10 Years Ago

Post by **Lemming** » Fri 7th Mar 2008 03:22 pm

The ACD first appeared in July 1998. I originally built it as a bit of fun and as an exercise in how to make web sites. Little did I know I'd still be doing it 10 years later and that it would be read by literally millions of people.

I don't know if anyone else reading this forum was there back at the beginning and I suspect this nostalgia trip might just be for me. Nevertheless, I've found a copy of the very first ACD and uploaded it here:

ACD 1998

DrGonzo · Post by **DrGonzo** » Fri 7th Mar 2008 03:33 pm

I first came across the site in 2000/1.... it was already much more than that.

Thanks all the same Lem. Sterling job.

geoffk · Post by **geoffk** » Fri 7th Mar 2008 04:11 pm

I first came across your site in the winter of '99 while planning a trip the following spring. Still the best of it's kind. A labor of love. Joined the forum in spring of 2007. Lots of useful stuff and some cool peeps here. Thanks Lem and best of health to Slimline.

Twitch · Post by **Twitch** » Fri 7th Mar 2008 05:10 pm

Has grown from a map and review site to a very good forum and map and review site.
First found it in 99 when planning trip and joined forum a when I first saw the new edition.
You have done a great job lemming and I know we all appreciate the work you have done.
This and VDF are both #1 in my book, and the only forums I post on in a regular basis. Am on channels and a few others, but there is no comparison.
Keep it up.
Hope to see you in Amsterdam again in April
(Looking at the old page was cool)

Peace; Rich/twitch

Post by **Lemming** » Fri 7th Mar 2008 07:10 pm

Cool! So there are a few people here that that witnessed the birth.

That early version didn't last very long. When a steady flow of people started to visit the site I decided to improve it. The first change was to create a page for each shop with bigger pictures. Then I added a list of addresses of shops throughout the Netherlands and later started to publish the comments that people had been emailing to me. Finally, with the help of "Slimline" Peter, I added this forum.

The list of coffeeshops in the sidebar is directly descended from the list on that first site. It's long since stopped making any sense, as there is no longer much to differentiate these shops from the rest of the directory. That's one of the reasons why I want to restructure the site, as mentioned in another topic.

Valo · Post by **Valo** » Tue 11th Mar 2008 03:30 pm

That early version doesn't look too dissimilar to some websites I first started doing when I was practicing HTML....haha!

My first Amsterdam trip was in january 2002 and a friend who I was going with (whom had been before) printed of some reviews, from this site, of certain shops for me to get excited about, I remember 1 being Pink Floyd and another being Grasshopper (ahh how naive I was back then).....

....anyway that is my short story of how I was introduced to this site. Needless to say I was hooked on here and Amsterdam ever since.

Boner · Post by **Boner** » Tue 11th Mar 2008 11:27 pm

First off I've got to say it's nice for ACD's forum to be back and it's nice for me to be back.

I've been using ACD since it started with my first trip being the same year ACD started which is quite cool seeing that I'm going back in May so it'll be my 10 year anniversary as well.

dynamiccoins · Post by **dynamiccoins** » Wed 19th Mar 2008 04:08 pm

This is a cool site for looking back at how web sites used to be - http://www.archive.org/index.php.

Weemanio · Post by **Weemanio** » Wed 19th Mar 2008 05:31 pm

what date you over boner?

Boner · Post by **Boner** » Wed 19th Mar 2008 07:59 pm

Weemanio wrote:what date you over boner?

20th - 27th

Bhang Buddie · Post by **Bhang Buddie** » Sun 23rd Mar 2008 08:24 pm

Hey Lemming, I know that I'm going back about 20 years, but d'you ever recall a CS called t'Stutje over by the flea market ?
They used to have a really nice grass plant in the window and the fuzz came round and asked them to 'just take it out as it wasn't right'.

EdAmsterdam · Post by **EdAmsterdam** » Sun 13th Apr 2008 03:36 pm

I think I discovered the site after some updates, but I do remember it specially the map. It was very funny to me when I found it because on my first trip I was staying on the Eden Hotel and got lost going to Green House Waterlooplein and ended in Lucky Mothers.