How'd it All Start?

Wcyeung123

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Sep 21, 2015
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164
As a long time follower of this forum, I do appreciate the help that everyone gives me and other confused students who want to commission in the Armed Forces. Thank you all. I'd just like to know how this forum started answering the question of who, what, when, and how?

I'd just like to thank the person or people who created this forum because I learned a lot from here. A lot of students come here for answers about their careers, but I like to know the history of where it all started as well. Thanks.
 

AROTC-dad

Moderator
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Mar 14, 2014
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Okay all you founding members.....here is your chance to reminisce about the days you walked barefoot through blizzards to build this forum. ;)
 
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USMCGrunt

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Dec 13, 2010
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In an era sometime after "Hidden Figures"...
emoji16.png

I may (or may not) have spit some very fine bourbon on my screen after reading Capt MJ's post.
 

Capt MJ

Formerly Known As Attila The Hunnette
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But before or after the first handheld TI calculators with scientific functions...hmmmm
 

kinnem

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^^^ Hah! Just yesterday I was thinking back to the days of slide rules in college... but then that's after the start of this forum, right? :D
 

AF6872

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Mar 4, 2007
Messages
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Asked my youngest if she even knew what a slide Rule Was. Not a clue. Oldest graduate of USNA and son graduate of Maritime had heard of one but never seen one.
 

AROTC-dad

Moderator
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But before or after the first handheld TI calculators with scientific functions...hmmmm

HP > TI

upload_2017-8-10_9-52-54.jpeg
An HP 35 circa 1970 - First pocket sized scientific.
(and uses RPN logic).
 

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seacadetmum

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Apr 26, 2016
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Kids these days will never know the struggle of demon tones...
Dial in bulletin boards...
Making your own fly website on Geocities (all HTML)...
And most of all getting 3/4 of the way through Oregon Trail just to die of dysentery.
 

Stealth_81

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15-Year Member
Founding Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2006
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3,626
As a long time follower of this forum, I do appreciate the help that everyone gives me and other confused students who want to commission in the Armed Forces. Thank you all. I'd just like to know how this forum started answering the question of who, what, when, and how?

I'd just like to thank the person or people who created this forum because I learned a lot from here. A lot of students come here for answers about their careers, but I like to know the history of where it all started as well. Thanks.

This forum started in June of 2006. At that time there was very little organized information found online about the service academies. The best source at that time was the College Confidential section dedicated to the service academies, but that was full of misinformation. Since nearly everyone could post whatever they wanted with no vetting or moderation, the information was often contradictory and outdated.

This site's founder, Tacticalnuke, saw a need and started these forums. Many of the original members here were from the CC site and it was a gradual transition to people realizing that Tacticalnuke ran a tight ship and that the quality of this site was high.

In the beginning there was a large presence from both West Point and USNA. The original moderators like Jamzmom, Just_A_Mom and WAMom68 were West Point, and Zaphod, USNA1985, and USNA69 were USNA. KP2001 was the mod for USMMA. There was not much activity with the Air Force. In fact, in the beginning there was not even a moderator for the USAFA forum. Over time all of the forums grew. Moderators were pretty constant for the first several years and membership grew a lot. The ROTC and other sub forums were added as we expanded and word spread. We found that the audience for the service academies was most of the same people applying to ROTC and the Military Colleges.

There have been several upgrades and changes to the site over the past 11 years. Each one is designed to give candidates the best experience here in finding advice about applying to the Academies and ROTC. Tacticalnuke is still the site owner and administrator and is involved daily in running the site and keeping it on the right track.

Stealth_81
 

Jcleppe

10-Year Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2010
Messages
6,714
Used to use one of these at the 13th USCG District Office. Thought we were really high tech.

Sorry, didn't know how to make the picture smaller.

Muirhead_fax_machine_-_MfK_Bern.jpg
 

Wcyeung123

5-Year Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2015
Messages
164
WOW!!!! Did not know that this forum dates back a long time. A lot of wisdom shared and cherished from when it started to now. I just hope this forum will keep growing as others like me may have questions down the road.
 

Full Metal Bulldog

5-Year Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2012
Messages
472
Does anyone keep track of or know what ever happened to some of the original moderators; I know some of y'all had the chance to meet and get close in real life. Also, does anyone REALLY know who tacticalnuke REALLY is?
 

parentalunit2

10-Year Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
668
Of course people know who he really is, and of course some of us realize what you are getting at with that statement. About two minutes of research would reveal that. This place is an LLC run without a Registered Agent, a.k.a. totally public information.
 
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