JeffG3209

I was looking for an "about page" or such.

This is an interesting forum I have been watching (and now a member of) since I started browsing the internet as a teenager.

Was just curious on the creators/founders and the growth over however long.

Really just the story behind it all.

JT

iTrader: (1)

Before the ThirdGen.org domain was created, Jeff Wolfe had a forum running on an .edu student website. The .edu website grew and the software could not handle the traffic. Since .edu accounts have restrictions, donations were made to start a real domain of ThirdGen.com. Time went by and ThirdGen.com didn't get online. Around this time, ThirdGen.org (aka TGO) was then formed in 1997. TGO was created by Dirk Timmerman, Dan Martin, Bradley Elliott, Stephen Cranford, and Victor Li.

Dirk was the technical operator and sole owner of TGO while most of the above people left between then and 2006. All of the people mentioned above, with exception to Stephen, have moved on for various reasons. Stephen still regularly participates. Dan Martin recently stopped by in the first half of 2009 and sold his ThirdGen here on the forums to a long time TGO member and staff (AmorgetRS).

Dirk sold ThirdGen.org to a small business in 2006 (Xoxide), which then sold to a large corporation (Internet Brands) in 2007.

ThirdGen.org is administrated by IROCZTWENTYGR8 and myself (JT) and has been for several years. IROCZTWENTYGR8 started out as a Member, then began helping Dirk out with tech data and site issues behind the scenes in 2000 before moving up to Moderator, Super Moderator, and then Administrator in 2003. We have a great team of moderators, currently: 2_point8_boy, 3.8TransAM, 300hpse, 82FirebirdTA, 88txiroc, 89ROC, 90RS305, 92 Formula, 9D1BURD, AaronIROCZ, Abubaca, AmorgetRS, anesthes, Apeiron, askulte, brutalform, CC_HotRod, dimented24x7, Duck, ES87iroc, esc, five7kid, Floor guy, Grim Reaper, Guido, iroc22, IROCThe5.7L, Jim85IROC, johnyIROC, Justins86bird, Jza, Kevin91Z, LFN AT U, lonsal, Neo, njspder, okfoz, OUTATIME GTA, Paul_Hughes_87 T/A, RBob, RMK, scottmoyer, ShiftyCapone, snflupigus, Stephen 87 IROC, Steve86TA, SteveSpohn, Tim Burgess, Trickster, Tru2Chevy, Vader, Willie, Xenodrgn, Zap Racing. Some moderators have came and gone, which aren't included in the list above (sorry), but for the most part, we have senior staff with many having been around since day-one.

There is a lot missing in between, which would probably take some collaboration between some of us, but those are the highlights.

JeffG3209

Interesting. I never really thought too much intro forums. I figured that they were "templates" so to say, with adjustable settings for admin preferences. This may be the case.

Internet Brands has stock. Wow! A much larger business than the server in the garage type of thing Guess there is plenty of money in adverts to make this all profitable. Kind of neat to think about.

Are the admin's employees/contractors for Internet Brands or is this more of a hobby for you? That last one might be a little too personal. If it is just forget I asked, just curious how it works

watajob

iTrader: (29)

Ask about the great crash of 08/2000.

BlackMamba

iTrader: (6)

If you mind me asking watajob but what did you mean about the great crash of 08/2000.
I was also surprise on what I read on the history of TGO

Mr.K

interesting i want to know now too.

KITT1983

iTrader: (3)

interesting i heard of this great crash and why people have TGO supporter under their names

rusty vango

yeah,ive been wondering the same thing.what galvenizing moment in time made this gem of a website a reality for those of us with a 3rd gen??

watajob

iTrader: (29)

SKELITOR117

iTrader: (3)

Wow. Talk about a long time member. I would also like to know about the great crash of 08.2000

85Z28NOS

iTrader: (2)

I remeber back when this site consisted of not much more than a scrolling blog. I had just bought my first third gen and was looking for some advice. Then when I bought my GTA I visited again and registered the VIN of my car to prove it was a real GTA.

