Happy 10th Anniversary BWINT!

[Sapphire]

Hi all,

It has been a very long time since I last posted here. Most of you will be familiar with me at some level. I’m the person who founded and ran Beast Wars International (the website and the forums) from 2002 until 2010, and who has been paying for its upkeep (with some help from Nurann) since then.

Although I can’t say I’m a hardcore fan anymore insofar as I don’t watch Beast Wars often, or collect figures or go to TF cons (not since 2010), I am a loyal fan. I have kept this space up out of respect for the show and the community it brought together. I am extremely happy to see that, despite it being almost 20 years since Beast Wars first aired (and 17 years since its final episode aired), people are still posting here. The RPG seems to be the lifeblood of the place, which is wonderful.
I wanted to pop in to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of this forum, which was officially launched this month in 2006! That was also the year I and many of the site’s admins and members gathered in the USA for Botcon ’06 which was then celebrating Beast Wars’ 10th anniversary (crazy dat!).

Many people have moved on in their lives since then and I have lost touch with a good many friends over the years. However, I am pleased to say I am still the best of friends with several hard-core, long-time BWINT peeps. I met my long-time partner through Bwint (SilverfromOz) whom I now live with in Australia; my best male friend (Razor One), and my oldest friends, Dannn, Blaze Raptor, Sinead, Rakshash, Joshin Yasha, Starath, VampyerBA and Nurannoniel. In fact, I’ll be at Nurann’s wedding in Canada this year! =D
This place has always been more than a forum; it’s a community. It’s a haven for die-hard fans, geeks and creatives. It’s still here because people like Optimal Optimus Primal (the admin) continue to moderate and because volunteers like Warwulf keep upgrading the software. I’m very grateful to both of them and to everyone else who has remained on and kept this place the happy haven I remember it being.

I can’t promise I’ll post very often here, but I do check in from time to time. (If anyone ever needs to get in contact with me, my email address is still malachite157@yahoo.com ) I hope this place continues to be a digital meeting place of friends and fans for more years to come.

Happy 10th Anniversary to The Intergalactic Highway!

-- Sapphire

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

Ten years? Is that all it has been? Wow. It just feels like it has been a lot longer than that (and I mean that in a positive way), and I haven't even been here since its birth. Congratulations, BWInt! Sapphire, thank you for this wonderful place of Beast Wars love and interaction! I don't draw the characters very often anymore, nor do I watch the show as often as I used to many years ago, but it still remains one of my all-time favorite cartoons. I have made a lot of great friends because of it. Happy 10th, BWint! And Happy 20th Beast Wars/Beasties! (Wow, I feel old... Haha)

[Beastbot]

Not only the whole 20th anniversary thing, but 2016 is the Year of the Monkey, too! I know we've got at least 2 Optimus Primal toys coming this year, at least, so Hasbro hasn't forgotten about BW either.

And I echo everything OOP said. Though are you sure it's only the 10th, or was it just under a different name before 2006? I could've sworn this forum was older than that... I mean, I met you at Botcon 2005, Sapph...

[Sapphire]

It’s the 10th Anniversary of this particular forum, "The Intergalactic Highway". It's the 13th anniversary this year of BWINT overall. The first incarnation was called "Sapphire's Beast Wars and Formula 1 Site" (a personal website for my two passions) which I built either late 2001 or early 2002. Then it was relaunched as "Sapphire's Beast Wars Website" in September 2002 (which you can still see here: http://sapphire15.yoll.net/layoutthree.htm ) I finally moved it to bwint.net and rebranded it as Beast Wars International in November 2003.

So this place has a long history. It’s been around half of my life. I started the whole shebang when I was 15 years old and living in South Africa. O_o

This November, when we need to renew the site’s hosting plan, I’ll post a “happy birthday” thread for BWINT.

It’s so good to see you both still here, OOP and Beastbot. You too have been long-time pals of mine. I wish you both all the best for the year ahead.

-- Sapphire

[starshadow]

I feel old already.

I've joined this site when I was 14 (which was my very first forum). Thanks for making the best memories y'all!

[SilverfromOZ]

The creaks and groans of a battered stasis pod (barely held together with duct tape, super glue and a single creatively arranged paper clip) interrupt the civil conversation….

As a write this I am besieged by a cute quartet of cheeky rodents. Two have just scuffled on my lap, another is industriously hiding her food under an impervious toilet roll and a third has just been returned into the play session after tight-roping across the room’s external barrier. If you’d said ten years ago I’d be a proud rat-daddy I… would probably have thought about it briefly and most likely agreed. Soo much has changed since the last time I was here. Soo much of it has its humble beginnings with this incredible forum and this amazing show.

