11th birthday today

[Fred]

Psoriasis Club has 11 years under it's belt

Well here we are rolling along into our 11th year and still going strong, we are still the only independent psoriasis website and what a great bunch of members we have. From an idea one night all those years ago we have achieved well over 200,000 posts and we should all be very proud of what we achieved.

It all started May 2010 on a free hosted forum with zero knowledge of what I was doing, it was very hard going and many a time I almost gave up but it was helping a handful of people and I just couldn't let them down. I decided if I wanted to keep Psoriasis Club going I would need to take full control and set up on my own server, so I purchased a hosting service in August 2011 and got to work building a better Psoriasis Club.

Unfortunately in those early days I was still learning how to use a computer and didn't know how to do full screen captures, but I have just checked on "Wayback Machine" and luckily for us they had found us in October 2011. Here is a screenshot of what they recorded.



As you can see it has changed a bit over the years and it's still evolving today, only this month I have added a new board and moved over 3000 posts to make it easier to find psoriasis threads.

So what does the future hold for Psoriasis Club in these days of so much social media ? Well there are so many ways of people communicating these days and there is no way we can compete, but to be honest I wouldn't want to change to any other type of format. I know younger people prefer other websites, but I still find a forum a lot easier to use and the information is simple to find so whilst I'm here Psoriasis Club will always be a forum.

We don't get found so much these days because everything is money driven, but I have noticed that we do have a much better quality of members than we did when I first started. I will never pay to get us found so all we can do is keep the forum active, we do this by posting in the public boards about our treatments, our experiences with psoriasis and answering new members questions.

Funding: I promised last year that I will keep Psoriasis Club going in the spirit that I have always wanted to run it without Advertising, Sponsors or Donations. That promise still stands today and I have already put the next two years funding in place, so as far as I'm concerned Psoriasis Club is here to stay for a lot longer yet and I aint ready to give up.

Over the years I have seen a lot of members come and go, but I have seen the proof with my own eyes on the forum that new members are always made welcome and can become part of our virtual friends.

Thank you all for your continued support, I couldn't do it without you. 

Fred.

[Caroline]

Congratulations Fred, an amazing period of time.
Thanks for this creation that made it possible to have and discuss with friends all over the world, and making it possible to gain so much information on psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis

Thanks to all of us for all your contributions

[jiml]

Happy Birthday Psoriasis club and thank you Fred for keeping it going so long and keeping it a safe forum to be in
Although I haven't been here from the start I've only been here 8 years but feel like part of the furniture and have enjoyed my time being a forum helper and a stint as newsletter editor.
I've watched with interest how the club has grown and changed for the better and how lots of friendships have been forged. And look forward to the future which I'm sure will be good

[KatT]

Happy birthday!!!!

Thank you Fred for starting this forum and keeping it going!  Takes a lot of perseverance, determination, courage and time. 


And thank you to the members/virtual friends!  I've felt welcomed from the beginning (now one year and a half....time flies)

You are an amazing group

 

[Wooley]

Happy 'belated' birthday for yesterday to our amazing Psoriasis Club 

[Fred]

You are all very welcome, but remember it wouldn't be here if you lot didn't pop in to post. 

I have a bonus for those that post in this thread.





Jim is kindly picking up the tab. 

[Wooley]

Just off to the bar with my voucher!!!!!!

[Fred]

Just off to the bar with my voucher!!!!!!

I'm right behind you

[KatT]

Can't have alcohol   

Buuuut I can have an iced cappuccino.......going to Huggamug 

[Fred]

Can't have alcohol   

Buuuut I can have an iced cappuccino.......going to Huggamug 

Good choice, it's doughnuts today.