FueledSoul

iTrader: (18)

Does anyone remember the hiccups?

Twin_Turbo

iTrader: (25)

not many of the old farts left.

As for the major crash, I remember it because at the same time there was a huge crash @ corvetteforum.com and my account there got wiped.

SKELITOR117

iTrader: (3)

Dang.

Confuzed1

iTrader: (4)

There's a few of us left....oh the drama!!

Chevy86 IROC-Z

iTrader: (17)

Here is some webshots of TGO when it began. I must say, Im pretty impressed on how it evolved to what it is today..
http://wayback.archive.org/web/*/thirdgen.org

90firebird

Wow Wow Wow! Thanks for that link 86 Iroc! Looks just as I remember it! I joined back in '02 as a senior in high school and spent many an hour on the boards. The damn car was about all I could think about, aside from girls and hockey!

Kind of strange to think that I'm going to get one of those 10 year member icons soon..

Chevy86 IROC-Z

iTrader: (17)

No problem.

89iroc89

Amazing to think that people were on here maybe posting and talking about the very camaro I own today, and I was only in diapers!

DrewsCam

iTrader: (2)

Lol I have one of those ten year memberships. What interests me is how you become a moderator or supporter ..... you can pm me the answer if you want

JT

iTrader: (1)

The TGO Supporter status went to those members who contributed funds toward the server, years ago, as there was a few points when TGO was needing some funds to get better hardware.

Moderator status is for those who show to positively contribute to the forums, have no alarming history of being problematic (rule violations, conflicts, etc.) and are willing to volunteer their time to assist the forum by upholding our Guidelines. They are selected by us (staff).

DrewsCam

iTrader: (2)

I appreciate the information JT but i was just really looking as to how i can help this site more. Do we still accept donations for supporting this site. I would like the opportunity to give back to a site which has helped me repeatedly for the last ten years.

Ron_90

Since it's now owned by a large corporation, donations would probably be wasted money. Probably the best way to give back is to simply help others

85_ZED28

Cool link! That brings back some memories. It's crazy how much is archived.

Aaron91RS

iTrader: (2)

I think I was on here by 94 or 95. Where's my 18 year badge? I liked the old style where not only the topic was displayed but the first sentence or so of every reply was indented and displayed under it.
Really cut down on if a thread was worth opening.
In 18 years can you imagine how many times we answered the same questions about these cars?

Chevy86 IROC-Z

iTrader: (17)

Yup. That's because a lot of members want quick answers. They don't wanna do a search because it takes away too much of their time. All that they are doing is just wasting more valuable space on the server when the answers to the question is already answered.

DrewsCam

iTrader: (2)

I think we are all guilty of it once or twice
.. myself included

Chevy86 IROC-Z

iTrader: (17)

Me too.

Shadygrady

iTrader: (3)

Really interesting stuff.I dont get on here like I used to ,but i do still check it out and still own my car.However i try the search when i have a question before i post.i do take some issue with how difficult it can be to find the answer you need .The flip side to that is all the questions that were answered that I was not looking for at that moment or had not asked yet.
the repetitive questions when most of those answers are in stickys is annoying as well as amusing when I recall how many times ive done it.Wouldnt change my whole third gen experience,site or cars,for nothing.

RedLeader289

iTrader: (2)

I know this is a two year old thread but I must say, it's quite an interesting read, hearing about how this whole thing got started (on a student website no less!). I'm glad it is here.

8Mike9

Way back in the day, I was here through two board changes, both kinda up grade, but like was mentioned, what you might call a blog..

You didn't sign in, just "put in" what ever handle you wanted...so many [ranksters...lol...heck, I think that every week, the posts would get deleted-don't recall a search function= and we'd start all over again.

Then Dirk bought into the "UBB"...I think it was called, back in '99, and we all had to register, etc, like it is now.

Some good members are still around today.

