oh. Wow! I'm not done with my birthday cards yet either! Where does the time go? (Trying to get started on my bio tonight also.)

Love your presentation. Can't see any of the dust in your study, don't if that is my poor eyesight or quality of my viewing apparatus. No worries there.

[independence1776]

Happy Birthday, SWG!

I, too, hope that the next ten years keeps the SWG's culture alive: the welcoming atmosphere, the focus on loving rather than hating, and the support and enthusiasm the members have for the site and each other. It's my fandom home for all of those reasons.

And like you, I want to thank all the mods, the volunteers, and every single person who has written, reviewed, or simply just read. It's the community that makes SWG what it is.

Here's to the next ten years!

[hhimring]

Congratulations, Dawn, and thank you to everyone!

[anna-wing.livejournal.com]

Congratulations!

[anna-wing.livejournal.com]

Congratulations!

Happy Birthday, SWG!

[binkaslibrary.livejournal.com]

What can I say? Well, I too want us to remain us. I want the SWG to keep on being positive, encouraging, friendly, and the kind of place people always want to return to.

Thank you to SWG people!

PS. I think I know the person behind that question you mention in the vid ;)

[spiced-wine.livejournal.com]

Congratulations, and many happy returns. The SWG has become known as the home of quality Silmarillion fanfic and articles (and character biographies of course ) and here is to another amazing ten years to you all :)

[pandemonium-213.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! Although I have been pretty much on hiatus lately, the SWG remains a solid fixture in my life. It's a fantastic archive, and you, Ford of B, Russandol, Rhapsy, Angelica, and other volunteers have set the tone for this expansive-of-thought and welcoming archive. To echo Oshun, the SWG is my fandom home.

Ironically, the SWG is, in part, responsible for my recent detachment from ficcish writing and other fandom activities. Thanks to writing first for the Chimp Refuge (and being picked up by SEED magazine) and then writing for the SWG, I gained the confidence to transition to my current career as a professional writer - although NOT fun fictional writing! Still, it pays the bills, and well, I love the work. :^)

Also, a gentle reminder that the birthday cards will be closing soon.

GAH! I need to get cracking. Between my personal laptop being in the shop (until 31 July) thanks to something stupid I did and to a lot of work with responses to questions from the FDA (OMG! That has been intense), I am behind. I aim to torment you and the other mods by sending in a flurry of greetings over the next two days. :^p

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

Congratulations!

[huinare.livejournal.com]

Congrats, Dawn! So many people have benefited from your brainchild, myself included. Cheers!

[ysilme]

Many happy returns, SWG, and congratulations on the awesome community you are! (And I don't care if this is correct grammar or not ;p ) I'm a latecomer, and particularly as a such it's such a joy to see a community thriving and alive, instead of dying out, and to see the commitment of you mods and administrators, but also of so many members. I hope I can be much more active myself and contribute a tiny bit to keep SWG what it is! :D *clinks teacup*

[ithilwen.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday, SWG! Hard to believe you're almost a teenager!

It's definitely my #1 archive, and I don't see that ever changing.