For example: the aforementioned rats were a direct result of Sapphire’s obsession with Rattrap. For those who haven’t had the pleasure of owning this wonderful creatures, yes they are just that cheeky

But it’s not just the eccentric pet ownership that has its roots here. The TF Conventions took me out of the small-town family in the western suburbs of Sydney and showed me the world. The US, UK, Japan all called to me and through those journeys I was able to meet many of you.

I can honestly say that this forum is the greatest forum and community that I have had the blessing to be a part of. During my active posting times I went through many changes in life and the incredible people here helped me through some of the most difficult times in my life.

None of this would have been possible without the strong leadership and dedication that Sapphire put in to make this forum not only fun, but safe and troll-free. I have seen other poorly moderated forums without the good laws that Sapph had laid down and they are really not nice places to be. This is a realm where young, enthusiastic fans can co-mingle with grizzled veterans and be warmly welcomed and supported. Beyond the BW side of things, we really got to know a lot about each other and long-lasting, international friendships were formed.

Happy Birthday BW Int and thank you Sapphire for setting up this beautiful place and thank you all for building into the wonderful community it became

[Wicked Woman]

First off: Silver, I approve of your picture message *thumbs up*

Second: Very good news about the real life Rat(trap) you've acquired.

And most importantly, third: Holy scrap, it's been 10 years (for the forums)!? Yay! We beat the odds!

I've been randomly working on some mini projects while in between hours at work. For instance, I've posted on Live Journal back in November my own version of a Beast Wars Parody (boy, I timed that pretty well) and am currently working on season 2. I've also been writing a parody of Star Wars using Transformers characters from (almost) every universe. (with several Beast Wars Characters as main characters) So the fandom is still alive within me. :3

I remember stumbling across this site through Sapph while I was browsing fanfics when I should've been paying attention during my college courses... oops I also remember my first chat with you guys when we were using AOL... and the 17 or so people from other BW fansites coming in to chat about our fave show.

Good times... good times...


WW

[Sapphire]

**hugs Starshadow and Wicked Woman** So good to see you are both still around! It's amazing the hold this place and the TV show has had on us over the years. I never knew, when I first sat down on the floor to watch Beast Wars as a 9 year old girl, that it would change my life forever!

Long live wonderful fandoms and the friends that form from them (yes that was deliberate alliteration!)

-- Sapphire

[una]

Wow! I joined this site in 2006. I was sixteen years old then, and here I still am! still enjoying series and enjoying the RPG forum here as well as met some great people during my stay here.

[Nurann]

It is kind of hard to believe we've been here 10 years! Then again, I still remember swatting ads like flies on Aimoo

I get a huge smile every time an old member drops by, and I will forever treasure how incredible it was to meet so many of you at Gatherings and Botcons. You guys really are the most amazing forum 'netizens, and we are really lucky admins to have you guys here!

From the day I met Blaze Raptor and Starath on the remnants of Beast Wars Anonymous (Star - flashlight!), and had the privilege of being able to join the first members on the Console, I have been blessed to meet my best friends in (literally) the whole world. I have been inspired to travel further and further across the globe, and this year will have the immense joy of having some of those dearest friends join me as I step into the next great adventure of marriage.

Thank you all for an amazing 10 years, and here's to another decade of enjoying one of the best '90's cartoons ever!

Cheers!

[Wicked Woman]

It is kind of hard to believe we've been here 10 years! Then again, I still remember swatting ads like flies on Aimoo

I get a huge smile every time an old member drops by, and I will forever treasure how incredible it was to meet so many of you at Gatherings and Botcons. You guys really are the most amazing forum 'netizens, and we are really lucky admins to have you guys here!

From the day I met Blaze Raptor and Starath on the remnants of Beast Wars Anonymous (Star - flashlight!), and had the privilege of being able to join the first members on the Console, I have been blessed to meet my best friends in (literally) the whole world. I have been inspired to travel further and further across the globe, and this year will have the immense joy of having some of those dearest friends join me as I step into the next great adventure of marriage.

Thank you all for an amazing 10 years, and here's to another decade of enjoying one of the best '90's cartoons ever!

Cheers!

Congratulations on your wedding, Nurann. I'm positive it'll be a wonderful day.