Made many a friend back then, spoke with many on the phone about issues we had.

Off the top of my head...

Willie
Ede
Matt
Pablo
Ed maher
MadMax

So many others, I think RB (still here, under another name now ) and Ede. Mad max and a few others had an inside club.

I've myself gone dormant here for a few years at a time, but dang, this place always draws me back in

I might add, Vader (Jeff) came on when the new board was made on the early 2000's...wow, what an impact he had on helping people out.

TylerSteez

iTrader: (3)

This is an interesting thread, I've been a member on a couple forums online and I have to say thirdgen is the only one I've came across that isn't filled with many cocky, stuck up members at all. Just a bunch of car guys trying to help out other car guys.

Veaceonee

iTrader: (1)

I was here in the early 2000s when I was young and stupid (went through 3 third gens in 2.5 years). Didn't own another until I got the notchback on 2012. Couldn't remember any of my old log in info. Would love to have it back.

John in RI

iTrader: (167)

I seem to remember when the message board threads were more like blog postings and each thread had a colored background,...Green and Yellow IIRC. That early 'message board' sure wasn't the easiest thing to read thru !

Site sure has come a LONG way since then.

NufNuffZ28

iTrader: (10)

Just posting as I've been on and off of this board a lot since the late 90s!

I'd love to moderate some as well, if anyone ever sees it fit for me to help!

Pablo

iTrader: (1)

Hey Mike, I remember chatting way back when. I'm still around. I left TGO for several years when I got into Turbo Buicks but thirdgens are my true love so I bought another one and came back.

The board was a much different place way back when, mostly due to the non-tech forum. TGO was more of a social site and it seemed like there was some kind of nasty flame war that would erupt weekly. In fact, I remember the ultimate demise of the non tech board was when one of those flame wars spilled over and had a guy insulting Dirk (who never got involved in any of it) and his family. That's when Dirk pulled the plug on the non tech stuff and the site went tech only.
Some more tidbits:
I first visited the "Third Generation Firebird and Camaro" webpage (I specifically remember Firebird was written first) sometime around '95 or '96. The page was black with white text and a lead image of a black Formula (Jeff Wolfe's car). The website was something like www.missouri.edu/~c6709

The forum was just one page, no sub forums and it was slow. You'd wait days to see replies. At some point it was decided that it needed its own dedicated site and I believe Wolfe was supposed to be setting up "thirdgen.com". While that happened, the missouri site went down, so there was no thirdgen site whatsoever. From what I remember, Wolfe was really slacking on getting the site up and that's when Dirk and some other guys stepped up and put together Thirdgen.org. I think when that happened, Wolfe got pissed off.

I've seen a lot of people come and go that certainly left their mark and I wonder how they are doing today. I also wonder what happened to some of their cars, some of which were pretty badass. I can't help but just imagine these cars are collecting dust somewhere. I still spoke to Dirk on occasion up until maybe 5 years ago when we lost contact. His car was collecting dust.

8Mike9

I recall the call we had...well, not the details, but remember we talked!...Wow, had to be well over 10 years ago?

Hey Pablo...I also remember a top TGO blunder...you recall anyone pulling thier heads and finding out the plug wire were swapped (or similar)

But ya, you were here before me...I recall the issue with Dirk, wow wr (all of TGO) had some good times on the non-tech board.

Another name pops in my mind...Matt...remember in the old version boards, he was trying to get a supercharger hooked up?

ONe thing I mentioned to a member recently, which doesn't happen now...is how fast the board used to turn over...i/e...you could reply to a post...post it, and 3 new messages were listed!


And I too wonder about many that are not around anymore...but we all getting older now

Good to hear from ya Pablo, put's a smile on my face!

