Start of BBO - Who were the Early birds

[badderzboy]

I started playing on BBO as a complete novice in Feb 2003 I think (have changed PCs since then so I've lost my logs and so don't know when I started :)

I remember there were fewer than 10 tables online during european daytime but I remember Sheps Classes even then.

 

The growth of BBO has been breath-taking and the introduction of the BIL I think has been great for the game and I honestly think we'll see a future Vugraph presentation with 'former' BILlies playing in it at some point in the future!

 

I remember the peak when USA-ITALY played on Vugraph and the misplay that cost extra time and gave the match to USA (in the Bermuda Bowl?) which we now see exceded everyday!

 

So who were the early birds/nicknames and who are the earliest registered members still online?

 

Steve

[nickf]

I'm proud to say that I was one of the first people to see Bridge Base in its very early form. In fact before it was even public knowledge I believe.

 

My company has been a re-seller of Fred's software since a long time ago and as I recall Fred emailed me and encouraged me to download his BBO software. I was dumbstruck at the ease of use and its potential as a partnership aide from the first time I used it. What was particularly cute was discovering new things all the time - like the chat box opening as soon as you typed on your keyboard, or the way a hand would appear in a chat room when you typed (I think).. eg A432, 432, 432, 432.

 

When was all this? If I were to hazard a guess - I'd say 2001 but Fred could confirm all this. I also recall Fred telling me to keep it all hush hush and him rapping me on the knuckles for telling an American mate about it.

 

nickf

sydney

[Booze]

Hi

 

I think I was one of the first users at BBO in spring 2001, we had to wait sometimes to be 4 users online before we could start a table. Nafiz, Trym, Southwind, Marn, Redbaron, Shep and of course Fred and Sheri, among with their friends from Toronto were the first users at BBO.

 

We were like a nice bridge family at BBO, now BBO is very big, sadly problems with users behaviour seems to increase with growing. Yellows do a great job handling this, they have hard and difficult job. Take every chance you have to thank them for doing it !!!

 

Bo aka Booze at BBO

[fred]

As I recall, Deanrover6, 7me, and Gerardo were also around from near the beginning.

 

I started work on the BBO program around Christmas of 2000. The first version was released to the general public in April or May of 2001.

 

Fred Gitelman

Bridge Base Inc.

www.bridgebase.com

[macaw]

I first started visiting the site, along with shep, when it was in beta testing and not open to public knowledge. Normally there would only be two or three people online at any one time, not enough for a game :) It was so exciting watching the development and growth of the program.

[fred]

I first started visiting the site, along with shep, when it was in beta testing and not open to public knowledge. Normally there would only be two or three people online at any one time, not enough for a game :) It was so exciting watching the development and growth of the program.

I believe that Fish and Crunch (who, along with Shep, are close friends of mine from Toronto) were other members of the Shep-Macaw testing team.

 

Fred Gitelman

Bridge Base Inc.

www.bridgebase.com

[scoob]

i don't remember when i first came here, but i remember there was only about 300 people online at any given time when i first came over. i was instantly impressed with bbo's superiority over any other online bridge site i've been to. i've never gone back.

[Gerardo]

Yes, I am around since May or June 2001. At that time, at certain times (US nights, mostly), there were not enough people to start one table.

[easy]

I remember being at the toronto natls and seeing fred's demo of BBO. I started playing on bbo immediately after that.......... august of 2001

 

 

:)

[ritong]

bénédicte "patapon" cronier showed me once bridge base online two years ago , we were at a dinner and she went off table two or three times an hour to go at the computer :) i was not convinced at this time, but after that , i spent a week end to her place to play a bridge competition and she insisted to make me try again..i slept 30 minutes in the whole week end, finished last in the competition and bought a computer when back home :-) BBo has had considerable impact on my whole life, no need to say i am grateful to its creators , no need to say either i am pretty sure it will impact on bridge life in general , much more than it does just now.

i know i am a little off-thread, but i could not resist:)

 

thanks all & long life to the virtual bridge.

[Chamaco]

Yes, I am around since May or June 2001. At that time, at certain times (US nights, mostly), there were not enough people to start one table.

I started out around july 2001.

I remember that for a little bit I and Gerardo used to play together a lot (we shd do it more often even now, G :) ).

[Walddk]

I started out around july 2005.

