This month, Hotel Womb turns 10 years old. Dave Barnard, our Pharoah and founder, wrote this to the Faith Healers, and I would like to share his account of our
board's history. (Dave's words are in italics, the rest are mine):
I started it really on a lark. It's been a lot of fun. Besides testing the software for another project I was working on, my one motive was to get a live version on Tantalized. That's why Happy Hunting Ground was the first forum name I ever came up with. The Womb also coincided with my interest in marketing (read: not sales) and met my interest in the internet. At the time, I was heavily into reading about the new business models, plans, etc. I tried many many things.I read many books. I talked to a ton of people. And, I used the Womb as my little playground to try things out. Ultimately, the most interesting part of the Womb had nothing to do with the music but the community that formed.
Some of you will remember, the dark days of October 2001, when I was about to fly off to Italy and the Womb exploded and the host didn't have a backup that was viable. A few people (most of the original faith healers) had started emailing back and forth to get their daily fix. This more than anything fostered the community that arose out of the ashes. At the time, Noel was covering most of the expenses because I had racked up thousands of dollars from the super expensive hosting strategy we had been forced to have.
I'd experimented with Ezboard (now Yuku) back in April 2001. We decided that the best thing to do would be to forget the history and remake the Womb on Ezboard. We did just that and here we are today.
The experiments in building this community have taught me a lot about human nature. More importantly, it's taught me a lot about the world we live in and how we're able to transcend our physical world and build a new one. This is not trivial if you consider the complex network of relationships and codified rules of behavior that govern this place.
I have had one rule: PLAY NICE. It's been elaborated on a little more than that, but that's the general rule. I abhor censorship and have been pained each time that's been forced. Also, I am a very liberal guy and really believe that people should always have a voice. If you look back at the choices I've made, most of them are about ensuring that voices can be heard.
One thing I realized right from the beginning is that there is a virtue of being the owner and the administrator. I was able to quickly make decisions and execute on them. People second guessed me, but I think I've always been able to justify my decisions pretty well. We don't promote evil here. We try to make sure that our kids can read this and feel proud. And, we try not to do anything at all that would take money away from the band.
Over the years, this community has come together and shared their talents and enthusiasm to support both the band and this site. We have experimented with an Amazon store, have sold Hotel Womb t-shirts, traded bootlegs and original music. To quote Dave again:
The T-shirt demonstrated one of the first gifts of other fans building on the successful community of the Womb. There were so many more to come. The tribute album that Tony worked so hard to put out is stunning. The Hotel Womb logo and other cover art that our friend down in Tucson created were impressive. Mike with his Disco. Tony creating Volumes so everyone could share their genius. Jens putting up the Tabs site so all the guitar freaks could share those, too. Paul Webb (who gave me only copy of Goldfish on VHS during the 90s when I was Seance) and his amazing setlist database... And, my constant bugging Brian Smith about Shadow Cabinet brought its revival (at least, I want to think so)... Daniel's absolutely brilliant recording of Marty playing in Austin truly is Water in the Desert. Those are only a handful of the wonderful gifts we've all given each other.
Although this site was Dave's creation, many Faith Healers and a series of administrators have worked to keep the Womb going. As some of you know and others may have guessed, I have been the board's administrator for the past 1 ½ years. As of last month, I am the "owner" of the board and the domain name. The people I've met through Hotel Womb in the past 10 years are a wonderful group. Dave has moved on, but I hope to keep this site vibrant for years to come. I welcome your (helpful and friendly) suggestions, so feel free to contact me through Yuku if needed. And please, play nice.
Ann (CouldBeAnyone)
I started it really on a lark. It's been a lot of fun. Besides testing the software for another project I was working on, my one motive was to get a live version on Tantalized. That's why Happy Hunting Ground was the first forum name I ever came up with. The Womb also coincided with my interest in marketing (read: not sales) and met my interest in the internet. At the time, I was heavily into reading about the new business models, plans, etc. I tried many many things.I read many books. I talked to a ton of people. And, I used the Womb as my little playground to try things out. Ultimately, the most interesting part of the Womb had nothing to do with the music but the community that formed.
Some of you will remember, the dark days of October 2001, when I was about to fly off to Italy and the Womb exploded and the host didn't have a backup that was viable. A few people (most of the original faith healers) had started emailing back and forth to get their daily fix. This more than anything fostered the community that arose out of the ashes. At the time, Noel was covering most of the expenses because I had racked up thousands of dollars from the super expensive hosting strategy we had been forced to have.
I'd experimented with Ezboard (now Yuku) back in April 2001. We decided that the best thing to do would be to forget the history and remake the Womb on Ezboard. We did just that and here we are today.
The experiments in building this community have taught me a lot about human nature. More importantly, it's taught me a lot about the world we live in and how we're able to transcend our physical world and build a new one. This is not trivial if you consider the complex network of relationships and codified rules of behavior that govern this place.
I have had one rule: PLAY NICE. It's been elaborated on a little more than that, but that's the general rule. I abhor censorship and have been pained each time that's been forced. Also, I am a very liberal guy and really believe that people should always have a voice. If you look back at the choices I've made, most of them are about ensuring that voices can be heard.
One thing I realized right from the beginning is that there is a virtue of being the owner and the administrator. I was able to quickly make decisions and execute on them. People second guessed me, but I think I've always been able to justify my decisions pretty well. We don't promote evil here. We try to make sure that our kids can read this and feel proud. And, we try not to do anything at all that would take money away from the band.
Over the years, this community has come together and shared their talents and enthusiasm to support both the band and this site. We have experimented with an Amazon store, have sold Hotel Womb t-shirts, traded bootlegs and original music. To quote Dave again:
The T-shirt demonstrated one of the first gifts of other fans building on the successful community of the Womb. There were so many more to come. The tribute album that Tony worked so hard to put out is stunning. The Hotel Womb logo and other cover art that our friend down in Tucson created were impressive. Mike with his Disco. Tony creating Volumes so everyone could share their genius. Jens putting up the Tabs site so all the guitar freaks could share those, too. Paul Webb (who gave me only copy of Goldfish on VHS during the 90s when I was Seance) and his amazing setlist database... And, my constant bugging Brian Smith about Shadow Cabinet brought its revival (at least, I want to think so)... Daniel's absolutely brilliant recording of Marty playing in Austin truly is Water in the Desert. Those are only a handful of the wonderful gifts we've all given each other.
Although this site was Dave's creation, many Faith Healers and a series of administrators have worked to keep the Womb going. As some of you know and others may have guessed, I have been the board's administrator for the past 1 ½ years. As of last month, I am the "owner" of the board and the domain name. The people I've met through Hotel Womb in the past 10 years are a wonderful group. Dave has moved on, but I hope to keep this site vibrant for years to come. I welcome your (helpful and friendly) suggestions, so feel free to contact me through Yuku if needed. And please, play nice.
Ann (CouldBeAnyone)
