Note  59  Aule         (06/09/14 16:22)  Happy 20th Birthday T2T

20 years ago, at empires.stanford.edu, Graham (Ankh) first
booted up the TMI-2 mudlib configured as a new mud, and
The Two Towers was born.
 
I myself was the second person to log in, by the name Krysh
at that time.  The other team members soon followed: Manwe,
Tulkas (later called Orome), and Morgoth.  We started
customizing and making the world our own: unique, but true
to Tolkien.
 
And then an interesting thing happened.  TMI-2 mudlibs at
that time had an automated "mudlist" service - so our fledling
mud was appearing on those lists.  People started logging in
and playing.  They told their friends.  Before we knew it,
we had outgrown the borrowed time on empires and had to move.
We sold T-shirts in 1996 to raise money for our own server.
 
T2T continued to grow, and out-grow our servers.  Again and
again we hit the limits of our hardware and sold Tshirts to
raise money for new systems: in 2000 and again in 2008.
 
The real world has changed a lot in 20 years.  Multi-user gaming
that muds such as T2T ushered in is now the standard.  Faster
internet speeds have allowed improved graphics and 3D worlds
that were impossible back in the summer of 1994.
 
But there's something special here that survives.  The love of
the written word, the power of imagination, and the friendship
of others around the world who feel likewise.

To every one out there young and old who has been part of The
Two Towers these past 20 years, I thank you.

Aule