It went like this......
Domain purchased at end of 1995 I think - before that I had my "Stoveworks" (retail store) web site and I sold a bunch of stoves from a listing there. I also posted some info on it.
There are some wiki articles and a podcast about the start of hearth.com (here or links to such).
The Internet Archive can give anyone a perfect view into what was what and when!
Without digging too deep, it went like this.
The original internet didn't have any interactive features because no standards (php, javascript or java, etc.) were in use. I remember reading each monthly mag (Internet rags, Byte, etc) about the up and coming languages and what they could do (stock ticker, etc.). I also went to Internet and Mac trade shows in Boston and NYC.
The original hearth.com was mostly based upon articles I wrote and "Ask the Webmaster". Ask the Webmaster was questions I took by email and then saved. I put a number (10?) on each page and eventually had numerous pages of them. At some point I transferred them to a Filemaker Pro database and a plug-in which let them be online - the mac running filemaker was on my desk at home connected with a 28K modem, but the slow speed was not noticeable since the actually pages (data aside) still came from the server farm (Pentium 90 or so - at first, a shared server but soon after I got my own co-located one which was in Doylestown PA).
So that was the first "database and search" and we were up to about 2,000 questions and answers. I continued to add articles here and there also.
The first "forum" on the site was a program called
Ceilidh
https://perlwatch.net/projects/forums/ceilidh/page-source/drive_frame.html
My guess is that it could have been 1998 or so. It was fairly crude, somewhat closer to Facebook (funny that FB is so crude, yet people think it is not!)....
I then went over to a php based REAL forum software called pmachine which then changed into Expression Engine.
BB and BG and others remember that we transitioned to Xenforo about 2011 or so.....BB said it was the finest transition he was ever a part of....
I remember every single character involved...to this day. I have been cursed with a good memory. Examples.....
1. Dylan, I think, was the guy who felt it OK to say "peni$" over and over again on the original forum. At one point I had the police knock on his door and that stopped quick.
2. We all loved Elk, but I am mad at him because he told me a way to save money on my addition (use pressure treated for foundation - sitting on piers) and it's rotting away now and letting termites in. He also gave some bad advice to others...but, all in all, he also helped many people.
3. Corie is my friend on facebook as are some of the others from the forum. We loved his enthusiasm for stoves, so I paid to fly him out to the Reno show (he had never been in a plane before!) - where he met Harman and eventually got a job.
Lots of other tales and memories....but one thing I can definitely say. Our Mods and Regular Users are/were the best ever. When you look at all the acting out around the internet these days it becomes even more amazing. Sure, we saw the same thing here but it was a tiny percentage.
The real "lesson" is one that my friends who started the first popular BB's (The Well) learned long ago. That is "you own your own words". This, in addition to staying on subject and moderation/curation is what makes for a good informational web site.
Probably preaching to the choir here, but in many ways I am disappointed in what much of the internet has become. Everything is bought and sold and used and abused as opposed to the "sharing spirit" that was more available in the early days. I don't think I have found a "great new site" for many many years. I still love forums...when I am looking to solve car or house problems, etc, those are the only places to get the info.
Happy Holidays to all.