84 Z-28 350

My sig says I joined in may of 01, but I remember being on this website way prior to joining the air force in 2000, and times have changed allot...I remember being able to find numerous thirdgens in salvage yards, now they are few and far between among other things...I miss the good old days

blacksunshine'91

iTrader: (10)

I personally feel that the removal of the non-tech forum is why this site has continued to prosper where other forums have failed. On a lot of those, 98% of the traffic is on the non-topic forums which is generally just a bunch of BS. People come here for info and knowledge, not stupid memes.

I too first visited TGO around mid-'96, but I didn't finally register until '00.

92GTA

iTrader: (11)

Haha, I remember those days. The non-tech forum was just terrible here, non stop BS and drama, so stupid. Plus all the crap with 3rdGen.org, members bashing each other, ridiculous.

I started here back in 1998 in high school under the username 914Conv or something similar. I wasn't very active during my search for my perfect 3rd gen, then in 2000 I registered this username after finding what I wanted.

Reading this thread brings back allot of memories, I very much remember Dirk's white 92 GTA. I decided a couple weeks ago to bring back my old web site www.TransAmGTA.com the way it was when I started it, just all about my car and just that. No forum, no anything else. I'm currently using my VB forum owned license for my Ducati club website.

Are we going to get 15 year member banners here? lol

tonys91rs

iTrader: (17)

I have been a member here since 2002. I have seen a lot over these years. Im glad to be a member and I help out when I can.

Bob88GTA

iTrader: (2)

Interesting read.

Man, has time flew by! I remember when I joined and had an issue with vacuum on a 89 GTA. My very first post after I registered. Speaking of Vader, he was the one that helped me through the whole process of fixing it! Great OLD member's on here! And of course, all the newbies that will become old!

Take care
Bob

Ozz1967

iTrader: (4)

I joined in 05 and this site hasn't changed much since then. Some of the functionality has changed, some of the graphics change from time to time, but mostly it's remained the same. Some people I used to talk to just seemed to have up and vanished. Stephen for one...I think he finally got banned.

Sofa's still around, as crotchety as ever with his responses. Wouldn't change him for the world. MW66nova, Mat Walter, talked me through keeping my Qjet when I swapped to a 350.

Good times for sure and cheers to all who've come and gone and to those yet to join us.

84 Z-28 350

Yea I remember Vader and ede helping me out on quite a few things, I know Vader is still around, what ever happened to ede?

paul_huryk

I have been on the board since it was on the .edu domain, which was made into a real website (TGO) maybe a year after I started visiting. Very long time...

You can tell a very long time member by the join date - the first reset was July 1999.

Panthro

Some of us old farts are still around. I was a lot more active on the old forums in the late 90s; then kids. Now kids are in college and I'm back trying to get back up to speed and looking to help my tired old bird.

Aviator857

I think we all tend to come and go as working on the car comes and goes with life.

iansane

iTrader: (1)

I must've started reading the board around '99 and didn't register until much later. I was 14 or 15 just waiting until I could get a driver's license and start legally driving my mom's handmedown '87 formula. (There were plenty of times I took it out illegally...) I remember the rift between 3g.o and TGO. I remember... issues with Dirk. I remember at least one board wipe and a whole lot of firm rulesets. A lot of info gathered from here over the years. It's crazy to think I've been looking at this website for 20 years.

Abubaca

iTrader: (3)

I was talking to a kid on Instagram about TPI mods, and suggested TGO. Told him who I was and to look me up if he had any specific questions or whatever. A couple days later he DM's me and says, "wow, you've been on TGO longer than I've been alive!"

Awesome kid. Thanks. ....but all kidding aside, I suppose I am proud of that.

WildCard600

Reading this thread got me all nostalgic thinking about the old days and my old car from the period, thanks to Panthro for bumping it.

I started lurking in late 2000 if I recall correctly and registered in 2001. I made all of one post with my old account, lol. Sold the car in 2003 and promptly forgot this place existed until I bought my T/A last year. Tried to recover my old username, but I guess I used an ISP email address or something else that I no longer have access to anymore so I had to start over from scratch. Would have been funny to have that 2001 join date despite being MIA for 16+ years.