Your memory must be special. To remember something that hasn't happened yet is very difficult for the rest of us :D

 

Roland

[inquiry]

The current Bridgebrowser database goes back to october 2, 2003. My first hand shows up on the 3rd, but I joined before that. But as of the first week in october, there were plenty of regulars here... names that pop of the list include rain, remin, rado, hrothgar, stanned, csdenmark, geofspa, tobice, annebabe, vikicata, keylime, hallway

 

to name but a few....To figure out when I actually started, I will have to go back and look at the dates on all the old lin files I save to a cd before I got bridgebrowser.

 

Ben

[Chamaco]

I started out around july 2005.

Your memory must be special. To remember something that hasn't happened yet is very difficult for the rest of us :)

 

Roland

Hehe, my memory is good, want some psychic reading about your future ? :D

 

However, just corrected the post, it was 2001 :)

[inquiry]

The earliest hands I have been able to find for me so far was Jan 14, 2002, not quite as early as I thought. My recollection is I discovered BBO before Xmas and played some while on holidy for that.

 

Not early by the standards mentioned by other posters.

 

Ben

[luke warm]

does bbo's server database keep track of when a nick was created? this is not my first nick on bbo (or even my 5th)... i don't remember when i first found bbo, but i'm thinking it was spring, summer of '03

[fred]

In the early days of BBO our server did keep track of this information (because every member had his own file and the server's operating system automatically made a record of file creation date). That information is long since gone as we do not use the same server computer as we used to.

 

Nowadays we use a database instead to store member info and I don't know if we store member creation date or not. I suspect not, but this is Uday's area now (thank God for that).

 

Fred Gitelman

Bridge Base Inc.

www.bridgebase.com

[keylime]

It's been THAT long for me on BBO.....wow.

 

I think I stumbled onto BBO by sheer accident - I remembered one of the first boards I moderated was black with red trim. Checkerboard-ish.

[uday]

No, I don't store that information and I regret that now :)

[keylime]

Uday,

 

Maybe it isn't good to record it, just because of the fact that we might run across hands that we say to ourselves, "D'oh! I so should know better......"! :)

[mink]

I played my first board at October 13 2001. Some players I met that day are still well-known to me, like Gerardo and Booze.

 

Karl

[Walddk]

I have been a BBO member for about 2 years now. I was an okb'er when a friend told me about Bridge Base. So I decided to give it a go.

 

I never looked back!

 

Roland

[pclayton]

I think a lot of us early birds were Deal of the Week junkies; I checked it regularly Monday mornings and got a little agitiated when Fred didn't post the hand until the afternoon. :) :lol:

 

He had many postings on BB's site advertising BBO before the site was launched. It took a few months to develop a critical mass of players to form a few tables.

 

Because it was a good product and free, BBO was able to get over that critical hurdle. Other start up sites haven't been so fortunate.

[hallway]

I remember the day , sadly not the date - that hard drive went up in smoke , middle of 2001 though.

 

Had completed my first series of bridge lessons, faced the firing squad in the clubrooms, decided - this is not for me !!

 

Posted my resignation, thought I'd have one last look at bridge, googled it and up came Bridge Base 'educational' , had a look, emailed Fred to ask if it was ok for a beginner.

 

Next day I was stunned I got a genuine personal reply !! Incredible - this is cyber space and YET this man obviously cared so much about the game that he would take time to nurture 'someone' a world away !

 

That is the essence that makes BBO the extra special place it is.

 

I recall the excitement of logging in and finding 5 tables playing, then 20 and THEN 100 !!! Then the day there was a 1000 online - wonderful memories.

 

Well nowadays my family call me a BBO junkie , still can't play bridge mind you - the title of Aged Void is justly earned :unsure:

 

BUT I do like to give the Advanced + community the occassional warning "Watch out the BILlies are coming" :D

[shoeless]

Hallway - your initial experience with Fred doesn't surprise me in the least - I haven't been around BBO very long but as long time student, trainer and consultant in leadership and organizational development I have been WOWed by what is going on here. If a graduate student came to me and said - I need a subject for my thesis on leadership and OD. Can you point me in the right direction? I would say go take a look at Gitelman - whether he really knows what he is doing or it's just intuitive - there's something magic happening over there. BTW - good on you for BIL - I thought about one of my favorite quotes as I read your signature - "When the student is ready, the master appears"