WW

[The Crab]

Oh wow, seeing all these old faces makes me feel like it's 2006-2007 again! I haven't been hit this hard by nostalgia in a long while.

I can't even believe it's been 10 years. Y'know, despite all the big changes I've had in my life this past decade, these forums have always had a special place in my heart. It's where I met some of my best friends, and I still often think back to all the wacky threads we had; but more specifically, the times we were fortunate enough to meet up.

One of my favorite moments ever was during Botcon '07. I had just had valet drive my truck off, and I was standing in the front of the hotel, calling... somebody. I forget who. But I was letting them know that my friend and I had arrived, and that we were gonna go to the BWINT meetup after we set up shop in our room. I got off the phone, turned around, and bam. Turns out, Wicked Woman overheard my conversation and introduced herself as such right then and there.

I'm ecstatic to see everyone's doing well for themselves! I've missed you all, and hopefully we can stay in contact this time. If anyone ever needs to reach me outside of the site, my email is Crabbus@gmail.com.

Happy 10th Anniversary, BWINT! It's good to see everybody again. <3

P.S: SUPER CONGRATS NURANN! Hope you enjoy married life!

[Sinead]

It has been a very long time since I have even been able to access the message boards. These last ten years . . . I can't believe how they've flown by, and all the changes that have been made in our lives both collectively and singularly in this time. Ten years ago, we didn't have social media for our communication. Ten years ago, we had to schedule AIM chats on the boards, and had to really work out time zone compatibilities. Ten years ago, we were (mostly) kids trying to find a way to be adults in a scary new world.

And then Botcon 2006. What. A. Trip. So many people and faces and personalities and it just . . . everything still is a blur to me, filled with laughter. It still astounds me at how we all managed to meld together, despite our cultural backgrounds and expectations. I'm still in contact with several people who attended that con ... and married one of them. (He was my friend who came with me from Boston. Here's a photo from our wedding day. We have even reunited the Botcon 2006 boxed set that we split after getting home from the con. Nerd life, represent!)

The last ten years have seen a lot of growth in the Transformers world, and a lot of growth in our own personal lives. I know that I've had a lot go pear-shaped in the ten years I've known Sapphire, Starath, Nurann, Crab, Hacker, and Silver... and each of their voices were an encouragement at different times that I have never forgotten.

Like Sapphire, while I will always be a Beast Wars fangirl at heart, I've expanded my Transformers fandom to encompass many other worlds. I haven't been writing as much as I used to, and I have had to make many changes in my life that has started to pull me out of the online/digital world. When you have to choose between your health and a hobby, it's often hard to articulate to friends why you are no longer entirely in their lives. But nevertheless, it was a heartening and delightful thing to hear that the boards have been going while life has been spinning ever forward. To those of you who have been keeping up the good fight ... Thank you. Brilliant job.

I don't know if I'll be posting here very often, but I will do what I can to check in on a more regular basis. It'll be fun to see how the boards have changed in the last five years since I logged on. (I lost my password, and now it's telling me that my email address, because it's a gmail one, was logged as a spam address? Oh. Hm. Well, then. )

[Sapphire]

una, CRAB!, Sinead!!!

So good to see you posting here. (Especially Crab who I did not know still lurked these forums! ) Womderful to hear from you all!!

I've really enjoyed reading everyone's memories of times gone by, from the old forums, to AIM chats to gatherings. As I was saying to Beastbot, maybe for Beast Wars's 25th or 30th anniversary, we can hold another "gathering" like old times, somewhere central to everyone in North America. Who knows what the future holds?

Thank you all for celebrating this special milestone for both these forums and for Beast Wars in general. 2016 is a special year, indeed!

**hugs all round**

--Sapphire

[The Crab]

una, CRAB!, Sinead!!!

So good to see you posting here. (Especially Crab who I did not know still lurked these forums! ) Womderful to hear from you all!!

I've really enjoyed reading everyone's memories of times gone by, from the old forums, to AIM chats to gatherings. As I was saying to Beastbot, maybe for Beast Wars's 25th or 30th anniversary, we can hold another "gathering" like old times, somewhere central to everyone in North America. Who knows what the future holds?

Thank you all for celebrating this special milestone for both these forums and for Beast Wars in general. 2016 is a special year, indeed!

**hugs all round**

--Sapphire

Fun fact: the biggest reason I attended Botcon 2007 was to spend it with you guys. And the only reason I'd go to another TF convention again would be for the same reason. So another gathering is something I'd jump on in a heartbeat! I miss everybody.