A brief history of [my] time

It's the year 2000.

I'm 24 years old.

We have all just survived the Y2K bug. No planes fell out of the sky, and almost all computers figured out how to go to 1999 to 2000, without rolling back to 1900.

I'm working on my website. I have called it 'Ikon Reviews'.

My keen interest in graphic design and digital artwork has led me to build a site to showcase my work, and hopefully other peoples.

Radiohead's Paranoid Android is thumping the desk, causing the plastic keyboard of my Bondi Blue iMac to rattle. The modem chirps and whistles as I wait to be reconnected to AOL so I can upload my site changes.

I'm leaning heavily on my experience with BASIC and AMOS code as I try and wrangle a Perl script to do what I want it to do.

Those primary school years spent fascinated by the black and beige box of the BBC Micro.

My dad reading out code from a magazine as we risk carpal tunnel syndrome aged 7 typing it all in.

Fixing all the syntax errors in our code.

The site is done. I let a few friends on to see it. They are either genuinely impressed, or they fake it well.

I have an idea to have an area for discussions.

I search Yahoo and find a free Perl script called BoardMaster. It's written by a Greek dentist.

I download it and fight for an hour to install it.

I'm not happy with how it works, so I start editing the code to add in new features.

--

It's 2002.

I'm 26 years old, and I sign off AOL at 3 am. I check my watch and realise I only have a few hours sleep until I need to crawl out of bed, eat two slices of coffee and get to work.

Ikon Reviews never got past the beta stage. I scrapped it after being fascinated by forums.

I launched Ikonboard in 2001, and it was immediately popular.

I've just finished speaking with a friend I met working on a project for a Texan who has no respect for timezones.

We have just formed a new company together, and we're going to create a new forum engine.

--

It's 2018, and I close down the Slack window. I've just finished a meeting with my partners and the development team.

That little script I wrote alone in my dining room in 2002 is now a hugely popular product powering discussions for LEGO?, Warner Bros., SEGA, Sony and thousands more.

We are now a team of 16.

The energy and drive I had all those years ago; the very reason I took such a keen interest in forum engines hasn't changed.

I love being able to bring people together. To talk about their favourite game; their favourite team; to support each other in times of crisis; to laugh and pick apart their favourite TV shows.

In a world of growing disconnect where social media giants are eroding privacy, forums still offer a safe place to discuss a single topic.

You are in control of what you share. You can be as anonymous as you wish. You don't need to use your real name, and you don't need to use your photo.

In this modern age, that is a compelling benefit.

Invision Community 4.4 will be out quite soon, and it continues to push the boundaries and lead the market, just as we have always done.